I have just a curiosity question - my balance has been an ongoing issue for me since about half way to goal. This might be because the majority of my exercise has a lot of focus on balance.
I am aware, also with help from my physical therapist, that this is a result of the body’s center of gravity changing and the proprioceptor muscles working to understand how the body was changing.
I’m curious though if anyone else has had similar experiences, and if you have been maintaining for while by chance, if it eased out over time.

I have been fine with daily life activities for the most part (occasionally I’ll run into something or fall, which I never have done much of in my life) but mostly this is esp. happening in balancing poses in yoga and Pilates.
I’ll also post this over on the Maintenance thread, but curious what you folks that are esp. focused on exercise have experienced.

My balance improved after about 2 months of strength training. Working the core helps you learn where your centre of gravity is. I used to wobble a lot if I had to stand on tiptoes. Now I can rise on toes with feet less than a foot apart holding 20lb weights in each hand and I am rock solid - could stand there all day. It doesn't take long before you become stable - the body learns very quickly. I started out with 5lb weights and just kept increasing them when I didn't "fall off" my tiptoes.

G4H: I had a lot of balance issues as well after losing weight. ADL's were fine but sometimes during exercise I would fall right over lol.

My PT and chiropractor both said it's a common occurrence after losing a significant amount of weight. It's since gotten much better.

Very encouraging. Thank you!

I avg 80-90 protein daily. Not sure how I can increase that when I'm eating only the packets and one "live" meal a day. I calculated I should have 117 at min but idk how I can increase without breaking protocol.

Are you going to a clinic or are you doing this on your own? If clinic, is your coach any good? If so, I would talk to him/her. If not or if you want a 2nd opinion, you can post your info here and we can help you. We'd need to know weight and a typical meal plan for you. Lots of folks here can review and guide you. Also, we would need to know how active you are.

No coach.

B-oatmeal (apple cinnamon)
L-chicken soup/2c veg
D-Subway chopped double chicken salad (w/ pickles, cucumber, spinach, tomato, green peppers, and homemade oil&vinegar)
S-quest chips

Oatmeal for B everyday. L is either a soup with 2c veg or an omelet with spinach and baby port mushrooms. S is usually a bag of quest chips or soy puffs. D obviously is more complicated. Steamed shrimp with 2 c veg, Big Mac in a bowl, subway chopped chicken salad, salmon and 2 c veg, chuck roast stew with cabbage, radishes, mushrooms (portioned to equal 8oz raw beef and 2 c veg).

I chew 2 pieces of spry gum about twice a week. And I have one bottle of sparkling ICE water almost daily. Vegetable I mostly eat are spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and cucumbers.

Activity: I will swing the kettlebell once or twice a week for a few minutes and I will walk a mile or two a week. I've been scared to start exercise due to worry it will stall my weight loss. However, my losses have been decreasing each week to the point of zero so I'm thinking now is a good time to start.

I've been losing muscle/lean mass since I started as well. My coach said that some is expected in the first few weeks but then it should level off by mine has continued (4.8lb of muscle total so far) and I only had 25 lbs of weight to lose total, but my body fat has been losing at a faster rate. Anyhow, this week she increased me to 8oz of "cooked" protein for dinner.

I've been searching for answers here as well. Briael suggested I started using My Fitness Pal which I did this week. I love that I can see how much fat, protein, fiber etc that I'm getting. You might want to give it a try. Feel free to add me as a friend and you can see my food diary as well. Based on grams @.75 of weight I should be averaging about 91g protein. I have been averaging 93-111g protein (even before the cooked wgt) so it seems to me that you are low. Are you sure the subway meal is 8oz of uncooked chicken? How many grams of protein do the quest products contain (are the about the same as the IP products?)?

I use the lose it app. Maybe there are some errors in that. The chicken "looks" right in the subway salad and I read from several sources the weight. There are 15g protein in my proti-diet foods. I believe IP may be 20? So I'm losing 10g right there. Quest chips are 21g. Not sure what IP is. I also know the proti-diet packets are less calories. I was concerned because my calories were so low in the beginning (500-690) then I realized why. So I've tried to add more red meat, but honestly since doing so my weight loss has all but stalled.

Maybe since the proti-diet is less in protein AND calories (and also carbs) it would be okay to go add another packet to my day.

I appreciate any and all opinions. My husband believes I need a coach to get this right...I am going to prove him wrong. ;) Nearest coach is a long hour drive away.

Simplchaos I don't have much to add to what the others have said, good you keep going. If at some point you feel you would like a coach maybe you can go once a month and see if you can talk to them by phone on the off weeks - that is what I did when I moved an hour away from my coach during my protocol. I see her still for maintenance once a month, and call/test/email in between once every week or two. Just another option if you find you would like it at some point - always good to have options.

Thank you Andrea and IPN for your input, both very helpful and what I needed to hear.
Copying a post from another thread here also:

I didn't word very well the Daily Life situation - I'm not running around falling down and knocking into things regularly, and by falling I meant I don't actually fall to the ground, just find myself tripping on my shoe a bit or not having the same footing I am used to, and I think the running into things (which also is infrequent) and dropping things I'm not used to, are actually due to just getting used to my body being a different size and moving in the world differently. These things only happen once every week or two, but enough that I notice there is a change. I grew up doing a lot of dance and gymnastics and have always had a lot of balance and ease in how I move, and rarely have concern climbing over something or walking on a beam or something (I hike so sometimes my footing is something I am focused on if I am climbing rocks or something).

I am also doing thyroid and hormone adjustment and sometimes am a little shaky as we figure it out, so I think part of it is that too.

I am trusting that things will just get better over time, I'm giving myself this whole first year of maintenance to allow the body to adjust, and to get it stronger and toned. The trainer I am using for Pilates has been really helpful - she is also a physical therapist, which is why I chose her - and assures me that the stronger I become overall, but esp. in my core, the more I will feel at balance. (Similar to what you described Amanda.)

I had an intense training session yesterday, really pushed in to a few of my limits which I was happy about - so today am happily sore:)

Simplchaos Are you eating a quest product at lunch as well? You said you might be losing 10g. between the quest product 15g & the IP products 20g, you would be really losing 15g as you should be eating 3 packs a day. The IP products that I use vary from 11-18g, so it should kind of equal out with the quest products at 15g.

Your calories (500-690) seem extremely low as well, mine are between 800-1013 (I've only done the tracker for a couple of days) & remember that I am eating 8oz "cooked" protein, the protocol is 8 oz uncooked.

With the addition of more red meat I have been able to increase my calories but I'm still not reaching more than 800, ever. The packets I'm using are 70-110 calories, most are 90. I believe IP is a bit above that.

I thought IP was 20g protein, so that is how I was calculating where I'm behind. 5 at B, 5 at L, and I didn't use a deficit for S because the chips are 21.

I'm wondering if I'm not reaching enough calories would my body pull from my muscles. Also, since I'm not losing like I was (2lbs last week, 0 this week and 0 inches for a couple weeks) I'm thinking maybe that is also related to the low calories.

I can't wait to figure this out so I can get to movin' and groovin'. :)

Simplchaos I'm no expert, hopefully someone with more experience will chime in. I think your calories are too low. Are you making sure you get 2tsp. of EVOO as well? If you are I'm wondering if the calorie counter isn't quite right. Are you eating the 70 calorie packs multiple times in one day? That could be the deficit at 30 calories a pack that would be another 120+ calories. I just looked at my food diary & all of my IP packs were 100-110 (these were all unrestricted) the restricted bars are in the 160 calorie range.

Your calories are too low. You should be between 800 and 900. And, if you are not getting enough protein, your body will use your muscle for energy.
Also, the proti and healthsmart are not the same serving size as IP so you need an adjustment for that. You should be able to see that comparison between IP and the alternatives in MFP. If you don't want to do that, I posted a link to a spreadsheet that had this info included which I use to this day as my food journal and cal/macro tracker.

I would suggest taking a week where you do not eat out. Measure everything and cook at home so you can control it. Make sure you are getting the allotted olive oil. Ensure you are drinking plenty of water. You should add extra water for the Sparkling ICE you are drinking. And, make sure you are taking your supplements. I wouldn't workout that week. If you don't lose weight (from fat), something may be wrong with your hormones that is preventing it which I would seek out. I highly doubt that is the case though. I think it is a matter of consuming too few calories and too little protein and possibly too little water and fats - it sounds like your body is rebelling from not getting what it needs.

I worry about the supplementation also. How did you determine the appropriate supplements to take?

chaos - I agree with Ro...there are obviously folks here much more educated on the science, but 700 - 800 calories is way too low.
Maybe shake things up a bit? Salmon is higher in calories with lots of protein. Eggs are a great source too and can be subbed for breakfast. Also (someone correct me if I'm wrong) - I believe when someone starts out +200 pounds, generally they have the option to have a forth packet?

Beth - yes, at my clinic 4 packets until under 200. And I needed them, and lost weight fine with four. After I was under 200 I started working out more and stayed with the 4 packets on exercise days and was fine.

Not sure what your weight is simplchaos, but if over 200, I would consider 4 if I were you and see if it accelerates your loss.
Whenever I didn’t eat enough, my weightloss stalled.

Also, I’m sure you’ve read this elsewhere, but after the first 4 weeks, I only had losses 2 out of every 4 weeks. I just realized that was my body’s rhythm, and only paid attention to what was happening monthly.