Question:
Havent lost weight in 4 weeks and cant quit eating!!!!

im 7 months post op gastric bypass. I started out at 408 and i am at 258. i have not lost weight for the past 4 weeks and i cant stop eating. i have tried the 5 day pouch test only to find it a joke and did not work, AT ALL. i followed it to the tee. I need help. I can eat more than 1/2 a cup per sitting, and i am hungry all the time. i do not want to fail at this. i dont want to gain my weight back. does anybody have any suggestions. im desperate    — jackie L. (posted on August 10, 2009)

August 10, 2009
Maybe changing up your workout will help jumpstart the loss again. I'm only 3 mo out and can eat more than a half cup. But I work out 6x a week and am still losing so I'm trying not to stress about it too much.
   — hansonae

August 10, 2009
Congratulations 150 LBS. WOW! Your not doing anything wrong. It sounds like your doing everything right. After a 150 lb loss in 7 months your body needs time to "catch up" You are losing inches at this time. You can plateau for months especially with that kind of weight loss. That is super fast. You don't really want to lose to fast. Your body needs to adjust to the lighter you. Don't worry you are not failing. You are ahead of the game. This surgery only works if you eat. I am 5.5 years out and I eat all day less then a cup of food or a few bites or 1/2 sandwich. You have to keep your body fueled in order for it to metabolize. This is not a starvation diet. You can't fail. Eat every few hours, Get all your food groups in a little bit at a time. get all your protein from food. Drink water and tea and walk. Don't do protein shakes they will make you gain your weight back later. They are made for body builders to bulk out. Relax you are doing Fantastic..
   — Kimberly Ten Kate

August 10, 2009
150 lbs in 7 months is AWESOME!!!!!!As the other posts says, relax. Getting stressed now is going to make it worse later on. Along with the other posts suggestions(and they're very good suggestions), talk to dietician/nutritionist from your surgeons office. See what they have to say and if they have any suggestions.
   — Kathleen W.

August 11, 2009
ok sounds like since you quit dropping weight you are stresing out. This leads to feeling hungry all the time. Emotional eating is common in people who have WLS. So if you are going to eat all day eat nuts, protien smoothies, cheese, and other protien rich foods. Completely avoid the bread, rice, pasta, crackers, and such that will hurt your weight loss. If you crave ice cream sugar free cream cycles or popcycles are ok. You have done an amazing job. now you have to teach yourself to love yourself enough to make good choices. It is wonderful you have lost 150 lb. But we have all read about how easy it is to put back on. Notmuch worry til you are a year out though, so you will hit plateas, try not to stress. Learn some relaxation routines. You will be fine.
   — trible

August 12, 2009
First, congrats on the weight loss! That is awesome. I am 8 months out and have lost 90. You are on a plateau right now and your body is adjusting. I have been on one for about 3 weeks. Part of the reason you may not be losing is because you are eating, since you said you can't stop eating. You can stop eating, you just choose not to. This is one situation where you need to take the word can't out of your vocabulary. You are in control of this. I am not trying to be mean because I have been going through the same thing. I do what is called self sabotaging, which is basically thinking that I have to mess up somehow, so that is what I do. I made an appt with the counselor at the weight loss center and we discussed it. I feel alot better now and have gone this week and been staying on track. I have even lost a pound. Know that you can do this, but saying you CANT stop eating is not true. You choose not to stop eating. You need to make a concious effort. Try chewing gum. Gum has really become one of my best friends. I chew the Extra gum because they have like 6 flavors. I chew the sweet fruit flavors when I am wanting to eat but shouln't, and the spearmint when I want to put something in my mouth but not something sweet. You can do this and you will. You just make today your new start and don't worry about yesterday. You will drive yourself crazy doing that. If you need to talk or anything, just contact me.
   — Dawn A.

August 25, 2009
We are supposed to eat more as time goes on. But not in excess of what you need. You CAN quit eating and you must set limits for yourself...First you must stop listening to your head. Your pouch is where you need to learn to focus on feelings of satisfaction and fullness. Use your head to measure out servings and not to determine how hungry you are! You should not feel hunger in your head and your pouch shouldn't feel much eitehr early on...The head is much more trickier and will start to think of all the foods you used to eat and that alone can fool you into thinking you are hungry when you are not..."Grazing" or eating all day long is one way that many GBers fail the surgery...SO DO NOT START THAT HABIT! Eat on a schedule. I gained 10 lbs myself grazing fopr a month long!! I worked super hard to get that 10 pounds off and I didn't find it easy at all! Eat foods that you know will keep you full...protein and complex carbs. Try to eat more dense foods for longer satisfaction. DO NOT bring home foods that you shouldn't eat...Plan your grocery list and STICK TO IT! I think knowing that I still have eating disorders is what keeps me honest with myself. I set rules about keeping to my list and only buying good healthy foods. I try to eat as much from nature as I can and by only boxed or bagged stuff that I cannot make myself or don't know how or am too busy to make from scratch...like jellos and beef jerky etc! Buy fruit and find cool fruit based recipes to tickle the taste buds....Learn different ways of making healthy food more interesting and exciting to the mouth...Substitute old foods with new ones that are better for you...EX. Ice cream? make a fruit smoothie with protein, fruit and ice in a blender...Bake chicken rather than fry it...add on melted Low fat cheese for extra flavor without guilt! ETC! But eat only on schedule as well...I eat every 3-4 hours...with 3 main meals and about 3 small snacks that consist of a fruit, nuts, cheese etc...Just something healthy to keep me til next meal and without raising my sugar...Choose foods on a low glycemic index chart...(do a search for a chart) Foods that raise your sugar fast make you hungrier faster by giving you instant energy with sugar and then a low that makes you crave more for that energy boost...Eating foods that are slow to raise sugar keep your energy level even and slowly raise the sugar leaving you much more satisfied much longer...This has helped me enormously! Good luck!
   — .Anita R.