Anyone else stall for 3-months?

I am at a 63 pound loss and have been stalled for 3 months. I am wondering if I am done. I have increased my excercise to 1 hour/5 days a week and I eat 1200 - 1500 calories a day. I really would like to lose another 30 lbs.

It gets very frustrating when I step on the scale and it just will not move. I feel like a failure. Some days I am ok and I look at how far I have come in this journey but I guess it is like everything else, I find myself wanting more. I started at 240 so I would be considered a lightweight.
 
Do lightweights slow down sooner? Is there anything else we can do (healthy)  to get that weight off? Has anyone else experienced this?
 
I had a uncomplicated surgery experience and have not had any problem foods other than chicken. I wonder if my body is quicker at healing and the malabsortion has slowed WAY down. I use sparkpeople to track my food and I am getting 80-100 g of protein. I do need to work on the drinking water but still I feel like I drink a good amount.

I am feeling a little down today. I would almost call it whinning, but I know you all understand and will help me to SNAP OUTA IT!!

Angie,

I did not have a stall for 3 months, just wanted to wish you good luck breaking the stall.  Are you eating a lot of carbs(good or bad)?  Try posting your menus on our daily thread and maybe someone there can help if they see anything that might need tweaking.  Are you getting plenty of water?  Do you do protein drinks?

I'm almost 18 months out and I try to stay around 1000 or 1100 calories a day, but I'm not exercising very much.  I stayed between 800 and 1000 until I was over a year out.

I've also read that if you change things up for a few days and then go back down it helps to jump start things.

Good luck and keep us posted on how it is going with you.

Linda 

OK Angie I may say some things that you don't want to hear........remember this is only my opinion.  AND much of what I'm saying is based on assumption as I am not with you on a daily basis to see what you are doing.

In general LW's get to maintenance phase sooner.  BUT 4 months is a little soon.....however, a 60% loss of excess weight is considered a successful WLS.
Eating 1200-1500 Cals @ 4months post op is TOO MUCH.  Unless it is on the days you are exercising and you should be doing pretty strenuous stuff if you're taking in that many cals.  AND it should be difficult to take in that many cals at that stage in your journey....even now unless they are carb cals.
Protein shakes HELP.  80-100gr of protein/day is fantastic for an inactive WLS patient.  One who exercises regularly should be getting in a minimum of 1gr/pound to maintain muscle mass.  I say this all the time too......drink a protein shake before bed so you can keep your metabolism running while you sleep.....the body goes into starvation mode half way through the night if you don't.
VARIETY in exercise is key.  Doing 5 days of elliptical for 1 hour/day is going to become habit to your body and then you don't benefit from it.  You should be doing interval training.

I hope you are able to get yourself back on the losing end.  I can't imagine your frustration.  I'm sure you will get a ton of advice too!  I would definitely start posting on menus and miles daily so you can get some advice on how to tweak your regimen to maximize your honeymoon phase.  Good luck sista!

I am 7 months post op now, I wasn't eating the 1200-1500 calories at 4 months. I wasn't tracking the calories then but thinking back it seemed to be less. I do not drink the protein shakes. I don't like them at all. I will give that another go though if it will help. I was thinking about doing protein shakes for breakfast and lunch and maybe a high protein meal for dinner. Maybe cut out snacks. I usually have breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. I just must be eating way too much. I will go down to 800 - 1000 calories and see what happens.

In using the math, it would seem that if a body burns 1500 calories at rest and then with excercise you add another 500 calories burned only eating 1500 calories a day would still be a deficit. Not considering the malabsorbtion.

Looking at some of the others who post their meals on the daily menu thread, they hardly eat anything and drink alot of the protein shakes. Maybe I should give that a go.

I will let you know how it all works out. I may up the excercising too. My time is running out.

Thank you for the reply, Angie

Maybe try a different brand of protein shake. Not everyone likes the same brands. Which ones have you tried?

Liz

I understand where a deficit should be a deficit....however, it doesn't seem to work that way...LOL  I stopped losing at about 7-8 months post op.  This is where the hard work comes in......we now have to find out what works for us long term.  As far as protein shakes go I didn't care for them the first several months post op either.  I started trying them hot and found they were much better that way.  I remember everyone talking about how great syntrax nectar was and when I tried it I thought it was way to sweet......now I am able to tolerate it.  You need to find a protein drink that is TOLERABLE.....you don't have to love it, hell you don't have to like it......you just need to beable to drink it without getting sick.  They are definitely an acquired taste and the more you drink them the better they get. 

Don't look at your daily food intake from a meal/snack perspective........Look at it this way....you need to spread your total intake out over the whole day eating/drinking something high in protein at least every 3 hours.

Your time isn't running out. There is no reason that you shouldn't be able to lose weight at any time when you cut back down on calories. My sister is 8 years out and recently lost some of the weight she had regained and is hoping to get past her lowest weight.
I agree with what has been said. I don't think 3 months is a stall, it sounds like maintainance to me. It seems that you body needs about 1500 calories a day to maintain. If you want to lose weight you need to eat less then your body uses so it will burn fat. I do find that getting a lot to drink really helps. I drink around a gallon a day. I have 3 protein drinks a day. I limit my carbs to under 50 grams a day, all from complex carbs like fruits and vegetables. I am pushing myself to get in exercise but that is my biggest challenge.
Good luck to you.

Hi Angie,

I hear ya!  I had my surgery 7 months ago and have been at a stall for almost 2 months.,  I've lost 55 lbs so far and have 29 to go.  I'm getting very, very discouraged and am wondering if I am done.  No, my eating and exercising isn't perfect but I am trying every day.  I'm eating so much less than I did before surgery and can't figure out why I've stopped losing.  Oh well.  I guess I'll get up tomorrow and keep trying. 
I know this no help or encouragement to you but know  that  you are not alone.

Julie

Angie and Julie,

I feel for you, and know it could be me in a month or two. One question: have you consulted with your RD to see if he or she has any suggestions.  I also recommend taking a new exercise class or hiring a training if you can afford just to shake things up.  Also, please track your liquids.  I know it stinks but it all matters.

Good luck, and don't give up,  Your windows are not shut - no way!

Amy