MaameWata

Hey all, I have a bit of a dilemma. According to the FitBit watch I wear everyday, I burn on average around 3000 calories a day. I eat no more than 1,300 calories however, and drink my 2 litres of water but I'm unable to lose any more weight? I've been at this plateau for about 3 months now (which is annoying because I'm a stone away from my goal weight), either staying at exactly the same weight or adding 2/3 pounds a week and it's so frustrating. I can't find any info on why this may be the case, so I thought I would ask you guys to see if you could shed any light? If I'm burning more than I'm eating, surely I could be losing weight instead of gaining? I know muscle weighs more than fat and that it could just be me gaining the muscle I've been trying to build from strength training, but it's incredibly disheartening. The only time I seem to lose weight now is if I go on a 3-5 day liquid diet, but I shouldn't have to rely on doing that every week to lose weight, surely? More info below for context: - 8 months post op - A stone away from my goal weight - I consume as much protein as I physically can a day (between 40-70g a day) vitamins and water - I work out 4 to 5 days a week, mostly strength training with a bit of cardio - I'll probably have carbs 2/3 times a week. Sweet potatoes mostly. Perhaps a sandwich if I'm out.

Thank you for this! According to my watch, I burn between 500-600 calories for an hour workout (but now I don't know what to believe re: the watches now!) My fitbit says it takes into account calories burned while sedentary/resting/moving about too.

Hi and thank you so much for the above! I didn't know that about the watches, thank you for this insight. I think I do need to up my protein - I find it difficult to get a lot of it from food as I don't find myself that hungry that often. With regards to sleep, this may be my fault I fear. I tend to get between 4-6 hours a night every day, and I take probiotics maybe once a week in pill format? I need to book an appointment for bloodwork as I haven't had any done since the surgery. Thank you so much for all these suggestions!

thank you so much for your comments guys! will deffo take it into consideration

I'm 6 months post gastric sleeve and even though I haven't lost a lot of weight unfortunately, (65lbs or something like that) I've noticed a dramatic loss in my boobs. I've always had saggy boobs but at least when I was bigger, the fat evened it out. Now that I'm lighter, they have deflated completely and look absolutely ghastly and my confidence has completely disappeared. It's also made the side fat around my boobs even worse, and my arm fat is also quite a lot too. I want to have a breast uplift as well as an arm lift, but I don't want to have to separate surgeries to have them - is it possible to combine them in one procedure? Have any of you had both done at the same time and what were your experiences/would you recommend? I'm based in London, but I don't know whether to find somewhere in Turkey or something to have it done as I can imagine the cost of having it done here may be expensive. Thank you in advance!

loool

Hi all! I’m a new member of the group - I hope you’re all well! I had gastric sleeve surgery on 31st January 2023, after losing 13lbs on the pre-op diet. On the morning of my surgery, I weighed 281lbs. I lost no weight in the first week even though I was drinking my required water intake and having between 60-80g of protein a day. Today is two weeks post op. I’m officially allowed to move onto purées and so first thing this morning, I weighed myself and I’ve only lost 4lbs?? I try not to compare myself to others, but I’m so disheartened and even low key regret having the surgery now. I keep seeing people reporting a stone weight loss in a week, 12 lbs a week, 8 lbs the second week etc and so I assumed this would be the same for me. I’ve been very strict with my post op diet and making sure to get in at least 30 mins of movement a day. I’ve typically been consuming protein shakes, water, protein yogurt, tomato soups and the odd sugar-free/fat free children’s ice cream lolly. I feel like I’m doing something wrong, and feel like a bit of a failure. I feel like my body is actively working against me. I spoke to my bariatric nurse who just said ‘you’re still healing, give it time’, but I don’t know if it’s just an excuse.

Hey guys, Apologies for not updating this thread. I've been personally struggling with this weight loss despite everything. I've lost a bit more weight, but even with the help of the dietician, the weight loss is incredibly slow and it's still making me feel like a failure. On average it seems like I lose about 3 pounds a month despite the high protein intake, small meals, liquids and exercise. Today I woke up feeling particularly upset, as I started a 4 mile walking challenge to see if I could walk four miles every day for a week (in the morning). Today is Wednesday (day 3) and before i started walking, I decided to weigh myself. I've put on 2 and a half pounds since this SATURDAY just gone! I weighed myself yesterday morning too and I've put on a pound since then. I won't lie. I just burst into tears. I feel like i've been doing everything right. I'm burning around 3500 calories a day, according to my Fitbit watch. I'm eating/drinking between 50-80g of protein. I'm drinking my 2 liters of liquids and I'm still eating from a side plate, always prioritizing the protein first. I'm doing everything, but I feel like my body is rebelling against me. Everything in my being is telling me to start fasting and to start doing liquid diets/slimfast shakes again, but because I have a history of eating disorders, I don't want to lean back into old habits in order to lose weight. I bought slimfast meals two weeks and did the liquid diet/pouch reset for two days and lost a pound and a half - but I don't want to rely on only having liquids in order to lose weight. I've been loitering between 243-240lbs for over a MONTH now with no budge. I'm so disappointed in myself and it feels like all the exercise i'm doing is in vain. Has anyone gone through similar? Edited to add: My goal weight is 215lbs. Being bigger/curvy runs in my family, and I actually like being a little bigger as I find curves attractive so I purposely did not want to be unrealistic when setting my final goal. I've read elsewhere on the forum that weight loss can be harder when you're getting nearer to your goal or when you're in the last 20-30lbs of weight loss. Is this true?

I feel you! I haven't weighed myself as of yet as I'm a bit scared to, tbh. I think I've probably gained weight. I'm going to weigh myself next week as I'm coming on 9 weeks post-op with less than 30lbs weight loss. I still have problems with water (especially when working all day) and I don't count/track calories due to old eating disorder habits that focused on counting calories. I'm starting the gym next week too, so I'm hoping that will work!

I had my first follow up with my surgeon last night as this week makes it 6 weeks. I told him all my concerns that I shared in this thread and he basically told me to stop comparing myself to everyone else, as people lose weight at different speeds. He also told me that I don't need to be juggling down the 50g protein shakes I have been doing as it's all liquid calories, and that now I can eat solid foods again, to concentrate more on food protein than liquid protein. He said he's very happy with my progress, although I don't know if I believe him? I've stalled for the last three weeks and put on a pound this week, but he seems to be happy that I've lost a stone since 31st January. Personally, I think it's very slow. But I guess that's part of the comparison stuff isn't it? I'm moving house so I've packed my scales away and am going to try and weigh myself once every two weeks.

But I'm not hungry at all. I'm not eating lmao. Also I tried the juices, it's not something I still drink to this day. My body isn't the biggest fan of citrus so I tried about two glasses over two weeks and stopped.

Hey! I've put on 2lbs this week, but I'm putting it down to the stress of moving house (I'm currently in the packing/clearing out stages) and not making room for exercise. I'm also officially back onto solid, normal foods so I'm assuming there will probably be some weight gain there too.

I used Spire too. I was at Spire St Anthony’s in Cheam and it was self pay. yeaterday I had: a protein yogurt (25g) Two tablespoons of a spinach and fish stew my mum made me for lunch, Babybel Light cheese x2 for a snack, another two table spoons of the stew for dinner x1 25g protein drink 1.5ish litres of water.

I found out that not onlY have I not lost weight, but I’ve put on 2lbs. I know it all takes time, but even after doing all the right things and sticking to the plan, my body is resistant to it. Thank you for all your help but I am beginning to regret this surgery. Maybe it doesn’t work for all bodies. I’ll let my surgeon know when I have my 6 week checkup and ask how long it’ll take to stretch my stomach back to normal. There’s no point in me eating minimal amounts anymore if I can’t even lose the weight - I may as well go back to how I was eating before and actually enjoy food again.

Mentally I feel better as I haven't weighed myself at all! I don't really measure my body in inches and stuff so I have no idea how many I've lost, but my jeans and trousers are a lot baggier around the waist. My face looks a little smaller too.

Aww thanks so much! It's been a month now so I think I'm in the throes of the 3/4 week stall as I'm now on soft foods/semi-normal foods. I haven't weighed myself since the last time I wrote in here and my mental health is a lot better for it. I've noticed my jeans fit a lot looser around my waist, but that's about it. I'm going to perhaps weigh myself at the end of march and see if there's a difference.

Thank you so so much my love, I’m going to try my hardest to keep this in mind ❤️❤️

I decided to buy myself new scales that included fat/bone/water mass etc, and found out that my water percentage is 35%, meaning I’m incredibly dehydrated. I don’t know if it is water weight I’m holding onto, as my water weight is so low already. I’ve always found it incredibly difficult to consume liquids, especially water as my stomach can only hold so much - even before the surgery. At the moment it takes me about 10-12 hours to drink a litre at most and I’ve tried things like fruit juices and teas etc…I just feel like I’m constantly forcing myself - on top of forcing myself to have protein shakes and soups and all the purées, I spend most of my time having to think about food and drink - planning my days around it - this was the opposite of what I wanted out of my surgery. Anyway, today I hit the 3 week mark and excluding the weight loss from the liver shrinking diet, I’ve lost a grand total of….. 1.1lb. Thank you all for your kind messages of support, but I think it’s safe to say that maybe this sleeve has failed me. I guess it won’t work for everyone, and I’m annoyed at how much money I’ve wasted on this procedure that could have gone towards a house deposit. Apologies for the negativity, I’m just incredibly frustrated and disappointed in myself.

Thank you all so much for your advice. Against my better judgement, I weighed myself this morning again only to see that I’m still exactly the same - so for the sake of my mental health I think I’m going to take the scales out of my home for a while.

First of all, well done on the loss! 💪🏾💪🏾 That’s amazing. I can’t tell you how much more i feel at ease after reading this. At the hospital, they did give me quite a few iv packs of water come to think of it, so I’ll continue to stick to the plan and give it time. Thank you so much!

Thank you ever so much for responding! i don’t log calories and have decided not to as I used to have an eating disorder which surrounded excessive calorie counting, and I don’t wish to get back into that routine. I will focus more on low carb/high protein intake when I eventually start eating solid food again. The yogurts and soups I buy all linger between the 100-200 calorie range I guess, and I usually have one yogurt and 4/5 tablespoons of plain tomato soup a day. The rest are UFit shakes and water x