Am I A Failure....

Good Morning WL Grads...I am 16 months post-op and it seems that my weight loss has stopped.  I was reading another members post who says that you basically stop losing at 18-24 months and people in some cases start to regain.  Well now I'm getting depressed and pulling my hair out (the little I hav left) because I never reached my goal and I don't want to regain any weight back...I would love for the scale to continue moving in the negative direction.        My journey started at 260lbs. and I've lost 94lbs.  Strangly enough I can't seem to get any lower than the 94lbs.  I seem to be losing inches because when I take pictures I can definitely see it in my face and my clothes, but the scale is not giving it up.      What am I doing wrong...I feel like such a failure!  I want to get down to at least 150lbs. which means I need to lose 16 to 18lbs more.  Any suggestions on how I might achieve this goal.  I workout at 3-4days a week. My protein intake is 80-90grams and my calories range between 900-1200 per day.  I try to get in at least 64oz or more of (Crystal Light) water per day.  I am afraid, I don't want to start regaining my weight I've worked so hard to lose and I don't want to fail.      Can you help?

YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE. Every BODY is unique and it will respond to all manner of new health and well being.  I held fast for nearly a year at the same weight, then slowly started losing a pound or two per month again.  I am almost 2.5 years out now.  I have dropped another clothing size since January while losing three pounds.   LOL   You are doing wonderfully.  Keep doing it.  Great health and fabulous looks will continue to follow. Hugs.

First congrats on your loss so far :-) The typical "weight loss window" is approx 18 months long, but you can most defiantely keep losing after that - my friend is 6 years out and has been slowly losing the entire time trying to reach the goals she set for herself... it took her almost 3-4 years just to reach her surgeons original goal (she had some ups and downs along the way).  Since you are over a year out my suggestion would be to get a metabolism test done to find out exactly what your body needs. 900 calories seems much to low to be as far out as you are... also a range of 900-1200 is pretty large - thats a 300 calorie difference... my NUT always pushed eating withing a 100 to 200 calorie range... she really pushed to keep it around 100 calorie difference a day...(i.e. 1000-1100 or 1100-1200)... eating consistant cant help the body from thinking its starving one day and then being overfed the next. Either way you also need to look at where your calories are comming from - to lose weight you should be eating 40/30/30... 40% protein, 30% carbs, 30% fat.. unless your NUT stated otherwise... but thats typically what most people plans consist of. Make sure you are getting lots of veggies in there, some fruits and good whole grains. Again I would suggest contacting your NUT to go over your nutrition and build a plan - the further out one gets the more the plan needs to be tailored to your specific lifestyle... the metabolism test would be a great start and another tool in your tool box. Either way being on 16-18lbs from your goal is excellent... my surgeon set a goal range for me and stated if I got within 10 pounds of that he would be very proud... sometimes our bodies just hit a happy point and any further loss will only come thru excess skin removal. To me being able to maintain a weight is more important than being able to lose the weight... it doesnt do any good if you cant maintain the loss ya know?

Hi Melinda and thank you for your words of encouragement.  My nut did increase my calorie intake to 1200 calories a day.  Sometimes I reach 1200 and sometimes I don't, mabe only reaching 900 to 1000 depending on what I'm eating that day.  I try to get in at least 1100 - 1200 a day even if I have to throw in a couple of protein shakes during the day. First let me say that this and I know it might sound crazy, but I don't and can't tolerate milk be in soy, whole, skim, or lactose free...but I can eat yogurt and cottage cheese. My PoohPouch doesn't like white or wheat pasta and I can't do rice, but I can eat sweet potatoes and I can eat 7grain Light Style Whole Wheat Bread which I have maybe once or twice a week.  I work the overnight shift so my eating schedule is kind of crazy.  I try to eat as sensibly as I possibly can, following the rules of always protein first.  As far as the calories go, sometimes I can and sometimes I can't eat all that I supposed too that's why the calarie intake varies.  I will hang in there and try not to lose hope and maybe one day the scale will show me what I longing to see.  I'll be sure to mention to my doctor about the metabolism test when I have my visit in July.  Thanks again. 

I agree with Jennifer. It seems like you're at a pretty healthy weight right now. I also stopped losing at 16 months and this maintenance phase is not as much fun. A lot of people will start losing again after a long stall. But sweetie, if you're feeling good and you know you must look pretty good at your weight, just enjoy yourself and be proud and happy. I'm also worried about regain, but it's really up to us whether or not we regain. There's no statistic that will determine that for us. Some do and some don't, and if you've been lurking here I'm sure you've noticed that most people who have regained can tell you exactly what they did wrong. Try to eat healthy, get plenty of exercise, take your supplements, and thank the Lord for each day that you're healthy. (I need to practice what I preach.)

 

You know, one person at 170 pounds is heavy but someone who is muscular at 170 might be tiny...You need to look at the whole picture. What you're looking at is just a number on the scale. The scale doesn't know anything but the number.  I'm 122 pounds right now but I have started to exercise. I expect to put on about 8 pounds at least just by getting my muscles to be heavier. I don't expect to go up in clothing size (actually, I expect I'll drop a size or two ;-). But that scale will tell me up one; up two or three...

Well, I must say that I do get my exercise in...I workout with a PT three to four days a week in addition to walking.  I do continue to drop in dress sizes, I am now between a 12 and a size 14, I see the difference in my clothes as far as inches go, I'm hoping to see in on the scale soon.  Thank you so much.

 Hey girlie! You are NOT a failure! Keep in mind...do not compare yourself to others. Also, keep in mind that your body may have a place where it is 'comfy'. Not to say that you can't get that extra 16-18 pounds off. But I do think sometimes that there are MANY factors that we just cannot account for. Being obese for most of our lives (most of us anyway), we may not even know what the 'good' place is for our bodies because we have always overindulged ourselves. It is hard to gauge what 'norm' could be when we have never seen it, get what I mean? I think you have done a great job! You have also developed great habits. For that you should be extremely proud.

1ST things 1st!  YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE!  You're just at a stopping place right now.  But it will pass! Do you mind if I ask some questions about what you eat?  Even though your calories are down, by any chance do you consume milk (skim, 1%, 2%, any milk), sugar free products, products that have high sugar alcohols?  Do you eat pasta, bread or rice?  The sugar free products stall weight loss a lot.  They are like a wolf in sheeps clothing because  many think that it promotes weight loss since it has no sugar.  The carbs in these suckers, woo they just steal away that opportunity.  If you are using sf products, look at the carb & calorie content.  Try weaning off them if you can't quit them cold turkey and see if in one week you don't see a difference in the scale.... And milk, I have suggested to a number of people to try this for one week.  Make protein shakes with water, or use Hood Calorie Countdown Milk that only has 3 carbs, 3 sugars.  Even skim milk has 11 sugars in it.  This is not really a good idea to use except for occasional while still in wls mode.  Pasta & rice should be saved for occasionals also once you have gotten to your goal.  They are very high in carbs, and you want to lose weight as fast as possible... so I would say "no" to them while you are still in weight loss mode. Also, are you getting in enough fluids?  And are you logging your food to ensure that you are actually staying under 1200 cals a day?  I didn't up my calories until i wanted to stop losing weight, and my doctor suggested no more than 1100 -1200 cals a day in maintenance.  You might need to drop them down a little.  Try that also.  I know what everyone says, up your caloriese you may not be getting enough.  But I would think it might be too many since you still want to keep losing.

Hi I'm not a grad I'm only 2months out but you  have giving me so much hope and joy looking at your pictures on all of your weight loss  you look great and I hope to get there some  day, so please stop being down on yourself just keep doing what you've been doing and only keep the right foods in the house.