Not really frustrated, I just wanted to post something today. In a couple days I will hit my 9 month post op date. I am very happy where I am but am wondering if I will ever reach my goal of 165lbs. My weight loss is very slow now and not very steady, I was at the 194 lbs mark for almost 4 months before I started losing again (I am now at 184 lbs). I am running 3 1/2 miles twice a week, I haven't had a carbonated beverage in 15 months, I still mostly eat protein and stay away from breads, pasta and potatoes. I am doing 45 sit-ups a day and 20 pushups. I have what I consider a lot of excess skin but no where near as much as most people who have lost 80 lbs. I know I my skin weighs a little bit so I am wondering if it is even possible to get to 165 lbs.

I am going to keep at it and even if I never reach my goal of 165 lbs I am very happy where I am today.

Have you tried incorporating weight training into your workout regimen?

3 minutes ago, Bryn910 said:

Have you tried incorporating weight training into your workout regimen?

After surgery I started with weight training but am not one to be in doors in a small stinky room. I like wide open spaces, fresh air and sunlight. That's why I started running. I do a lot of lifting in my daily routine and on weekends I am usually out at my property cutting, splitting and stacking firewood, or raking leaves. I figure that is my weight training.

A picture explains better than my stats.

Maybe you don't need to be 165! You look great! Do you feel good? Maybe that would be a better measure? Just a thought.

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I think it is recommended to exercise 30 minutes a day 5 times a week. It doesn't sound like you are getting enough exercise. Plenty of parks have exercise-type equipment incorporated in them. You can look up exercises that use your own body weight for strength training so you don't have to go to a gym.

Things to pay attention to:

- Your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), this is the amount of calories your body needs in a day just to exist (think in a coma, alive but not moving). BMR drops as we lose weight and as we get older. So it's something that should be calculated and monitored with WLS. https://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/bmr

- Your water intake, you stated that you try to hit your protein targets, which is great, but your body just cannot break down fat if there isn't enough water.

- 3.5 miles 2x a week isn't near enough. The minimum basic goal is 30 mins of targeted physical activity EVERY DAY, for WLS, it really should be 60+. Also, running is great, but running will **ONLY** lean out muscle, if you want to burn more fat minute to minute, you need to be building muscle mass.

- Without seeing (or being a doctor specifying in plastics) It's entirely possible to have 20 lbs of excess skin

- Have you had your body fat measured? I'd be interested to see what your lean mass to fat mass numbers are. I'm 5'9 currently at 258.9, 37.2% body fat, My scale calculates that I have 162.7 lbs of lean muscle and 96.2 lbs of fat. I'm shooting for 200 lbs, so if I do make it to 200, I'll still have 37.3 lbs of fat that *could* be worked off if I really wanted to, this doesn't count skin weight though.

If you are really stuck/stalled and frustrated, try re-doing the pre-surgical diet to "reset" things. I also highly suggest starting to track your intake and burn again, if you are burning more than you are taking in, you *WILL* lose weight.