8 months out and need help!

[So Cal Kurt 32]

My wife and I are both sleevers, She had been in a few week stall, she is just under 8 months out. I suggested she try tracking her intake with the myfitnesspal app for her iphone. She started last Friday, stepped on the scale today and was down 3 lbs after a few week stall. She found she was taking in too many carbs and not enough Protein. Everyone is different but for her keeping her carb intake around 80g a day and protein over 65g a day along with 1200 calories, seems to be working. The app is available for smart phones as well as for your PC. Good luck!

[Rev Me Up! 75]

I agree with the phone app tracking. I haven't tracked in a while, but when I did, my phone app was a lifeaver. I think I used fatsecret. It has a bar code scanner and an easy interface.

Loved it.

[meggiep 57]

Head hunger is very difficult to overcome. Something a fellow sleever told me was to tey the 'chew and spit' method. It sounds gross but really does help with the chew chew chew cravings. I find high carby things you wouldn't otherwise eat work the best. Tortilla chips are one of the best. Just get a disposable cup, chew until you can chew no more and then spit it in your cup. Once your craving is gone, toss the cup. I have only done it when alone but my friend manages it in public with no one the wiser. It really does help.

I love this! Seriously- sometimes I just can't do the plan....the head hunger gets me. I will actually do this! Weird as it sounds- I think occasionally it could get the carb monster off your back. Thanks!

Congrats on the loss so far. I had two pretty long stalls where I was pretty sure my body was done. There were a few factors involved.

Log your food. Do it, and do it religiously. Set goals and meet them. When I stalled out and maintained at close to the same weight for several months, I wasn't logging my food. And guess what? I was back to old habits and totally in denial about how much I was eating. I was up to 1200-1500 calories a day, and DUH the scale was hardly moving. I was grabbing a handful (or three) of jelly belly Beans throughout the day, eating almost no Protein, enjoying a soda and popcorn late night snack...just bad habits that I can't allow if I still want to lose weight.

I started logging, dropped those calories right back down to where I was when I was losing and BAM! I'm finally closing in on my goal. I also had to retrain myself and lock the carb monster away again, which was tough for about three days but now I'm fine.

So log that food.

Here's where a lot of folks will disagree with me, though, because nobody can deny that exercise is great for us and helps us to stay fit and fight off cravings and reshape our formerly flabby bodies. But exercise alone isn't going to just jumpstart your weight loss. Look to what you're actually putting in your body first because that's usually where you can find the solution.

Do exercise. You want a nice, toned body when you get to goal and you want a healthy heart so you can live a long life and enjoy your goal weight! But don't think that throwing yourself into the gym for an extra hour each day is going to miraculously get you to goal all by itself.

Look into the external factors. Got stress? I mean, more than usual. :smile1: Did you change any medications or so something different? Make sure you eliminate the possibility that something else is impacting your slow down.

Finally, stop comparing! We inevitably get stressed and frustrated because our scales move slower than someone else's. Well, I had surgery a year ago July. I admit, I haven't been as great about tracking my calories the whole time and I hate exercise. But I've been a slow loser the entire time, no matter what I tweaked or changed or cut out. Sometimes, our bodies just need time to adjust. Sometimes, we're just different than other people and lose at a different rate. I was so happy for my friend that got sleeved at the same time as me when she hit goal after only 9 months - and she had more to lose! But I was also jealous and frustrated because I wasn't there. But I'm almost there now, and that's what matters.

Honestly - take a break for a second and put your expectations and impatience aside. If you got to goal and it took two years instead of nine months would you really care once you got there? I was in such a rush to hit goal by 10 months out, but you know what? Victory is JUST as sweet at 16 months out.

So keep plugging away. Log that food and see if you have a problem. But don't fall into bad habits or give up because you feel like you're not going to lose anything else. If you keep doing the right things you WILL reach your goal.

Good luck!

~Cheri

You are spot on with all of this. Thanks for putting it so well!

I will add that since I have been working out since about three weeks out as well as logging religiously on fatsecret.com I find I do not have a lot of loose skin even with my 92 pounds gone. I think working out can really help with this. I have a little bit starting to happen on my stomach and a little on my derriere but my legs are very toned and my bat wings are minimized by the workouts.

[feedyoureye 3,087]

Part way into my 7th month I started a 6-7 week stall. I am not perfect, but I do log everything I eat and watch my calories (1100-1300), exercise, eat enough Protein, eat around 100 gms of carbs a day... sometimes more... I am only about 12 pounds from goal, and I know it will be slow. I did up my calories and make some more carb choices right before I started losing again..slowly. I figured my body was done... but luckily it is not done yet. I am a vegetarian, and you do get more carbs eating that way. I look good, and my friends all say I don't need to lose more, and I just tell them I am going for the medical "norm" for best health. They can understand that. I am not shooting for the lowest in my BMI norm... But my body will stop when it is ready, and if I need to I'm sure I can eat more than I do now. Hang in there, and treat yourself nice. Its just part of your personal roller coaster ride.