Changes around the 6 month mark?

Hi Guys

So I had my gush post yesterday to commemorate that I am 6 months out and doing great so far, having lost a lot of weight so far. However I do notice things are starting to change for me and I wanted to know if this happened to you guys as well.

I lost most of this weight relatively easy and quick, with some stalls along the way. Now for the last month orso I notice that weight loss slows down dramatically. I am once again in aa stall and even gained 3 pounds this week. What is different?

I never was able to establish a good work out routine, i did visit the gym but not on a very regular basis. I got away with it. Seems like now would be the time to get serious and start working out more than once a week (or even every two weeks) Might that help rev up the weight loss?

Also since my holiday some snacks have eased in like a sugarfree cookie here and there, a sugarfree icecream sometimes and en atkins endulgance bar or something like that. Things I really do not need. Need to stop those too and start tracking again.

And furthermore: is it just NORMAL that things slow down around this mark, that things get harder? I do not mean hunger wise, I still have noty much hunger, but I play around with the rules a lot more than I ever envisoned myself doing in the first months.

Some dos over here will say"well youére nearing 60-65% excess weight lost, you might be just DONE almost. (over here a lot of people stay at 60%-70% EWL and never get to goal. I attribute that to adhering to very different rules than you guys in the USA do, that is why I hang out here and try to follow a more USA kind of approach.)

But I don't want that! I want to lose 30 more kilograms at least! And I want to stay there! The fact that I am already slowing down and even gaining a bit, makes me worried that I'll be like many iof the dutch patients in the sense of not getting to goal and regaining.

So I ask you veterans: is this hump at 6 months normal? What can I do to continue being succesful and losing more weight?

What are YOUR secrets for succes, what are YOUR rules which make sure you never gain it back? What do you eat and what is your regime to ensure succes?

I hope reading some of your successes will help me get over this bump in the road and continue onwards to succes!!!

Love from holland

Cat

For me, 6 months was indeed a slowing down point. However, my loss did NOT stop but continued slow and steady for the next 6-7 months. I"ve been at pretty much a standstill (plus or minus 5 lbs.) since the 13 month point.

Regular exercise will help your metabolism - look for ways to combine aerobic exercise with weights/resistance training. The combination will help you to burn calories even hours after your workout is complete.

Also, this is a window of time in which many people begin to experiment with additional foods. Be very careful not to take in a lot of refined carbs - these are empty calories that will do us NO good, and opening the door to this (and sugary foods, if you tolerate them) is like a Pandora's box.

So - yes - get moving! And stay the course on your eating plan!

You have to keep in perspective how much weight you have to lose overall.   Eventually it is going to slow down because you just don't have as much to lose.   For example, if you start out at 280 lb (127 kg) , a 10 lb (4.5kg) weight loss is smaller percentage at 280 than it is at say 180 (81.6kg) (Yes I have a converter app on my iPhone).

I lost 23 lbs in month 1; 13 in 2, 13.5 in 3, 10.5 in month 4, 7.5 in 5, 10 each in month's 6 & 7 and  7 in month 8 (going by four week intervals, not calendar date).   Since April 26th, I've only lost 1 lb.

Now, I will also say that we've been eating out a lot again lately and that just means more fat, sodium, sugar & calories than when I cook at home.   Plus I don't measure my portions when I'm out.   I do find myself slipping back into some old habits like eating too fast without chewing thoroughly enough, especially if I'm engaged in conversation with others during meals.   And since I've learned I don't dump, I'm more likely to have part of a dessert.    I also have to watch my binge eating tendencies along the lines of "well, I didn't have much for breakfast & lunch, so I can justify more at dinner."   Well, my pouch can still only hold so much food, so that theory just doesn't work at all for me physically any more.  

Now what is cool is that in the past, if I slipped up, I would just give up entirely and put the weight back on and then some.   Now I find myself making immediate corrections.   I also tend to not weigh myself more than a few times a week, but I only count Tuesdays.   I've learned that for whatever reason, my weight will be up on Friday, down on Sunday and a mystery on Tuesday!

My goal was to lose 130#, to be in size 10s and a variety of other things like fitting comfortably in chairs, being more physically active, getting my BP & Cholesterol under control.   I've achieved all of those goals, except for the number on the scale.   If I didn't lose another pound, I would be happy because 112# is 86% of my excess body weight, 40% of my total body weight.   I'm in size 10s now and don't know if I want to go into 8s - although I realize that sizes have changed over the last 20 years, the last time I wore a size 10.   That is probably closer to a size 12 today.  Who knows? 

Just keep on keeping on.   Progress, not perfection, is the goal.

After six months my weight loss slowed down tremendously.  I started a gymn in my 7th month and kept losing another 20 pounds.  Seems like I've stopped losing now.  HOWEVER, my food quantity has increased dramatically as has my hunger.  I've not gained, but I'm really worried.