4 month stall and weight gain

Hey everyone!

I had my surgery about four months ago on July 22nd and My weight was 250. I began the journey at 263 and I have hypothyroidism.Currently, I am 207 and have only lost two pounds since November 6th. I was 205.9 before thanksgiving and was 204 after. Now, I am 207.

Admittedly, I am on that special time of the month which would account for the 2-3lb weight gain but the weight simply won't go down on the scale. My surgeons office doesn't give a set amount of calories to eat. Just eat when you are hungry which isn't enough for me as I think my body may be in starvation mode. Also, I know I should be drinking more water as I'm barely getting between 32-64 oz a day. Currently, I get 10,000 or more steps most days but I suppose I could perform more strenuous exercise more frequently.

Did anyone else experience this? I'm looking into getting a resting metabolic rate test done to see where I am exactly. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Stalls are the worst, especially soon after surgery, but it happens. In my experience, water intact matters. When I drink less, like now, I tend to retain water more. Also, when I eat more carbs, I retain more water.

I use this site to calculate my calories. It's been extremely helpful and as I lose, I go back to re-calculate.

https://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/

I get my body fat percentage from my Renpho smart scale.

The best thing about the calculator is it can include intermittent fasting if you do that and it allows you to select your target weight loss goal. It gives an estimated basal metabolic rate that matches my scale as well.

Not to contradict your surgeon, but soon after surgery, I had barely any appetite so eating only when hungry didn't work well for me. I ate at specific times and never snacked. And I was super careful to get enough protein and fruits and veggies and didn't have grains for a long time.

I thought the same thing! I feel like I should be eating at intervals at least. There have been times when I've eating twice a day with the meals being about 200 calories each. Thank you for the calculator. I'm going to check it out.

Starvation mode is pretty much a myth. As your body gets smaller, you need fewer calories to maintain your weight. If you were eating 1000 calories and losing weight at 250, 1000 will have a smaller deficit when your body is at 200ish.

How many calories are you eating in a day? Many folks find that they have to stick to between 600 - 800 calories during the first year to lose weight, though stalls do happen even at that level.

I'm eating between 500 calories to 600 at the most. I don't snack but if I'm to be honest, I'm constipated most days. I take milk of magnesia which is effective but harsh sometimes.

Are you positive that is how much you are eating? Do you weigh/measure/track everything? I'm asking because 9 out of 10 times most folks who say they are eating xyz amounts are really eating more when they start to track it.

What does your daily menu look like? How much fluids are you getting in each day? For constipation many on here take miralax which is less harsh than the MOM.

I'm becoming more vigilant at tracking on MFP. I notice that a lot of you weigh your food. That is something I can begin to do as well. My menu consists of: premier protein rtd for breakfast, 5 crackers with a tbsp of pb for a snack, half of a black bean burger patty with half a slice of cheese for lunch, 48 oz of water somewhere throughout the day inching towards 64oz, chicken with sautéed spinach for dinner. The menu varies.

Thank you for the tip about miralax. I'll definitely try it today.

If you have stopped losing weight after four months, you need to find out what is wrong. On 500-600 calories a day, you would be losing two to three pounds a week. Something is not adding up.

I have a digital scale, measuring cups, measuring spoons, and even a plastic ruler in the kitchen. People might laugh when they see me measuring my cantaloupe for 1" cubes, but I know eight of those cubes equals 50 calories if I grab them later for a snack.

I track everything in the My Fitness Pal application. I know exactly how many calories, protein grams, fat grams, and carbs I consume.

There is such a thing as starvation mode, but it sets in at a very low weight. For a man, it would set in when his weight dropped to about 80 pounds. All of the fat has been used up. Ribs and other bones show prominently. That happens in severe anorexia or in forced starvation like in concentration camps in World War 2.

As long as your body has stored fat, it will burn that when there is a calorie deficiency. A smart scale will answer the question of whether you are retaining extra water. I have been surprised sometimes to find that when I thought my weight was up due to water, that the water content of my body was lower than usual.

I agree with what the above posters said about starvation mode and logging/weighing/measuring food. I still do the latter at 4.5 years out, since I tend to underestimate my intake otherwise.

as far as your surgeon's office's advice: the dietitian at my surgeon's office doesn't like the fact I count calories - and she thinks I'm being too obsessive with measuring/weighing/etc my food and weighing myself every day. She preaches "intuitive eating", which it sounds like your office is pushing, too. Sorry....but "intuitive eating" is what got me up to 300+ lbs. My brain and body have a hard time distinguishing head hunger and true hunger. I still don't trust them. So I'm not going to switch over to "intuitive eating". I will continue to weigh and measure and closely monitor my weight. It's worked for me - so I"m going to keep doing it!

Yes! The intuitive eating doesn't work at all for me. I struggled with head hunger vs stomach hunger directly after surgery. The acid was the worst. It's gotten better with the addition of nexium but it is a constant struggle for sure. Im definitely going to begin weighing my food and quit guesstimating. Thank you for your input!