Struggling, discouraged and feeling hopeless

I am still struggling. I could not lose weight before surgery even though I ate healthy and was physically active.  I always seemed to gain. (this was my dilemna since 2006).  I had gatric bypass on June 11th and here it is July 18th and I have lost a total of 24 lbs but with this last 5 going up 3 down 2 up 2 down 3 well...you know what I mean....but not getting any lower in two weeks....I just think it is too early for a plateau of any kind and such a small amount of weight to lose after having such a drastic surgery.   If my body is holding on to this because it thinks it's starving how do I convince it otherwise??  I am rigid about what I eat....I do not eat high calorie anything...I fill up so easy I still only taking in between 350-425 calories a day.  I walk 3 times a day.....twice with two dogs in tow and once by myself so I don't have to stop and sniff every hydrant :)   I'm losing faith here guys....my NUT says don't worry about the weight...how can he say that?  Isn't this why I did this??

Discouraged,
Nessa  

OMG... me too... It's ******g me off. Luckly for you, you are doing much better than me. I had my surgery 6/16/09 I lost 15lbs in a week and a half. Then went up and down 4lbs for the last 3 weeks. Your cal. seem way too low to me. I am around 600-700 (maybe that's why I am not loosing). Well starting yesterday I cut out carbs. I am trying this for 3 days then adding them slowly. I don't advise doing it because I have not done it myself yet but you are doing better than me... Be happy for that.

You should be having little to no carbs right now. Waaaaay too early out.

And 1 month is a pretty normal stall. Your body is still catching up. It is in survivor mode. Basically the body doesnt know you had surgery. In normal cir****tances not eating anything for a month tells your body to shut down and conserve what it has.

It took 2 weeks for that stall at 1 month to go away and then I started loosing pretty fast again.

I have hit plateaus many times since surgery....currently in one myself. I understand completely. Maybe try changing your routine....doing not just walking (running.....I know...I dont either....rollerblading, which I just started again.....or working with 5lb weighs or less. I didnt start crunches til two months after surgery, and can still only do 50 or so), or wearing a pedometer to see how much you are walking.

I find that some of the plateaus I have broken have had more to do with changing my exercize and ensuring I get enough protein in. Have you been hitting your protein goals?

I totally understand and can relate. We did this for weight loss. The weight loss will help us get healthier physically, mentally, emotionally. BUT we all lose at different rates. We are all dealing with our own individual bodies and genes and yes, sometimes IT SUCKS ASS!!!!!! 

Sympathetically,

SW

I relate to this as I actually experienced REGAIN in the first month post op.  So, I say this to you: PUT AWAY THE SCALE, NOW!  Focus on getting in your protein, water, and vitamins.  There is absolutely zero reason why you should be obsessing over numbers right now.  For the first several months your body is HEALING.  Be gentle with yourself.  But I'm serious about that damn scale.  Give it to a family member, have someone hide it from you, sell it on eBay.  I don't care, but get rid of it for the time being.  You should star****ching your numbers a little more closely once you're about a year out.

Also, here is an explanation behind the science of stalls/plateaus.  This was originally posted on the DS board by Diana Cox.

"Our bodies use glycogen for short term energy storage. Glycogen is not very soluble, but it is stored in our muscles for quick energy -- one pound of glycogen requires 4 lbs of water to keep it soluble, and the average glycogen storage capacity is about 2 lbs. So, when you are not getting in enough food, your body turns first to stored glycogen, which is easy to break down for energy. And when you use up 2 lbs of glycogen, you also lose 8 lbs of water that was used to store it -- voila -- the "easy" 10 lbs that most people lose in the first week of a diet.

As you stay in caloric deficit, however, your body starts to realize that this is not a short term problem. You start mobilizing fat from your adipose tissue and burning fat for energy. But your body also realizes that fat can't be used for short bursts of energy -- like, to outrun a sabertooth tiger. So, it starts converting some of the fat into glycogen, and rebuilding the glycogen stores. And as it puts back the 2 lbs of glycogen into the muscle, 8 lbs of water has to be stored with it to keep it soluble. So, even though you might still be LOSING energy content to your body, your weight will not go down or you might even GAIN for a while as you retain water to dissolve the glycogen that is being reformed and stored."

So, take a deep breath, step away from the scale, and be gentle to yourself and your body.  Especially right now.

Thank you for all the tips!!  First off "hangs head", no I have not been meeting my protein requirements as for some reason the last weeks I have not been able to each much at all.  I do always start any meal or snack with protein but just am not cutting the mustard.  For some reason the protein drinks I could tolerate in the beginning which gave me my daily boost I can't seem to keep down anymore. I will fight to do better!  I do get my fluids in and then some!  Drinking is easy for me and I do well with that!  I really have not let myself graduate to starches as I feel if I can't get the protein in I have no business graduating.    So will not meeting my quota of protein prevent weight loss? 

As for excercise, I am happy to say that I am enjoying it and alternate what I do.  I cannot run or do full aerobics as I do have two seperate heart problems that prevent that.  I have increased my walking distance and time to 1 hour walk in AM and 1 hour walk in pm.  I tote one dog on each arm thinking this is weight resistance of a sort.  Plus lots of hills in my walk.  For variation I do toning with 3lbs weights and am doing lots of yard work: washng deck, weeding, pruning hedges and trees.  I am more physical than I have been in years and that does tickle me pink.

As for the scale , I so wish i could hide it..but I have CHF and it has to be monitored...not only by me but by the nurse monitor that is in the home....they call at the first sgn of weight gain worrying it is water retention.  

I loved the explanation about the energy storage sytem in our body that has answered a lot of questions.  Thank you so much for taking the time to help me understand that better.

Nessa


   

take a deep breath and RELAX!!!!!!!!!!! U WILL LOSE IT JUST FOLLOW THE RULES!!!!
never is to early for a plateu!!. i know is hard, hang in there do ur job and u will drop it!!!!!
hugs!!

I am going through the exact same thing today is my 2 mo and i have only lost since surgery  32lbs in 2 mo! BOOO! Most ppl lose that the first month. i also take in very small amount of cals....im thinking maybe if we up our cal intace our bodies will speed up and drop more?????eh i dunno haha. just a thought. my surgeon said dont worry your just a slow loser some ppl are. but hey at least we ARE LOSING! YAAA! I feel ya though i stalled for 2 weeks this month to! wtf! good luck girl KIT!

Uggh Im so glad im not the only one with this problem. I too find myself weighing everyday. This of course is discouraging me. I just the thought the weightloss would be more drastic than it is. I lost about 20 then up 3 then down 2 then up 1 so basically im at only 17.5 lbs at 2 weeks out. I didn't expect to slow down so quickly. But your posts helped me feel better. especially the one piece of advise to throw the scale away. Im gonna have to have my hubby hide it I swear. As much as I say I will only weight every monday. I find myself doing it every day. So from now on only once a week. Tops. Thanks so much girls...

I just wanted to follow-up and let you know that I cut out most carbs (down to 20-30g or less a day) and I have started loosing again. This morning I was 281 (yesterday 282, day before 285, day before 289) Maybe you will want to try this out.