OK - That's IT! I am STILL not losing!

[rcarter76 0]

Ok everyone, I LOVE this forum, because everyone is so positive, helpful, caring, kind and successful! But this is the third week I have not lost weight! I will be 5 weeks out on Monday and lost tons pre-op and 2 weeks post op. I know everyone says there is the 3 week stall (I am going on week 5), and that your body adjusts to eating soft foods from liquids and all that jazz.

But this week I checked my caloric intake, (800 per day), my Protein is on target (60-80 g daily) and I drink plenty of H2o. I have been in touch with my nutritionist etc and we tweaked my diet a bit, but that was almost a week ago. What gives? I don't want to be negative nancy or a sourpuss, but this is depressing. I am barely eating, have been walking 1.5-2 miles every other day and am getting plenty of sleep.< /p>

I would just like to know, has this happened to anyone else, does it start coming off again, and what are your experiences. My doc said that I should not have a plateau for 6 mos to a year , and I am only a month out so I am super concerned. I have my follow up with him next Tuesday, but I feel like he will give me the same old, "Work the plan, the plan will work" adage and I just want to feel good and NORMAL.

Please post any such plateaus, regardless of where you hit them, how much you lost in your first month etc.

I was 269 day of surgery and have been toggling between 250-253 for over 2 weeks now. Very frustrating. Any suggestions would be appreciated, along with comments, help, and stories.

Thanks,

Rachel:001_unsure:

[Tiffykins 672]

I wish I had some advice, but all I can offer to tell you that it will work and I'm here for you.

What's your daily carb intake? The reason I ask is the only way I was able to actually hit a stall was when I started incorporating more carbs, and I've been able to maintain.

[rcarter76 0]

I keep my carbs under about 60-80 and my nutritionist said not to worry if the carbs come from things with Protein like cheese, yogurt, refried Beans etc.

So I am not sure what it is, but I haven't heard from ANYONE else that they have hit a plateau like this...

It is hard not to get depressed. Thanks for the response girl!

[Tiffykins 672]

I'm by no means an expert, but I had to stay below 30 carbs during the weight loss stage. I honestly think that is why I lost so regularly. I never had a true stall. I had a 10 day stall in December, but it broke with a 3lb loss one morning. I still rarely get more than 50 grams of carbs a day. If the Protein count wasn't at least 4-5 times that of the carb gram count, I didn't touch it. That was my one rule. That's the main reason I steered clear of those Carnation instant drinks, and the Special K Protein waters. There's just too many carbs in there for me to justify the protein intake.

I hope the stall breaks soon.

[rcarter76 0]

But my Protein shakes have 33.5 carbs in them just for one, and she is recommending 2 per day? Between the powder and blueberries, it just goes over.

Are you taking 30% carbs or 30Grams per day?

I mean if you ate eggs, Protein Shakes, yogurt, how did you not eat carbs?

Plus I am STILL eating 1/3 of what I ate before surgery and the carbs are 75% less, so I should still be losing?

I don't know, I just thought if anyone had any tips, so thanks Tiffy!

[Tiffykins 672]

I didn't eat eggs, and I didn't do Protein shakes. The Protein Shakes I did use later on only have 4grams of carbs, and 24 grams of Protein. I ate Greek Yogurt with Splenda, and only occasionally would I have a yoplait yogurt.

Most protein shakes I tried had less than 6 grams of carbs with at least 24-30 grams of protein.

I stayed around 30 grams of carbs per day. If I had a yoplait yogurt, I didn't have any other carbs that day unless it was a few carbs from cheese like Laughing Cow 1 wedge on has 1 carb.

Okios greek yogurt has 18carbs in 1 cup. When I was eating yogurt, I could only eat 1/4 cup so I was only get in a little more than 4 grams of carbs. Now, I might be able to eat 1/2 to 3/4 cup of Greek Yogurt, but it would take forever.

I wish I could help more, and yes you are eating much less, and consuming less carbs, but your body is still adjusting.

[rcarter76 0]

Wow, well I am super jealous. I can eat an entire cup of yogurt no problem...maybe this just didn't work for me like it does some others...

So you are saying keep it under 30g carbs daily?

It sounds like you were barely eating!

I am not sure what to do, I have already emailed my nutritionist for advice again...

[Tiffykins 672]

I ate pretty regularly. I was just really label conscious. It will work for you, and everyone's body is different. Also, my sleeve is shorter than most patients since they had to remove more tissue during my leak repair. Your sleeve may be a bit bigger than mine, or your body may be adjusting differently. Some days, I can take more food in, but I think a lot of my issues go back to having to eat so slowly, and chewing excessively. I still don't have hunger, and if we go out to eat, my husband and son, know that we'll be at the restaraunt for at least an hour. I have trained myself to eat super slow. It's a habit now. If I take my time, I can eat more at one sitting.

I relied on greek yogurt and laughing cow cheese. When I got to soft solids, I ate deli meat with laughing cow. I did have a couple of weeks where mashed potatoes were my staple. But, I only ate about 2 oz of them. They were super filling.

I would say that 90% of the time I stayed below 30 grams of a carbs a day. Some day, I would have a few more, but I never got over 50 carbs a day. It was just a rule I followed within my surgeon's and nutritionist post-op diet. Now, I'm getting in more carbs because I'm trying to maintain.

[rcarter76 0]

Thanks for the info, I will see if I can be more conscience and if it works.

Does anyone else count carbs so religiously? If not, have you hit a stall or kept losing, could it be something else?

[kermit_ojp 0]

Rachel,

Try doing what Tiffy says and keep the carbs low. I bet you anything, you'll see results. Think Atkins diet...even if only trying it for two weeks. It really does sound like the carb content might be the problem.

Protein shakes...EAS makes one where there is 17 grams of Protein and only 2 carbs. I would stay away from anything that has more than 10 carbs in the content.

Glad you brought this up. Once I'm eating a bit more normally, I'm really going to watch the carb content. Right now, I'm just lucky to get anything down.

Let me know how it goes!

Olivia

[MidwestGirl 8]

I haven't started losing yet :blushing: BUT my dietitian's stipulations for choosing Protein Shakes includes that it must be less than 5g of carbs per serving. And also low sugar & low fat of course.

[thinoneday 445]

Well today was my doctors appointment and guess what! 9 days out and i've lost 20 lbs! I was so happy i nearly fell over! Today i can start Protein foods. . . i'm scared though, i'll wait til dinner time and try some refried Beans and string cheese. . .i'm really scared to try though. . . let y'all know how it goes. . . took Vitamins and minerals without a problem though. . . .

[dtea 0]

Hi there - I am a newbie from the UK who has been reading posts for a couple of weeks now - but yours has definitely struck a chord with me so thought I would pluck up the courage and post a reply.

I was sleeved on 8th Dec and luckily all seems to be going pretty well. But like you I hit a plateau, from around Christmas onwards my weight has hovered around the same mark. It was frustrating! You do doubt if you are doing the right thing and whether it will ever work! But then yesterday the scales suddenly started to move again. Finally!

It's a bit weird as its also helped me relax and start to worry less about how much I eat and how quickly etc. It is as if me and my body are slowly beginning to make some sense of all this! Less of the gurgling and burping too! This is so not a ladylike operation:)

Hope it sorts out for you too soon!

Deirdre

[twobluecats 1]

Hi! I'm sorry for your frustration. I had just a few days without a loss recently, and I was bummed.

I have to admit that I think Tiffykins is dead on with regard to the carb count. I am between three and four weeks out, and I track everything I put in my mouth. I average around 700-800 calories daily, 25-38 carbs, and 65-85 Protein. I feel like I eat all day, but I have not had any true carbs, like crackers, bread, etc (other than grits one morning). I'm getting all my Protein from food now (greek yogurt, string cheese, deli meat, lean chili, refried Beans, ricotta, chicken salad, etc). That said, if I have a Protein Drink it's generally a very high protein content. I use the Premier Protein drinks from costco, and one drink is 11 ounces, 3 carbs, and 30 grams of protein! Another one that is high in protein is GNC's Amplify--20 grams per 4 ounces of liquid, 4 carbs.

I think if you find a more balanced Protein Drink and keep your carbs a little lower you will break that dreaded stall! Some of us are just more carb-sensitive than others.

Good luck!

[rcarter76 0]

Thanks everyone for your two cents. My Protein shake itself only has 7 carbs, so it is the fruit and yogurt I was adding that put it over the top. I will take Tiffy's advice, and only have one yogurt a day and stick try to watch my carbs.

It is just frustrating when your doctor isn't the one giving the good advice!

I tried to explain to my nutritionist and she says she wants to take me back off fruit (I put blueberries etc) in my Protein shakes for 2 weeks and see what happens.

I know eating this way will bring weight loss. But I guess I am just going through the depression stages of a few things. If I ONLY ate 2 Protein Shakes etc before surgery I would be losing weight as well, so I am trying to fight the feelings on that one.

I do know that it is MUCH easier to only eat 800 calories with the sleeve since I would be starving otherwise, so I guess my head is adjusting along with my body.

I am very thankful for this forum as it allows me to talk to people who are going through, have been through or will go through the same exact stuff. Sharing both ways helps me out a lot.

I will keep on keepin on for now and you all will be the first to know when I get out of the 250s and break this darn stall.

I can't wait.