Hi guys-

I just wanted to tell you a little trick I have learned. I have been at a weight loss standstill for several weeks and was contemplating another fill. But I was concerned that a fill would not solve my problem because my restriction is still pretty good and I was barely eating as it was.

I talked to a friend of mine who is a nutritionist and she had me do a food journal for a week. After I showed it to her, she said she thought my metabolism was slowing down because I wasn't eating enough. I have really gotten in the habit of going for a long time without eating and eating very little, and this was hurting me.

I am not eating six very small meals and/or Snacks a day. Some examples of what I am eating are:

15 dry roasted almonds

1 tablespoon of Peanut Butter with 1/2 an apple

2 tablespoons hummus with 12 reduced fat wheat thins

3 oz salmon with 2/3 cup snap peas and 3 tbs rice

1 Clif Bar

1/2 Reduced Fat cheese quesadilla

1 container of Trader Joe's yogurt

2 pieces shrimp sushi

1/2 chicken breast with 1/4 cup mashed potatoes

3 oz steak with 6 pieces of Tempura vegetables (so good and my only remaining tribute to fried food- you can get these at Trader Joes)

salad with Raspberry walnut viniagrette, shredded carrots, sliced almonds, snap peas

Protein shake

See, lots of yummy things:hungry:

Anyway, since I have started doing this (two weeks) I have lost 3 1/2 pounds. The motto?? Eat More and more often!!

If you have hit a plateau, give this a try!

I have definately found that if I eat below 1100 - 1200 calories for more than a couple of days, I stop losing or lose very slowly. A calorie intake of 1300 to 1600 actually works best for me. I know that sounds like a lot compared to what I read on LBT, but, I have been charting my intake and weight loss for a few months now and this is how it is for me.

Good lesson learned, thanks for passing it on.

I am gonna keep my eye on this post. Those food choices sound awsome.

The same thing happened to me. I stopped dropping weight for a while but my restriction is still great. I started keeping closer track of my eating and I realized that I was only eating between 800 to 1000 calories a day. I wasn't hungry so I didn't realize I was eating so little. Anyway, I started eating more calories, making a special effort to add breakfast because I'm really bad about skipping it. My weight loss picked up again when I started getting in the calories. I am trying to get in at least 1200 a day.

Glad this works for you.

I read the title and got defensive. Sorry.

Pre-op, I met with the nutritionist to see if there was something that I could be doing better to lose weight. She had me keep a food journal and after reviewing it, told me to eat MORE. she emphasized Breakfast because I was a big breakfast dodger.

I followed her instructions...exactly. I bought the recommended foods and cooked in a non-stick skillet, I got my water every day. I felt like a water balloon, but I followed instructions.

Two months later I had gained almost 20 pounds! 17.4! I know that initially some may gain while leaving 'starvation mode', but 17.4 pounds? Shee-oot!

I think insurance should have payed for the band after that, but no such luck. At least I am losing now.

I have to force myself to eat more calories, but if I don't I stall out. I've found I have to eat about 1000-1200 to keep the pounds coming off.....howver, I make sure they are good calories, not empty. I read new research recently from Johns-Hopkins (not related to wls but weight loss in general) that recommends 1400.....I'd be scared to try that much,myself, but I'm just saying what I read.

This is very interesting to me. I am going to start monitoring how many calories I am intaking, because I am losing extremely slow. Yet, I am not eating much at all, because I just am not hungry. I had said I wasn't going to count calories anymore, because that is why I got the band, but maybe I am not taking in enough either. Fitday, here I come. Thanks for bringing this up.

I'm using Fit Day to track my intake and exercise...whoever thought this up is a genius!! I love that I can just go and click on what I ate and it calculates for me and the graph is great to visualize where I'm at. I think it's still too soon for me to see what the best numbers for me are, but it will help me figure it out

Morsaille, I think what you eat and how much is key. And breakfast was the biggest change I made. I was a notorius non-breakfast eater because I tend to be pretty tight in the mornings, and there were days when I didn't eat until 3 o'clock.

I am pretty much following a Zone-type diet in regards to my Protein, fat and carb percentages, and I am at about 1200 calories a day.

And I have stepped up the exercise, too (pretty easy to increase from NONE). I have an MP3 player that hubby has put all of my music on and I just dance all over the house until I am panting and sweaty. Had my husband and son in stitches today because they actually watched me for the first time!

I have found that for myself, I don't have to change how I eat EVERY day. On average I get between 1000 and 1200 calories a day. But once a week, I eat more, I may go to 2000 that day. Not the next day, but the 2nd day after the increase, is when I will see the weight loss, and I also have a big burst of energy. I make sure to get my protein in each day, so I know it isn't that making the energy difference. Now, I can do this, or I can eat nothing, and it won't make a difference, and I will not lose anything, if I don't get my water in. If I drink it, I can lose, albeit slowly lately, but without the water, I am stuck! Somedays I feel like I am growing gills!!!

Kat

That's what I need to start increasing - my Water...

Since I'm only 10 days out from getting my band, I guess I'm thinking I can't have that much water, but I'm thinking it's probably just the opposite. That will be a new goal this week...to increase my water

Stephanie,

Thanks for the info on Fit Day! I just joined...what a cool tool! Reminds me of the one they had for Weight Watchers....but this is better because its free!!!!

I just posted on a diff site " Not Eating, Not Loosing", And I found your comments to be very helpful. Now I belive Im not eating enough, Im going to try to consume more and see what happens.

Thanks For Sharing!

I read about another website called Sparkpeople.com on another thread. It is also free and I think it is far superior to Fitday. I would highly recommend it for tracking calories, exercise,water and overall fitness!

Hi Linda,

Thanks for the info I joined them too now!!!! LOL.