1 year anniversary

Hi all! 

I have not been on here as much as I should be, and my weight loss shows it. 

I have not lost but .5 pound in the last 2-3 months and I am quite frustrated. 

My eating has not changed, my exercise routine has not changed, but the weight loss has stopped.

I go back and forth between being so happy at how much I have lost (about 250lbs total, pre and post op) and sad that I cannot get to my goal (180). I went from wearing a 4xl shirt to a large, and a size 32 pants to a 14/16 (depending on the brand) and that makes me happy, but the number on the scale does not. 

I eat no more than 1200 calories a day, as instructed by my nutritionist, and no more than 35 carbs. I eat no breads, no pastas, no chocolates, nothing. I drink nothing bu****er, and I drink a ton of it. 

Is this sort of plateau normal at this point in my journey? Is this the end for me, or can I continue to lose? Is there a point at which our bodies won't give up anymore weight? 

Don't get me wrong, I am super duper happy about how far I have come. It is really nice not being the biggest person wherever I go, although it is still hard for me to wrap my head around it. I have done some amazing things since I lost my weight. I have worn a wet suit and swam with dolphins, a LARGE wetsuit! I felt a bit like a sausage, but it happened. I rode a horse and didnt kill it! It was fabulous. I have sat in the middle seat on an airplane and not spilled over onto the other passengers. It really has been amazing. I love love love my sleeve, LOVE my decision to get it, and love how much it has helped me. I just want to know if I should be happy where I am, or fight even harder. 

Thank you all, you guys are the best. Oh and if any part of your brain is doubting whether you should have the surgery, push that aside. I was terrified, all the way up to being knocked out in prep. I was ready to run out of the hospital and never look back. Even in the weeks after I thought "what did I do to myself" and I had MAJOR buyers remorse, but I m now one of those people that says "I wish I would have done it sooner". Do not doubt it, its amazing! 

Thank you all!

Successful sleevers seem to limit their calories to about 800/day to reach their goals and then add more after that. Many people maintain on 1200 calories a day, which appears to apply to you.

I was doing 800 but my RD told me that it isnt enough. Its so confusing because they tell me to eat more and the message boards say to eat less! At this point though I will go back to 800 and see if that helps. I will try anything! 

Listen to people that have been successful...

The NUTs (most likely) have never been MO, so they don't understand. They are only going off of nutritional guidelines for people without surgery (again, in most cases). Our metabolisms are screwed for life from all of the weight loss/yo-yo dieting, etc... we can't be like the 'norms'.

I'm not to goal yet, but I can see it in my future!

Hi there!  Glad to see you again; I haven't been active on OH for a while either but I remember your avatar. So stinkin' cute! :-) 

I would say try to shake some things up.  I am still losing on 1200 calories but I did start at 800 calories like Laura said and I gradually upped my calories because I don't want to have to eat 800 calories for the rest of my life.  Do you keep a food diary or use MyFitnessPal? If I ever feel like I'm stuck at a weight, I try to be super vigilant with my journaling and I try to change up some things in my food. If you realize you are consuming a lot of calories at night, try changing it up and eating a big breakfast and have just a small dinner. If you find that your carbs are mostly being eaten in the afternoon, switch it around. Try new foods.  Maybe try changing up the calorie or carb count for each day.  For example, one day have 1000 then the next day do 1250. Then do 1100 and the next day 1300. I do that with carbs too sometimes and that will give me a kickstart.  Also, make sure to change up your exercise cus your body can definitely get used to one thing. 

Just a few suggestions. Good luck!! You have done amazing and its great to focus on those accomplishments.  Congrats!!

Good suggestions! Yes I use my fitness pal religiously. According to it, I have logged my food for 550 days in a row! :D I never forget to log. I would be lost without it! 

I recently was told I have PCOS and might have insulin resistance, so I am wondering if that could be hurting my weight loss. Seems wrong to lose a ton of weight and then discover health problems!

Sorry to hear about the PCOS diagnosis.    That can definitely mess with weight loss, as far as I hear.  I have heard that a high fat, extremely low carb diet (i.e.- Keto diet) helps a lot with PCOS but I haven't done a ton of research so all this is just hearsay.  Maybe research and ask your doctor if they would suggest that for you.  It doesn't seem like you are far off from Keto but it might be worth researching to see if dropping a few more carbs and adding some more healthy fat would help change your weight. 

Wow, 550 days!  I know that some sort of logging will be necessary for long term results, but I am lucky to log two meals in a row right now.

PCOS can be a total PITA for weight loss.  i would encourage you to shake up your routine.  Vary your calorie intake.  some days 800, some days 1200.  Never the same two days or three days in a row - keep your body guessing.  Exercise - the same.  Switch it up.  New things.  Shock your body by changing your routine.  Make sure you are getting enough protein.  An active person - active working out regularly (according to my trainer) should get 1g of protein per lb of weight per day.  For us, unless you are working out like Stacy_WLS, that might be a little high.  However, I do notice a correlation of higher weight loss with higher intake of protein (I'm 205 and intake of 100 to 110g protein shows higher weight loss).

Basically,  I would say you are eating at a maintenance level, and doing well at it!

*oh! I find your avatar to be freaky at first glance!  but it is rather cute!*

I 100% agree with this!

1) vary your calories

2) vary your exercise -- push hard, your body gets use to the same things and it will have less impact.

3) get LOTS of protein.  I shoot for 100 - 150 grams / day.