So discouraged...

Thanks for the encouragement Valerie. I am doing better with my medical issues also. I will try to focus on those kind of positive results rather than just the weight loss. Good luck to you. Sue R.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!! I am 3 wks and one day post op and I have only lost 24 lbs when most my size were around 30lbs or more. I started at 364 so I expect to loose more than those folks in the 250's but guess not. I am doing everything right, except the water still struggling with that only 34oz per day, plus 10 oz of other liquid. But it stands to reason that less calories in will eventually work. So I guess we just have to keep remembing that. Plus there is NO WAY anyone can loose 35+ lbs of fat in 3 wks. !!! I do not believe it no way no how. A portion of that is water for sure. Maybe some people never drank much water, or there are many reasons for this. Prior to surgery I drank 150 oz of water daily plus one diet coke. So I am sure part of my problem is the lack of water for me now. When I got on the scales today it showed a 2 lbs gain since yesterday. So the moral there is to stop weighing every other day, and instead one per week, or once per every two weeks, which I will begin right away. But really 20 lbs or 24 lbs in 30day is very good. How often did we do that in the past ??? Sandra Sugery 1/25/05 -24.8

Thanks Sandra. Yes I have been told by my nutritionist to only weight once a week or every other week. It is really hard for me not to weigh myself every morning, but I am trying! Good luck to you. Sue R.

Hi Sue, My surgery was on 1/18/05 and I have lost 20lbs. There are times when I feel as you do. It will come off. Take care

Thanks for the encouragement, Syndi. Take care. Sue R.

GET RID OF THE SCALE IMMEDIATELY!!! You can't expect to see something daily. Go by the rules that were set for you. Set your time limits. 2-3 minutes between each bite of food. Chew at least 35 times before swallowing. Once 30 minutes are up - your meal is OVER! NO GRAZING! No drinking 30-60 minutes berfore AND after you eat. Exercise! Stop looking at your scale. I refuse to buy a scale until I am at least 6 months out. Because I know that I will drive myself insane. Also, go to Fitday.com and join there (free) and log your food/vitamins/protein drinks, etc...daily. That way when you are on a plateau you won't get negative. You will be able to see on a daily basis what you have been doing. I print my food sheet out each day, and put it in a binder. I also bought a $10 pedometer (I walk) and it keeps track of how many steps, miles, calories I have went through each day. I write that on the bottom of the food page each day. As long as you are doing what you are supposed to do, you should do fine with the weight loss. And please get off of the ONLY 20 lbs. Everyone is different, you know that. Now get positive. Lock away the scale until later on when our docs visits are further apart. While we are on the losing part of this, I would only weigh myself once a week. Because if you know that you are following what you are supposed to do, that will be enough and give you a true reflection of your weight. Hope that this helps some. Junith

I will try to get a little more positive. It has helped hearing that others have the same issues. I also am going to stop weighing as often. I am following my particular doctor's protocol, which is much different than yours, but I am doing the protocol to the letter. I am exercising 30 minutes to 1 hour a day. I am keeping track of my protein, calories, water, and every morsel that I put in my mouth. I have not "cheated" on my diet at all. I do enjoy fitday.com--it is great! I am eating every 4 to 5 hours (4x a day). I need to make food last no more than 20 minutes and no less than 15. I am finally getting the hang of that and have slowed down immensely on my eating. I do chew each small bite 30 times and have a second hand on my watch that I use to time each bite (but I am not supposed to wait 2 to 3 minutes between bites, only 1 minute). I would never get my 1/2 cup of food in 20 minutes if I waited any longer between bites. I am not grazing or snacking at any other time of the day. I am only cleared to walk so far from my surgeon and I am doing that at the gym almost every day on the treadmill and riding the stationary bike. I walk at the mall on the other days. I also walk my dog every single day. I get more than the required protein (with food mostly, hardly every have to drink shakes) and more than the required water every day (I love drinking water and eating ice). I wait 30 minutes after drinking to have a meal and do not drink for 30 minutes to 1 hour after eating. I am not eating hardly any carbs, as the meat I eat for protein is about all I can handle each meal. My food is f/f or low fat and s/f when possible. I am okay with dry meats, so do not have to add gravy or other high-calorie items. In fact, my nutritionist just recommended that I should try ADDING calories, because I am probably in "starvation" mode and am not getting enough calories. It is hard for me to think that eating more will cause more weight loss, but I will try it. This is why I am so frustrated, because my doctor and my nutritionist could not find anything for me to do differently to lose the weight as quickly as most people. I know the weight will come off if I continue what I am doing, but I don't want to miss the chance to lose the most weight at the beginning. Thanks for your help. Sue R.

Cheer up girl... we are all here for you! Yes, it is discouraging but one morning you will hop on the scale and find a HUGE loss. Last week I only had a 2 lbs loss, this week I dropped a bunch! It all happens in a matter of time for your particular body... here are som questions/tips: 1. Do you weight at the same time, same day each week? It helps to keep the measurments consistant. Particularly if you weigh in the am (after your morning "output" to so speak and before you have drank a bunch of fluids and eaten breakfast) that way you are not weighing a bunch of food or waste. 2. Are you weighing after exercise? If so don't... your muscles have expanded and taken on a bunch of fluids and build up so you will weigh more! 3. Are you taking your measurments and recording them? If not, do so... you will see the inches coming off even though the scale does not show much. Go to my profile and you will see a journal entry about an excel spreadsheet I designed for you to record your measurments and weight.... it should be bright pink and say "click here") That should help you to keep track. 4. REMEMBER- When it comes to exercise there are some rules: -- You only get effective cardio workout if your hear rate remains in it's target zone. (Check out these links.... http://health.discovery.com/tools/calculators/hrc/hrc.html or http://www.stevenscreek.com/goodies/hr.shtml ) -- You MUST increase your water if you are exercising! -- 1 lb. of muscle = 3 lbs. of fat! -- Do strength training 3 days a week. Studies show that the more muscle you have the more calories you burn when you are NOT exercising. -- Make sure you are stretching BEFORE and AFTER exercise... it keeps you limber and helps to break up the lactic buildup in your muscles and helps them to function better! HTH Hun! Brightest Blessings for a Wonderful Day~ Jamie M. Weight- 257/225.5/146 BMI- 44.1/38.7/25 Height- 5' 4" Surgery Date: 1/19/05 My WLS Journey Site: http://home.bellsouth.net/p/PWP-LadyAutumnsWLSjourney No matter what size, we are all Goddesses inside!

Thanks for all the encouragement Jamie. I am weighing myself in the morning without clothes on and with just my light-weight PJs on. I am now only weighing once a week, so I am not always thinking about my weight. I am only cleared to walk at this point, but will see the doctor on Tuesday for my 1-month checkup. He will probably allow me to do more strenuous exercise at that point. I walk on a treadmill and do the stationary bike. My heart rate is in the "cardio" zone. The machines keep track of that in addition to my heart rate, so I can adjust when need be. I drink more than enough water each day, so that is not an issue. I did record my measurements the night before surgery and will do this again on Feb 20th (once a month). I hope to see a difference there. My nutritionist recently said to up the calories, because some people go into "starvation" mode, which she thinks may have happened to me. I get to eat a few bites of carbs with dinner to see if that makes a difference. Thanks again. Sue R.

Yeah, that is what happened to me and now I am up to 850 - 1000 cals a day (when I am not ing) LOL! Off to get my allergy shot and then have my snack! Good luck at your 1 month appt. HUGS~ Jamie