Question:
Yo-yoing weight

This is my first post. I had RNY on 12/14/07 and to date I have lost 77 pounds. However, over the past several weeks, I keep yo-yoing back and forth between 74 and 77 pounds, and I can't get past the 77 pound mark. I'm afraid I'm not going to lose any more weight. I exercise almost an hour every day at the gym and it seems as though if I eat anything other than protein (i.e. a few pretzel sticks, a cracker, a low-carb wrap), I put on those extra three pounds and don't lose anything. Has this/does this happen to anyone else and will this cycle break? I'm frustrated!    — jec630 (posted on June 5, 2008)

June 5, 2008
I went to a recent support group since I haven't had the surgery yet myself. Fluctuation in weight loss was brought up and the most important thing that was emphasized is protein intake. Are you taking in as much as your surgeon suggested? Also they said your eating should be the following pattern: protein, veggies, fruit then carbs. Protein intake seems to be the key for several reasons. Good luck!
   — psturgill

June 5, 2008
First off, weight loss is not always a straight line loss. Some times there are plateaus. Some times there are gains. There are a few possibilities that you need to consider. The first is: Are you retaining water? The second is: Are you getting enough protein and exercise. In the FIRST scenario: the issue will probably resolve itself given time. In a few days or a week or so, you will lose the water and lose the weight. The SECOND is actually a GOOD thing if it is occurring! If the SECOND scenario is the case, what is happening is that the protein that you consume is being turned into lean muscle mass on your body by the exercise. Lean muscle weighs more than FAT per cubic inch so you can't measure your progress by the SCALE at this stage of your weight loss but you CAN with a MEASURING TAPE! If you are NOT dropping pounds but ARE dropping INCHES, you are GAINING Muscle! MORE MUSCLE means LESS FAT! The lean muscle mass will help to ACCELERATE your weight loss! There is the possibility of a THIRD option that I did NOT mention before. If one of the FIRST two are not your problem then the THIRD option is likely. The THIRD option is that your body's Metabolism SET Point could have readjusted itself to starvation mode. This IS possible. Give it some time. If things don't start working in a week or so you may want to contact your physician and get PROFESSIONAL advice and go to a nutritionist. A nutritionist will be able to set you up with a dietary lifestyle that will meet your nutritional needs and your dietary preferences so that you are likely to STICK with it. You will also be able to LOSE those last few pounds because he or she will be able to CALCULATE the calories that you need to consume to lose the weight at the maximum rate that your body will allow without triggering your body's metabolism set point. This is probably the problem you are having now. You need to eat a certain number of calories a day before your body starts holding on to all the FAT that it has stored and actually starts robbing your body of it's own PROTEIN instead. What your body takes instead of the fat is MUSCLE. You do NOT want it to do that. Muscle BURNS fat! Your body does not discriminate from WHAT muscle it robs the protein FROM either. It will take it from your HEART muscle as readily as it will from your LEG muscle. You need to eat a certain amount of both PROTEIN and CARBOHYDRATE a day and for each person that amount will be different depending upon what their GOAL is. If your goal is to lose weight and you are a SMALL WOMAN, the requirements will be different than if you were a large MAN who wants to MAINTAIN your weight. This is why you cannot use someone ELSE'S dietary program to optimize your weight loss. I hope this helps, Hugh
   — hubarlow

June 6, 2008
The scale can be your best friend, or your worst enemy. Sometimes the # going up on the scale can cause us to eat more because of the mood swings. Keep your eye on the target, healthy habits!! If you keep that in front of you consistently, you can't lose. Try getting on the scale every other week, or dare I say once a month. Then the loss will be a larger # and you gain your victory back!!
   — bariatricdivalatina

June 6, 2008
I had my RNY on 12/18/07, and I'm down about the same as you (81 pounds currently). I've plateaued and had slight gains, but eventually the scale will move in the right direction. I have carbs (fruit and All bran crackers) almost daily, but I know that over-doing it will cause a gain for me. Sticking to a schedule really helps me stay on track... breakfast, protein, lunch, protein, dinner and a small snack. Make sure you are getting in plenty of fluids and rest, too. And if you are exercising so much, remember muscle weighs more than fat! Hang in there! Kris
   — gonnadoit

June 6, 2008
you are past the honeymoon period. The losing is usually done by the time you hit 18 months post-op and then you start maintaining. You really need to watch all your calories at this point. Best of luck
   — Alvernlaw