Hi kindred souls. Tomorrow is my 5 month anniversary date of being sleeved. I have lost 62 pounds but am not sure of the inches because my appointment isn't until next month. I am a heavy weight so that 62 pounds is just a dent. The doctor set my goal for a weight that was well above my ideal body weight based on that chart that someone with a BMI of 53 would lose. I hate that. I want to lose all my excess body weight not just 72%. I am getting concerned because the weight is not coming off like I hoped. I am doing the right stuff when it comes to eating. If I splurge I eat chicken breast filet from KFC but that is pretty rare. We know what kind of foods we should be putting in our mouths and for the most part I am as good as gold.

Two things I struggle with: 1) exercise and 2) drinking while eating. I walk 10,000 steps a day (up from 2000 before surgery) but I don't really work out since swimming season has ended. I have really been working on the drinking thing and would say that I'm successful about 50% of the time now.

I want to know if anyone experienced a slow down in weight loss for a few months then saw a spike again. I can't say that I have actually "stalled" but I'm only losing about 5-7 pounds a month for the last 2 months. I did have gallbladder surgery and some female issues in October but I don't think that would slow it that much. I'm so worried that I won't even make it to the estimated goal my doctor set. Has anyone honestly kept losing 9, 10 months out? If I only lose five pounds a month it will take me 11 more months to reach the goal my doctor set and nearly 19-20 months to reach my ideal body weight. I really don't want to fail. Any suggestions or personal experience stories would be welcome.

Oh for the record I don't count carbs or fat just Protein and calories. I get between 60-90 grams of protein a day and never go above 1000 calories. 800-1000 is my target. I eat a lot of lindora products to boost my protein. I do record everything I eat. I have for 4 months now.

I have three questions for you...

Have you have your thyroid checked because if it is slow it will make it really hard to loose no matter what you do?

Have you been checked for PCOS once again can make it hard to loose weight?

and have you brought your journal to your NUT to see if there are any changes that you could make?

if you have done all of these things then I guess my only suggestions would be to work harder on not drinking when you are eating make sure you have no beverages near you when you eat. Also make sure you are getting in atleast 64 oz of Water in a day inbetween meals. Also since it is no longer swimming season you should find another way to do excercises there are deffinatly options out there, if you are not abel to stand for a long time then do chair excercises with resistance bands and small dumbells, for example you could hold the dumbells with your arms straight out and lift at your sholders or hold the dumbells with your hands at sholder level and push up, with the resistance band you could sit with your legs up hook the band on your toes hold the ends with your hand and either pull with your arms or do calf extensions by holding the band tight and pushing with your toes. I am sure there are many others if you just look them up online. I am confident that you can make it to goal you may just have to put some work into it. Good Luck!!

I agree with having your nutritionist look at your food journal, and give you some ideas on where you can maybe change things up to ensure you continue to lose. If you're not counting carbs, you might be surprised how just eliminating 20-30gr of carbs can really change things. For me, even in maintenance, I see a marked change in my body weight, and how I feel if I eat way too many carbs. I can go back on a modified Atkins (no more than 60gr of carbs per day), and I can drop 3-5lb per week even at almost 18 months. If you don't want to count or cut carbs, are you getting in extra Fiber to help balance (net carbs) the carb intake? I know not everyone wants to count carbs or "diet", but I found it super easy to eliminate most carbs during my losing stage because I was too focused on getting in Protein.

My surgeon had my goal weight set higher as well, and I dropped an additional 25lbs to get me 25lbs below goal and into the "ideal" BMI range for my height. I started off with a BMI close to yours so losing all your EW is possible. I chose to count carbs, drink tons of clear fluids, and push protein via food sources. I didn't work out for the first 4 months because of complications, but as soon as I was released, I started lifting weights. Nothing heavy, or strenuous, but I did do isolated body toning.

The gallbladder and female issues can definitely throw off your body. You've done amazing well thus far, and Celebrate that success.

Thank you both so much. I say I don't count carbs but the app that I am using (Lose It) does so I went back and checked my daily average. It does appear that I get between 50-80 grams of carbs as well. Maybe I should strive to keep it under 60. I feel pretty good about my food choices overall but it won't stress me in the least to cut out the toast in the morning or the fat free chips I eat with a laughing cow once in a while for snack.

I will definitely get my thyroid checked. I didn't think of it until you mentioned it. I am feeling sluggish lately. My female problems arenot resolved and will probably have surgery at the new year. I certainly have not given up. I was just hoping someone had something similar happen. I did use the exercise machine today. It was tough but I felt really good afterward. Thanks for the input and I'll let you know how things go. Keep your fingers crossed:)

Good for you for not giving up and working out with a machine! And you most certainly should be celebrating what yyou have lost so far. As long as you go back to basics and talk to the necesary doctorts you will do great in loosing even more!!