Question:
I realize this question has been addressed many times, but I would like to hear new

answers from today, not from last year or even last month! Please let me know any tips you have on jumpstarting weight loss. I have lost 90 pounds since 8/13/02 and I am very happy. BUT! My doctor wasn't too happy in April when I had only lost 6 pounds in the two previous months. Since then I am down about 7 pounds. (Almost another two months gone.) This may sound good to some, but I still need your opinions and your tips. I would also like to know some statistics on others who had their surgery around the middle of August, 2003. Thanks so much in advance for any and all suggestions even if they are "eat less and exercise more"! I know this is the answer and just need advise on how to do this! 298/200/140    — Kathy L. H. (posted on June 2, 2003)

June 2, 2003
DIET TO BREAK A PLATEAU ACCORDING TO DR. R. FOX #1 Do for 10 days to break plateau #2 Drink 2 quarts of water a day #3 You must have 45 grams of protein supplement and all your vitamin & mineral supplements each day. #4 You may consume up to 3 oz. of the following high-protein foods, 5 times a day: * beef, * pork, * chicken, * turkey, * lamb, * fish, * eggs, * low-fat cheese, * cottage cheese, * plain yogurt (or artificially sweetened), * peanut butter, * beans/legumes. #5 You may also have: * sugar-free popsicles (avoid juice popsicles), * tea or coffee, * sugar-free sodas, * sugar-free Jello, * broths & bouillons, * Crystal Lite drinks. #6 IF IT IS NOT ON THE LIST YOU MAY NOT HAVE IT! #7 Keep a food diary and try to get 30 minutes of exercise daily.
   — sheryl titone

June 2, 2003
Actually I wouldn't say eat less - cause sometimes the answer is eat more. I read your profile, and you mention you needed to start eating the right things and exercising back in January but nothing since...so are you eating good dense protein foods? Limiting carbs to the good carbs (green veggies, low-sugar fruits)? Getting any exercise? Taking all your vitamins, etc.? How many calories a day do you think you're getting in? I'll check back for answers and then maybe we can formulate some workable answers for you. Best of luck and to heck with your doc - congrats on 90 pounds in 9 months!!! Woohooo
   — [Deactivated Member]

June 3, 2003
I feel your pain. My surgery was on August 16, 2002. I have lost around 84 pounds. Since the beginning of February I have only lost about 10 pounds or so. I have not lost anything in about two months. I want to think that I am on a plateau. My doctor was not happy with my progress when I went to see him in April. I am due to go back next week but I can't face him. I love this web site, however it can be discouraging to see people pass you by. I have decided to be honest with my self. I have not been exercising, I have made some bad choices, I don't do well with my vitamines and protien. I have been searching every day for someone like me. I know that the surgery is only a tool, however, my eating habits have changed alot since my surgery and I thought that alone was worth 100 pounds. I guess it is time to re-dedicate myself. If you would like to e-mail me, maybe we could motivate each other. Good luck and thanks for posting.
   — Rosemarie D.

June 3, 2003
Hi I am right there with you. My surgeon has been very kind and he has this "saying" I guess you would call it. His philosophy is that he is responsible for the first 50% to 60% of the loss through the surgery. All the rest is our responsibility. The mechanics of this surgery give us the first 6-8 mo's of loss and that for me was about exactly right. He said the rest of it I will have to work for. I think he's correct. I was amazed that I could eat so many calories in a day once I started to keep track of them. That is all I track at the moment. I know the protein isn't up where it should be but I am trying to get back on track calorie wise first. I feel like I'm hungry all the time and I could just snack till the cows come home every day. So I have started to excercise which I was really lazy at prior to the last month or so. Really erratic. Now I go to CURVES 3 times a week and I count calories. Since I started the calorie counting I lost another 10 pounds or so. Since the excercise I've only lost about a pound or so, but I can see the diff in my clothes so I'm OK with it. When I fall of the wagon, so to speak, I lose nothing. I will unconciuosly eat and then I'm bumming because I lose nothing. I know for sure I can out eat my pouch and have come to realize that if I want it I'm the only one whose going to make it happen. In regards to your surgeon being "mad" or "unhappy". Like you need that kind of negativity. NOT. To heck with him, do this for yourself. YOU CAN DO THIS. If I can, I really feel like anyone can. I am lazy by nature and I love crunchy things ALOT CARBS yum I'm totally addicted. I'm going to make it to my porsonal goal of 150 and I hope to make it to the 140/145 goal that my surgeon set for me. Anything after the 150 is a bonus for me. Feel free to eamil me if you want to "talk" I have my ups and downs attitude wise too and can commiserate with waht your feeling and sometimes with this not feeling out there on your own really hepls too. That's the beauty of this site. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU :-) Penny LAP RNY 7/31/02 (300heaviest)257/162/150? .
   — pcollin4

June 3, 2003
I experienced the same thing. I had my surgery July 2, 2002 and my weightloss was very slow from January to March of this year. I have finally started losing again and have dropped 24 pounds in the last six weeks. I think I know why... In mid-March I was browsing through Wal-Mart when I spotted an insulated sports mug that holds 64 oz. of water. I would try but I didn't always get in my water. I'd get busy or any other number of reasons. I fill this mug with a few ice cubes and water first thing when I get to work in the morning that way I don't have to get up to refill it and it stays cold all day long! I try to make sure I finish the jug before I leave, and when I do, I know I have had AT LEAST 8 - 8 oz. glasses of water. I really think that is what has done the trick for me. Don't be discouraged though. Your body may just need time to keep up with your weight loss by readjusting your thermostat a little. That's a good thing! Good luck to you!
   — Audrey B.

June 3, 2003
Kathy, well, you are not on a plateau since you are still losing, though too slowly in your book. First, congrats on 98 pounds in 9 1/2 months. I, for one, think you are doing great and your doctor should understand that everyone loses differently. The weight loss does slow down as we eat more and time goes by, but it can certainly continue for another 9 months or more in your case. However, as I'm sure you know it is going to take work on your end to get to your goal. The rules are still the same-time does not change them. You have to up the protein, lower the carbs and sugar (or eliminate), count/cut the calories (still a game of calories in = calories out), up the daily water and get regular exercise. No one item on that list will work by itself-it needs to be a combo of the above. Try doing one thing at a time and once you get that one under control, move to the next. Sometimes its easier to tackle one thing at a time than be faced with a list that can overwhelm. But just think, this time, though it is still the same old diet, we have our pouches to help us!
   — Cindy R.