Since having my gastric bypass I've lost 100 pounds, but now I seem to be hitting a wall. I'm maintaining my weight loss, but I need to lose another 60 pounds.
How can I get the scales to move again? Has anyone had a gastric bypass and then experienced a weight loss plateau?
I need some help and suggestions on how to start the weight loss again.
Thanks Tami
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There's not enough information to work with here. How tall are you? How old? How much do you weigh? How much and what kind of exercise are you doing?
ReplyYes you will hit the dreaded Plateau. Everyone who has ever lost weight seriously has hit the plateau. Even with something as drastic as a Gastric Bypass you are not immune. That just demonstrates that to lose weight successfully requires more than just a diet. You need to exercise regularly with your diet.
All the is needed is gentle to moderate excercise.
Elle
ReplyI had RNY 19 months ago and yes, after that first 100 pounds an extended plateau is very common. Mine lasted 4 months. I have found that most people at this stage are probably not eating enough. Take a close look at what you're doing for exercise and make sure you're eating enough to fuel your body and get it into the comfort zone of letting go of the fat stores.
Also, here's a list of questions to think about when the scale stops moving. Something here might trigger an idea of what you can change:
Replyhttp://pamtremble.blogspot.com/2008/09/breaking-stall.html
I had a RNY three and a half years ago. I didn't plateau but many others do. First, remember that your body has lost a lot of weight already and may need to "rebalance" a bit. Hence the stop. And a plateau is defined by three weeks without any weight change. Has it been that long?
Statistically, you may not lose all the weight you want. The statistics for RNY is typically 50% to 70% of your excess weight (that's the average). So that would still leave you with some excess weight. Is your additional 60 lbs. loss within realistic expectations?
Do you have a support team with your doctor? We have a nutritionist, coordinator, physical therapist, and support group in addition to the surgeon. If you do, take advantage of them. If not, see if there is a support group in your area.
And finally, be patient with your body. If you've done your pre-surgery homework, which I'm sure you have, you know there is more to weight loss than the simplistic calories in, calories out mantra. We cannot control the results, but we can control our behavior. Follow your doctor's protocal--protein first, supplements, exercise, eat slowly, drink liquids, etc.--and you can be proud of your accomplishments regardless of whether 20,30, or 60 more pounds come off.
Congratulations on your weight loss so far.
ReplyNo, actually the ONLY thing to weight loss is calories in, calories out.
There might be a lot to controlling those calories, but at the end of the day, the ONLY way your body will drop weight is by using more calories than it gets. Period. End. Of. Story.
ReplyActually, Barry, the research scientist are finding that genetics, hormones, viruses, and all sorts of microbs play a role in obesity. You can do a search for "obesity" on the New York Times website for a some decent popular reporting of the scientific findings. How one person's body burns one hundred calories of rice may be vastly different from how another person does. We do know that obese people have very efficient metabolisms, some to the point where they will even gain weight on a 800 calorie diet. So simply reducing one's calories may not be adequate. And in fact, there is a low calorie point which is unhealthy. If you do the research on gastric bypass, you will find that not only are the calories restricted and malabsorbed but there is also a change in the hormones grehlin and leptin which impact the ability to feel satisfied (not the same as full) and hunger. So even the ability to limit calories is connected to hormone levels which people cannot control regardless of their exercise level. And anyone who has dieted has experienced a plateau in which they have not lost weight even though they have reduced calories and increased exercise.
Medicine is still as much an art as it is a science. The human body cannot be reduced to a mathamatical formula.
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