Gastric Bypass Surgery Support Group
Gastric bypass (GBP) is any of a group of similar operative procedures used to treat morbid obesity, a condition which arises from severe accumulation of excess weight in the form of fatty tissue, and the health problems ("co-morbidities") which result. If you are considering gastric bypass or have had it, join the community where we share our experiences and find support.
Found an article titled "Weight Loss Plateau: Diagnosing & Overcoming a Weight Loss Plateau" at www.answerfitness.com this afternoon (thanks for pointing me in that direction, rboggs).
Tonight I assessed, measured, etc, and I've come to the conclusion that this is a true stall, brought about by my body's extraordinary ability to shift into starvation mode. More calories is the suggested answer.
I'm a little leery of eating more, or trying to at any rate, but I did add a snack today, which put me up to a little more than 800 calories. My nut had told me to eat between 600 - 800. So I'm worried that eating more will not work, although I continue to workout 5-6 days a week.
Has anyone out there had the experience of stalling and then ending the stall by eating more? It seems so counter intuitive.
Does anyone know if a starvation stall will end by itself eventually without eating more?
What advice do you have for me?
Tonight I assessed, measured, etc, and I've come to the conclusion that this is a true stall, brought about by my body's extraordinary ability to shift into starvation mode. More calories is the suggested answer.
I'm a little leery of eating more, or trying to at any rate, but I did add a snack today, which put me up to a little more than 800 calories. My nut had told me to eat between 600 - 800. So I'm worried that eating more will not work, although I continue to workout 5-6 days a week.
Has anyone out there had the experience of stalling and then ending the stall by eating more? It seems so counter intuitive.
Does anyone know if a starvation stall will end by itself eventually without eating more?
What advice do you have for me?
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What brands of protein shakes or drinks do you like? I'm still trying to find the "perfect" protein, lol... I've tried Unjury, Inspire and Syntrax and they're ok but just wondering what else is out there. I grabbed a 4-pack of Premier Protein ready made drinks last night at the grocery store, all excited about being able to buy locally and they have 30 g of protein! but when I got home I...
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I gave my 2 week notice last Friday 13th. Now to join you fine people in a life of leisure and nothing else to do but to look out for myself....is it just me or does that sound pretty boring? My goal was to live to retire and I guess having to take early retirement because of health reasons wasn't exactly the way I had planned things. I just can't stay in that building that is reeking mildew...
With that said, Im not sure Im the best person to answer this because I never actually hit a plateau I lost at least 1 lb a week from surgery to goal. I dont believe I can take credit for thatMost people hit plateaus and there is a lot of info on the boards and online about how the body needs time to adjust, etc to quick weight loss. So, plateaus are natural. My experience was not.
but, since no one else has chimed in, Ill tell you what I did. Im not saying I was right, or my way was best, its just what I did.
Background: Ive lost 175 lbs...30 of them in the 2 months before surgery (surgery Feb 10, 2010). Ive gone from size 32 to a 2. Im in my early 40s. Ive had a hysterectomy and am on HRT, so I dont suffer from pms issues or time-of-month issues.
I define a plateau as not losing weight for 2 weeks or more. I weighed every day (keeping the info on an excel spreadsheet cause I dont trust my memory). I used the information to monitor and adjust my eating, drinking, sleeping, and exercise. When the scale didnt move for a few days, I took a look at things that could be affecting itwas I getting enough protein, water, sleeping enough, moving enough, eating too much, not eating enough, or even constipated? I discovered I lost most consistently on the days I ate more calories through protein, got lots of water, at least 8 hours of sleep, and moved a lot.
I build muscle very easily and didnt want to retain all the muscle I had at 300 lbs so before surgery I decided to save the major working out until I hit a plateau or goal. However, I did become an active person (walking, doing calisthenics as I went through the day, 5-10 minutes on the elliptical, lifting light weights while I watched TV, etc).
If I was losing, I kept what I was doing. When I stayed the same for 3 days or more, I did something different (usually more food, more sleep, more exercise, or more water).
I hope you find something helpful in my response (and it doesnt cause confusion or controversy).
(hugs)
JJ
Jus sayin Lu
but I think it's all exercise and protein!
Someone here recommended that I do whatever necessary to eat around 900-1000 calories in order to get in more protein ~ 80-100 grams which had boosted my weight loss and the last 30 lbs just slipped off.
Now I'm at a true plateau and have decided it is now time to move my body. I was walking before but had stopped due to being too weak all the time (I was only consuming 5-650 cal of which most being protein drinks/milk). Now that my calories are up, I'm feeling better and decided to wait until I started to stall in order to kick it up with exercise. Which I'm hoping will do the trick :)
Also, I haven't been to a NUT yet (next week at almost the 9 month mark) and realized that I've never really noticed carbs and have a coworker who had her RNY with Dr Feng and has lost over 100 lbs in 5 months. I discovered thru our conversation that she eats pretty much NO carbs at all (less than 15/meal) whereby I just look at the fats, sugars and protein.
Hence, time to figure out a new plan of attack, add some exercise, drink more water and try to consume more protein if possible. I have noticed that now I want something sweet occaisionally or to snack so I'm thinking my old ways want to come back - - perfect timing to switch it up and take it up a notch.
My dr thinks I should weigh about 150 lbs where I'd like to be 170. I've never been concerned about how quickly the weight comes off but more concerned about the one year mark. Since I'm just around the corner of it and the scale isn't moving at the moment, I've recommitted myself to what I've started and am following everyone's advice.
BTW, I had 1/2 of a Prohibition Ale last night... and it was GREAT. Won't be making a habit out of it but it was just awesome to enjoy having a friggin beer. It sucked to not be eating anything (chips/salsa, etc) but it was sooo worth having a drink. The bartender laughed at me when I stirred most of the carbonation outta it and really worked the bubbles out by repouring it but it was worth the effort.
I told myself that I wouldn't drink until I hit 90-100 lbs but realize that it may impede my total success/dream of taking off another 40 lbs hence, back to boards to learn and refocus.
Thanks for listening and the great advice!
Colleen
I'm going to add protein, keep the carbs down, and pump up the exercise a bit.
I realize that since I was such an expert dieter for so long, my body has become expert at slipping into starvation mode and staying there for really long periods. I have to heal my metabolism. I believe that protein and building muscle will help me do that. I want to be strong again.
I'm also going to work on finding menus that are higher on the learn protein and lower on carbs. Probably dead animals, as you'd say. Happily, I love meat.
Yesterday I added more protein, as suggested, and changed my treadmill workout from speed/distance to intervals (hills) while maintaining speed. I felt so full after adding in all the protein you suggested (I was up to 100 gr.) that I really didn't expect anything. But.....
This morning, I was down two pounds! So excited.
So thank you all so much for sharing your wisdom and experience. You are absolutely essential to me in the process. Could not succeed without you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.