I had gastric sleeve surgery 11/9/2016. I am 5' 4.5" and weighed 245 on the day of surgery.

Fast forward nearly 10 months, I'm down 37#. I have fluctuated between 35 and 40 pounds for the past 5 months. I'm sick with disappointment. I thought this would be easier. I cashed out nearly all of my 401K to pay for this surgery because my insurance wouldn't cover it.

What is wrong with me? Am I doomed to be fat forever?? I thought the purpose of WLS was to make it easier to lose weight.

Can someone share experiences that helped you get back on track? What is a typical daily menu for you?

SURE. Typical daily menu:

Breakfast: I am Not a breakfast person, but I know it's important to get that protein in ASAP. So I start my day off with 8 oz of Fairlife Chocolate Milk. Its got some sugar, but it also has 13g protein! not bad at all. Sometimes I supplement this with a small handful of mixed nuts to up my protein levels. Sometimes, if I'm going to work out or I'm feeling shaky, I have a piece of peanut butter toast instead.

Midmorning: Before lunch, I make sure to drink at least 16oz water.

Lunch: I eat a LOT of cheese. Usually I make a little cheese plate with 2-3oz mixed hard cheeses (I'm all about this goat gouda atm), plus a tiny bit of honey, and a couple of crackers, with some strawberries or other fruit to go with it. I go through phases, though. Sometimes, instead, I make egg salad and eat egg salad with some crackers. Sometimes I toss some hard meats in here too, like salami, etc. It's all good, so long as it's high protein.

Afternoon: Before dinner, I make sure to drink at least another 16oz water.

Dinner: I do a lot of batch cooking. So Saturday or Sunday, I'll make something that I can work on for the whole week. My go-tos tend to be things like Chicken Tortilla soup (chock full of veggies etc), or curries (served without grain or with barley/faro instead of rice). Man, I haven't made curry in a few weeks. Note to self: make curry this weekend! Sometimes I also make something that night, if I go to the market. I'll cook lamb chops, or a piece or two of steak (I live with my bro, so I cook for him too) with some veggies for a side. Or a nice piece of fish; I really love salmon, but I only do it now and then.

After dinner: 16 oz more water!

Sweet: I like a sweet. I really, really like a sweet. So often in the evening, I have 1 piece of dove chocolate, or a protein-enriched low-calorie ice cream bar (like Enlightened Ice Cream!)

Before bed: 16oz more water!!

Eating out: I actually eat out....a lot. A couple times a week, I'd say. I tend to get an appetizer, or I get something high protein that I can reheat for a couple lunches/dinners the rest of the week.

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Honestly, eating isn't that weird? It's the same as I ate pre-op, after I started doing my high protein low carb diet. If you're trying to do something weird with your eating (I don't know what you're doing, so I can't say!) I can imagine it makes things harder. It doesn't have to be that different, imo. You don't need to substitute. You just need to use restraint.

However, exercise has become a huge part of my life, and I wonder if this isn't maybe the key. I work out for 30-60 min ~5 times a week. Over the summer, while my building's pool was open, I did laps 3 times a week. Now that it's closed, I'm building up toward running. I usually do weight resistance training the other 2 days a week...

You are not doomed!!!! It is a life long journey. I had lost the same as you . But found I was going back to bad habits mainly graising throughout day. So not counting anything. I did have many health issues since March but no excuse. Right now I am back on track it is such a mental game. When my mental health is struggling such as worry I tend to go to food. So with the help of my dietician I have been maintaining and recently started back walking, so If you can log what you eat I use loose it app and map my walk app shows you your progress. Start baby steps,