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Wondering

I agree with Diane - the next six probably will be a little slower. I lost slowly with my original surgery, which was a lap band, but I did make it to 100 pounds within about a year. I gained about 25 back when I had issues with my band and had to convert - I did lose about 50, but gained some back again due to the GERD from sleeve. I could barely eat anything of substance, so there were a lot of slider foods, and frequent eating just to try to keep the acid at bay. I converted to bypass (although my bypass section is not as long as most because I only around 200 pounds at the time of surgery). So, that was August - by Christmas I was at about 160, and now I have steadily, but slowly dropped to 145. I do fluctuate by about 3 to 5 pounds, no matter where my weight is, which I can usually attribute to either hormones or saltier meal the day prior, not enough water, etc.
 
Dianeseattle, I don't know. That's why I asked if there was such a thing. My thought was that if the plan was followed e.g. vitamins, protein, water, etc that the weight shed was what was good for your body. So, again, is there such a thing as too fast? Bme.3, you seem to be having a good time and losing the weight. Good going, man.
 
WWWindy said:
Dianeseattle, I don't know. That's why I asked if there was such a thing. My thought was that if the plan was followed e.g. vitamins, protein, water, etc that the weight shed was what was good for your body. So, again, is there such a thing as too fast? Bme.3, you seem to be having a good time and losing the weight. Good going, man.
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I know that an extremely fast loss of weight can be equally stressing on the body, just in a different way than carrying the weight. But as you mention, if you are following plan and getting in the vitamins and such that you need, the speed should not be an issue. The real issue comes in if you are not able to get the nutrients in and/or are doing things in a way that is unhealthy, thereby exacerbating stressors on the body.
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eladams2015 said:
I agree with Diane - the next six probably will be a little slower. I lost slowly with my original surgery, which was a lap band, but I did make it to 100 pounds within about a year. I gained about 25 back when I had issues with my band and had to convert - I did lose about 50, but gained some back again due to the GERD from sleeve. I could barely eat anything of substance, so there were a lot of slider foods, and frequent eating just to try to keep the acid at bay. I converted to bypass (although my bypass section is not as long as most because I only around 200 pounds at the time of surgery). So, that was August - by Christmas I was at about 160, and now I have steadily, but slowly dropped to 145. I do fluctuate by about 3 to 5 pounds, no matter where my weight is, which I can usually attribute to either hormones or saltier meal the day prior, not enough water, etc.
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eladams2015 said:
I do fluctuate by about 3 to 5 pounds, no matter where my weight is, which I can usually attribute to either hormones or saltier meal the day prior, not enough water, etc.
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Thank you for mentioning the fluctuations, El.

Bariatric surgery is not a permanent weight loss program. Typically, the patient loses weight fairly rapidly right after the surgery, for a lot of reasons, including vomiting and nausea that relates in an inability to eat as much as you need to. But right after the surgery you are only supposed to be taking in clear liquids oh, so you can actually take in a sustaining amount of food while augmenting that with the vitamins and minerals and supplements you need to stay healthy.

But after that initial phase, most people see a significant slowing of weight loss. And almost everybody reports that they hit a stall or a plateau at a certain month. I lost 35 lbs the first month and 25 lb the second month. Then my weight loss slowed and I only lost 15 lb over the next several months. And I plateaued for what seemed like forever.

I was going to the gym a lot, up to 7 days a week, because I was training for my first major hike in the North Cascades. After I started hiking, I made a 7 Day solo canoe trip around Ross Lake. When I finished that and had an opportunity to weigh myself, I found that I had lost a total of 115 lb. But altogether that took 14 months. And I had to regain some weight over the next two or three months because I was skeletal and people were mentioning it.

When hiking season ended, I went back to the gym as often as possible so I could maintain my weight. I was also 100% compliant with my nutritionists eating plan.

In subsequent years my weight has fluctuated, just like any normal person's weight would. When that happens, I return to my stages 1 and 2 until I go back to what is now my normal weight.

But most people do not experience their weight loss Journey the same way I did. It was really important for me not only to lose a hundred pounds, but also to become fit, muscular, and strong. I wanted to develop stamina so I could hike these mile high mountains.

There is a distinct possibility, and in fact there are many cases where people did lose weight too fast. Much of the reason for this is diarrhea and vomiting or an inability to eat the foods you are supposed to eat in the stages you're supposed to eat them. People also become dehydrated because they don't consume the necessary amount of water. Some people end up back in the hospital because of this.

But in general, people lose weight quickly at first and then their weight loss slows. This is because of what I said earlier: the weight loss surgery is only a tool to get started. After that your human desire and discipline are needed in order to lose all the way down to your goal. The size of your pouch definitely helps in that post-op phase.

People also lose weight so slowly that they don't think the surgery has had any effect on them. Often, this is a sign that something is wrong in your body and your surgeon needs to step in. But I have read a lot of posts from people here who did not want to follow the stage diet and then they could not understand why they were losing weight so slowly.

In my opinion, the reason for this is that be patient has not managed to deal with his or her eating disorder. People sometimes think they don't have an eating disorder, but if you didn't have one, how did you become a hundred or 200 or 300 pounds overweight? It's not your metabolism. It's your evil eating disorder trying to sabotage you. It is just as important to have a diet for your mind as it is to follow an eating plan.

And BMe.3, as I was writing this stuff I realized that I probably lost 50 lb in 6 weeks also, since I lost 60 lbs in 8 weeks. That's an average of more than 7 lbs a week , but it didn't stay like that . Now that I have lived with this body for almost 13 post-op gears, I can tell you with authority that it is not at all abnormal to lose that much weight in that span of time, and as I said before, you can expect your weight-loss to slow significantly now.

Two more things: I believe it is scientifically true that men lose weight faster than women. And I believe also that if you are super obese or have a very large amount of weight to lose, that indicates you must have a number of comorbidities. Those conditions have to have an effect on how quickly you can lose weight. Maybe having so many health problems will cause your body to lose weight very slowly. I don't know. But there are an awful lot of stories here from people who were so disappointed because they did not lose weight quickly and in fact, they lost it slowly for the whole time until they reach their goal.
 
WWWindy said:
Dianeseattle, I don't know. That's why I asked if there was such a thing. My thought was that if the plan was followed e.g. vitamins, protein, water, etc that the weight shed was what was good for your body. So, again, is there such a thing as too fast? Bme.3, you seem to be having a good time and losing the weight. Good going, man.
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Bme.3 is doing great, and he is losing weight at a wonderful rate of speed. And as I already said, I think that if you are really dropping a lot of weight and you have a lot of vomiting and diarrhea, that's probably why and you should see your doctor.

I think that a rapid weight loss would also bring with it a lot of discomfort and pain. So that would be a signal that something is wrong, and it's not necessarily the weight loss but it is perhaps the reason for the weight loss.
 
Going back to my spreadsheet:
  • I lost 25.6 pre-surgery
  • Lost another 51.4 at 3 months post-op
  • Lost another 29.6 at 6 months post-op
  • Then slowed way down
  • Lost another 15.8 at 9 months
  • Lost another 4 before body contouring (6 weeks)
  • Lost 10.2 of skin from body contouring
  • Lost another 1.8 since surgery
  • Total of 138.4 lost for the year
 
Thank you DianeSeattle and Brenda2010. I do enjoy the information you all share.

When I lived in North Bend, I worked on the pass and enjoyed the skiing too. When I lived in Port Angeles, I hiked the low divide a couple of times on week-long treks. I fully appreciate your love of those activities. Skiing is wonderful here in northern Arizona and when I get closer to my goal I do want to get back on the slopes.
 
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