Feeling frustrated...

[angel96049 1]

Well, I am a little over 3 1/2 months out, and weight loss has slooowwwed way down! I still have a long way to go, so this is getting pretty depressing. I am doing everything right, low carbs, working out, lots of Water. I have seen many people post their difficulties in the past and have tried some of the suggestions to kick start weight loss again (upping work out, more Water, less carbs, etc) but nothing seems to be helping. I hardly eat, I mean gosh, what else can I do? This is an example of what I eat:

B- 1 Atkins shake (15 protein)

L- 1 Atkins shake (15 protein)

D- chicken salad, kidney Beans, cucumber, Tomato, cheese, fat free salad dressing

S- 1 Premier shake (30 protein)

and lots and lots of water!!

I am very happy with my weight loss so far, but am disappointed in how slow it has gotten recently, and this is supposed to be the main losing stage!! I am scared that I am not going to get anywhere near my goal, and the dream of becoming a new, smaller, healthier me is just going to be another failure in my world of many!!

I know that I am doing everything I can to make this wls a big success instead of just a little dent, but I am getting very discouraged and am wondering if maybe I should of had the bypass or something different. I really hope that I made the right choice and that things start looking up for me, but for now it is still up in the air...Thanks for letting me vent, I needed to get this all out, along with a few tears...am I the one that is going to fail at this? Why isn't it working for me? Sometimes the scale doesn't budge for weeks...why why why??:crying:

[Swiftflow 6]

Just my thoughs based on my weight loss experience:

Whats the total on that calorie wise? Just at a brief glance, your calorie intake could be low and your body is in starvation mode or adjusted to the long term low calorie diet. Some possible changes to the ones you already mentioned:

1. try to up your calories a couple of days to jump start your body into burning again 2 days at 1000-1200 calories (edit: healthy foods --use shakes as additional suppliments and not main meals)

2. take a long term approach of 3 on 1 off-- 3 days at low calorie 1 day maintenance level calories (based on your base metabolic rate) This helps prevent the body from ever getting used to the low calories all the time.

Again these things have worked in the past on stalls--I obviously have gained it all back and am awaiting my sleeve to help me keep wieght off and not just be a professional dieter.

stall article : http://www.dsfacts.com/weight-loss-stall-or-plateau.html

Edited April 20, 2010 by Swiftflow

[Tiffykins 673]

I agree 100% with Swift's post. There's been many members that have gone through this same issue, and by increasing their calories, and getting off Protein Shakes, it seems to shake things up for the body. Getting in a more balanced diet from food sources may be what you body needs to start dropping some weight again. I'm not saying that you have to stop the Protein Drinks, but your body may need more than just shakes.< /span>

[Stacy160 201]

When I went for my 1-month checkup, my Dr. really stressed the importance of not relying on the Protein Shakes and instead getting as much Protein as I could from real food, specifically meats (he didn't mean right then, I got to start introducing solid meat at about 6 weeks). He anticipated that I'd start losing more consistently, and for the most part he was right. I think part of that might be that the body has to use more energy to digest the denser proteins... I dunno, but I do know that when I'm eating more chicken, eggs, and especially beef, the weight seems to fall off better.

[thinoneday 445]

Hi, sorry to hear your stressing. . but girl look how far you have come. . a long way. . yes we have lots left to lose, but hey you didn't get overweight in one day either. . you have done a fantastic job and as swift said you could be in starvation mode, increase your calories. . . i am losing very very slowly too (can tell in my clothing they fit the same now for a while) but you know what, i love myself how i am. . i am so happy to be at this weight, i feel good, look good, and best of all my hubbie loves me this way. . .i would love to feel, and look better, but heck if this is it , then i'm happy. . .i can bathe myself, clean myself and have no more problems pulling my back everytime i would bend, twist or reach. . . i go to the doctor on Wednesday and will get weighed in then, after that i am buying a scale and will do a monday weigh in with y'all. . . you'll be ok, physically you can't ever overeat again like before and that is good. . i would say, "yes" you chose wisely when you chose to have the sleeve. . . keep your chin up, it'll be ok, increase your calories abit and get some other sources of Protein other then the shakes. . . good luck! keep us informed!

[angel96049 1]

I just want to thank you all for your support and advice.

I would love to eat more meat or real food, but I have a real problem getting them down, it seems like they get stuck, and I end up feeling uncomfortable for awhile, and that's not even eating a full 2oz. I have tried many different meats cooked many different ways and it seems like I have trouble with most of them, except fish so I eat as much of that as I can but am not a big fan...trying to become one though...lol! This is why I started choking down the Protein shakes again, I wasn't getting down enough regular food or Protein. Does anyone else have this problem? Plus I am never hungry since I started taking my nexium.

I am very happy with the weight that I have lost so far, I guess I just expected more from the surgery and need to just except the progress that I HAVE made, and take it each day at a time. Can't help but want to be one of the lucky ones that meet and even exceed their goals!! I even set my goal lower so that I wouldn't be disappointed, but it looks like I'm not even going to make it there...

I will take your advice and try to get in more real food, but I hate that "stuck" and "uncomfortable" feeling. Does that ever go away?

My calorie intake is between 600-800 with the shakes, so what kind of foods are good to eat in order to up my calories and kick start weight loss??

[Swiftflow 6]

Even if you physically had to drink shakes, you could up your calories with healthy shakes too. I have just ordered a product called suplimed The Weight Gain Supplement That's Your Sensible Weight Gain Solution to help me up my calories on my off days (lots of calories packed in to small doses 4 oz or 1/2 serving can get 254 calories) this is just the one I liked, but GNC and other stores have other product options too.

I am about to use my 3 days on 1 day off practice with my vsg to maybe try and prevent a stall. I will keep everyone posted on how that works. My plan is 3 days at 600-800 calories, 1 day 1500-1800 calories. repeat. There is no way early in my sleeve I can get 1500-1800 healthy calories without using a liquid suppliment, so I am planning ahead. My number is higher with 1500-1800 based on my studies of Base metabloic rate for my desired goal weight and body fat percentage. A female will typically be a lower number than that--web search for Base metabilic rate (BMR) on how to figure out your own.

Also once I can eat regular food easily I will adjust the suppliment amounts to match the calorie levels and try to use shakes more as suppliments then and not a mainstay.

Edited April 20, 2010 by Swiftflow

[Tiffykins 673]

The only time I experienced a stuck feeling is when I didn't chew something well enough, or took another bite too quickly.

At 3 months out, I really didn't have any issue getting stuff down. I did rely on mushies like egg/chicken/tuna salad for my Protein sources because I couldn't get a lot of dense Protein down.

I'm not a fan of seafood either. Mahi Mahi is the only fish I tolerate that well. I hear shrimp works really great for a lot of sleeve patients, but it's a texture thing for me, and I hate it.

2 egg whites have 14 grams of protein, so I made egg salad with egg whites. It's mushy, but it goes down great. If you use greek yogurt in place of some of the mayo, it ups the protein.

I eat a lot of beef Jerky, I can chew, chew, chew, and I can eat quite a bit. It's higher in sodium, but I'm not going over the recommended amount for sodium intake.

I hope things settle down for your sleeve. I know at 6 months things really got easier for me.

[FabBy50 0]

Okay first of you are doing great!!!

You have lost 67 pounds in 3 1/2 months!!!! Okay please tell me what is wrong with that? please try to NOT be so hard on yourself. Keep doing what you have been doing, you will be to goal in no time!!

[lmmore 0]

If you have lost 62 lbs in 3 1/2 months, you are doing GREAT! You past the half way mark, and you really shouldn't be down to your goal weight for a year.......so it sounds like you are doing everything right. Be patient! You will meet your goal

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

If meat is getting stuck, try cutting it up very very tiny. We are talking the size of a pencil eraser. Chew it up until it's liquid and there is nothing left to chew. Then wait and see how it

sits before taking another bite.

That is what I had to do when I was only 3 months post op. I could only eat one chicken leg, but I had to eat it really slowly taking itty bitty bites.

Tiffy is right. Greek yogurt is a great source of Protein. If you buy the plain, make sure you put splenda in it or get some sf syrups that they put in coffee to flavor it.

[coco517117 0]

Me too - feeling frustrated. My pre-op BMI was 33. Only lost 22 lbs in 3 months. I understand light-weights have a harder time losing..and at a slower rate - but don't understand the theory behing this. My eating habits are very smooth - no issues with getting protein/water in and I play 2 hours of tennis 3x week. Calories are under 1,000. Don't know if a stall is normal at 3 months - still hopeful that the scale will move below 164lbs - would hate to think I did this for only 22lbs loss :thumbup1:

[Itstime 0]

I am almost 5 months out and have been really discouraged that I have stalled for weeks! I just lost another pound today but I was feeling like I was through the honeymoon period and only lost 47lbs. Tiffy mentioned myfitnesspal for tracking your foods and well, an eye opener. I was NOT keeping my carbs low and my calories were certainly not good. I thought I could just slip in few crackers, sports drinks, a little slice of bread with peanut butter...well you get it. I have been very careful and accountable for what I am putting in my mouth, and I lost a lb. Also, not drinking enough Water. My body responded very quickly and hope I will get back on track with wt loss, I want to lose 45 more pounds.

[pnw218 14]

I am almost 5 months out and have been really discouraged that I have stalled for weeks! I just lost another pound today but I was feeling like I was through the honeymoon period and only lost 47lbs. Tiffy mentioned myfitnesspal for tracking your foods and well, an eye opener. I was NOT keeping my carbs low and my calories were certainly not good. I thought I could just slip in few crackers, sports drinks, a little slice of bread with Peanut Butter...well you get it. I have been very careful and accountable for what I am putting in my mouth, and I lost a lb. Also, not drinking enough Water. My body responded very quickly and hope I will get back on track with wt loss, I want to lose 45 more pounds.

Tracking your food/liquid intake is very enlightening! I was using www.sparkpeople.com because I could also access it on my droid. It has alot of foods entered and you can manually add other items.

I have done Atkins so much over the years that after tracking for a month or so, I quit. I have a pretty good pattern established and am doing ok. If I hit a big stall, I will start it up again.

[deletedsally 8]

If you know that you are taking small bites and chewing your food carefully, I would talk to your doctor about not being able to eat regular food without discomfort. I would think that things would be easier by 4 months, and if not, I would want to know why. One of the less common complications that can occur with this surgery is that you can have scar tissue form in the sleeve that will make the sleeve smaller than the actual bougie size that was used. I have read that it is possible for them to do a procedure to dialate the opening if necessary. You didn't have this surgery so that you could spend the rest of your life drinking Atkins shakes.

As far as your weight loss--I looked at a calendar and it seems to me that at the time of your post, it had been 15 weeks since your surgery. A 65 pound weight loss in that amount of time is an average of 4.33 pounds per week. That's amazing! It's even more amazing for a female who only has 64 more pounds to lose. You don't need to let go of your goal--you need to relax the expectations you've placed on your body to lose so quickly. I have a "lifetime key" at Weight Watchers and I worked as a counselor at Diet Center. I've lost around 100 pounds 3 different times--just gained it right back (plus some), and I'm hoping my sleeve will end that. What I can tell you is this: Sleeve or no sleeve, the smaller your body gets, and the longer you have dieted, the slower your weight loss tends to be. Swift's suggestion to increase your calories every 3rd day should help, but that said, even if you average a loss of 1 pound a week, that would still add up to 52 pounds in the next year! You may feel like the tortise when you hear how quickly other people reach their goals--but we aren't competing with each other--we're are all racing to beat the fat monster that has stolen our lives and self-esteem. And don't we all wish that could happen more quickly...