Hi all -

One year ago I was in the best shape of my life, exercising 6x a week, running, lifiting, dancing, yoga, you name it. I was still watching my carbs, tracking everything in my online tracker. Then I lost my job, broke up with my boyfriend, and went through a serious depression. 2012 was NOT my year. So, I stopped going to the gym, stopped tracking my food, stopped coming here for support, and just fell off a cliff. Looking at it in writing, it appears to have been more of a suicide than sabotage. At any rate, I want to get back to that feeling of strength and health.

I was at 165 lbs a year ago, still 15 lbs shy of surgeon's goal. I am currently approx 185 lbs BUT ... this week I started tracking my food again, watching my carbs, exercising, and coming back here

So my question is this: does anyone know if doing a "reset" works? I mean, returning to a post-op lifestyle in order to jumpstart weight loss again. I am eating 700 cals a day, <30g carbs, >60g Protein, 60 oz Water. I'm doing a minimum of 30 minutes cardio every day plus yoga. I do not have a functioning scale at the moment so have no numbers yet to see if it is working.

Does it work? I accept that there are genetic factors at play, but I really want to see south of 130 pounds (I'm 5'3"). I'm 2.5 years out, with 50 lbs to lose. I figure if I can just get to and maintain 130, plastics will take care of the rest.

I am still eating like a post-op, btw KaliMomo3, that diet doesn't need a special name, that's justhow we are all supposed to be eating, period lolol.

I lost 5, paused, went up 2, paused, went down 3, and am currently (hopefully) on a losing swing. My chemistry is just unfortunately super efficient, during famine my people survive, so I need fewer calories to maintain and way fewer cals to lose. I'm averaging about 750 a day, trying to keep carbs low around 30 but it is difficult.

I am still eating like a post-op' date=' btw KaliMomo3, that diet doesn't need a special name, that's justhow we are all supposed to be eating, period lolol.

I lost 5, paused, went up 2, paused, went down 3, and am currently (hopefully) on a losing swing. My chemistry is just unfortunately super efficient, during famine my people survive, so I need fewer calories to maintain and way fewer cals to lose. I'm averaging about 750 a day, trying to keep carbs low around 30 but it is difficult.[/quote']

I know it is how we should be eating but some people aren't . Some surgeons and nutritionists do not stress a low carb diet. I have come across many people who are eating the same things they were before just less of it. I know that I personally eat more carbs than I was on that diet.

I'm started the 5 day pre-op restart yesterday with no problems. I'm anxious to see if this breaks this silly stall! Sheesh!

I'm started the 5 day pre-op restart yesterday with no problems. I'm anxious to see if this breaks this silly stall! Sheesh!

Good luck! I hope you are successful with it.

I have been doing this now for 2 weeks and the scale is still playing with the same 2 pounds; one day it is 191.2, the next day it is 189.6, etc. etc. I started out high cardio and pilates, then switched it up to weight lifting with intense cardio just for warming up. The carbs stay under 45, the cals under 800 and still, nothing.

I am resetting, too, and I had the same fears about not being able to get back into the "losing game." However, it has been 2 weeks and 6 lbs, and I am actually finding that it is working just as well as it ever did.

The first few days were hard because my blood sugar was demanding foods that I should not have in quantities that led me into this rut, but I stuck to 1) tracking my food intake (using MyFitnessPal), 2) sticking to my surgeons no-drinking-with-meals guidelines, and 3) working towards moving and exercising more.

The tracking is helping a lot, and now that I've broken my bad sleeve-circumventing habits, I stay full longer, crave less garbage, and have a much easier time making smart decisions about what to eat and how much.

They kept repeating in my pre-surgery sessions that you might stop using your new tool, but that you can't really break it, and they were right. It will continue to work as long as you use it properly. I had a number of external factors that led me to stalling out halfway from goal for the past 2 years, but now that I've dealt with them and resolved to return weight loss to the top of my priorities, the good news is that it never is too late to get back on track!

I'm glad for you lotusflwr, I am, but this is exactly the kind of post that frustrates me - I am looking for suggestions as to why this is happening to me, not to hear other peoples chants about how if you just work your tool (@#$*!!) you will of course lose weight. I've been at this for nearly 3 years, I know what to do and I'm doing it, and I want to know WHY IT ISN'T WORKING.

I'm so sorry, this probably felt like an attack on you and it isn't I promise, I'm just that frustrated. v_v

Yesterday I ate 800 calories, got plenty of Water, ran for 30 min, lifted weights for 30, and did yoga and calisthenics for 20 minutes and guess what -woke up 3 pounds heavier. F*** THIS SH**.

Globetrotter, did you try the drill with boosting your calories for a couple of days, and maybe complex carbs? Some people swear by that for breaking a weight loss stall.

I feel dumb, what are complex carbs? Like brown rice and root vegetables? I'm deployed so my options are limited, I rely on my protein shakes, I'm lucky if I can get baked chicken or tuna salad. On occasion I have granola with breakfast or a piece of fruit if I can it, orange, plum, kiwi. I have been exercising and keeping a strict diet since the 23rd of April and I have not lost any weight, I keep going up a pound down a pound and this morning up 3 pounds -.-

And yes, Spacedust, I did the calorie boost refeed, two days of that saw me up 3 lbs this morning -.-

Globetrotter, I totally get what you are saying.....it's how I got to be over 300 pounds to start with. I don't think high carbs, low carbs, Water, protien, blah blah blah can make that big of an impact on me. I've tried it all. I crack up when people post "increase your water!", because I'm here to tell you, I'd be a slim 125 pounds if that were true.

One thing I DO think will make a difference for me (and maybe you) is consistency and time. I get so frustrated because I have so much left to lose, and while I'm thrilled at what I've lost, I have periods of no loss, for no apparent reason. Before surgery, I would diet, do everything right, and have no loss for weeks, then just give up. I have similar patterns even now, but I don't give up, and suddenly the weights comes off, then the pattern repeats.I tink to myself that if I had only consistenly tracked my food - even if I had eaten 2000 calories a day, I would have been a heck of a lot thinner than I was.

So, in answer to your question, because you have been 20 pounds lighter in your recent past, there is no doubt in my mind you can achieve that and more - just stick with it. Find a calorie amount you can live with it, track your foods, do your exercise, and it will work! You said it yourself, you know how to do it. Anyone who can lose 130 pounds is a rock star in my book. You got this!

AAAAAARRGH. *facepalm* This is exactly my point Michigan - I do know what to do, I AM tracking my food ... why does everyone think that if they just phrase the same advice differently, I'm suddenly going to say, hey! it never occurred to me to track my food/control my calories/ exercise alot/ do this consistently for a long time. I KNOW everyone means well, I do but ...

Saying the same thing 10 different ways is still the same information and my problem is that my body is refusing to lose weight, it just is. Do I need to see a doctor? Is something so broken in my body that I just can't lose weight? What 5'3" body *wants* to stay at 190 pounds? I should have lost SOMETHING by now, SOMETHING g**da**it ...

What if 2 years of very low carb broke my body somehow?

AAAAAARRGH. *facepalm* This is exactly my point Michigan - I do know what to do' date=' I AM tracking my food ... why does everyone think that if they just phrase the same advice differently, I'm suddenly going to say, hey! it never occurred to me to track my food/control my calories/ exercise alot/ do this consistently for a long time. I KNOW everyone means well, I do but ...

Saying the same thing 10 different ways is still the same information and my problem is that my body is refusing to lose weight, it just is. Do I need to see a doctor? Is something so broken in my body that I just can't lose weight? What 5'3" body *wants* to stay at 190 pounds? I should have lost SOMETHING by now, SOMETHING g**da**it ...

What if 2 years of very low carb broke my body somehow? [/quote']

Have you tried exercising less ? I haven't read the entire thread but I know that when I exercise too much my weight seems to stand still for a while like 2-3 weeks at a time. I am not sure why but I got mad when I got down to 173 and I stepped up my work out routine only to have my weight stall for over 2 weeks. I stopped working out daily and switched to a moderate amount of cardio 60 minutes Eliptical every other day and the scale started moving again.I know some may say it is bad to not work out more often but I was never obsessive about it in the first place:) Just an idea that worked for me ...

The reason why you lost weight though is because you were losing muscle, at least, according to some that's what is happening when you "lose" weight by switching to less arduous exercise. Obviously strength training and cardio exercise is better than being a couch potato, and obviously eating healthfully is better than eating crap, so I will keep doing what I'm doing, I just wish I could get some guidance to know that I'm doing something right, since the scale is now my enemy and my body is staying fat.

The reason why you lost weight though is because you were losing muscle' date=' at least, according to some that's what is happening when you "lose" weight by switching to less arduous exercise. Obviously strength training and cardio exercise is better than being a couch potato, and obviously eating healthfully is better than eating crap, so I will keep doing what I'm doing, I just wish I could get some guidance to know that I'm doing something right, since the scale is now my enemy and my body is staying fat.[/quote']

I never was a couch potato I was exercising 30 mins a day or 60 mins every other day which is what my surgeon recommended and I started exercising harder more often and the scale plateaued and when I went back to doing what I was I went back to losing. There is a post on here somewhere shared by Kristie Atkinson I will see if I can find about the relation between excessive exercise and weightloss that was interesting. Keeping up and doing what you are doing will work I am sure but it may not stop the scale from frustrating you. I am a slave to my scale so having no loss or gaining make me insane so I decided I am going to wait to do extreme exercise like crossfit until the scale says what I want.