Help - Slow Weight Loss

I had Lap RNY on the 21 of May and I have only lost 22 pounds - That was in the first 2 weeks, Now that I am into eating food, I can't seem to loss any more. I get in all my water, protein, vits. I jsut can't loss. I try to exercise every other day. 3 kids at home, 2, 4, 10, and when I am not there they fight like cats and dogs. My husband is in Korea, and I am off for the summer (teacher). I plan on taking the kids swimming as soon as the incisions heal. Any help for in the mean time? Do I just have my expectations to high?

Well, I think I might be considered a slow loser - I've lost 18 pounds and that includes the 10 day liquid diet I had to do before surgery. I've lost 10 pounds since surgery 2 weeks ago. BUT, just think, the good news is the scale is going down, not up! And, on a typical diet before surgery (Weigh****chers, etc.), I'd be lucky to lose 10 pounds in a month! So, if you put it in that perspective, it looks a whole lot better. Also, try to limit yourself to weighing once a week instead of every day, otherwise you will just get discouraged and drive yourself nuts. Hang in there! Michelle

The Mechanics of Weight Loss Q: I am just about to take a sledgehammer to my bathroom scale. If it hadn't proven accurate when I check it against my doctor's scale, I would have demolished it long ago. The problem is that my weight varies all over the place. When I think I have been true to my diet, the needle goes to the right. When I have cheated a little, I lose weight. I guess I could be labeled a weight neurotic. I just wish my scale made more sense. Any suggestions? A: A friend of my father's, Dr. Irvine Page, who was one of the founders of the famous Cleveland Clinic, observed: "If you are not confused, it means you are not informed." There is an endless procession of diets, each providing a quicker and cheaper solution to our national epidemic of obesity. Each has its gimmicks to appeal to talk shows and instant-salvation seekers. The truth is that weight gain and weight loss are much simpler than you realize -- and certainly much simpler than the food quacks pronounce. Calories do count. All diets work, if the calories are less than what you need. Weight falls when you eat less than the furnace burns; weight rises when the furnace is oversupplied. In 1968 I published a scientific paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association, "The Predictability of Weight Loss." It described our experience with dozens of very obese subjects (up to 700 pounds) whom we studied in our research ward. The central point of the paper was that all long-term weight gain and weight loss is accomplished at the rate of 3,500 calories per pound. We were able to calculate -- to the day -- the future weight of our research subjects with precision simply by subtracting the calories eaten from the calories burned, and dividing by 3,500. In much the same way, you can calculate how many gallons of gas your car will need to travel 400 miles when it gets 20 miles to the gallon; you derive the conclusion that you'll need 20 gallons for the trip. Calories do count. It is all mathematical in the long run, but over a period of days or even a week, the scale weight can be distorted by fluctuations in fluid retention or loss -- and don't forget that the scale can't discriminate between fluid and fat weight. Fluid shifts tend to be dramatic but they are short-lived. Any weight-loss scheme must take the long view or you may be tormented by brief swings, as I am sure is your case. Let me describe the single most common setting for failure of a dietary program. You, or someone similar, enters my office: a 62-year-old woman, 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 170 pounds. You want to lose 30 pounds. OK. We calculate, based on tables in nutrition books, that for your build, height, age and level of physical activity that you require 2,200 calories to maintain present weight. You choose a 1,200 calorie diet schedule, preferably a balanced food pyramid protocol. This then means you are 1,000 calories short per day or 7,000 calories per week. We then predict your rate of weight loss will be two pounds per week. Next week you return, however, and have lost four pounds -- down to 166. You are gleeful and anticipate a more rapid slimming process than originally predicted. The next week arrives, however, and your weight has not budged, despite continued dietary allowance. You are still 166 and you say, "To hell with it. I'm killing myself and nothing is happening." What has happened, really, is the first week you lost the predicted two pounds of fat, but you also lost two pounds of fluid, because initial fat loss causes a diuresis, much as with a water pill. The second week you also lost two pounds of fat but you regained the two pounds of fluid, because the body is just too smart to allow you to dehydrate. So the short view of weight change can be distressing because of the fluid fluctuations, but the big, long-term picture -- which is really what counts -- is totally predictable and sane. Calories count. But don't forget exercise. No weight-loss program can work, no matter what it is, without simultaneous attention to increasing physical exertion. In my opinion, exercise is even more important than diet. So, why don't you trade in your scale for some running shoes, and limit your weighings to once a month? I'd bet on it. © 2001 WebMD Corporation. All rights reserved.

Slow loser? No way. One month it took me to lose 30 pounds. Don't worry hop on a bike everyday it will come off. I hear you on the three kids. I have two 3 and 4.5 they drive me crazy. Every night they have a burst of energy and wrestle before bedtime. Drives me nuts. If you ever want to vent email me [email protected]. Swimming is great exercise and it makes the kids tired too! You can all nap when you get home. One day you will wake up and be five pounds lighter. That is just the way it happens. Once you begin to eat real food it will come off as well because right now your body is confused. It want's to hold fat because you are eating less. That is why protein is important. FUEL FUEL and MORE FUEL.

Hello Chris, We had surgery the same day and I'm only down 14lbs and that includes the pre-op liquid diet. I was concerned, but just keep telling myself the weight WILL come off! I didn't get like this overnight, so even after surgery, I shouldn't expect it to come off overnight! Hang in there and keep doing what you're doing and you'll be fine! Nanci