I am struggling and need some input from my experienced fellow bandsters..............................

It took me 2 months to lose my first 50 pounds and another 4 months to lose my next 25 pounds. It is so frustrating!

I try to stick to just eating my 3 small meals each day but lately I have added popcorn as an evening snack. Not because I am physically hungry, but because I want to eat. I don't know if the popcorn is my problem but, I just can't seem to lose steadily. My weight is all over the place.

I've up'd my exercise to 7 days a week. I go to Curves 5 days and work out for 45 minutes and bicycle approx. 6 hours per week plus I do weight training 3 to 4 times each week for about 15-20 mins.

My meals are as follows:

Breakfast: 3/4 cup of Greek yogurt with 2-3 tablespoons granola.

lunch: 3 chicken tenders dipped in buffalo and ranch

dinner: Small chicken breast and 1/2 cup of veggies

evening snack: 100 calories of popcorn

I drink at least 64 oz of water everyday and 1 cup of coffee in the morning. I drink nothing else but water.

Why am I not losing??? Any help or guidance is greatly appreciated. :wink2:

__________________

Help! Somebody has to have some advice.

Help! Somebody has to have some advice.

I do not know why you're so frustrated. You're losing weight and there will be ups and downs. Times when you lose weight faster and times when it slows down.

My wife has lost over a hundred and forty pounds in two and a half years and she looks great.

One reason I chose to have LB is because you lose weight slowly. Plus I believe losing it slowly lessens that lose skin.

75 pound so far is great.

Thank you, I appreciate what you have said.

I'm frustrated because I'll lose 2 or 3 pounds and a few days later I am up 4 or 5 pounds and I just don't understand why this is happening when I'm working so hard.

I was hoping some of the more experienced bandsters would be able to shed some light on possibly why this is happening.

Okay, are you sure that you are eating enough calories or too many? I have to eat between 800-1000 to lose. Anymore or less than that, and I don't lose.

Looking at your menu:

Are your chicken tenders breaded? That is going to be lots of extra calories.. are they grilled or deep fried? Also, is the ranch dressing regular or fat free?

Are you sure that you are getting enough protein?

I just had my surgery about 5 weeks ago, and here is what I am eating right now:

Breakfast:

2 scrambled eggs, 2 slices of turkey bacon

Lunch:

4 ounces of tuna, 2 ounces grilled sweet potato

Snack:

String Cheese

Dinner:

Coated Cod and 2 ounces grilled sweet potato (I'm on a sweet potato kick right now!)

I also have 2 12ounce mugs of coffee with a LOT of creamer (my vice)

That gives me:

Calories: 921

Fat: 35

Carbs: 48

Protein: 79

I am certainly no expert, and you are much farther along in the process than I am, but one thing I've had to do is a behavioral modification.

I used to weight every single day and become obsessed with the numbers! I was like you, one day I'd be down 2 lbs, and then three days later, I'd be up 4. In fact, just over the weekend, I weighed and was down another 2 lbs. So, I got excited and weighed the next day and was up 1.5. So frustrating!

It sounds like you are doing all the eating/exercising things correctly (except for maybe some hidden calories??), but weighing yourself all the time can contribute to so much negative energy. It has really helped me to weigh once a week, the same time and day each week. For example, I am a 8am on Sunday person.

Anyway, hope it helps! I only wish I could have the determination and motivation that you do!! Good job!

What are you talking about? You are doing great!! :wink2: You are losing between 1-2 pounds a week -- that is a really good, healthy rate of loss.

I've been losing at that rate -- and I experience the bouncing up and down between pounds lost too -- and, while it seems slow. . it does the trick! I'm now only 12 pounds from goal.

So, hang in there and try not to get too frustrated. Slow & steady wins the race!! :cryin: You will get there in time.

Best wishes,

Catherine

I am struggling and need some input from my experienced fellow bandsters..............................

It took me 2 months to lose my first 50 pounds and another 4 months to lose my next 25 pounds. It is so frustrating!

I try to stick to just eating my 3 small meals each day but lately I have added popcorn as an evening snack. Not because I am physically hungry, but because I want to eat. I don't know if the popcorn is my problem but, I just can't seem to lose steadily. My weight is all over the place.

I've up'd my exercise to 7 days a week. I go to Curves 5 days and work out for 45 minutes and bicycle approx. 6 hours per week plus I do weight training 3 to 4 times each week for about 15-20 mins.

My meals are as follows:

Breakfast: 3/4 cup of Greek yogurt with 2-3 tablespoons granola.

lunch: 3 chicken tenders dipped in buffalo and ranch

dinner: Small chicken breast and 1/2 cup of veggies

evening snack: 100 calories of popcorn

I drink at least 64 oz of water everyday and 1 cup of coffee in the morning. I drink nothing else but water.

Why am I not losing??? Any help or guidance is greatly appreciated. :cursing:

__________________

If you exercise 7 days a week and eat the above amounts of food, you probably aren't eating enough. Journal everything you eat and drink for a week and write down the activities you do. You can use fitday.com or sparkpeople. But, it definitely sounds like you aren't consuming enough calories for the amount of activity you are engaging in every day.

For journaling your food, you can also use the Lapband.com site. It has a lot of great tools on that site!

I only hope that I do as well as you are doing. 1-2 pounds a week is what my doctor wants me to do. He says that it's healthier and my skin won't be as loose.

I'm not an expert, but it doesn't seem to me that your are eating enough protein and that's what will help you the most.

So buck up and be proud of your weight loss. Don't give up!

You also have to take into consideration that if you're working out a lot, you'll be gaining muscle, so the scale may not move or may go up a little. Focus not only on the scale, but non-scale victories as well (like clothes fitting better, having more endurance, etc.).

Hey! You didn't GAIN that 75 pounds over a six month period but you've lost it in six months.

I do agree with another poster -- if those chicken tenders are breaded and fried, you're taking in calories that are pretty worthless in the scheme of things. Is the sauce you're dipping them in fat free? If not, you're taking in a lot of fat with just lunch.

Popcorn has salt and if you're eating it every day it could make you retain a bit of Water perhaps.

I am certainly no expert, and you are much farther along in the process than I am, but one thing I've had to do is a behavioral modification.

I used to weight every single day and become obsessed with the numbers! I was like you, one day I'd be down 2 lbs, and then three days later, I'd be up 4. In fact, just over the weekend, I weighed and was down another 2 lbs. So, I got excited and weighed the next day and was up 1.5. So frustrating!

It sounds like you are doing all the eating/exercising things correctly (except for maybe some hidden calories??), but weighing yourself all the time can contribute to so much negative energy. It has really helped me to weigh once a week, the same time and day each week. For example, I am a 8am on Sunday person.

Anyway, hope it helps! I only wish I could have the determination and motivation that you do!! Good job!

I will starting weighing just once a week because I totally agree with what you are saying.

Thank you so much.

Donna

What are you talking about? You are doing great!! :cursing: You are losing between 1-2 pounds a week -- that is a really good, healthy rate of loss.

I've been losing at that rate -- and I experience the bouncing up and down between pounds lost too -- and, while it seems slow. . it does the trick! I'm now only 12 pounds from goal.

So, hang in there and try not to get too frustrated. Slow & steady wins the race!! :cursing: You will get there in time.

Best wishes,

Catherine

I do realize what you are saying and it actually sounds like advice I would give.

I think my frustration derives because I have really been working out hard and see very little and sometimes no results for how hard I am working. I realize I am on track with the 1-2 pounds loss but most of this weight loss came in the first 2 months.

Hey! You didn't GAIN that 75 pounds over a six month period but you've lost it in six months.

I do agree with another poster -- if those chicken tenders are breaded and fried, you're taking in calories that are pretty worthless in the scheme of things. Is the sauce you're dipping them in fat free? If not, you're taking in a lot of fat with just lunch.

Popcorn has salt and if you're eating it every day it could make you retain a bit of Water perhaps.

Cathy,

Thank you for your response. I have a great deal of respect for your input.

The chicken I am eating is breaded and fried and the sauces are not low fat. I thought I was doing enough to work off the extra calories from the breading and frying though. I guess I'm gonna have to try something different for lunch. I have a really hard time eating meat and other means of Protein don't seem to satisfy me for more then an hour or so (such as cottage cheese or protein drink).

I'm pretty restricted now but thinking I may get a small fill to help get me through the time span between lunch and dinner.

I am happy with my weight loss when looking at the entire 75 pounds but I'm frustrated with the last couple of months and how slowly I am losing. The average over the past 4 1/2 months has only been 1 pound per week and I see people who don't exercise lose this with very little effort.

Thank you for your help. Have a great day!

You also have to take into consideration that if you're working out a lot, you'll be gaining muscle, so the scale may not move or may go up a little. Focus not only on the scale, but non-scale victories as well (like clothes fitting better, having more endurance, etc.).

Good point! I get measured again at the gym in 2 weeks. Hopefully I will see some results.

Funny when I read threads like this the answers come so easy but when I myself get frustrated its hard to see clearly if you know what I mean.

Thank you!

Donna