Poll: slow loss vs. lbs to goal

My weight loss has slowed dramatically the last few months with plateaus in there also. I have to lose 17 pounds to reach my first goal. But I have 35 pounds to lose to get to my ideal body weight (NORMAL on the BMI charts). I know everyone starts this journey at a different height and weight, but I am wondering if a majority of us see the slow losses and plateaus when we are within 30 to 50 pounds from our ideal body weights, regardless of starting weight. Please post how many pounds you have to lose to get to GOAL and if you have experienced plateaus or slow weight loss for the last few months. Thanks for your replies, Dorothy 325/197/162 (goal) -128 5'9"

I am currently at goal. I reached goal at about 9 and a half months post op. The weight loss slowed, but I never hit a plateau, or gained weight along the journey. I was lucky; I know how frustrating that can be from reading the posts of others. Now, my weight loss has slowed, and is starting to stabilize. I have maintained the same weight for about 2 weeks, which is good. I don't need to lose any more. I am trying to build some muscle right now, so chances are I will gain a few pounds, as my muscle mass increases. Hope that helps. Andrea 327/145 (surgeon's goal)/ 117 (current weight) 5 ft 4 1/2 inches Size 30-32 pre-op size 4 post op

My surgeon always tell everyone that most people with this surgery needs to finish with going to weigh****chers. That the surgery helps to lose 70 percent of your weight. On talking to most folks that is what they need to do. I think you have done a wonderful job! keep up the great work!

My high weight was 305 Weight day of surgery 255 Today's weight 179 Total lost 126 lbs Surgeon's goal weight for me: 180 My goal weight: 125 to 130 ??? Height: 5'1" My weight has gone up and down 2 to 3 lbs since November. I finally hit a new low of 179 the other week. I can't say I am plateauing. It is harder to lose the weight BUT it is easier to eat things like carbs and that puts me off track at times. I do exercise in some form each day mostly walking. Mary

My weight loss has slowed down considerably, however, I'm still losing. There has not been a month that has gone by that I didn't at least lose a few pounds so for that, I'm grateful. Height: 5'4" Weight on the day of surgery: 292 Weight today: 164 Total loss: 128 lbs. I still want to lose about another 30 lbs. My anniversary is in a couple of weeks so I'm not gonna make it by then... but I hope to be at goal before I'm 18 months out.

Dorothy, I have 16 pounds to goal. Yea I have gone through a few plateaus and very slow weight loss in the last few months. I have a problem if I watch my carbs I am not getting enough protein if I watch my protein then my carbs are high. Oh well. I've lost 155 lbs maybe that is all I am supposed to lose. Delainya 321/166/150

Ok, I'm putting this out there for those of us that haven't lost quite as much as the rest of you. My anniversary is Feb 4th and I'm pretty far from my goal (my surgeon never set one for me). In December2003/January 2004 I was around 298lbs., on my surgery day I was 287lbs, and now I'm at 215lbs. A total loss of (depending how you look at it) 83lbs (prior to surgery) or 72lbs (post surgery). I've set a goal weight for myself of 165lbs... it may be lower once I hit that weight, but for now I think that's good. So that leaves me with 50lbs to go! I hit a four month platue from Aug. until Nov. and off and on before that from July until Aug. I think it was a combination of eating too many carbs and weight traning. I've stopped weight trainig for now and am only walking and bike riding and I have cut back on the carbs soooo much, I'm also paying more attention to my calorie intake. It's hard, but I'll get there.... We all will!!! I've also started a journal because I think I self sabotage... it's funny to think I still do that after all that I went through to get the weight off! Anyway, I haven't had to deal with gaining weight, when on a platue I stay the same weight, and over the last 3/4 weeks I finally started losing again!!!! Yeah for me!!!! Anyway, I hope this helps someone out there to not give up. We can all do it, it's just a little harder for some and that's ok because it doesn't mean that we won't get there!!! Good luck everyone and God Bless!!! Milissa

Hey Dorothy! My weight loss has slowed down quite a bit since October. I've probably lost 6 pounds since then. I weighed 256 on my surgery date and now weight 179. So that's a loss of 77 pounds. I would like to get to 145 pounds. That leaves me with 34 pounds left to loose. I'm 5'6" tall. I actually gained about 3 pounds over the Christmas holiday. It took me until now to get that, plus 2 extra pounds, off. I've noticed that since I've been keeping myself aware of what goes into my mouth and exercising every other day (I try to burn at least 600 - 700 calories each session), my weight has started going down again. Looks like its going to be slow going from here on, but at least its going in the right direction. This past year has flown by! If it takes me one more year to get to goal, that's fine with me! I feel so much better and am so grateful for being given this new lease on life! Take care.........Wanda 256/179/145 -77 5'6"

Dorothy, My losses have been very slow (or nonexistant) since last October. I might have lost 6 pounds since then, but on the up side, I've also lost 2 sizes. I'm now in a size 6 and was in a 10 then. I do a lot of running too, so I can't say whether that's helped or hindered. As for goal, I don't know what that will be yet. I'm just a few pounds from the normal BMI range, but closer to 15 from "ideal" and not sure if I'll get that small. I'm afraid I'll be too small. I still have a large frame and am very muscular (ring finger size 8, need stretch jeans to fit my legs in them). I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm not really actively trying to lose weight anymore, but won't be upset if I do. My diet is pretty stable as well, but I've been struggling with some low blood sugars lately, so I still need some help with that. Linn 241/147/135? -94# 5'4"

I thought I started at 247 lbs, but at a recent visit with the dietician, they had my initial weight at 254 lbs. I currently weigh 145 lbs which puts me down 109 lbs since surgery (2/12/04) and in a normal BMI which was the only goal I had. My ideal weight is listed as 134, but I'm like Linn, and afraid I'd look too thin at that weight. I'm fairly large boned and other than my butt and thighs (which are saggy, but actually pretty okay) the rest of me is starting to look a little boney. It may actually be normal, but I'm not used to seeing myself this way. I've been EXTREMELY lucky and feel guilty posting when others have struggled so hard, both with their weight and other health problems. I've had a couple of small plateaus, but none that lasted longer than 6-8 weeks without at least a 1-2 lb. weight loss and I've lost 12 lbs in the last 3 months. This is in spite of the fact that I eat an average of 110 carbs, 1200 calories, 50 grams of fat daily. I hope everyone can reach a place where they are healthy and happy. Love you all, Julie