Ok what the heck is going on...would love your suggestions

Ok so I have lost 102 pounds now and my annv. date is the end of April...my problem and HUGE frustration is since January I have only lost 3 pounds...I'm doing NOTHING different, I mean I am eating the same, exercising the same...nothing different...I'm so bummed. I have about 35 more to go and that darn scale will not move..any suggestions? Thanks

The problem may be that you aren't doing anything different. Our bodies tend to get used to what we are eating and how we are exercising so try shaking things up. Change your exercise routine to some different exercises and maybe change some of the foods you eat, see if that doesn't rattle those last few pounds loose.

I spoke with my primary doc and she said to add more calories and change my exercise routine and see what happens.

Thanks for your reply.

Hi Lucky,

There was a really cool list on what to check for during stalls/plateaus on the main board a couple days ago.  It was really comprehensive.  Of course now I can't remember who wrote it or the title of the thread, but I can try to find it for you if you haven't seen it and if you want me to.

best,
amy

BTW, 102 pounds is AWESOME!!! I know you must be anxious to get the rest off, but maybe your body just needs to regroup for a little bit?  I'm new at this so IDK.....

Hi Amy,
Thanks for your reply, I have serched the internet for reasons and solutions to stalls/plateaus, it's all frustrating!

I will search resent postings to find the posting you are talking about.

Thanks again.

I found the list from Pam T.

Breaking a Stall

 

Weight loss stalls and plateaus are very common after WLS -- or any type of weight loss program. We didn't gain weight steadily over the years and we will not lose weight every day or week when we're losing weight it's not going to melt off every day or week. It's frustrating, but it's all part of the process and we just have to be patient and work through these little bumps in the road.

But when the scale hasn't moved for a couple weeks or months - this is the perfect time to take a very close look at what we're doing and figure out if we need to make change. Have we allowed bad habits to creep back in or are there adjustments to routines that need to be made to jumpstart the weight loss again? Here's a list I typed up earlier:

 

• Are you tracking your food intake in a food journal? Is it on track?
• Are you tracking every single calorie that passed your lips? (flavored water, vitamins, gum, single pieces of candy) Even if you aren't keeping track of calories, your body is!
• Are you eating too MANY calories?
• Are you eating too FEW calories?
• Are you taking in enough protein? 80-100g/day
• Are the fats you're eating healthy (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated)
• Are you eating too many simple carbs (bread, pasta, potatoes, sugar, pasta, rice)
• Are you eating enough fruits and veggies?
• Are you drinking enough water (water flushes fat toxins from our body)?
• Are you grazing?
• Are you eating the right quantity? Measuring and weighting foods?
• Are you eating on a schedule?
• Are you exercising hard enough? Long enough? Fast enough?
• When's the last time you changed your exercise routine? (The body becomes efficient and doesn't burn as many calories after we've done the same thing for 4-6 weeks)
• Have you added weight training to your workouts? (muscle burns more calories at rest)
• Are you taking all your vitamins and supplements?
• Have you started taking any new medications that might promote weight gain?
• Have you taken your measurements (you might be losing inches even if the scale isn't moving)

Also, here's a great post by DxE that has a ton of information that might trigger ideas in some other areas to break a plateau.

Hope this helps...

~Pam

Wow thanks for the great list. I'm having my thyroid tested to see if this might be the problem and I'm going to increase my calories, right now I consume 900-1000 a day, only protein, veggies and fruit, no carbs except for what is in the fruit...

I have started a food journal, what a pain that is.

Thanks again for your list and I will use it.

How tall are you... 900-1000 may be too low...  My weightloss has really slowed too... so I when I visited my Nut this week... she told me to work towards 1100 to 1200 a day... but I am 5'10". She thought I may need to get up 1300 to 1400 since I am more active now... or least eat that on the days that work out.

Just a thought.

Helen

I'm 5'7".
I do think I need to increase, so does my primary doctor.  I guess I have been eating this way for so long now that I have a horrible feeling if I eat more, there goes another diet mentality...but wait this is not a diet, this is a complete new lifestyle which I love.

Hi,

I just wanted to thank you for asking such a great question!  I really loved reading all the replies.  I'm still doing my six month weight loss insurance requirement - about 9 days to go.  I too have gotten frustrated with very slow or no weight loss lately - even a gain.  The replies to your post make so much sense.  I've hit many plateau's in my many years of yo-yo dieting.  Journaling, changing my diet and exercise around a bit has always worked to stir things up and get them started again.  The weight may come off really slow still, but it will come off if you keep at it.  The closer we get to our ideal weights - the slower the weight will come off.  Perhaps if we both turn our "bummed" out attitudes into a bit of "positive" anger attitudes and turn that anger towards more exercise and water - we will be able to turn things around.  I'd also put the scale away for now because it can be depressing and stressing.  When we are depressed and stressed weight loss is also decreased.  Also remember that muscle weighs more than fat!  Are you noticing that your clothes are getting any looser? 

Best of luck to you!

ragadolly