Well, I'm 18 months out and still have 14 pounds to go.

I'll start by saying I have not been a perfect patient. I had surgery in Mexico and had little to no nutritional counseling. Life has been busy and stressful (three moves, a wedding, buying a house...).

I got down to my lowest weight last September for my wedding. I don't like what I did to get there. Over-exercise, diuretics, etc.

Ironically, I have a long history of abusing my body with exercise and starvation (here's some more of my story: https://www.virtuousprom.com/my-journey-with-bariatric-surgery/). I did ridiculous things in college to stay thin.

I really would like to lose the last bit of weight for my own health (my BMI would finally be in the green!), but I don't want to starve or exhaust myself to get there.

I haven't lost any weight in about five months, but I haven't really gained any either. I've been trying to exercise regularly, but when I do I'm hungry all the time.

I'm at a bit of a loss how to move forward. ? Any advice would be great.

I'm still in the losing phase but I can tell you what my NUT recommends for her patients.

5 meals a day - 3 - 4 hour apart - NO snacking in between. Each meal to contain 3 oz protein (or more if you get hungry between meals), a multigrain (2 per day) or fruit serving (2 per day) and non-starch veggies. We can also include 3 good fats daily (1 oz nuts, 1 tsp olive oil, nut butters, etc). I have to meet my protein goal of 70-90g of protein daily. Eat your protein first so you will feel your restriction. Also, dense protein stays in your stomach longer and helps with hunger.

I think everyone is going to be unique and will have different "reactions" to different programs. For me, I experienced a stall about 9 months out and tried to embrace it, but just didn't want to...lol. I tried a few different things like raising my protein intake, etc, but ultimately what worked for me was a 30 day reset on the Whole 30 plan. It's a strict plan and not meant for long-term, but it helped me get back on track and I'm down another 14 lbs since starting that, bringing my total lost near 130.