6 month mark

[francheskii 28]

I am 2 weeks shy of my 6 month mark. I haven't lost any weight in the last 2 months. I just started exercising again...once it got cold I was totally unmotivated to exercise. Anyone else plateau? What can I do? What are you eating and how much?

[James Marusek 5,244]

In the Weight Loss phase after RNY surgery, losing weight is a function of meal volume control. You consume very little food (2 ounces) per meal and eventually over 1 1/2 years work your way up to a cup per meal. So if you really want to lose the weight, it is extremely important to follow the program requirements.

The most important requirements are meeting your daily Protein, Fluid and Vitamin requirements. Meals are less important, provided you do not exceed the volume requirements and do not go overboard with Snacks. This is because your body is converting stored fat into the energy that drives your body, thus you lose weight. Exercise is also important during the first year. You should be getting 30 minutes of exercise per day. Otherwise it will limit your success with the program. I am not one for exercise because it seems like wasted effort. Rather I prefer manual labor instead. It seems far more productive to me to split a rick of firewood than to drive a half hour to the gym to do 30 minutes of exercise. Anyways physical labor can count towards your exercise requirements. If you go to the mall and go shopping walking from store to store for 2 hours, that can count towards your exercise.

I am not sure how much weight you lost and whether you are happy with the weight loss. But a 2 month plateau might mean that you are entering the "maintenance" phase. Provided you are meeting your daily Protein, Fluid, Vitamin requirements, one method that might kick-start your continued weight loss again is to examine your daily protein. Your protein requirement is met by a combination of the protein you obtain from meals combined with the protein from supplements (Protein shakes, protein bars). Your protein supplements do contain calories. As your meal volume increases, you have the option of concentrating on consuming high protein meals. As a result you can begin to take yourself off the protein supplements and the extra calories they contain.

[francheskii 28]

In the Weight Loss phase after RNY surgery, losing weight is a function of meal volume control. You consume very little food (2 ounces) per meal and eventually over 1 1/2 years work your way up to a cup per meal. So if you really want to lose the weight, it is extremely important to follow the program requirements.

The most important requirements are meeting your daily Protein, Fluid and Vitamin requirements. Meals are less important, provided you do not exceed the volume requirements and do not go overboard with Snacks. This is because your body is converting stored fat into the energy that drives your body, thus you lose weight. Exercise is also important during the first year. You should be getting 30 minutes of exercise per day. Otherwise it will limit your success with the program. I am not one for exercise because it seems like wasted effort. Rather I prefer manual labor instead. It seems far more productive to me to split a rick of firewood than to drive a half hour to the gym to do 30 minutes of exercise. Anyways physical labor can count towards your exercise requirements. If you go to the mall and go shopping walking from store to store for 2 hours, that can count towards your exercise.

I am not sure how much weight you lost and whether you are happy with the weight loss. But a 2 month plateau might mean that you are entering the "maintenance" phase. Provided you are meeting your daily Protein, Fluid, Vitamin requirements, one method that might kick-start your continued weight loss again is to examine your daily protein. Your protein requirement is met by a combination of the protein you obtain from meals combined with the protein from supplements (protein shakes, protein bars). Your protein supplements do contain calories. As your meal volume increases, you have the option of concentrating on consuming high protein meals. As a result you can begin to take yourself off the protein supplements and the extra calories they contain.

Thank you! I have lost 55lbs and surgery date was 7/13/15.

[jenbailey72 29]

Are you eating sugars. I've heard people say that they had to cut all sugars out of their diet and exercise.

[hhbbmm4 38]

I am 7+ months out now. I have about 10-12 lbs to go to be where I want to be and am losing at a slower rate now. There are definitely plateaus but I have not plateaued for more than a week or so. I think some of suggestions above will help you. When I've plateaued I've taken a close look at what I was eating and have gone to Protein shakes only for two days out of the week and broke the plateau. Plus, exercising about 3 days a week helped as well.

[francheskii 28]

I am 7+ months out now. I have about 10-12 lbs to go to be where I want to be and am losing at a slower rate now. There are definitely plateaus but I have not plateaued for more than a week or so. I think some of suggestions above will help you. When I've plateaued I've taken a close look at what I was eating and have gone to Protein Shakes only for two days out of the week and broke the plateau. Plus, exercising about 3 days a week helped as well.

I just started logging my food this week and back at the gym. I've lost 2lbs already yay lol I realized I got off track. Can I ask your weight stats?

[James Marusek 5,244]

I am 34 months post-op RNY gastric bypass. This is my experience with the Maintenance phase. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery2.pdf

[IttyBit 33]

James, thank you so much for your story and your thoughts. I really enjoyed your article and am going to try your essential oils experiment. I too have been plagued with a terrible sweet tooth all my life. Whereas people get sick eating too much frosting, the more I could down, the happier I became...until I would come out of a food coma and be so upset with myself, I could hardly stand myself. I say this all in the past tense because 9 1/2 months ago, I had a gastric bypass, RNY. It was a miracle - I couldn't even stand the THOUGHT of eating something sweet! But I feel a change a comin'. That grazing they talk about is no joke, and though I stick to a high Protein diet and exercise and lift weights, I'm finding that sweets are starting to look good to me again, mostly baked goods. Right now dark chocolate and Desserts made with lemon are tasting good to me, but At the occasional b-day party I've tried cake, and even though it makes me feel sick to my stomach for a while, it still tastes good And I have not had a single dumping syndrome incident SO, I am deathly afraid of what is to come, but I am going to try my hardest to maintain this 125 pounds I've lost. It would be a lot easier if I thought I looked AMAZING after this weightloss, but now I have saggy skin, a small rack and a terrible varicose vein to deal with. I'm 44, but my naked body looks like I'm 70 oh, well, thank God I'm married - lol! Anyway, thank you so much. Your story meant a lot to me. Blessings

[queenie's 66]

Awesome . But u know I tried sweet & don't get sick at all but keep away from sweet just had to try it the thing give me dumping when I drink to fast it's crazy I'm down 100 lbs since October23 not bad huh

[Alphabetize 57]

I am 34 months post-op RNY gastric bypass. This is my experience with the Maintenance phase. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery2.pdf

This was INCREDIBLY helpful and I'm so thankful you took the time to write all of this out, James. I especially found your info on essential oils very interesting. The brand of oils I use has a proprietary formula for staving off hunger, but it appears grapefruit oil is used instead of fennel. I'm excited to look into using fennel as part of my maintenance plan.

I so appreciate the time it took to put together a resource like this. Many, many thanks!!