Advice, please?

I'm 8 months post-op (band), and lost weight in bursts the first six months, averaging out to 1.5 pounds per week, right on target.

Tomorrow is my weigh-in day with my doc, and i have been stuck at a plateau for 2 months.  I was 170.5 on June 30, and 170 on July 28.  My scale this morning said 168.1, which means fully clothed, i'll be at the 170 mark, give or take a couple of ounces, tomorrow morning.

I do strength training, with a personal trainer (so no cheating or going easy!) 8 hours a week, spread over 5 days.  I also do about 4-5 hours of moderate cardio weekly.  My food intake is reasonable - i get between 1100 and 1700 calories most days, which is about as much as i can take in with the band, without going to "bad for me" foods.  My protein is usually between 100 and 120 grams, fat higher than i'd like, but "good" fat.

I did a DEXA scan last week, and my body fat is still huge, so i can't even use the excuse that i'm putting on a bunch of muscle.  In fact, it shows higher now on the DEXA than it did at my intial consult with the doctor (non Dexa testing).

So, where do i go from here?

Good question. Does your trainer have any ideas? How about a different nutritionist?

Trainer just tells me to be patient.  Doc said to try changing up calories, more one week, less the next.  I did that most of the month, with no change. The guy that did my DEXA scan said to keep up with what i'm doing, maybe eat more (hard, with the band), and if my numbers haven't substantially shifted in 3 months, he's got a nutritionist with a PhD he'll refer me to.

i'm with the "be patient/keep it up" guys.  i would suggest you start tracking your measurements too, i essentially stopped losing lbs at the 9 month mark and have kept it within the same 5 lbs or so since then (i'm closing in on 3 years this fall), but i absolutely saw body changes, i dropped sizes and added muscle while maintaining the same weight.  keep it up!

if you are really concerned about your caloric intake, i would suggest getting your BRM/RMR tested so you are better informed regarding how much fuel you really burn each day minus exercise.

best of luck and keep it up!

I've had my BRM tested, back in December.  My metabolism is actually faster than i gave it credit for.  I also wear my HRM religiously while exercising, and log every bite of food.

*sigh*  Patience and me, we don't get along.  What sucks, is for years doctors told me "eat less, move more", and now i'm hearing "eat more, move less".  Meh

i know it can get frustrating at times (we've ALL been there), but results will come with effort... you're on the right track, keep it going :)

Meh.  So, Friday was my doc appt, and as expected, my weigh-in was right at 170.

Talked to the doc about the issues i'm having, went over detailed calorie intake, and told him about the workouts i'm doing.

His suggestion was to cut my calories back to 800 on non-work out days, and to 1000-1200 calories on days that i do work out (currently 5x weekly).  I explained to him that i'm burning 500-900 calories per session, and that if i eat that little, i'll pass out.  His response was that i should not work out so heavily, and not to believe the "machines calorie count", even though i told him i was doing weight training with a personal trainer, i'm not using machines.  And i base my calorie burn on a HRM.

Eat less and work out less so that i don't need the calories?  Not going to happen.  *sigh*