Question:
Weight Loss STOPPED

Had RNY in June 08 seem to be doing everthing I'm suppose to but no lbs. have came off in 6 wks. I'm exercising eating 3x's/day eating Pure Protein bar for breakfast, have the B-12 shot monthly and taking other vitamins as specified. Having some difficulty in drinking all the water but working on it. Why won't the weight come off. I've been more active now then before???    — * S. (posted on August 6, 2008)

August 6, 2008
Stalls are normal. FRUSTRATING and normal, even for a few months at a time. There comes a point where your body just doesn't want to lose. Stay good with your diet. Get rid of the protein candy bars and eat real food not people feed. Get all the sugar out of your diet. Don't play mind games. Bad things are BAD. If there's something you really, really want it's probably bad.
   — GaryLGreen

August 6, 2008
You are losing fat and your body is replacing it with water. You MUST get all your water in. It sounds hokey but the more water you drink, the more water your body will release as it flushes out toxins. Also, check your legs for swelling. Push down the flesh over your shin or ankle bone. Do you leave a dent? That's water retention. Another thing you can consider is detoxing you liver. Check into garlic and other natural ways to do that. Toxins stored in the fat must be cleared through the liver. If the liver is overloaded, the body will dilute the toxins in water or fat to deal with them. For overall detox, try checking www.bodypurenow.com . I hope this helps. I had the same problem and am now down 50 lbs.
   — waterlover

August 6, 2008
The protein bar for breakfast seems to be the only thing I'd change. It is high in carbs...sugar alcohols, fat and a whole slew of artifical ingredients and vitamins that your body no longer absorb such as oils (hydrogenated mostly) and calcium carbonate... I realize you are trying to get in your protein...but a scrambled egg for breakfast with 1/2 C of cottage cheese or greek strained yogurt...1/2 glass of milk or soy or protein shake WITHOUT all the fillers and artificial crap would be a far healthier meal than sugar alcohols which affect some diabetics, hypoglycemics and some people (like myself) dump on sugar alcohols worse than real sugar...I can't believe your pouch can even handle a protein bar for breakfast...I'm 4 1/2 years out and the ingredients in that would make my pouch totally grumpy and achy and burning. You're body is trying to get RID of a buncha junk (fat and toxins) Eating more junk means you gotta flush your body. DRINK a TON of water if you continue eating that PureProtein bar...It even says on the wrappers to make sure to drink a full glass of water after comsuming and also warns diabetics and hypoglycemics to speak to their doc first before using. Someone else mentioned drinking more water and her reasons...Perfect advice in my (non medical background) opinion too! But for the most part...you're doing just fine...and you'll begin losing again soon...Get used to these times...They happen to the majority...PS...Watch any supplement food that have all kinds of added vitamins...Many of those kinds of vits do an RNYer no good...and since you should be taking a regular set of vits...extra is not needed. (just extra JUNK for your body to work on getting rid of) Your kidneys and liver are on serious overload trying to get rid of that fat and 'stuff'....
   — .Anita R.

August 6, 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 possibility that you need to consider is: Are you retaining water? The second is: Are you getting enough protein and exercise? It would seem in YOUR case that you are getting plenty of EXERCISE, but the question of protein can only be answered by a professional nutritionist. 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 our 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 is 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 or 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 your weight 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 or 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. Your best bet is to talk to a CERTIFIED nutritionist and have him or her outline a PERSONAL diet plan JUST FOR YOU. In order for you to MAXIMIZE your weight loss, you need to eat the proper amount of both protein AND carbohydrates. For ME, that ratio is about 20 grams of protein per meal to 20 to 40 grams of carbohydrates per meal. I eat 5 or 6 small meals a day. I am a 6 foot 3 inch tall MALE, so my needs are going to be different than YOURS. I also have a severely restrictive diet due to MANY severe allergies. Add to that, the fact that there are some foods that I will not eat for religious reasons and OTHERS that I will not eat because I dislike them, and my nutritionist had her work cut out for her. Each person should have a diet plan worked up PERSONALLY by a CERTIFIED nutritionist instead of using someone ELSE'S information because the other person's information may not hold true for YOU. YOU may be smaller or larger than the other person, and that difference will throw off the calculations needed for your optimal weight loss. The other person may also have different GOALS or be somewhere ELSE on their journey. If you are trying to LOSE weight, and they are trying to MAINTAIN it, you are going to be very FRUSTRATED if you try to use their diet to lose weight. The GOOD news is that you do NOT have to give up bread and pasta unless you find that it causes problems for you after your surgery. Of course, If you INSIST on eating bread or pasta, It would not HURT to make the change from WHITE bread to WHOLE WHEAT bread. The same goes for PASTA. As long as you are going to CONSUME these things, let's TRY to make them HEALTHY. We can only eat SO MUCH FOOD now. We need to make sure that it is QUALITY food and NOT JUNK. Whole Wheat products can count as a protein as WELL as a carbohydrate. The nutritionist will be able to assist you to figure out EXACTLY how much you can have of what item without causing yourself to derail from your weight loss goal. If your weight loss surgeon provides a nutritionist as part of his services, then you are set! If NOT, I would HIGHLY recommend that you look into getting one for yourself. The nutritionist will save you a great deal of headache and heartache in the future, and will serve to make your weight loss a much more productive experience. I hope this helps, Hugh
   — hubarlow