[Bridgettedavis]

Anyone else here 5'6"? I've lost 125lbs, so I'm not trying to complain but it seems like I just can't get anymore off... I'm getting a tummy tuck and an arm lift in the end of August so maybe things will change after that... parts of me are getting so boney that I don't really want to lose anymore weight but I know at 168lbs I still have more to lose.. ugh what gives!!

[stimkovs]

hey, at 169 lbs, i'm assuming you work out, it is quite possible that all you have left is muscle, and a tiny teeny weenie bit of fat. the less fat you have, the harder it is to burn unfortunately.

i know i topped out at 169 as well actually, but i am a teeny bit taller, BUT i also don't lift weights or do any weight bearing exercises, just hard cardio.

i mean, if you are in fact dominantly muscle, the only way to lose more lb-age would be to lose muscle mass unfortunately. which i am sure you do not want to sacrifice. you've done a fantastic job, how long have you been stuck for?

[4star]

Perhaps your excess skin weighs more than you think? Perhaps you are at the very slow part of the journey with the last few hanging on? I know you've recently gotten into the 160s. Maybe your body just isn't ready to go lower right now b/c it just let some go?

[kateleestar]

I'm 5'7", and I can't get past 178. I've been here, oh.. almost two months. Not a large amt of time in my "journey" but.. I've always had some sort of change in that time. I lose slow, so I'm okay with it, but.. I'm also noticing things like my super small wrists, my hip bones are visible when I stand up (and, obv, dont have pants on, LOL), my shoulders are bony, my collar bones have always-visible-sunken in-ish places.. if that makes sense, lol.. my knees are SO bony... I still have a belly (I'm an apple) but I'm losing inches, I'm just not dropping lbs anymore. SO WEIRD. I've even lowered my cals, upped my workouts and changed things up (which has always worked before) and NOTHING is working now.

I had the 'maybe this is muscle' thought also. I mean, I've gone down another size. This is me thinking out loud, but maybe I'll eat at maint for a while and see where I am in 2 or 3 months. I'm a daily weigher, so I'll still do that, but I won't be 'crazy' like I'm doing now. I'll up my cals to 1600 and just do my cardo/ST and not workout for like, an hour and a 1/2, lol..

Hhm.

Also, OP, I agree with 4star. Your excess skin might weigh more than you think. I had a friend who had WLS 3 years ago, and she just had her skin removal on 7/3.. They took off 22lbs. We were SHOCKED, lol. She had tummy tuck, arm lift and thigh lift. She looks almost the same, but she said she feels better without all that skin hanging everywhere. She went down a pants size, a shirt size and doesnt have to wear any of the skin-holding-in-things anymore.

GL with your surgery! I'm going to have a tummy tuck too, but after I get prego next year. Only doing that once, so I can get it maybe in 2014.

[bargoo]

The sad truth is that the less you have to lose the harder it is. You have done an amazing job at losing. Stick with what you are doing and it will come off. Don't give up.

[mortonpixie]

Totally agree with bargoo - it just gets harder as we get thinner. I would actually encourage more weight lifting (and I mean HEAVY lifting) to add fat burning muscle to your frame. Happy that you are having "the surgery." My sister has lost 165lbs and has SO much trouble with loose skin....I never realized how much of a problem it is!

[JossFit]

Originally Posted by stimkovs

hey, at 169 lbs, i'm assuming you work out, it is quite possible that all you have left is muscle, and a tiny teeny weenie bit of fat. the less fat you have, the harder it is to burn unfortunately.

Yeeeah.... not likely. I don't want to be a jerk, but if she were "mostly muscle" she would NOT be worried about excess weight. People don't accidentally become mostly muscle just by doing normal weightlifting.

I lift HARD and HEAVY and eat a diet high in calories in order to build muscle, do CrossFit and combatives, etc. and would say I am now mostly muscle... I'm at about 10% bodyfat, which is EXTREMELY lean for a female. At this point I have absolutely no misconceptions about what my body is comprised of... its pretty obvious.

I would also venture to guess that the excess skin is a factor.

Op: How long has it been since you adjusted your diet/calories/workout program?

[camper67]

I am 5'7.5 and I cannot get down past 157. I go up a couple and then down a couple and the same thing happens every month. I get as low as 155 a week after my period, but then with my cycle it pops back up to 157-160. Extremely frustrating. I up my workout and calories on the weekend and then go back down to 1400-1500 during the week. I am doing light weights and a lot of cardio. 100 minutes during the week and 120 on the weekends. Going to try to not up my calories this weekend and see it there is any change. I want to weigh 145, but I am thinking my body is saying no way. I have been stuck for a about 3 months now if not longer.

[kelly315]

You lost so much sooo fast that your body is probably just dealing with what's happened. I'm sure things will really shape up after the surgery, and maybe by that time your body will be more receptive to losing more (if you decide you want to).