Re: long plateau

[Guest guest]

> I am 2 years 1 month out of surgery. I had an open rny. I started

> out at 379 lbs and I am now 225 lbs. I haven'tlost in months and

> wonder if this is all there is to my success.

My husband and I were talking about this very thing today. I started at just

around 400 (415 a couple months before surgery, 397 the day of) and got down

to 200. Then I managed to start grazing and snacking, and got back up to

251. I've tried Atkins diet, which did not work for me (note I said FOR ME,

others have great success with it), and am now on Weight Watchers. I have

come to the realization that for some of us, there is only so far the

surgery will go, and then we have to go back to a 'diet' mentality. I am 47

years old and have never been thin. If I ever hope to see something under

200, I am going to have to diet, and I will probably have to maintain that

diet for the rest of my life. Some people prefer to call it a lifestyle

change or a " way of eating, " and that's fine. There is a way of looking at

it that says a diet is something you start, and then go off of, whereas a

way of eating is supposed to be for life. Since I don't see myself ever

successfully going off a diet of some sort, I call it what it is for me -- a

diet. That's ok, though. No one promised me anything else when I had this

surgery. My bariatric team was very clear that if this would be successful,

I had to make changes that were changes for life. Protein shakes every day.

Few carbs, lots of meat, and veggies. Vitamins and minerals I will always

have to take.

For me, it's worth it. At 235 I'm still 100% better off than I was at 400.

I'm healthier, and happier, and I can sit in a chair! I can cross my legs! I

have collar bones! So if I have to stay on a diet to get the rest off, so be

it.

I think it's all about what we are willing to do with our lives. If we're

really willing to work at this, and make this " tool " work for us, we have to

meet it half way. No one promised me a miracle, and no one told me I would

never have to diet again. They just gave me the head start I would never

have gotten otherwise.

Does that make any sense? You weight loss is wonderful -- hang in there, and

keep working at it. This doesn't have to be the end, just a transition.

~~ Lyn G