What am I doing wrong?

I started losing weigh one year ago, on Weight Watchers. Had surgery on 1/23/2012. I lost 45lbs before surgery and 57lbs after.

I eat 600-800 calories per day

Plenty of liquid, mostly Water.

Exercise 1-2 hours/day-walking, hiking, Zumba, recumbant stationary bike, etc (and...rarely sit still for long)

Only getting 40-50- gms of Protein most days

Eating some fruits and veggies between meals

Most months I lose only 6-10lbs

275lbs May 2011

230lbs day of surgery

173.8 today

58.8lbs to go

What am I doing wrong?

Should I eat fewer calories? My body ALWAYS needed less than most people. As a teen, my doc put me on a 1000 calorie/day diet. I could not lose weight till I eliminated all foods except for veggies and lean protein AND walked at least 2 hours a day, PLUS rode a stationary bike another 1-2 hrs/day.

Should I eliminate the fruits and veggies and eat more protein instead? I just get bored eating only ONE food group.

I know that the less one needs to lose, the slower it will happen, but...COME ON!!!

EVERYONE is losing weight faster, even people in my support group that had less to lose.

I am open to any and all suggestions on what I am doing wrong. Also waiting for a response from my NUT, surgeon and surgeon's nurse. (Sent an email to all)

I feel like such a disappointment!

It would be beneficial to eat high protein and veggies and don't worry about the fruits. You might even increase your calories for a while, and then cut back down. Time to switch it up to get your system guessing. Keep exercising and drinking a lot of water. Go back to basics if need be is what I am saying. It will come off.

I am far from an expert but two things that pop to mind are 1) increasing your Protein and 2) maybe increasing your calories to 800-1000.

As for being a slow loser? So am I. I was just thinking about this yesterday in fact. I am 14 weeks post op and have lost 33 pounds (55 including pre-op). What I have realised though is that I am pretty damn happy with my progress. It is 'slow' for the world of gastric sleeves but I have NEVER lost weight this consistently before and I am reaping the benefits. I'm getting a lot of positive comments, my health and fitness are improving, I'm clocking up NSVs very quickly and I'm on the cusp of being overweight rather than obese (I'm 5'3"). I've even realised that the mirrors I thought were 'skinny' in the change rooms I've been in recently are plum normal, its ME that is much smaller than I realised!! Honestly, as much as I'd like to be at goal yesterday, I'm not sure my head would keep up if I were to lose any faster. My skin was already too stretched to escape weight loss unscathed, but no doubt would be even worse if I'd lost at double or triple my rate.

I find that our heads get so consumed with losing weight and how quickly others lose that it is easy to lose perspective. Imagine if a friend or family member had lost 100 pounds, or even 50. You (or maybe just I) would think it insane to be disappointed with that! Crazy!! The health benefits are immeasurable, the change in appearance would be huge and it would be an enormous achievement.

Maybe its the Australian in me coming out but I'm finding my thoughts and expectations are a little different to a lot of what I read. As far as I am concerned you have done awesomely! Take a moment to congratulate yourself on taking life altering action by having the sleeve done, think of all the progress you have made (I've kept a list of every single NSV I've had) and think about whether you *need* to do anything differently. You might find that relaxing things a little has a positive impact on your weight loss. Or not. Either way, the weight loss you have had is nothing to be sneezed at and you are doing brilliantly .

I think after the initial ton of weight we lose, they expect us to lose 1-2 lbs a week anyway so it sounds like you are doing really well. I agree with Dorrie though, everything I've heard from my NUT and on this site says you probably need to up your calories a little bit. I'm really disappointed I've only lost 30 in 6.5 weeks, so I decided not to get on the scale until Sunday.

It would be beneficial to eat high protein and veggies and don't worry about the fruits. You might even increase your calories for a while, and then cut back down. Time to switch it up to get your system guessing. Keep exercising and drinking a lot of water. Go back to basics if need be is what I am saying. It will come off.

Thank you so much for your insight. I can't increase my calories, as I am just not able to consume much food, before I feel full. I can only eat 1/4 -1/3 cup at one time. I know some people eat 6 times a day, not sure how to do that, as I am supposed to not drink 1/2 hour before and after eating, so would have trouble getting enough liquids. I could cut down on fruits and, replace with veggies or protein, though. As far as 'back to basics' I've never really gotten beyond, anyway. I don't eat any other food groups, besides protein, fruit and veggies (and 6 little twist pretzels, about 2x/wk, sometimes just need some crunchy salty)

I think after the initial ton of weight we lose, they expect us to lose 1-2 lbs a week anyway so it sounds like you are doing really well. I agree with Dorrie though, everything I've heard from my NUT and on this site says you probably need to up your calories a little bit. I'm really disappointed I've only lost 30 in 6.5 weeks, so I decided not to get on the scale until Sunday.

Even my surgeon gives the impression that he thinks I am eating too much. At my appt. last month, I was talking about my slow losing. He asked how long I eat, I told him 20-30 minutes, because I was told to eat VERY slowly. He told me that is too long and to only eat for 10-15 minutes, after that it is too much food. Hopefully my NUT, surgeon or nurse gets back to me soon. I didn't even lose very fast at the beginning.

I am far from an expert but two things that pop to mind are 1) increasing your Protein and 2) maybe increasing your calories to 800-1000.

As for being a slow loser? So am I. I was just thinking about this yesterday in fact. I am 14 weeks post op and have lost 33 pounds (55 including pre-op). What I have realised though is that I am pretty damn happy with my progress. It is 'slow' for the world of gastric sleeves but I have NEVER lost weight this consistently before and I am reaping the benefits. I'm getting a lot of positive comments, my health and fitness are improving, I'm clocking up NSVs very quickly and I'm on the cusp of being overweight rather than obese (I'm 5'3"). I've even realised that the mirrors I thought were 'skinny' in the change rooms I've been in recently are plum normal, its ME that is much smaller than I realised!! Honestly, as much as I'd like to be at goal yesterday, I'm not sure my head would keep up if I were to lose any faster. My skin was already too stretched to escape weight loss unscathed, but no doubt would be even worse if I'd lost at double or triple my rate.

I find that our heads get so consumed with losing weight and how quickly others lose that it is easy to lose perspective. Imagine if a friend or family member had lost 100 pounds, or even 50. You (or maybe just I) would think it insane to be disappointed with that! Crazy!! The health benefits are immeasurable, the change in appearance would be huge and it would be an enormous achievement.

Maybe its the Australian in me coming out but I'm finding my thoughts and expectations are a little different to a lot of what I read. As far as I am concerned you have done awesomely! Take a moment to congratulate yourself on taking life altering action by having the sleeve done, think of all the progress you have made (I've kept a list of every single NSV I've had) and think about whether you *need* to do anything differently. You might find that relaxing things a little has a positive impact on your weight loss. Or not. Either way, the weight loss you have had is nothing to be sneezed at and you are doing brilliantly .

Thank you, you are so positive and supportive, just reading your post made me feel somewhat better. It is hard to increase calories and protein, unless I cut down or eliminate fruits and veggies. I don't even eat the fruits/veggies with my protein, because then I would get even less. My stomach only holds 1/4-1/3 cup at one time, plus I was told to not drink 1/2 hour before to 1/2 hour after eating, so it would cut into my liquids if I ate more often like some do.

I'm just so frustrated when the scale doesn't move for weeks on end, then maybe down 1-2 lbs, then up/down 1/2lb and plateau for a while again.

This group is great, though. Where I turn first (after my doc) with good news, questions and problems.

Spoke with my NUT, she said to focus on Protein first, then vegetables, not fruit. I began eating ONLY low fat protein sources and IMMEDIATELY, was down 2 lbs, the next AM. then 1/2-1 lb a day.

One day I had 1/4 cup of butternut squash and 5 small pretzels, was up 2 lbs the next day!!! Even though I had no more than 700 calories for the day!

Back to only protein, no carbs, after 3 days I am back to where I was before squash & pretzels.

Apparently I can have NO carbs, always knew my body had high protein requirements, and could only lose weight by eliminating most food groups. That is when my energy would soar, also. Maybe I wasn't on/off anorexic/bulimic most of my life, just listening to my body?

Has anyone heard of someone who gains weight, immediately after eating carbs?

I also allowed myself to have some carbs over the weekend. I ate Doritos Chips and I gained a couple of pounds also. I fluctuate in weight by a bounce of a couple of lbs and it does get frustrating. So I just go back to basics of protein and veggies and the bounce goes down. It is frustrating for me. A lot of the info about calories in/calories out is confusing because there's no way I could get 3500 calories in within a weeks period of time to gain a pound. I went up from 146.2 lbs to 151.2 lbs, so that's a 5 lb bounce. today I will get back on track and lower my calories down.

I hear what you are saying. I can't get in the 64 oz. of fluids for having to eat small bits and bites throughout the day to get the protein in. BUT my surgeon told me to drop the weight I must eat the protein. So that is what I focus on. No veggies, no fruits, low carb. I am very happy with my progress. And I am old.

Glad to know I am not alone, thank you.