I've been at basically the same weight -- around 225 -- for six months now. Yes, focus on the positives, I've lost more than 100 lbs, my health is so much better, etc. But I still have this annoying, stubborn belly and body fat that I want to get rid of. At this point, I know it's all mental/vanity, but the problem is that I've been hitting the gym HARD for a while now, and the remaining thin layer of fat is smoothing out all the new muscle I've been packing on and making it harder to see.

Some things I've considered:

• It's muscle! I'd love to believe this, but there's no way I've packed on 5-10 lbs of muscle. A lot of guys CLAIM to put on this much muscle at the drop of a hat, but they're fooling themselves; unless you're 6'8", going to the gym every single day for an hour and pumping HUGE stacks of weight -- and probably on anabolics to boot -- there's simply no way to put on this much muscle in the 2-3 months that I've been lifting weights seriously.
• It's water weight! Yeah, except that water weight fluctuations don't tend to stick around for six months.
• I'm snacking too much! This is a possibility, but I don't snack on BAD things, for the most part. It's not candy and sugary treats; it's mostly protein-based, or zero-calorie, or the occasional (re: one a day, max) 90 calorie high-fiber brownie.

I know that I need to get back to watching my calories on Livestrong (or whatever), to make sure that I'm not fooling myself about how much I eat, but just from gut feel, it doesn't FEEL like that much. I'm certain that I'm not consuming more than 1500-1800 calories per day, and I'm walking about 2 miles per day (I clocked it... 2.2 miles in 30 minutes, roughly 3.7 mph) and going to the gym twice a week. At this level of consumption/burn, I should STILL be losing weight (doing the calorie math considering my age/height/weight/gender), but I'm not.

I guess I know the responses -- track my calories, focus on protein, watch out for grazing, etc. -- and I'm mostly just frustrated, not looking for advice. I knew that the "honeymoon period" with the sleeve wouldn't last forever; I can't effortlessly drop 20 pounds anymore. But I sure hope that my current weight isn't my "forever weight" because it's still about 15 pounds above what I was hoping for!

If you click on my weight ticker, I believe it will take you to a graph of my weight over time since the surgery, and you'll see that it fits a nice logarithmic curve. If you project it out, losing another 15 pounds will take me something like 3-4 years. Ack!

I'm sort of in the same boat with you--nearly at goal and although I am still losing, it's pretty slow. That whole "calories in, calories out" theory works to a point but does not account 100% for weight loss; I eat about 750 calories a day and, based on my RMR, I should be losing 1.5 lbs a week if I do NO exercise but that's not the case. I am seriously thinking about going back to all shakes for a week to see if that will trigger a bigger loss if I stop losing altogether. I would dearly love to be at goal by October. Have you had your body fat tested? I found a BodPod near me and I thought the results were interesting.

I think your calories are high to still be losing but you are male and have more muscle so your metabolic rate will be higher, plus you are working out hard, but before surgery I couldn't lose above 1200 calories a day.

You really have done splendidly.

Well I'm going back to calorie tracking. Every time I've done that rigorously, I've found some source of "hidden" calories.

I am in the same boat too!! I was sleeved May 9th and have lost 44lbs since surgery, but 99lbs overall. I am very close to my goal and find it very hard to lose now.

I have lost 1lb in 3 weeks!!! I use myfitnesspal.com faitfully daily and I exercise!! I am just a little over 3 months out and feel like I will never get there at this rate. I don't know if it is because I have such a small amount to go that it is harder, but I can tell you that is sucks!

I don't eat bad carbs at all and the only carbs that I do eat are from fruits and veggies. I have not eaten bread, rice, pasta, etc. since before surgery, so I know it is not that. I also have not had any sweets. They scare me with others saying they get sick!!

I follow my rules of protein, protein, protein. I just don't get it! UGHHH!!!

Kelly

Yep me too... since the beginning of the year my weight loss has slowed to a crawl, but it is coming off. I will drop a pound or two, then nothing for weeks, then a pound or two ... repeat as nec!!

I am putting it down to hormones ... I am, apparently, going through early menopause and my hormone levels are all over the place... symptoms come and go so I don't think it is full blown menopause. I would love to get to goal before the full mama gets here though. I have tried everything that has been suggested on this site... and, unfortunately, nothing works. My body doesn't respond to any change and I honestly feel that I can't do more or less to get things moving... With that said, I am happy not to be gaining.

I am gonna keep going though... my menopause doc said the more weight I lose the better for my long term health so I keep that in mind when I am tempted or frustrated. After all the main reason that I had the sleeve was longevity of life, good health and fitness.

Ourobous,

You've done sooooo well to lose over 100lb in a short space of time... going to the gym and exercising is just a bonus as far as I am concerne!

If you are feeling frustrated get your old clothes out and put them on... see how far you have come!

Good luck with the final hurdle... you WILL get there!

Thanks for the kind words, folks.

I know what I need to do -- stick with it, count my calories, stay healthy, and exercise as much as I can tolerate. It's just frustrating that this last little "jelly roll" won't go away (and no, it's not loose skin, unfortunately, although that's a separate issue!)

I feel you sooo much!! I am in the same situation although I am still 30 pounds away from my goal but I CAN SCREAM cause It is been over a month and I am not losing while being so discipline about following the rules, and I cant wait to visit my doctor in 15 days to discuss it and I SO HOPE he is not gonna answer the same usual answer "thats this is normal" I wish he can provide me with a solution.

Good luck with ur tracking and I HOPE u discover the hidden thing, although sometimes there is no hidden calories and the body just tends to play us up:(

BEST OF LUCK and let us know how did it go:)