I need help from the veterans out there... And since I am just shy of a year out (Jan 6th will be one year since my VSG in Mexico with Dr Kelly) - I guess I am looking for those of you a year out or more.  My question is: When will my weight loss stop???

My goal was 155 which I made in early November.  I am currently at 146.6 that means I am losing at a pretty good pace still.  This past weeks I have had at least 5 people tell me things like "you cans stop losing now" or "you are looking aweful skinny" and the comment from my husband... "please dont turn into a bag of bones".

At this point I am not even trying - I feel like I have upped my carbs this past month quite a bit - total calories too - but the loss continues and seems to have speeded up?  Huh?

I am pretty comfortable where I am currently - would like to stay between 145-150.  I am 5'8" and now wearing a size 6 and some 4's for pants/skirts/dresses and a small or medium for tops.  SO veterans can you give me any tips on how to maintain my current weight and stop the loss?  I knwo some people say the body will stop when ready - but I am afraid that I could easily lose another 15-20 pounds without trying very hard.

Newbies - I never EVER thought I would be asking this question - so please do not roll your eyes and say - I wish I had that problem.  I know a year ago I would read a post like this and think "oh boy I wish I had that issue".  My journey has been fairly easy thus far - only bump was recent gallbladder removal - a week ago.

Thanks in advance to any veterans who can offer advice! Happy Holidays all!

Kim

I wish I had an answer for you because I am in the exact same boat.  I wanted to stop back in August when I reached 180 but I've continued to lose.  I have added quite a few calories and carbs back into my day and I feel like I am constantly eating but I keep dropping a pound here and a pound there.  

I will be watching your thread but know you are not alone.  Who would have ever thought we would have this problem!

 I have always heard that you add back more calories and keep upping them till your weight stabalizes.   I never had that problem at all.   I stopped losing before I reached my goal weight.   Good luck and hopefully someone will chime in here who has had that problem and offer you a concrete answer.   Good luck.

Hugs and blessings ~~~ Vivian

I am also a year out and still losing, but happily.  I've had the same comments from friends and wish people would just mind their own business.  I want to go at least 10 pounds below goal in case of bouceback while I'm tweaking my diet to learn to maintain.  You may want to post this on the VSG maintenance forum to get feedback from the vets.  They are always happy to help but don't always check in to this forum and it moves so fast that if they do, they might miss it.  I think your body will stop when it is ready... but what do I know?  Never been here before. Take care and have a Happy Holiday too!

Deb

hey -- i'm in the same boat, though i'm not at goal and losing 1 lb a wk now when i used to lose 2.  it's been slow and steady which is fine by me.

you might want to go to the vsg maintenance forum and ask -- those are your real vets.  www.obesityhelp.com/group/VSGM/  Nice group!

let us know what you find out! 

The only thing that got my weight to stop dropping was to add in extra fat and calories. The carbs were added as well, but healthy fat options were more a part of my daily intake than any carbs.

I was eating 6-7 times a day, nuts, cheese chunks, peanut butter, and I started adding gravy, sauces, dressings to my meats to add a few extra calories per meal. It took a solid 4 months to get my losing to stop. I dropped lower a few months later, and was able to gain pretty easily back up to my maintenance weight. I never really turned to junk foods, or lots of carbs. I kept my portion size the same, just added more mushy food to up my calories. I did add drinking 100% juice into my daily routine as well just for extra calories.

Yeah, I'm wondering the same thing...since from everything I read, you can lose weight up to 18 months out. If I do that, I will truly disappear! LOL...
I am 2 lbs under goal right now....I'm getting all those same comments, and I'm quite bony in a lot of areas..the thing is, I do still have some pockets of fat, so I'm guessing I can still stand to lose 10 lbs to be really lean. But if I drop more than that, I will start to worry.

The weirdest thing is, my weight loss was really slow for a couple of months, I thought that my body knew I was close to goal and was naturally stopping, but then the last couple of weeks, it really picked up again. I have been eating whatever I want but I do follow the protein first. And I decreased my cardio again to only 20 minutes instead of the 60 min. I'm also adding in more liquid calories, like chocolate milk and gatorade....we will see if that makes a difference. I already eat more carbs and healthy fats than most do, so adding that wouldn't be the answer for me. And last I counted I wa****ting over 1200 cals daily...so I will have to log again a few days, to find out what I'm doing now.

There is a thread on the maintenance board about this...I was reading up on it yesterday, because I wanted to know if it usually stops without purposely counting calories and making it stop. But most just say to add in a couple hundred more calories a day until it stabilizes or to add back in carbs or fats.

I guess the overall consensus is that weight loss does eventually stop and it doesn't hurt to go under goal because many talk about a bounce back re-gain. And I also read where they said it was common in the 2nd year post op to look "too skinny" but rare for in the 3rd year for that to be true. 

Good luck! 

So I want to tell you two different things here.  One is an answer to your question and one is an answer to a question you will eventually have.  I am clairvoyant that way.  :)  

First, how to stop the loss.  Easy, add in nuts, avocados, and other healthy fats. Add in cheese and peanut butter or better yet, almond butter to your diet.  As your calories increase, your weight will eventually stop.  This is not miraculous, just plain physics.

The second question will occur to you when you are a few months out from now and the are eating more calories and more fat and all of a sudden you notice your weight starts to creep back up.  I know this sounds crazy now, but I was there and I remember it happening.  Make sure you are weighing yourself every day during this really important time.  You have to catch the turning point early and make adjustments. If you don't, you can easily find yourself part of the statistic that reaches goal only to start the regain process.  I felt like that could never happen and the weight would just keep falling off of me forever.  Ah, no!  Eventually the easy loss stops and you have to be careful again.  This is a very tricky time.  Good luck to you, I am pulling for your continued success in navigating this new terrain on your journey.

I found it's more art than science, and requires fairly close attention.  Elina's advice to weigh daily is good advice!  Be careful about the type of carbs you add back in, so that you avoid your trigger foods, if you have any.  For me what works is whole grains like quinoa and flax.  I try to avoid wheat, sugar (even natural sugars like honey and fruit juice) and a few trigger items like popcorn and oatmeal.  And I've added more healthy fats like olive oil, avocados, nuts and nut butters.