Why huge plateaus after banding??

[MamaJava 1]

Prior to banding, when I would reach diet plateaus, I would know exactly why I was in a plateau and exactly how to change it to start losing weight again. Of course, I got banded to avoid the "giving up" that ultimately always happened after significant weight loss successes in my life. I always, always regained.

Why on earth do these bands cause us to experience such long plateaus for seemingly no reason? Especially when weight losses are slow and steady, and there is no real reason for a body to plateau? I began a new workout regimen on January 5th. Today is March 9th and even while working with a Trainer, keeping my calorie intake near perfection, drinking my fluids like a good bandster, and eating all the right foods, I HAVE NOT LOST ONE POUND. Not one, since beginning a brand new workout routine. I even vary it up week to week so that my body will experience new things and hopefully shock me into a loss. But...NOTHING. My trainer is getting horribly frustrated. He's never once seen this happen...and he is curious to learn why.

Of course, I'm crying all the time and wanting to rip this thing out of me.

Does it act like a plug??? Is it hindering my weight loss efforts? I should be losing big time right now with my lifestyle and with my amazing dedication. I'm like Superfly Superwoman over here. I'm unstoppable. I can say, without any shadow of a doubt, that this is not my fault. I've blamed myself for years, because I had nobody to blame but myself. This time, it's not me.

So I"m looking for a reason why. If I knew the reason for these long, frustrating, troubling, upsetting and debilitating plateaus, then perhaps I could figure out a way to break through it. Without a reason or an explanation, I feel helpless and like a big fat dummy who got duped.

So maybe I sound harsh. I have a right to get frustrated and get angry sometimes. That's all this is. Yes I'm happy I've lost 56 pounds in a year. Sure. I'm not happy that since I've kicked it into high gear, I've not lost 1 single solitary pound. NOT ONE. That's not right. Not by any standards. So can someone give me some sound information that might chill me out a bit? Because right now, I'm feeling like a fool for believing in this tool. I'm about ready to visit my trainer for week #10 and the scale still hasn't moved, and I'm gonna see it on his face and I'm gonna break down in tears in front of him again and he's going to question what I'm going wrong at home...again...when in reality I'm not doing anything wrong at home. I swear on all that is holy. I'M DOING EVERYTHING RIGHT...FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE.

[debbie_7155 0]

hi, sorry to hear of you not losing, please dnt blame your band, the band doesnt make you lose weight just like that, remember its a tool & its how we use it to what we get in return from it,

have you tried upping your calories?, you might not be losing because your not giving your body enough food (fuel) to cope with your fitness regime & its grabbing hold of every single calorie you are putting in your mouth & fighting against you & your band.. have you put your body in starvation mode?

Do you have a nutrition at your hospital you can call & tell them whats not happening for you ?

have you tried cutting back your exercises a little give your body a break, & dont forget you've prob turned fat into muscles too

i hope you get to lose again soon, go back to your doc talk to someone professional

[JRFAN88 1]

I know exactly how you feel. I have been stuck at the same weight for many months. Actually I fluctuate up & down about 5 pounds. I am starting my 6th week today of working out with a trainer plus am adding additional cardio on my own. My trainer made me an offer last week to train me 4 days a week instead of 3, which is her customary training schedule. I think she knows that I'm frustrated & she is in the fitness business because she likes to help people.

BUT I am still very thankful of my band because this is the point where previously in my pre-band life I would be gaining back the weight I've lost. That's because I would be so bummed out that my dieting & exercising isn't making that freakin number on the scale go down that I'd just start eating whatever I want. I'm not currently losing but I am holding that number down there & maintaining my loss. And I know that eventually that number is going to move in the right direction.

Hang in there.... I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one that this happens to.

[MamaJava 1]

Yeah, I've tried the calorie changes, as advice from my nutritionist. She thinks I'm lying to her or something. It's frustrating when I'm showing her my food logs and she's questioning if they are real because they "look so perfect". I went up to 2000 calories per day at one point, thinking I'd just gain back a few pounds and then lose them again...but that didn't even happen. I didn't gain, and I didn't lose.

I was banded a long time ago. I never said I wanted this to be a speed race. I would just like to see a couple pounds lost as a reward or result of my significant work and efforts. In real diet life, that happens. I just don't understand why that doesn't happen in banded life. Steady....steady is the key word here. It's not steady by any means. It's sporadic and sudden and without explanation. That is not conducive to proper weight loss success, IMO.

If, in doing the same type of dieting and exercising used to produce slow and steady (and rewarding) results PRE-band, why does my body not behave the same way POST-band? What did this band to do warp my body?

I've talked to my surgeon a lot. He says it's just "how it is" and that the weight will come off when it's good and ready. He acts like it must be something I'm doing wrong. So, I can't get him to take me seriously. Either he is a jerk, or I'm crazy. So I sit here lost and turning to you guys, where in turn, I get made again to feel like I'm crazy, or lying, or that I haven't talked to the right people (not talking about you specifically, who've responded to me already, just in other threads I've posted about this and in the chat rooms).

If I can't get support here, and if I can't get support from my doctor or my nutritionist or my trainer...then I sit here all alone again. So, my posts seem helpless and bizarre and probably a bit wordy and crazy...but I'm so lost and troubled right now.

[karen_karen 0]

you know i was right where you are i can can tell you its frustrating. sadly the only thing i figured or can figure out is when you start losing weight you have to do more excerise to burn the same amount you did when you were bigger i know that sounds stupid but when i weighed 230 lbs i was doing about 45 minutes of cardio a day and a personal trainer and i lost good about 10 lbs a month then i keep doing the same and when i got down to about 199 or so i realized in order for me to burn 3000 calories i had to do about and hour and 5 minutes of cardio five days a week in addition to what i did with my trainer which is insane. one thing i did get that helped me when i started with my excerise routine was i got the body bugg and its an awesome tool through 24 hour fitness and it tells you how many calories you burn throughout the day and you can log your food and see the deficit and so forth. yes its very frustrating and truthfully i dont understand why its like that i know your feeling and i do want to give up but doing cardio and resistance is in my life now and i dont think i could do without it anymore. i know this sounds insane and you prob wont want to do this buy try to up your cardio by like 15 minutes another idea maybe you want to try if you havent already is when you do any cardio go for about 4 or 5 minutes and a average speed your use too and then go has fast as you can for one minute. then back to what you normally do. it will kick your ass but it seems like it does help and those calories burn keep adding up so much faster that way. good luck and dont give up.

[debbie_7155 0]

please dont feel alone, were all here to try & help you & give you support, youre not crazy, your body for some reason sounds like its fighting against you & your band, for reasons i dont know, maybe someone on here has been through the same as you & can give some light on the matter? i truly hope so, you have worked so hard & lost a lot of weight, that in its self is great achievement & at least you are not putting it on, but yes i too would want to too see more rewards for putting in a huge effort,

I do hope the scales start moving again very soon for you, try & keep your chin up until someone can give you an answer

[karen_karen 0]

one other thing what worked for me was i worked my ass of for like 10 days straight i mean crazy cardio and reistance i was at the gym for about one and half hours to two hours a day straight and then i would go and take a 3 day or maybe 4 day break depending on what day of the week i started to break at and my body would catch up to all the excerise and i would lose about 5 lbs like that which really sucks those ten days. and on the break days i ate a good but reduced calories maybe about 1000 calories or so but when i work out i can eat all the way up to 1500 to 2000 calories a day.

[ThinknHealthy 0]

I hate to sound like your Doctor but in a way he is right. Plateaus are an expected thing when losing weight. If you are lucky, they will only last 2-3 weeks or so. I had one that lasted 10 weeks. It was frustrating, but it was also my fault. When I finally got my "head in the game" again, with the help of an adjustment, the scale started moving again.

Please be patient with youself. This is a lifelong journey that you are on and even though you've been banded for over a year, you are still in the early stages of that journey. Your body know what it needs right now. It wants to hold on to the pounds, for now anyway. I bet by spring or early summer, you will be advising others and telling them how you made it through your plateau. You are doing the right things. Have faith in that.

God Bless!

[musicfrommyheart 0]

I also wanted to say, don't forget that muscle weighs more than fat. I would ask, how are your clothes feeling? Are you still getting smaller in size?

Generally when you are working out like you should you are also building muscle and toning up, so you might be having more muscle mass, which would make it true, you aren't losing pounds, but you are probably still slimming down.

I hope this helps and that you feel better. You still made the incredible decision to have this surgery and to take 50+ pounds off of your body. Congratulations!

-music

[Libbyjane1976 1]

Be patient you will get through it. Maybe try low - moderate exercising for a couple of weeks. you are probably just rapidly building up muscle.

[Jodi_620 37]

Just curious, are you measuring since starting the workout program. I was not losing pounds either but I was losing inches. When I go to workout they don't just weigh me, they measure me too.

I am coming off yet another plateau so I know how frustrating it is. I don't have any answers but know that it happens to most of us.

[MamaJava 1]

A friend also told me recently to check out a latest rant by Jillian, the trainer from Biggest Loser...so I did. She FREAKED OUT about people stating that muscle weighs more than fat, and that's why people don't see scales move when they begin rigorous workout routines. So, I looked into that and found that she was right...there is no basis behind that. Muscle burns the fat...so even if I was building the muscle, it should be burning the fat double-time. That theory is blown away. It can't be the muscle issue.

I'm updating here. I still haven't lost a pound. I'm in my 12th or 13th week of this plateau now (I've lost track). I dumped my trainer on Monday. I've given up on that route. It was too emotionally draining. I was humiliated. I got this band because I was sick of humiliation...so I was humiliating myself even more by stepping on that scale each week in front of somebody.

I've chilled on my workout, but I've noticed I've been eating a little bit more...slipping back into old habits out of mild depression from this upset. I found myself "accidentally-on-purpose" omitting some foods on FitDay tracker last week and this week. So I have to stop that. I have to face everything head on if I'm going to win.

I'm back to my old ways of "Foods From the Earth", which worked for me back in the old days, before banding ever entered my mind. Maybe if it worked pre-band, it will work extra-well WITH my band? BAsically, it's all foods that are derived mainly from the earth, void of processing (at least 90% void), and mostly raw (except those that must be cooked for safety). These foods include meat, Veggies, fruit, Whole Grains (oatmeal mostly since I can't eat bread), and dairy products (only slightly processed through necessary means). NOthing boxed or non-perishable, except the oats, and except for the occasional dip for raw veggies.

I will update (if anybody cares :scared2:) in a few weeks. Thanks for all your kind words and your understanding. I honestly appreciate every word. I love this place. I need to get it all out in type to really analyze things sometimes. I still feel alone, as I can't really get my docs or nutritionists or whoever to take me seriously...and my banded friends are losing mass amounts of weight and blowing my big butt out of the Water. So...I really need to do this so I don't go freaking crazy.

[maryrose 2]

Mama java, My plastic surgeon told me that fat definitely weighs less than muscle. When she removed the tissue from my breasts (huge) it only weighed about 1 1/2 lbs.

It all depends on how much of the breast is "fatty" tissue.

Some insurance companies can refuse to pay for the procedure after the tissue removed is weighed. That is a shame. There has to be a certain amount of tissue "weight" removed for the insurance company to pay.

You had to have at least lost a few pant/jean sizes from all that working out. If not, something is definitely wrong if you worked out that much.

I think your personal trainor should have been more supportive of your plight. Seems you felt really bad about yourself during this process, which makes me feel really bad for you. I hope you get some answers and we are always here he help.

[ThinknHealthy 0]

MamaJava:

I'm sorry you are losing some steam. I suppose it is bound to happen to all of us sooner or later. I hope you have success with changing your diet around a little. My neice has had great success at just doing the natural diet. She is very thin and healthy so I'm sure it will work for you. Personally, I use Weight Watchers with my band. I think using more than one tool is a key. Good luck and God Bless!

[liz_hager 0]

I so gald you started this thread because I'm going though the same thing! For the last six months I've been gaining and losing the same two pounds over and over. About two months ago I went back to the back to my doctor for a fill and now I'm down about 3 pounds. I knows that not alot, but I'm so glad I'm down a few pounds. I have another appointment for another fill on Monday so I'm really this one will help me finally lose those last 10 pounds. I'm been really trying to stay positive and to focus on the fact that the band is for life and it really doesn't matter how long it takes me to lose the weight, it only matters that each day I take the steps to be a healthier and happier me. My advise, just keep doing what your doing, you doing great and the weight will come off, it just takes time.