Weight loss has ended, full-stop.

Nobody gets to whine anymore about one week and two week "stalls" until something happens on my #@(%! scale.


It has been six weeks. Six weeks in which I have lost and regained and lost and regained the same 3 pounds. A little over a month ago, I said, "Well, I guess that's it. That's all I'm gonna get without adding in some form of steady aerobic exercise. I gotta do it." I bought a Fitness Membership here where I live, which gives me weight room and cardio equipment access, and started seeing a personal trainer twice a week for strength training. I also stopped weighing myself so often. I just told myself, "Do what you're supposed to do, basic rules of biology will take care of the rest."  I do the stairmaster for 20 minutes three times a week, do weights to build muscle, ride my bike a couple of miles two or three times a week, meet Matt at 7:30am twice a week, who smilingly tries to kill me, and today, for the first time in about ten days, I got on the scale and I've gained 3 pounds. Again. I'm back at 196, WHERE I WAS 6 WEEKS AGO.
I know, muscle weighs more than fat, bla-bla-bla, but maintaining muscle also burns more calories baseline, so these should be kind of balancing out, no? Yes, my clothes are fitting better, getting looser, but... why is my weight not going down? The four gals I work with (really supportive, fun co-workers, I don't want to sound like I'm complaining)  had planned a little "Yay, you're overwieght!" celebration for when I get my BMI into the overwieght range. They have tactfully stopped checking in with me now regarding our progress towards the party goal.


I've been tracking on Fitday - awesome free site, really - and my calorie intake distribution pie-chart typically looks like a peace sign, running about evenly in fat, protein and carbs.  Yesterday I had about 1550 calories, which is almost 200 higher than average. ( ... it was kind of a piggy day, what can I say?)  I worked out for about 40 minutes in the morning, and I got in an amazing 126 grams of protein, a lot of which came from two Clicks and a 4 oz steak at dinner.

Any thoughts?
Is it actually possible that I am simply done losing weight at 6+ months out?

A long stall around six months seems pretty common.  I stalled for four weeks then.  Maybe it's possible to be totally done that soon but it would be very, very unlikely.  What do your surgeon and dietician say about it?

Man, I do hope you're right. My positive attitude is starting to feel a bit thread-bare.

Unfortunately, I did lose my Student Health Coverage whenI graduated in December. No surprise, but it also means that the follow-ups with my surgeon ended. I have Medi-Cal now, for myself and my kids, and the PCP assigned is not by any means a WLS expert. She hadn't even read my file to notice I had done the surgery before I sat down in her office for our first and only 15 minute consult.  I had brought in a copy of the last bloodwork ordered by my clinic before losing my insurance, and she sent that request out to the labs that Medi-Cal contracts with. But there is no dietician referral. I'll ask her if that's a possiblilty with my coverage, though.

Medi-cal most likely will not cover a dietician.  But you could  probably self pay - it's not usually that expensive, but I do understand that any amount is tough when you're really strapped for cash.  In my area, a dietican charges about $60 an hour, but you may be able to just pay for a half hour consult.

Medi-cal should pay for a bariatric surgeon, though, I'm pretty sure.  If you can't see the one that did your operation, find a different one to do your follow up.  I had to do that.

I really don't think you are done.   First, keep in mind that you are strength training and building some muscle. Weighs more than fat.  I track my measurements so that I can see that my body is changing even when my weight might not be.  Second, I would go here http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/  and calculate your BMR if you haven't already.  That tells you how many calories you burn in a day if you laid in bed all day.  Then you can calculate your daily calorie needs based on activity level. You might be surprised at the numbers. 

You seem to be keeping your protein as your focus.  Staying away from the simple carbs?  Getting all your fluids in? 

I did look at my BMR, to try to figure out around where my calorie intake should be. To lie in a bed would be 1597.25. Seems high, no? Then I did the calculation for activity level and weight loss.  For all my whining about exercise, I do in fact have a desk job, so I chose the sedentary category, and it worked out to be 1916.7 to maintain, and 1533.4 to lose, not even figuring in for malabsorbtion.

All of this is very interesting, (no sarcasm, the science is amazing), but my body is ignoring the science very stubbornly. I have not come within 300 calories of the weight maintenance requirement since I started tracking, over two weeks ago, and yet, in spite of all that good science, I maintain. I should be studied.

As to the simple carbs (sugar, right?) I do pretty good. I eat a lot of fruit, I am a happy monkey as far as my dietary inclinations. I do have a bagel habit, but I switched to minis without missing the pleasure, and it's all still swinging with the fat/carb/protein ratio...

Thanks for listening to my whine, though.  Feedback is always a boost.

Hi..
I was stalled for 3 weeks in December..I upped my protein(shake in the morning and one before bed,my shakes are 32oz.) and that worked for me. I hope this stall breaks soon..it can be discouraging. I doubt that you are done..though.

Take care!

At 6 months I'd lost 87 pounds; not counting that first month, in which I lost 29#, I was losing ~12#/month. Since then I am averaging 5#/month. It feels like nothing. I rock back and forth 3# daily. But the bottom number gradually goes down.

Yesterday I was a bottom-less pit. I had two protein bars before 10, refused a doughnut, then went back to eat the first doughnut since surgery, with no problems. Ate lunch, ate 2/3 of another protein bar, had a half a sushi roll for dinner with sweet potato fries, Ghardetti's snack mix and a couple of pieces of hard candy at the nail salon, and then I inhaled a grapefruit before bed. I finally got down to 221 this morning. I can't figure it out.

I guess you are looking for people to help you figure this out, and I can't. I do know that I haven't stopped losing weight, even though it is almost imperceptibly slow. I keep telling myself I'm going to do more exercise, but it hasn't happened with any regularity yet. You seem to be doing the right things: getting in exercise, eating right. Drinking water? Taking your vitamins? Our bodies are pretty complex, and not prone to drastic change. I mean, it really took me most of my life to get up to 300+#. I ate like a horse for most of my life, but I didn't get up to 300+# until just in the last 5-10 years.

Anyway, I guess I'd say, do what you know to do and try to not worry. You look like someone I knew in the past, so I feel an affinity to you. I always look at what you say, and you seem smart and well-balanced. Don't worry. Of course you aren't so unique that from 6 months on you never lose another pound. Be patient, grasshopper. :)

Aww... thanks!

I tried to cut n paste from my Fitday log for yesterday, and got a mess, but I tried to fix it up here, to give an idea.
(Please note, yesterday definitely was a chow-down kinda day. I'm handling the Silent Art Auction for a fundraising event for the Japanese Red Cross, and after getting a sload of artwork donated... I'm not sure if we did enough promoting to get buyers in. I will feel like such a schmuck if I have to call back allthese artists and say "thnaks, nobody showed up, come get your donations back.")
All of which equals stress, and when I stress, my hand-to-mouth tic comes on strong.

1 mini- Bagel, toasted
2 tbsp  Cheese, cream, light or lite
Fish, salmon, chinook, smoked, (lox), regular
1 1/2" slice Tomato, raw
Click prep'd with 1/2 cup low fat milk
Orange, raw
1/2 cup cottage cheese,  lowfat (1-2% fat)
1/3 cup Blueberries, raw
1 Tangerine, raw
Click prep'd with 1/2 low fat milk
1 slice (1/2") Bread, egg, Challah
1 tbsp Butter
4 oz. Beef steak
1/2 cup steamed summer squash with broccolli

All of which equals a whopping 1630 calories, at almost exactly even thirds carbs, protein, and fat. The water thing is where I am still just not even coming close. Don't know what my problem is. I drank maybe 40oz total, all day, and that's with me working out and the weather being warm.

Gotta do it.

Thanks again for listening to my whining...

Oh wow, it made the food entries into links!
What a techie world we live in, huh?