Question:
NEED HELP! 4 months out! plateau

Hi everyone. I had surgery 4/3/03, so that means I am 4 months out now. I have lost 70 pounds, but the past 3 weeks I have done nothing but battle with 5 pounds. I still have about 50 pounds to lose. Anyway, I drink 60-80 oz of water daily, I take my vitamins, and I exercise 45 minutes to an hour on my bike about 5 days a week. Someone told me I may be going through the starvation mode. But I want to know what you think. On a typical day for breakfast I will have 1 and 1/2 eggs with cheese. Mid morning snack I will have half a protein bar, or string cheese. Lunch I will have a cup of cottage cheese and some nuts. Mid afternoon snack I will have the other half of the protein bar or some jerky. Dinner I will have some meat or cottage cheese again with maybe a couple of ounces of veggies or fruit. I am averaging between 800-1300 calories a day. Is this normal?    — Paige S. (posted on August 5, 2003)

August 5, 2003
I hope it's normal because I am going through the exact same thing. I had surgery 3-31 and have also lost 70. I have been "stuck" at that weight for almost 4 weeks and haven't budged. I too feel like I'm doing all the right things. I can't decide if I should cut calories, add calories or what. There is so much conflicting advise about how to get off of plateaus. I know I'm making good choices and taking care of myself the way I should be and I'm just trying to be satisfied with that. I'm sure this too shall pass. I hope other posters have similar experiences and can tell us how they broke thru this, but I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone. God Bless! Leah
   — Leah J.

August 6, 2003
This is the way the nutrionist explained it to me. Remember when you were gaining the weight? You had plateaus then too. There was a certain weight that you body was comfortable at and stayed there for a while. Then after a while you began gaining more again. It is the same with losing. Your body has those comfort weights. You may sit at the weight for a month or so but as long as you are following all the rules the scale will move eventually. Also, don't forget usually if we are not losing weight we are still losing inches. Do not get discouraged!
   — Charlene W.

August 6, 2003
Sharon, I'm rather surprised that at 4 months you can tolerate 800 to 1300 calories w/o dumping! Sounds like the dreaded plateau. You're definetely not starving. From a training standpoint, starvation is 0 - 500 calories in excess of 5 days. The best way to break a plateau is to change your diet for a week. It's good that your diet remains protein-heavy but try adding in carbs (fruits/pasta/bread) for 7 days then return to the protein-heavy. It will start coming off again. Remember, WLS is a life-chaning event and our bodies need time to adjust thus the plateau's every so often. I tended to hit one every 20 pounds and believe me these last 10 are a real trial. Good luck! Susan Kane
   — Susan K.

August 6, 2003
I ate about 1000-1200 calories a day at roughly 4 mos out. I think that is reasonable. (BTW, dumping comes not from the calories that you eat, but from eating sugar or other simple carbs.)<p>If you'd like to see what I ate at 4 mos, I have it posted on my profile along with what I ate at 9/18/24 months out. Plateaus are not pleasant, but they are a part of the process. One thing you might do is measure yourself regularly in addition to scale hopping. Sometimes you lose inches even if the scale is not cooperating. It can help you see that even though you don't have a lower weight you are still closer to your goal of a smaller, healthier you!
   — ctyst