The Last 20 pounds

 I'm taking slightly a different approch. I'm actually eating low carb but not restricting my caloires. My weight has been steadily going down. I think because I'm eating quite a bit of food my body feels like it's okay to burn the fat on my body but what is being burnt isn't carb food so I'm seeing a drop, even though it's slow. I have 12lbs left to go and right now I'm losing between 3-5 lbs a month. 

Well Amalia you have done extremely well and should be proud of it. All I can suggest is what my surgeon told me to do when my rate of loss was slow which was to up protein by 10 g. I was skeptical but did it for a month or so and it worked. This was in the middle of my losing phase but the rate kicked up until the end. I did this keeping within my surgeons calorie guide which was 600 to 800 per day. Maybe pretty low by some standards but he thinks its fine if you keep your protein up which he says is the engine that runs everything. So I had to use some protein drinks at 6 months out to do this which i didn't like much but found some acceptable ways.

And no you won't regain like before. Its not inevitable. YOu have formed healthier eating habits now that will stay with you. Be patient and I bet you get those last pounds off. It may be slow but this isn't a race. Good luck.  Diane

Thank you so much Diane. I want you to know that I always read your posts. You provide great information and good advice. Along the lines of your suggestion, I did think all on my lonesome (lol) that I should up my protein intake, so today I made and drank a protein drink. Now I absolutely HATE protein drinks, so I've been avoiding them for months. Perhaps it's time I start them again though, at least until I reach goal.
Amalia

I hate the drinks too but the lapsf dietician came up with some recipes for protein drinks made by adding some things to ordinary protein drinks. they look good. they might be available on the lapsf.com website under newsletters or something. one example was choc coco.  one scoop choc protein powder, 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk, 1 tsp unsweetened coco powder. mix well and serve with ice.   i haven't tried it but it looks good.   Diane

Dear Amalia,
I'm joining your club! Although my goal is 165, as reccomended by my trainer and nurse, I'd really like to get down to 150 which is the top of my BMI range. My nurse and I had a long talk about the BMI chart and what it does and does not take into account. I've had two pinch tests at my gym by my trainer...two months apart, and they both said I should be at 165.

I'm in a plateau right now at 170. I just started protein drinks again to try and drop a little more. I loathe them, but I found putting a 1/4 cup of coffee in my vanilla protein shake really helps cut that yucky taste. I'm not a coffee drinker at all, but this seems to work for me. Maybe since you're a coffee drinker this would help you, too.

I wish you all the luck with your quest and your health!
Blessings,
Heidi

Since you like cappuccinos, you could try experimenting with coffee and chocolate protein drinks. I like to mix a ready to drink chocolate protein drink with 6-8 oz of coffee and heat it up then add a little bit of flavored creamer. Not the same as a real cappuccino, but still has the rich taste and I think the coffee covers up the protein taste.

If I need a thinner less filling protein drink I'll mix the Syntrax Nectar Chocolate Truffle protein powder with coffee and some Splenda and maybe a little flavored creamer.

For a fruity protein drink that is also filling my absolute favorite is to blend 1 cup frozen strawberries with 1 cup of milk (you could use the Almond Breeze for this), 3 TBS of Splenda, a dash of vanilla, and 1 scoop unflavored protein powder. This makes a fantastic fruit smoothie that my family LOVES! They also like it with some banana in it, but I don't like bananas .

You can do this! I know you want to lose some more and hopefully you will, but even if you don't at least you're learning how to maintain.

When I originally called "goal" I almost immediately started to letting some bad, sneaky habits in. I quickly realized nothing should change when we hit our imaginary goal. These eating patterns and habits we've learned are for the rest of our lives. I went back to my "weight loss" mentality and have decided to let my body settle in where it wants to.

Jen

Excellent ideas and advice! Thank you very much. I'm going right in to make your "cappuccino" suggestion right now!