Question:
Why cant I get off this plateau?

Im 2 1/2 months post-op and Ive lost 55 lbs. During the Christmas holiday I ate a lot more than I normally do and included some sweets and junk food in my diet. I wasnt too concerned a week later that I had gained a pound but now I am into my third week that Im not losing weight. My eating habits are the same as they were before Christmas when I was losing 5 lbs a week. How come I can lose 5 lbs certain weeks and then struggle to maintain other weeks on the same amount of food? I havent been exercising because I was going to start that when I lost a little more weight and was 6 months out. I thought with this surgery that exercise wasnt necessary for the first 6 months. I had the proximal RNY where less than 1 foot of my intestine was bypassed and my pouch is 1-2 ounces. Can someone give me some advice on how they got themselves off their plateaus? I remember hitting another plateau when I was down 25 lbs and no amount of exercise seemed to help that. Could it be that people hit plateaus after every 25-30 lbs? How long can I expect this to last?    — [Anonymous] (posted on January 5, 2000)

January 4, 2000
Where did you ever hear that exercise was not necessary? It is very necessary to maintain a healthy life and to maintain weight loss. Your body hits plateaus because it thinks it is not going to get any more food, so it "Holds On" to what it has. The only way to break a plateau is to exercise!! You must burn more calories than you take in. It sounds like you have been told that you should just lie back, and the weight will just fade away, and eventually you will hit your goal without having to do anything. Thats not the way this works. You have been given a tool, a tool that will allow us to lose the weight we need to lose, but it is only a tool! Not a miracle cure. You must exercise, eat healthy and take care of yourself. And... lay off the junk food! ""Stepping down off my soapbox"" Good Luck Mary Anne
   — Mary Anne M.

January 5, 2000
Hi! Plateaus are a normal part of weight loss. When you were trying to lose weight dieting, you hit plateaus, right? Why should this be different? Your body is saying "Whoa.....let me hold onto these calories!" just like it did before. That's why we gained all this weight, correct? I've been experiencing plateaus from the very beginning. And, at a few months post-op, the weight loss slows down for everyone. Yours just happened to coincide with the holidays, and eating the goodies, of course, didn't help. That doesn't mean you won't lose any more weight, but that your body is adjusting to it's new configuration. Make sure you're getting your protein. Drink as much water as you can. Walk more by parking further from where you're going. It's hard to be patient and wait for your weight loss to pick up again, believe me, I know. But it will! And, after a time, you'll be amazed that you've lost so much weight. Looking back at your accomplishment is always easier then looking ahead (as in how much further there is to go) when it comes to losing weight. But just as time passes, the weight loss will too! Good luck, think positive! After all, you can't lose 60 pounds until you've lost 50, right? Jaye Carl, open proximal RNY 7-29-99, 87 pounds gone forever!
   — Jaye C.

January 5, 2000
I hit a plateau about my 2 month mark, where I had lost 37 pounds, and the doctors said I should have lost close to 50. But then a couple of weeks later, the weight started coming off again. So try not to worry-yet. I think we all sometimes hit a plateau or two.
   — Krista C.

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