No progress

I am now 10 weeks out.  I lost nothing week one, 30lbs weeks 2-4.  Nothing weeks 5-10.  I've had some medication adjustments, experimented with fruit then gave it up (I'm diabetic), no alcohol.  I've been meticuliously tracking on myfitnesspal for the past week,  Getting the protein in (>90gm), keeping carbs below 40. Calories under 1200, but never as low as 800! No bread, potatoes, rice, etc. Swam laps x 2, mowed the lawn, walked the dog, rode my bike (as well as working full time, single parent, etc)
Have not lost another ounce.  I need to lose another 70lbs.
I have more restriction in the evening.  I must say I had higher hopes for the diminished ghrelin effect.  I used to say "I don't have an eating disorder, I have an appetite disorder".  Just always had that backround hunger, rarely feeling full or satisfied.  So when researching what to do after a failed band (7 years!) it was the physiology of the sleeve gastrectomy that called out to me.

Except it doesn't seem to be happening.  I am still feeling hungry, although not as hungry.  It seems the veterans reply to posts about long stalls  to drop calories to 800 or below, which to me nearly equates to starvation.  I just don't think I can manage that.  I hear su*****redible testimonials of self discipline and control and I am truly envious.  I could not muster the requisite self discipline pre-op.  The post op benefit I hoped for, "kill the appetite", has not really materialized for me. I've had a peek at the failed VSG forum and it's pretty scarey.  I am trying to hang in there.

What is the purpose of the protein shakes other than a concentrated dose of protein?  Seems to go right through and doesn't do much for hunger.  I have no trouble eating a boiled egg or slice of turkey or other edible forms of protein.  Meal replacement seems counterproductive.

Consider this a rant. I don't know what else there is to suggest other than more exercize, less calories, which has been preached to me since I was in the 6th grade.  I am eating considerably less than I did pre op, but it's still too much for wt. loss.   5 weeks of no progress early in the process is so discouraging.

I live overseas, had my surgery in the US.  No local support groups, glad this forum is here.

You're in a stall and they're frustrating as heck.  You can and will lose weight on a 1200 calorie a day diet, it may just take a little longer because you're not dealing with as big a calorie deficit.

If you can ditch the shakes, do it.  The shakes and protein bars are really only there as supplements when you can't get your protein in via food.  If you don't need them and they're not satisfying you, then stop.  Go to dense protein like chicken, steak, and pork.  Don't drink for as long as you can hold out after meals.  You will feel full longer.

Hugs!

Thanks for your reply and confirming I really don't need shakes and I have hope to lose at 1200 cal.  Our surgery was the same day :)

Vent away, it gets it out!

The protein shakes for me at least - allows me to hit my protein goals without having to eat more than 6x a day.. Early out, I had a hard time working my way up to 700cals, 70g protein, and needed 2 shakes a day due to restriction.. Now I have one in the am as I don't like to eat first thing, plus I have upped my protein to 100g+ and can not hit that without the supplemental liquid source as I still can only eat a couple oz of protein at a sitting. I do get hungry, and have since mo 4. I usually only wake up hungry, and the shake plus coffee sets me fine till my later bfast.. I occasionally feel hungry during the day.. and the "gimmies" of head-hunger and appetite never left.

I did stay in my Drs plan range of 600-800 till goal, rarely over 20 total carbs (towards the end, maybe up to a max of 30, but that's counting fiber too..) I have no suggestions for you, as I pretty much followed the plan I was given, measured everything (still do) and though I had some protracted stalls- they eventually did always break, and losses followed. 

You don't mention the meds you are on, could they be causing some issues with the loss or lack of? You may very likely be in a protracted stall, it is too early to get overly discouraged, but not too early to verify you are checking off all the usual suspects.. Weighing/measuring/logging/calories/carbs low.. drinking tons of water.. I hope it breaks for you soon!

 I agree. when I don't do a shake, I usually come in around 450-500cals that day.  I'm 10 weeks out and can only get 1-2 oz of the denser proteins in.   Today at lunch I ordered a fish appetizer and ate about 1/4 of it - had to get a "to go" box for an appetizer...  THAT would have never happened a few months ago!!!

 I hear your frustration.  I agree with the other posters- shakes are to help u**** protein targets.  If you are doing that via food then the shakes are not needed.  My next thought would be what are your 1200 calories comprised of?  Perhaps look for ways to feel as satisfied but with less calories.  For example, 3-4 ounces of chicken breast (about 110 cals) followed by a spinach salad using Waldon Farms calorie free dressing.  A nice meal for under 150 cals, nutritious, and getting the protein in.  Comapre that to the ribs I had last night that clocked almost 300 calories and the 4 ounces of ribs didn't mean I ate 4 ounces... left the bones and such obviously.  

I love to see that you have started to track meticulously.  Given that info I would say keep at it and give it another week or two- perhaps previous to this you were taking in more calories than you realized.  

If you are eating any kind of junk food then you need to substitute that with the dense protein.  

Try to identify what keeps you satieted the best and gravitate a bit more toward that.  For example, fish is good, chicken is better, steak is best for me.  

The only other tip is that sometimes I went through periods where I was just plan freaking hungry all day.  Finally I realized  that if I ate one meal usually mid day until I was satiated then the rest of the day behaved much better.  Even though that one meal was higher in cals, the overall day would be less than if I fought it all day long.  Basically what that would look like at that heavier meal is the chicken and spinach from above, and then add in a protein bar.  Yea, I know- it is an awful lot for a sleeved person at one sitting- but this worked for me.  I only had days like this every so often and usually coincided with what I suspect was ovulation.  Hormonal issues for sure!

Good luck and don't give up!  I lose weight regularly at 1200 cals a day when you look at the monthly averages.  I do go a couple weeks with nothing, then a week of rapid loss, then a couple weeks of nothing.  

Thanks for  your reply.  I've been good about junk, and the careful tracking has also helped.  I don't really need to drink protein, eating it is no problem.  Time will tell.  Will post when there is some progress.

 Have you had your thyroid level checked?

Yup.  My labs are all good.  HgA1C is coming down nicely.

Are you taking a PPI cause sometimes for me when I feel hungry it is stomach acid.  My Dr. prescribed me something originally but not I just take an over the counter medicing.  Just a suggestion.