Six month stall....gaaaaaaaaahhhh

[desertpixie 76]

So for the last six months, as you can guess, I have stalled. My weight fluctuates anywhere between 80.5kg and 82.5kg - but can I break into 79? My body says "no thanks".

Bit of back history, I was banded 4th man last year at 98kg, when I stalled I was about 83/84 - but my 2015 goal is to drop 10kg to 73/74. I have 6.125cc in a 10cc band. My dr said this is the tightest I can ever go, I might need a teeny unfill but see how I get on. That was back in December.

I do PB, but this is more down to rushing and not chewing, as I can eat the same foods again when I am diligent with no problem. I eat about 900 - 1000 cals per day, sometimes more if I have a drink of wine. But never through food. I exercise 4 to 5 times a week burning at least 400 - 600 cals ( I use the polar ft4 - highly recommended). I have only ever "vomited" one - with heaving, this was December when I had flu and nothing could physically come up and since then I haven't had any untoward issues. Still same lapband experience as before - I got very paranoid about it being slipped, but I guess I would know if that happened. No pain, no night cough, no gerds. All good.

Has anyone got any tips for shaking off a stall. The silver lining is at least I am not going up, right? But to not go down when I know I can lose more is so frustrating - especially with the hard work I am putting in.

2015 I am working on tidying up my eating habits, each month I remove one "bad" thing from my diet or introduce a good one. Jan was getting cheese out my diet, done. Feb switching choc/candy treats to fruit - hard but I definitely chose more wisely now. March is no wheat products.

I've booked an appointment with the dr for a fluoroscopy check and possible unfill as I don't want to be too tight - esp if I am eating more soft foods/proteins etc and I keep reading being too tight can cause stalls. I'm thinking about getting a nutritionist in to help and possibly a PT too...also going right back to the beginning of the lapband experience, liquids - soft foods, stage 1 basics...has this worked for anyone to kick start again?

Any experience people have had, tips, tricks, suggestions - I am all ears and very grateful. I just want to start seeing some movement again in the right direction...

Thanks

DP xx

[soundlogik 28]

I am in a bit of a lull myself, I am 5 months post op but I only have 1.5cc in my band, clearly this is not enough since I'm starting to snack at night again, which was my downfall my entire life. The most helpful thing for me so far is myfitnesspal such a great app and it lets me track everything that goes in my mouth. Sorry I couldn't be of more help but maybe someone else has a better solution and can help the both of us! Good luck.

[KateP 359]

This is going to sound harsh but please believe me - it is meant to be helpful.

A calorie is not a calorie, different foods have different effects on the body, for example in encouraging insulin spikes and fat storage. But, however you look at it, if you take in fewer calories than your body is using, your body has no choice but to use stored energy - fat. That's is! That's how the body works.

Some of use calories more or Jess efficiently, some take meds or have a condition which predispose them to weight gain, so some may lose on 1500 cal a day, some may need to drop to 800. But the basic equation holds true.

So to stall for six months, you are taking in at least as many calories as you are burning. Exercise is excellent but unless you are training at the level of an elite athlete, diet counts for 80% of loss.

Have you spent a week measuring and recording every singie thing which passes your lips?

The only reason being too tight causes stalls is if oeople resort to soft slider foods which are often higher calorie.

[desertpixie 76]

Hi kate...

I know exactly what you're saying, I have read a lot into nutrition and I measure everything, I track it all on myfitnesspal, I have a fitbit, I use a heart rate monitor etc I think for me, I need to sit down with a nutritionist and work this out. I should probably also cut out the alcohol more so.

For example today I have had:
Breakfast: Blueberry fruyo yoghurt from fage
Midmorning snack: 1 x wholegrain organic rice cake thin kallo with 1 tsp of whole earth organic nut butter
Lunch: butternut squash roasted with apple, red grapes, onion and 150g of pork sausage
Dinner: 90g steamed salmon with spinach
Total, 780 cals, 58g Protein 59g carb

Yesterday I had:
Breakfast: 1/2cup of eat natural gluten free vine Cereal and 200ml alpro almond milk
Mid morning snack: 1 x boiled egg and 2 x kallo rice cake thins
Lunch: homemaid thai chicken skewer
Afternoon snack: 10 carrot sticks and 2tbsp of humous
Dinner: 90g steamed spinach, steamed rainbow veg ad 1tbsp of fresh pesto, 1 fruyo cherry yoghurt for dessert
Total: 1,071 cals, 72 carb 91 protein

These are pretty similar, my myfitnesspal is littlemissmo83. There are days I don't track, so maybe I need to be super diligent in the week to assess.

How many cals do you aim for? My bmr is currently 1,556 cals at present.

Thanks again for your inputs! I know it's boring, but stalls are so frustrating!

Soundlogik, I would definitely book yourself in for a fill if you feel it's necessary. It does make a difference, for sure!

[KateP 359]

Certainly doesnt look a lot! I never actually counted calories regularly while losing. I used to check every few weeks to make sure I was on track and it was always around 1200. I never counted carbs. I think I ate more than you do.

I think you are right - talking it through with a nutritionist might throw up some ideas.

[desertpixie 76]

I do sometimes wonder if I don't eat enough - I think a nutritionist might have some answers perhaps....

[KateP 359]

People often say eating more can speed weight loss. I am not one of them. I can quite believe that changing things so that you eat more one day and less another might somehow affect chemicals/systems etc (I am no biologist!) but I fail to see how eating too few calories can physiologically stop the body burning stored energy.

The old starvation mode idea has been much misquoted. It never suggested under-eating stopped loss - just that the body might become more efficient in using and storing energy and so there might be a slight slow down and, if the higher calorie intake were to be restored, a faster regain. But dropping calories would start loss again. Until death intervened! If starvation mode theory were true, there would be no stick-thin models! A six month stall cannot be due to taking in too few calories.

[desertpixie 76]

Again, also very valid. If that theory is true, I should be wafer thin by now haha!

Have made an appointment with the surgeon for a fluoroscopy check, just to triple make sure nothing is wrong is inside - although I doubt it - and one with a dietitian here, just to get their review and input.

I am literally half way, it's down hill from here and I just need the wheels to start turning again. I guess if we all had the answers we wouldn't be on this forum in the first place.

I think a good 10 days of tracking before the fluoroscopy and I can at least share it with the surgeon. Also adding in more diligence on stopping when satisfied, not eating to a schedule but when hungry and not drinking Water so close to a meal, in case that isn't helping.

I think stalling could be the most frustrating thing I have come across!

[JustWatchMe 7,117]

For me I recently got honest with myself about my five month weight loss slump. I was enjoying weekly cocktails with friends and sometimes an evening glass of wine during the week. I also added more carbs into my diet. Finally, I was eating a bucket of buttered popcorn at the movies every week.

I just became willing to change these habits last week. It's hard but i want to lose my last fifty pounds.

I've started walking again on my lunch hour, and cleaned up my food by replacing carbs with Protein. It feels good. It's only been a few days, but I know the weight will come off if I do the work.

Good luck.

[desertpixie 76]

That's really good Justwatchme. Really hoping to hear about the nutritionist soon and getting a consultation in the diary. Have started to cut out dairy too to help with the bloat and switch back to 3 meals a day, rather than 6 small ones.

Got to take a big review of my eating habits, realising stop signs and getting back to the actual basics of when I first had this done and watched every mouthful and listened to every signal my body gave me. Which is guess is also what got me to the position of obesity in the first place - not listening to my body and not being mindful.

[AussieSam 234]

It happened to me a few times and to overcome the stall what I'll do is buy some detox tea from the supermarket and drink it for a week the suddenly the stall goes away.

[Debbie3sons 1,936]

I just go back to the pre op doet instructions for about a week then I may do my Protein Shakes for a couple days & of course walking it seems to help me , but that's just me .

[lisacaron 5,075]

@@desertpixie sounds like your eating pretty well but I notice that your carbs nearly equal your Protein. Sadly the one thing our body can not make and does not retain is Protein. We need it every day and when we do have too much our body just eliminates it. So maybe tip the balance toward the protein and away from the carbs. Remember that even vegies have their sneaky little sugars and starches. If they are fresh, frozen or canned can also be where we gain a few empty calories. The same is true for any Condiments we might be using. I love pulled pork, or pulled chicken but that BBQ Sauce is riddled with sugar, even if it's "natural" maple Syrup kind it still has an affect on my body and my metabolism. So what @@KateP said about a calorie not always being a calorie does have some validity.

When we exercise, it's true that we require our body to use up more calories that we consume, but if we are doing straight cardio we are not doing ourselves any favors, as we are burning up our muscle along with our fat. To prevent this we need to strength train and build muscle to burn more fat. The more muscle mass you have the more fat you burn even while at rest. If your output is only asking your body to burn calories it is going to take fuel from any source. The way to get the body to use the fat stores first before breaking down muscle is to build up the muscles squeezing out the fat and leaving it for the body to burn as energy.

Eating a high protein diet helps us to build and replenish those muscles before, during and after a work out. I look at stalls like this...it's my body's way of telling me it has overcome and adapted. It's why human beings survive. We overcome and adapt so the best way to keep our body burning what we want is to mix it up every now and again. Eat protein, and take a break once in a while and throw in some carbs for balance. Run your ass off (literally if you feel like it) and then pick up some weights and build up those muscles. Keep moving enough and your body will keep responding to you calling it out to do something for you.

Now, I'm going to take my own advice and get off my duff and head home for the night to do another 2-3 hours of home work!! Grrrrr I can't wait for Friday!!!