It's been roughly a month since I posted a loss. That sort of isn't true, in fact I lost about five pounds and gained them back again and I'm now steady at about 178.

My goal weight, when I got surgery, was 155 -- but I would settle for 158 without a problem.

I had my surgery fourteen months ago with Dr. Aceves and I have lost 110 pounds. I have lost roughly eighty percent of my excess weight and this is the first month that I haven't seen any change on the scale. I have done this roughly effortlessly, without dieting -- and I had a month in there where I was drinking ALOT of wine -- still posted a loss of about ten pounds.

Now I'm not sure what to do. The last twenty are bound to come off more slowly and my body has undergone QUITE a change so it might just be a little "catching up" my body is trying to do. I know I'm still eating under the calories I should need to stay at this weight but my metabolism could have slowed from the year I was giving it so much less to eat.

I *really* want to get under 160. Last year it seemed like it was wasn't even a possibility, so I just left it alone. Now...man... I am *so close*.

Right now I'm a size ten and even a tight eight. My waist is 27 inches, my hips are 37. I'm not sure if I should do a little more "leaving it alone" to see what happens or if I should really push off those last twenty. My problem is that I'm worried if I do that I'll gain it back and start yoyoing again, which I cannot stand and really can not do again.

What do you guys think? Actual diet, or fortitude and patience?

Add more exercise, decrease your calories, but you may actually have reached the total loss for your body. If you've already been exercising (I see no reference to it), then you may have put on enough weight in muscle to make up for the difference. Are you happy in an 8/10? How do you feel? Are you alert and energetic and ready to go, go, go? If so, you may be at goal, even if it is higher than the number you decided you wanted. Also, how much loose skin do you have? Loose skin weighs a lot more than you think. I've been told I'll probably have 20 pounds of loose skin at "goal", so my surgeon and I raised my goal from 170 to 190. Even Fitness_Diva (Lil Miss) weighs somewhere around 160/170 right now, and she's TINY. But, she's very muscular, so she is definitely proof that muscle weighs a lot.

Good luck!

Ditto what Lisa says. If you not quite ready to give in then you might try lilmissdiva's The Basic Bootcamp diet that will help get rid of sugar cravings and shrink your stomach. It does help with boosting our weight loss.

Yeah, ditto again on Lissa. I really wanted 125 pounds as my goal. It simply isn't going to happen. We really do hit a point where that's all there is. And yeah, my waist is 27" and my hips are 37" so we're pretty similar, though you must be taller than my 5'1" and some change.

It took six months to shed the last twenty to get me to goal in the first place. So evaluate your diet and if that's not a problem, you might shed a few more pounds by just hanging in there.

Oh, and loose skin does account for a lot. I was told anywhere from 12-18 pounds were on my body when I had a plastics consult, so keep that in mind if plastics are in your future. I'll be right at my ideal goal once I have them done, so I try not to get discouraged in the meantime.

~Cheri

When I went to see the plastic surgeon he told me five pounds would come off that way and I guess it does account for some.

My hips and waist are fine, but my arms are still kind of chubby and I have a little backfat. I don't think it's *all* gone, but I am five nine and some change and people keep telling me I look "fine". At 178 I'm five pounds over "normal" according to the charts. I think I have at *least* ten to go -- if that were my "new normal" I'd probably be happy with that.

Cheri you went to Dr. Aceves too! According to his website, his patients lose 98 percent of their excess weight in two years, and that keeps rolling around in my head.

I'm not ready to give up yet!

I'm on the fence here. It's actually not always the best thing to burn through a plateau. I think rushing it too much can result in resistance that just keeps making you fight off those pounds. And the best way to mitigate loose skin is patience.

I know I can make that twenty pounds come off. The question is whether I'm doing enough right now to make it happen and I've just hit a slow spot, or if I actually need to diet, drop my calories and add cardio. Right now I do a little walking and swimming and Pilates three to four times a week.

I say try little miss divas boot camp, and kick it back to basics for a while, and try and amp up your exercise.