(I know you aren't doctors and that everyone is different and so on and so forth - just want to know if anyone has had a similar experience!)

I started this month at 298 pounds and with a vacation where I was in my perfect calorie range five of the seven days and the days that were over were only over by a couple hundred.

I then got home, continuing OP, and began feeling symptoms of a UTI, which for me means I've already had it for awhile. Then my period came so I chalked up the UTI symptoms to PMS and got on with my life.

Then I got an ear infection.

Then I got strep throat.

Somewhere between the ear thing and the strep thing my period ended.

Ear thing and strep thing were fought off without antibiotics but last night my kidney pain started screaming STOP IGNORING ME so I went to the doc today and am starting a 10 day course of antibiotics for the lovely kidney infection I managed to give myself.

Today I weighed 300.4 and I have been perfectly within my calories the entire month except for those two vacation days.

I am frustrated beyond belief. I have not been exercising as being sick has really beat the **** out of me however, I adjusted my calories starting on my first day of vacation to compensate for the lack of movement.

This month is now almost over and I have been perfectly on plan food wise (obviously not exercise wise but I feel so awful all the time, plus I just found out I am anemic so I need to adjust my vitamin regimen as well) and I am up two pounds. I know two pounds is not a big deal in the grand scheme of things but I am just so angry and frustrated. It's not the kind of angry and frustrated where I am going to give up and binge because I don't even want to anymore - I have lost my taste for overeating thank god - but it is frustrating the **** out of me.

I've been eating an average of 1700 calories (I eat 2200 when I work out) and before this month I had been losing FABULOUSLY. I was not expecting to plateau this early and I am really just so angry and frustrated and disappointed.

I just keep watching Dirty Dancing and crying and thinking about how sick I feel and how tired I feel and how I get dizzy and nauseous whenever I do anything more strenuous than wash my hair (and I've even been getting it WHILE washing my hair sometimes) and how my body might just decide to stay 300 pounds forever and I'll never be able to sit on my husband's lap and he'll never be able to pick me up and twirl me around. And it's just making me so depressed and I don't understand why.

So am I due for a whoosh? Or do I need to drop my calories more while I'm not working out? Is it the myriad of maladies I've been experiencing? I have tried kickstarting with a maintenance day - nothing. I calorie cycle - nothing.

Please tell me I am due for a whoosh soon, I just feel so horrible physically right now that I cannot handle feeling so horrible mentally on top of it.

First, lots of , , . I get the feeling you really want one from your post.

Second, let's take your concerns one by one. You want to see a whoosh. From what you're saying, you might see one! Who's to say that the combination of your meds and infections/illnesses weren't making you retain water for so long? Once you're cured and all signs of illness are gone, THEN you can start to worry about your weight. Until then, use the energy to get better so you can get back on the wagon sooner.

I firmly believe that diet and exercise make up 80%/20% (respectively) of weight loss. Lots of people start their journeys by just focusing on the diet aspect and then move on to exercise. They manage to lose just by using this process, so there's no reason why you shouldn't lose as well.

Finally, don't get disheartened about never leaving the 300s. You will. It might not be tomorrow and it might not be next week, but it could very well be in the future if you want it to go. From your post, I can see that you do, so again, there's no reason why you wouldn't lose weight.

Be patient with yourself. Your body is preoccupied with getting back to normal so weight loss will be a second priority. Don't get upset if you don't see a loss. Once you get better, start tackling it and then you'll see a loss.

One more for the road: .

I know when I am ill, my body retains water. It needs the extra water to help fight of infection. Between the infections, antibiotics, period, being anemic...I would continue with your healthy balanced menu and give your body some time to heal. I have been stuck for almost 6 months. But todays WI was a happy one for me. You are in this for the long run and this is just a bump in the road. I understand you feel grossly off with being sick and the last thing you really want to deal with is the big bad scale. They will move down again! Hugs

I say congratulations for staying so on plan through all of that.

I think with so many illnesses and medications, you're just going to have to let everything settle down. I definitely think your good eating will pay off!

good job staying on plan! i am also at a VERY frustrating plateau (6 weeks) and i literally teared up when i saw the scale this week. you just have to stick to it and eventually, the scale will budge. you might see a drop soon, i tend to retain water when im sick also. good luck and hang in there!

Well gosh. You have anemia and infection... and you think you should cut calories more??

This doesn't make sense. You need more than just antibiotics to get well--you also need to have enough nutrients to heal. I would aim for maintenance level until you're clear of the infection, and include enough proteins for repairing tissue. And drink plenty of water! I have had a kidney infection myself in the past, and it totally saps your energy. Try to get a little bit of walking in, but my non-professional suggestion would be that you take it easy.

Jay

i think you're doing great just staying on the plan right now, life isn't always what we want it to be, this is the time for you to stick to your plan, don't fret the scales and give your body some time to do its work, it will, maybe not always when we want it to , but it will, pretty soon, your weigh and say"wow, how did i loose all that" yap, stick with the plan and your body will catch up,,

NOoch, my heart goes out to you. That is alot to deal with. I think once your body gets through this period of time you will come out feeling much better and may even get the whoosh that you are lookin for. The meds that you are on can really screw up your system in regards to water retention and so forth. My suggestion is to keep eating the way you are and up the water intake and relax. Let the amazing thing that is your body do what it was designed to do and then come out fighting when it is done.

Something to remember......the body has setpoints and sometimes when we disrupt those setpoints it freaks out a bit. So, be patient, let homeostasis rebalance and then shoot for the stars!!! I know you can do it.

I think you are probably way too low on calories for your weight. You cut 500 calories to compensate for lack of exercise but I think that is probably too much. Few of us can consistently burn 500 calories a day exercising. I agree that your body needs the right number of calories even more now w/the illnesses. I would put the scale away, finish your antibiotic cycle and go back to at least your old calorie level and rest, rest, rest as much as possible to get yourself well. This will all keep.

Hugs and hope the antibiotics do their magic very soon.

Peg

I don't know of any advice I can give, but I can give you a

Feel better!

Thanks, everybody. Man, I was near-hysterical when I wrote that. After some decent sleep I feel a little bit more clear-headed.

It's interesting that you suggested raising my calories back up for the duration of my plague - my doctor seemed to think I was eating too much. But I am truly exhausted and you guys are right, I can't be guilting myself about feeling like a weight loss failure when my body is screaming at me.

Thank you so much.

Glad you are feeling better in the morning light. I have a huge bias about MD's and nutrition advice. I've just heard too many whacked out things come out of doctor's mouths that just don't line up with what my experience or many scientific studies. It's just not part of their training in any meaningful fashion, especially for a general practitioner. If you aren't seeing someone specially trained in obesity and nutrition, I would take whatever they suggest with a grain of salt and a second opinion!

Peg

Glad to hear that you are feeling better this morning! p7eggyC is right. Many doctors don't understand how weight reduction works. Take care of your body now and then come back at with guns ablazing!!!

Nooch, hang in there, nurture and nourish yourself, and let your body fight infection, metabolize medications and rest. You are doing great staying on plan thru this- that's so key, the more you stay on plan, the more normal it is to just BE that way. When your body is at equilibrium, I wouldn't be surprised if that whoosh came along. But the best thing is that you continue to maintain and reinforce healthy habits for life! you are about to say goodbye to 300 forever! if you keep doing what you are doing, there is no stopping you!!!

PS- and honestly,antibiotics tend to make me feel really bloated and crappy. the last time i was prescribed them, i quit after two days because i felt so gross and nauseous. (they were prescribed for a skin problem, rosacea, and i felt like i could live with my icky complexion until the topical meds took effect. with a uti you dont have an option! so I feel you there- I appreciate what antibiotics can do, but taking them always wreaks havoc on my system and sometimes my sanity! (the sullfa ones- whoa! )

Yup, that is what I'm taking - sulfameth/trimethoprim. It's not making me feel as awful as some others have in the past but I still have 8 days left - there is time.

I'm not weighing myself until I've been given a clean bill of health - it is seriously not worth my sanity.