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Losing weight very slowly

M

Mom of 8

Member
Hi All!

I had my gastric sleeve surgery on 6/24/13. During the first week, I dropped 10 lbs. Second week - 2 lbs. I'm in week three now.

I was on the liquid diet for about 10 days (400-450 calories/day) and moved into "mushy foods" almost a week ago. I've had no problems with anything I've tried to eat - I just need to go slowly. No vomiting, no diarrhea, no stomach upset. Daily caloric intake has been 500-550 calories. I'm getting 58-62 grams of protein, and I'm drinking 55-65 oz. of water daily. All my vitamins, acid blockers, calcium/D, etc. are taken as directed.

I've left several messages for the nutritionist with no return call yet. Here's my question. Are the calories too few to lose weight - i.e. my body thinks it's starving? I want this to be successful, but for right now I'm thinking I'll be the first heavy person to have 90% of my stomach removed and still not lose weight :rolleyes: Any counsel would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
I think a fast loss then slow down is somewhat normal. I lost almost 14 pound the first two weeks then had a couple weeks of 1 lbs. I wouldn't stress too much as long as you follow the plan, exercise and get plenty of water your body will start to drop the weight again. At least that is what I was told. We need to stay positive and keep working the plan.

Best wishes
Sharon
 
Hi Mom of 8,
I had the RNY on 6/10/13, and I am down 16 pounds. Last week, I didn't lose any weight at all. And I was following all the rules and guidelines. I had never read of someone not losing any weight for a week during their first post-op month. As you did, I called my nutritionist and reached out privately to a member here for advice and encouragement. And they lifted my spirits immensely. But you sound just like me, I told my husband I was going to be the one person this surgery wasn't a huge success for. But...great news. My nutritionist said this is perfectly normal. Especially when introducing new phases of the diet and new foods. She said it is very common for people to hit stalls early on. So from now on, I have decided to stop comparing my rate of losing to anyone elses. We will all lose at different rates and speeds, and I'm okay with that. I'm going to stop obsessing over the scales and focus on what I am doing to better my health. Good luck to you. Keep up your protein, water, exercise, and vitamins, and I'm sure you'll keep losing. We can't let a slow week bring us down, it'll pick back up.
-Jenny
 
Thank you

Thanks so much for the responses - I appreciate it! I'm trying to be patient. The nutritionist finally called back today. I think part of the issue is the very low calorie count - my body isn't used to it being that low. I'm upping it to about 800/day, which I hope will help. She's okay with that so long as I'm getting the protein and the fluids. She did recommend a 3 to 1 protein to carb ratio. I've been tracking protein and calories but not carbs. New calculations!
 
Hang in there... I think alot of us experience the same thing and it's confusing and shocking. Basically the body goes into "shock" and thinks it's starving so it tries to shut down the weight loss... you will have weeks where it goes very slow or no weight loss then drop more in a day or 2. As long as the overall trend is down, that is the goal! I've also noticed that even during weeks that the scale is not moving, there are very noticeable changes in my body! You will too! Good luck!
 
Hi mom of 8
I haven't had my surgery yet- but I have a FB friend that had it in Jan this year- she was loosing and for awhile- then it just stopped- some weeks - she gained!! Well she hung in there and Im proud to say that to date she has lost over 85 lbs!!!! So hang in there gal- it will come off!!!! :D
 
If you're following your program, the weight loss will come at its own accord. Having over heightened expectations will only leads to disappointment and discouragement. Relax and let nature take its course. Good things come to those who wait.

My advice is to stay away from the scale and weigh only once a week.
 
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Sometimes we have to focus on what we can control. While we cannot control how many pounds we can loose in a week we can control how much we work out and eat. I have lost 3 lbs in 3 weeks. That would have me second guessing the surgery except I decided to focus on my walks. Today I walked/jogged 2.2 miles. That is awesome for me. It has been years since I jogged any distance. I am taking this journey one step at a time. My focus is going to be on getting fit. The scale will move eventually until then I am going to focus on what I can control.

Best wishes
 
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