Slowwww loss 5 months out

 Hey guys,

I had VSG Aug 4, 2011 and I just hit 5 months out. I started at 256 and weight 204 this morning. I've slowed down a lot since around Thanksgiving, which can partly be attributed to the holidays and stress from school, but did a lot of people see weight loss slow down at this point? I also started a new job and I've noticed that I rarely lose weight when I'm not getting enough sleep... I would like to be down 100 pounds (more really) but my one year surgiversary. Did many people who started out around my weight lose about as fast as me or have you lost faster? :/

in 5 months, i think about 50 lbs is pretty good...that is almost 10lbs a month...good job !

Would love to hear your daily intake - water, protein, carbs, and calories.  Also exercise?  For your goal, if you still want to hit it, you may want to pump up your game a bit.  Remember that the more you lose, the slower the next pounds are to come off.  If you're averaging 10 pounds a month now, it may be at 5 pounds a month in another 5 months (although I say any loss is good, but I know people like their goals).

It's a well-proven fact that not getting enough sleep retards weight loss.  Make sure you're getting enough ;)
http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/excessive-sleepiness-10 /lack-of-sleep-weight-gain

Stress and lack of sleep will inhibit your weightloss. There's a good bit of science to back that up. If your'e doing everything else 'right' (eating, exercise, water, protein), stress/sleep deprivation alone are enough to effect your metabolism by interfering with the body's production of T3 (Active thryoid horomone) and conversion of T4 to T3 (inactive to active thyroid hormone). 

I lost at a 10lb/mo or so pace for the first 9 months post-op, then 6 and 7.6lbs in months in months 10 and 11, respectively.  At that point, it was like the brakes went on. I had my first 'stall' which started in early December and broke last Friday.  During that time, I had to finalize my annual budget, I developed tonsilitis, my husband's grandfather went into hospice and subsequently died, and I worked my way through year-end closing at my plant. That was while juggling two sets of holidays with 2 families, and paying nearly $1,000 for my dogs to be cared for while we were gone for 10 of 21 days quite unexpectedly.

I honestly can't remember a more stressful time in recent memory. I was literally fielding emails on my phone during the funeral procession from the synagogue to the cemetary.  I  tracked my eating throughout, and the highest my calories went for a few days was about 1200 while I stayed in the 700-800, 40 carbs or less, 80g protien or more, range for most of the 4 weeks of my stall.

I went to the doctor Friday for bloodwork, etc., I have full thyroid panels run quarterly because I'm on complete replacement therapy with Levoxyl (T4), and lo and behold my TSH and T4 levels are normal but my T3 is low.  This is not normal for me, my labs have been perfect throughout.  What it means, is I am not converting inactive to active hormone efficiently, and I am hypothyroid even if it would show up on a standard TSH or fT4 test.  Stress causes the release of cortisol which interferes with the conversion of T4 to T3 in a big way.  Stress, basically, slowed my metabolism by causing low levels of T3 -- the active thyroid horomone that acutally controls metabolism.  My PCP pointed this out to me on the phone today, and gave me a lecture about work-life-balance and adequate sleep.

Stress and sleep deprivation are not your friends.  Do your best to minimize both.