Hi all,

As I've moved from liquids only to mushy/soft, I gained one pound. Now I've lost 1/2 of that in days. This after 3 weeks of magic weight loss. My head says it's normal, but my emotions are running wild. That "am I ever going to lose this weight" panic is moving in on me today. I'm exercising, I'm eating small amounts. I'm eating high Protein low carbs. Probably about 800-900 calories a day. Trying to get in the 75 grams of protein a day I was told to eat. Getting in 8-9 cups of liquids as well.

Tell me what you think. Here's what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast 5 oz greek yogurt w splenda

Mid morning-Protein Drink with non-fat milk

Lunch- 5-6 oz pulverized chicken with a little lowfat mayo, 4 wh wheat crackers

Dinner- 4-6 oz salmon pate (low fat mayo), a scoop of mashed potatoes.

Rest was all liquid- tea, Water, decaf

Any ideas?

Yep...your body is adjusting. I didn't have a scale when I was on liquids/mushies but I suspect that most of my 18 pound weightloss was from the liquid stage. Your body has to catch up. Your body is a very complex system and if it shocked by dropping a bunch of weight quickly, it has to come back to reality. The weight will come off. I am very thankful that my scale addicition didn't start until after I got my first fill. You are not eating enough calories to gain weight, but your body isn't going to just let go of the fat without some resistance. Give it some time to recouperate. Patience...I know...it isn't my strong suit either!

BTDT. I think most of us do at some point. OK, EVERYONE I've talked to or known or met who has been through WLS has gone through this. Plateau's.... many times lasting a week or so, sometimes lasting as long as 3 weeks. But they do END. Some say add some calories, others say drop your calorie level (though the doc's I've talked to ALL caution against going too low with your calories.... to many side effects and negative ramifications). Some say increase your Water or Protein or exercise. Any of those may or may not work for you.

I've found if I just stick with the plan, make minor changes as needed and ignore the days/weeks the scale doesn't move then I'm in a much better place mentally.

Good luck!

Hi Salsa,

You are wise. Second time you've come up with a good answer for me. After I wrote the email, I went to the therapist. I let it all hang out there- the scale, the food, the heartburn some old favs are giving me, the gas, the bowels,the incision that isn't healing the way it should.....you name it. Believe me, no one gets to 315 pounds over 15 years without doing some dieting along the way and yes, I know all the rules, ideas, stories, etc. But, those are also the diet breakers, and why dieting didn't work. It does come down to patience because I'm hoping to move on and eat a broad spectrum of foods like a normal person would.That's the goal. Impatience is always the stinker, isn't it.

I picked up some nice fish for dinner but didn't look carefully at the store and it wasn't filleted. It's a very thin fish so that made it difficult to eat. Needless to say, I wasn't in the mood for a struggle so I probably got in 2 oz. or so. Had a few more whole wheat crackers and a half a small sweet potato and I'm done today. I dont' care if I reached my Protein today. I'm done. Not even hungry when I ate. Tomorrow is another day.

Thanks for listening.

Gwenn

If you're working out, you may need MORE calories. I have been working out very hard, 5 days a week, with a trainer. I was eating 600-800 calories a day and lost nothing in 10 days. My trainer asked me what I was eating(probably thought I was eating at McDonald's everyday) and when I told him he said it wasn't enough. I bumped my calories up to 1000-1200 and the weight is falling off. I was so nervous adding more calories but it worked. I've lost 6-7lbs in the last week. It's so strange how our bodies work!!

I agree, it's probably just your body adjusting. Maybe you aren't eating enough calories. Also, how much sodium have you been taking in? It could be water weight gain and not actual poundage. Don't worry, it'll start coming off again. Good luck!

If you're working out, you may need MORE calories. I have been working out very hard, 5 days a week, with a trainer. I was eating 600-800 calories a day and lost nothing in 10 days. My trainer asked me what I was eating(probably thought I was eating at McDonald's everyday) and when I told him he said it wasn't enough. I bumped my calories up to 1000-1200 and the weight is falling off. I was so nervous adding more calories but it worked. I've lost 6-7lbs in the last week. It's so strange how our bodies work!!

I know you're right. Just haven't been feeling well enough to eat much more. But it's funny because I got hungry before bed last night and I ended up eating a slice of cheese and a couple of crackers, and a diet hot choc. Probably about 200 calories in total. And I lost a pound and a half. I am also exercising 5 days a week and yes, our metabolism needs something to work off.

I'm going back on Previcid to see if all this indigestion and heartburn will go away. I thought maybe I could stop taking it, but looks like not yet. And I don't want not feeling well to hold me up from victory.

Gwenn

If you're having a hard time bumping your calories you can do things like eat light cheese instead of FF or regular instead of light, dark meat rather than white(easier to get down too), a protein shake with powdered milk added in for extra protein/cals etc. That was what I had to do because I couldn't eat enough.