Why is weight loss so slow?-From a newbie.

[TravelLady48 0]

My doctors say I will lose weight very slowly,maybe only 1 or 2 lbs a week. It would seem that if the calories are so restricted due to the size of the pouch the weight loss should be faster. My goal is over 100 lbs.

I have never had a problem losing weight with most "diets' and excercise, but keeping off has been the problem. :tt2:

Can anyone enlightenme on this?

[Jachut 487]

Well, calories arent that restricted with the band, not necessarily. I did lose at about 1lb a week, a bit more at the start, but I ate around 1500 calories a day all the way through.

To me, that was a level of restriction which qualified as a lifestyle change, rather than a restrictive diet. Many eat far less of course though. Many STILL lose weight slowly eating less. Any weight loss at any speed is a great thing.

of course you can have your band tighter and eat less, but that often means you have much more trouble eating a wide variety of foods, suffer more from vomiting and blockages, and even fall into the soft food syndrome where you eat the easy to eat foods, which are usually not the good low fat ones you need to be eating.

Losing weight faster than 1 to 2lb a week is really not necessary, its not necessarily healthy, you run the risk of losing more lean body tissue, and of having loose skin, which is a problem for most people losing a lot of weight anyway.

A year to lose 100lb is damned good if you ask me. I actually would call it fast! I also think that you need to lose it slowly enough to let your head absorb the changes as you go.

Dont worry about it, use your tool right and you'll lose weight in a healthy and gradual way.

Of course, the amount of exercise you do plays a large factor.

[2GoodDogs 6]

I've also lost good amounts of weight with diet and exercise. It is when I fell out of habit and pattern that the weight returns. I'm having the lap band so that when my willpower leaves me flat, the band can do its job and restrict. Only me can get me moving, and I feel so much better when I do.

So, by trial and error, exercise will be part of my life. It helps that I enjoy walking the dogs and love my Curves women's fitness center.

As for slow weight loss, I'm in menopause and I'll be thrilled with 2 lbs. a week!

Can't wait, next Thursday is surgery!

[cheryl1952 0]

Whether or not we lose fast in our fifties we will have all that loose skin and that is what I dread. Plus, people tell me I don't look my age and losing weight will age me but I want to be healthy and that is a small price to pay. I have a friend who had the lapband in February and she is in her forties. She has lost 65 lbs and her cholestrol has gone from 261 to normal. Her doctor took her off her medicine she had been taking for 10 years and she feels great. I can't wait!

Cheryl

[KelinTx 1]

I think alot of it has to do with the amount of weight you have to lose. I lost super fast in the beginning because of the large amount i needed to lose. Now that im inching closer to somewhat of a normal weight im thrilled to death if i lose a pound a week!

[Rivieramaya05 0]

I think it's really important to keep in mind that the band as you know is a tool. You can do what you want with it. People who use it and work hard have a fantastic outcome usually and then there are people who "eat around the band" or maybe don't try as hard. Their results may be slower.

2 lbs a week is a good weightloss and you won't risk having to have gallblader issues. Like you, I have a lot of weight to lose. 2 lbs a week makes me thing it will take FOREVER to lose weight. Just remember you didn't gain all your weight overnight it's not going to just go away overnight. You can do it!

[kbinaz 0]

One of the main reasons people choose the band over G.B. is for exactly that reason. It is healthier to lose weight slowly. Lots of people, by the way, do lose more than 1-2 pounds a week. I am not one of them and I kind of wish I was but in the overall scheme of things it doesn't really matter how long it takes me to get to goal, what matters is that I am moving in the right direction and getting there! And believe it or not, 1-2 pounds a week really does add up pretty quickly.

[TravelLady48 0]

Thanks for the reply Cheryl. I too am older but do not look my age and have worried about the saggy skin I will have, but I need this for my health.

Anne

[TravelLady48 0]

Good luck on your surgery. Thanks for your reply.

I also feel 2 lbs a week is great, but it was the doctor who mentioned that it just was not enough for the amount of weight I need to lose. He is the one telling me that with my BMI 51, that GB is my best choice. I fell it should be my choice and GB is not for me.

[Jachut 487]

I truly would think that losing weight super fast is only really vital if your in dire straits health wise. Like if you're a heart attack waiting ot happen TOMORROW and you need to get the weight off fast.

Many obese people have all the warning signs and comorbidities but are pretty stable health wise, they're not in immediate crisis, and a slow steady weight loss is MUCH healthier,.

Fast weight loss can do pretty awful things to you too.

There's tons of people here whose docs leaned strongly towards GBP rather than the band, and really its for no other reason than the lapband has not been done for as long in the states and they're not as familiar with the outcomes. Fast weight loss at first happens with GPB but at five years out, weight loss with both surgeries is about the same.

[2GoodDogs 6]

My doctor was trying to push me toward the Roux NY - because of my age, my weight (314, bmi 52) but my surgeon said either would be good.

So lapband here I come, this THURSDAY!

[orea15 0]

Good luck on your surgery. Thanks for your reply.

I also feel 2 lbs a week is great, but it was the doctor who mentioned that it just was not enough for the amount of weight I need to lose. He is the one telling me that with my BMI 51, that GB is my best choice. I fell it should be my choice and GB is not for me.

My surgeon said the same thing -- at my weight, he recommends the bypass. When I said that for me, it was band or nothing, he said that the reason he recommends the bypass is that people get impatient with the slower weight loss. I told him I am perfectly wiling to be patient and spend a few years doing it as necessary. No way am I getting my insides rearranged! He said fine, he is okay with giving me the band instead.

It's up to me to make it work as well as possible!

Orea

[TravelLady48 0]

I hae no problem with the slow weight loss, because I feel that it will be better on my body. Its the doctor who refused to do the band on me who said I would not be satisfied with the slow weight loss. He probably has never been obese and doesn't realize how happy I will be to lose 50 lbs in a year and keep it off. Hopefully, my co-mobids will also be be better or eleminated.

Anne from Pasadena, Ca

[Shamrockgirl60 1]

I will be banded in August. I would be thrilled to lose 2 lbs. a week. That's 8-10 lbs a month. So in 10 months I will lose all my extra weight. Sounds pretty good to me. Losing slowly and exercising will mean less skin sag I would think. Even at 60 my skin is pretty elastic. So I hope I won't have to get a huge Tummy Tuck etc.....maybe wishful thinking on my part. I just want to wear normal sizes again and not shop in the fat lady shops.

[Who'sThere 331]

Take it from me, you don't want to lose the weight any faster than that. I did a commercial weight-loss program in 03 and lost 100 lbs in about 7.5 months. Along with that came gall bladder trouble (emergency surgery) and a rapid decline in blood pressure. My blood pressure and heart rate declined so rapidly that I was passing out and nearly died. It wasn't from being too thin either. I was still obese even after loosing the 100lbs. I had an ambluance ride on Christmas eve on atropene (sp?) just to keep my heart beating until they could get me to the hospital. After all that, I gained back all the weight.

I am just starting my journey to be banded, but I am looking forward to slow but permanant weight loss. After all, I want to be healthier, not just smaller!

Good luck and hang in there. It will be a long process, but I'm sure it will be worth the wait.