Weight loss

[kwilli8 8]

I had my surgery Sept 17th. I feel like I am not losing weight fast enough. I have lost 31 lbs in 7 weeks. Just had 8 wk post op date but weigh in tomorrow. My RD feels it's too fast, made me bring my calories up to 1000 which I can barely achieve. Iron in blood too high so I had to change my MVI to one without iron. Albumin low so she made me add a Protein Shake each day. Getting frustrated....heard 5 to 15 lbs a week of weight loss...I am averaging 4 1/2 week. Actually most of the weight was early post op...now 1 to 2 lbs a week. Frustrated!

[SuzeMuze 338]

It's really hard not to compare ourselves with other people or with what we've heard/read about potential weight loss after surgery, isn't it? (this reminds me of the blog entry I just sent to Jonathan Blue last night!) I know I've caught myself doing that very same thing- wondering how with so few calories a day just why the weight wasn't simply falling off of me. While I'm no doctor, I've read a few other things (in addition to talks with my surgeon) that have made me feel a bit better.

First, from what I understand, how quickly you lose weight is based partly on your initial metabolism, health, and BMI. In other words, a person who has 80 pounds to lose will generally lose it at a slower rate than someone who has 200 pounds to lose. Makes sense to me- if I'm not as heavy as someone else at the start of my weight loss, I'm not depriving myself of as many calories as the other person- hence the slower weight loss.

Second, expecting 5-15 pounds a week is just unrealistic (in my non-medical, unsolicited opinion). Chances are, you didn't gain the weight at that rate- losing it won't happen that way either. Plus, once your body gets over the shock of surgery, if you don't maintain adequate nutrition as suggested by your surgeon, your body can switch into "panic" mode where it will actually burn fat slower as it's convinced your body is starving. (which it kind of is) It may be hard to get in all of the calories/nutrition suggested by your surgical team, but they really do know best, and will be saving your health in the long run. Just my two cents

[Bring It On 55]

_{Sounds like you are losing at a really fast rate. My surgery was 9/11/14 and as of today I have lost 42 lbs, but I was not on a pre-surgery diet because my goal was 90 lbs. I have been losing between 2-3 lbs each week since the first big weight loss of 17 lbs right after surgery. All the literature I have read, including what my doctor tells me, is that most people having RNY will lose the majority of the weight in 6-9 months. For sleeves, it was 9-15 months. I'm just glad to see and feel the weight coming off!!!!}