Question for the slow losers

[JamieLogical 8,708]

Given that I was a rapid loser to start with and I've slowed to a crawl (average daily weight loss last 30 days is 0.34lb/day)

Sorry. Pretty hard for me to sympathize with you there! I lost 0.6 pounds last week and 1 pound the week before that. At least the scale is still moving.... occasionally. Just calculated it and over the last month I'm averaging 0.18 per day. My "crawl" is half as fast as yours.... or is it twice as slow?

I see what you mean but consider this. You had your surgery two months before I did. Not counting the 10 pounds I lost on preop liquids which was Water weight anyway, I've lost 37.6% of my excess body fat. Looking at your numbers, it looks like you've lost about 45%. I know you're kinda bummed about being a slow loser and I admire your post I've seen around about accepting that about yourself and making the most of your journey. But when you look at how many pounds people have lost alone, it's easy to lose sight of the overall picture. I know you know the saying, the more you have to lose, the faster you lose. I had a lot more than you to lose and now I'm closer to where you started and it's slowing down.

So maybe instead of looking at being a slow loser because the pounds aren't adding up, we should start looking at where our percentage of excess body fat is compared to where we started.

LOL look at it this way, would you rather be a slow loser with only 34 pounds to go or a faster loser like me with 90 pounds to go?

Sorry my post came across as "kind of bummed." I was trying to be humorous. I really am pretty accepting of my slow loss. I do get frustrated by it from time to time, depending on my mood and what other factors are going on, but for the most part, I'm very happy with my loss so far and the fact that I AM still losing. Definitely beats the alternative!

[beachgurl84 456]

Sorry my post came across as "kind of bummed." I was trying to be humorous. I really am pretty accepting of my slow loss. I do get frustrated by it from time to time, depending on my mood and what other factors are going on, but for the most part, I'm very happy with my loss so far and the fact that I AM still losing. Definitely beats the alternative!

Rock on!!!! Slow is better than none! And even on mornings like today where I wake up and I've gained 2 pounds, I only cry a little, lol, because I know it's all part of the process.

[Truckerchic 171]

Fast or slow, sometimes our goals we have in mind are not what our bodies want and may always be a struggle. I learned to let go of the scale and a number. I am focused more on changing my relationship with food and since this is a lifelong process my goal is to be healthy no matter what the scale says

Edited March 6, 2015 by Truckerchic

[Beni 1,484]

I too have slowed down to a crawl. When I was shopping for a WLS surgeon, one told me the human body is very good at holding on to the fat stores. It will do anything it can to keep them. It will lower our metabolism to a crawl to keep the fat. He explained how some people are baffled that they exercise and still don't lose weight. He said the body compensates for the extra calorie expenditure by literally placing you in a state of low energy for the rest of the day. Things like feeling cold at the extremities, not moving much at all. I have started to notice some of this is happening with me. It's almost like my body is only using the smallest movement possible to accomplish the task. I think what he was trying to say is we have to ramp up energy consumption all day long. I am going to be more mindful of this principle. That means maintaining a high energy output all day long. Yes, I can take a few breaks but I have to be moving most of the time. Does this make sense?

I think my metabolism is so efficient a preserving fat stores it has reduced my calorie expenditure to the absolute min. I have to fight that somehow. I was doing this for a long while but winter got depressing and its so cold outside. I was to the point of cleaning all my windows, vacuuming almost everyday, window shopping for 4 hours at a time and I did those things just to be moving. It got pretty funny. One day I even cleaned all the surfaces of the furnace and Water heater. I literally became a cleaning fiend. I figured I either go to a health club 5 days a week or I clean for 3 hours per day. I made my choice. Now I'm slacking on that. My house is just all clean, lol!

[Sunshine_Gal 68]

@@Beni So I'm really curious, by expending more energy all day did you see the weight come off faster?

[shugal 48]

Uh oh ....maybe I shouldn't have read this thread? seems to me you all have lost a LOT...my doc says it can be as low as 1/2 lb week which I figure is sweet because it's half a pound LOST and Not gai

I have PCOS so I am not expecting huge weight loss per month...but wow seems to me you all have lost a LOT wow

[Alex Brecher 10,512]

I would also like to see a sub forum just for slow losers, just so we can all commiserate without annoying everyone else I know another site I'm on (not as much as this one) has one that's called "Slow Losers Unite!" Anyone else think that would be nice to have our own sub forum?

What do you say, @@Alex Brecher?

We have a Slow Losers Unite forum located at http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/426-slow-losers-unite/ .

[snowkitten 371]

Uh oh ....maybe I shouldn't have read this thread? seems to me you all have lost a LOT...my doc says it can be as low as 1/2 lb week which I figure is sweet because it's half a pound LOST and Not gai

I have PCOS so I am not expecting huge weight loss per month...but wow seems to me you all have lost a LOT wow

Don't get me wrong, I'm very very greatful for all the weight I've lost. Any amount is good... BUT for my starting surgery weight (347) and age (28) I'm considered a slow loser (doesn't help I stalled for 1.5 months). Losing 58 pounds in 6 months seems a little low for those stats. And I never had the rapid weight loss of a honeymoon period that I hear so much about. I've had to work hard for every pound. I think the reason I freak over this the most is because my surgeon was disappointed in my weight loss at my last appointment. Hard not to feel like a slow loser when the experts think u are.

[snowkitten 371]

Oops, that was suppose to be 28 not 2 with a smile lol

[chunkyloverlovesyou 197]

@@JamieLogical

I just had my 6 month evaluation with my nutritionist yesterday and she seems perfectly happy with my progress. Her goal for me was to be below 30% body fat by 6 months and as of yesterday I was at 29.2%. She doesn't actually care about weight, just body fat percentage. Her only criticisms of me were that I was only taking 2 Multivitamins a day, instead of 3 and that I was using Protein bars for supplementation instead of the brand of Protein shakes they push. Oh, and I was taking sublingual B12... she wants me on liquid B12.< /p>

That nutritionist is kind of a quack, the way they push their brand of crap and scoff at any of your own methods. For that very reason, I refuse to buy any of their sh*t. As for as weight percentage goes, I also think it's bull (unless you get it done via professional Water test) I've had 3 different fat scales and they all vary by up to 20 percent.

[JamieLogical 8,708]

That nutritionist is kind of a quack, the way they push their brand of crap and scoff at any of your own methods. For that very reason, I refuse to buy any of their sh*t. As for as weight percentage goes, I also think it's bull (unless you get it done via professional Water test) I've had 3 different fat scales and they all vary by up to 20 percent.

Well, as long as I'm measuring my body fat percentage on the same scale every time and see it trending downward, what does it matter how accurate it is? And thanks for making me feel like sh**, btw.

[chunkyloverlovesyou 197]

Well, as long as I'm measuring my body fat percentage on the same scale every time and see it trending downward, what does it matter how accurate it is? And thanks for making me feel like sh**, btw.

Sorry didn't mean to offend, I was aiming at the nutritionist, not at your progress (you are doing great, just keep at it)..I just don't buy into their supplements BS, got the money-hungry vibe from them. They will operate on anyone with cash in hand

[Kindle 8,667]

@@JamieLogical Sounds like you are doing really well on your plan, but let me throw this out there.... When I was losing and things would slow down, I noticed I could kick start the my loss when I would change things up. Eat stuff I hadn't eaten before. You are getting loads of Protein (more than I ever did) but not getting any (or very little) veggies or fruit. How about cutting back to 80g protein and using that extra sleeve room for more veggies and a little fruit? They contain nutrients your body may be lacking that just can't be duplicated in a Vitamin supplement. You won't be upping your overall calories, they will just be different calories. Our bodies can kind of get "nutritionally stagnant" after awhile and giving it something different to digest and utilize may stop the cycle and make it feel like it's OK to give up the fat. Just my thoughts and something I found worked for me.

Edited March 9, 2015 by Kindle

[BarnGirlWK 98]

@@Kindle - I like your advice to @@JamieLogical. And what you advise is what I am currently doing. However, I have recently been instructed by my nutritionist that perhaps I need to curtail the carbs (even the good ones) in favour of Protein. I believe I said above somewhere that I cannot eat meat/protein alone. I like vegetables and they tolerate well and make me feel good. Having said that, there is room for improvement in using things like Protein Bars. Some of them have great Protein content (22 g - 30 g), but some have very high carbohydrate content (like 24 g). If I could stick to protein shakes that have only about 2-4 g of carb, I think that will improve things, too.

But, I agree that @@JamieLogical could shake things up, at least temporarily, by reducing protein and adding fruit and veg in manageable amounts.

Edited March 9, 2015 by BarnGirlWK

[samuelsmom 670]

@Kindle Your comments reminded me of something a Weight Watchers lecturer said quite a few years ago. This woman had lost 150 pounds. She said that when you hit a stall to change things up for 2 weeks.

I have found that I lose weight consistently for a few weeks, then don't lose any for a few weeks and then start losing again. Changing things really helps. I also throw in an all liquids day every once in a while just to keep my body guessing and that helps too!