need some advice please

hi everyone, I havent posted in a while i have been doing really good since getting over my depression... well now that i am almost 3 months out i am having a hard time.. My surgeons scale said 25 sept that i weighed 246 ( at surgery i was 290) and he was please with my weight. Well last week i went to my regular doctor and the scale said that i weighed 252. I know that all the scales are different but i have been feeling like i am cheating myself because i gained weight. My husband came home from iraq recently and he is telling me how good i am looking and i wanted my daughter to mesaure me and he said baby why dont you know that i love you no mater what you look like or how much weight you lose/gain. I know that he is trying to be supportive but i feel like i cant do this. I am on a walking routine where i walk 7 days a week for 1 to 1.5 miles each day and i feel so good after i do it but why do i feel so bad about me gaining weight if i did? also could it be possible that i could be losing inches instead of weight? thanks so much everyone Jen

Jen- First take a step back a breathe! You're doing great. Don't focus on numbers. I've had weeks that I've gained a pound or two. No biggie because all I have to do is put on a pair of pants that was cutting me in half or a shirt where the boob area was popping open before surgery and see how it now bags on me and numbers don't matter anymore. I know I've said this before (probably many times) it is suppose to take us 2 years to reach our goal weight. Which I don't even really have a goal "weight". I'm going more for how I feel. Let's say the charts say I am suppose to weigh 130 to be healthy but at 150 I feel great and don't think I need to loose any more then 150 I'll be (it beats the heck out of what I was). Shoot I would probably even be happy at 160 or 170 if you want to get technical. I can handle chubby. My doctor said we do lose inches even when we're not losing weight. Cheer up, you rock and you are by no means cheating yourself because you got two different weights from 2 scales. I use one scale, the one here at my house because that is the one I used when I first got home from the hospital. My doctors scale says that I've lost more but when I go to the doctor it's usually a different scale each time depending on what room I get put in. Also I so don't trust the scales in the rooms because I don't know how many times my 2 year old had jumped on them, moved them around, you name it so you know they are out of whack. We're military also and I darn well that those scales probably haven't been calibrated since they were first put out. Well, I hope I've been of some help. Smile you're doing awsome! Heather

thanks heather, YOur words really cheered me up. I wanted to have lost 100 pounds ( i know too unrealistic) by time my hubby came home . but i am happy with everything that has happened to me so far i know when i ate to much and i am drinking lots of water so i am good. But thanks sgain Jen

Don't beat youself up. Look at where you came from, that is nothing to sneeze at! You walk everyday, that is wonderful! Absolutely wonderful! First of all, scales are different you are right, it also matters the time of day, whether you have eaten or drank anything and what you were wearing as well, or if it was that time of the month, there are so many factors. Listen, just do some basic things to chart your progress and don't worry about the scales so much. I know that is easier to say than do and if you must weigh, then what I do is go by the weight on one scale and I weigh at the same time of day wearing no clothes at all. 1. Write down what your eating (amounts, protein, carbs) 2. Take your measurements weekly 3. Take pictures (sometimes its harder to see the loss when you just look in the mirror) 4. Calm down, you're progressing I hope this helps you.

Jen, First of all, I don't think you gained any weight at all. All scales weigh differently! My surgeons scale is heaviest... my PCP is second in line and my scale is the lightest. Here's how I handle it. When I left for the hospitial, I weighted myself - I was 357. When I came home, I weighed myself again, I had lost 19 pounds! Then, one week later, my surgeon's scale weighed me at 355. What the hell?????????????????????????????? Nope. No scale hopping for me! MY scale is what I weigh myself on, and it is the number that is true. The scale they weighed you on in the hospitial, is different from the one in your surgeon's office, and is different from your PCPs' and a partridge in a pear tree! Spyder -61

There should be a regulation on scales. They should all say the same thing when you put 200-lb weights on them. When I went to my pre-op testing, I weighed 354. The very next day, I had an appointment with my PCP, and his scale had me at 320. Tales from the scale... You're doing terrific! No matter what the scales say, unless you are eating more calories than you burn, you are NOT going to gain weight. You might retain some water depending on salt intake or PMS, but you're not gaining fat, and that's what counts. Keep up with your walking program...you're doing AWESOME. Oh, and tell your husband that I said "Thanks for protecting us." He's a true hero! Pamela -52

Jen: I had surgery 1 day before you did. I've lost 40 lbs. so far. I think we are both doing great. Sure, I'd love for it to be MORE. In fact, I understand your disappointment of not having lost more in time for your hubby to see you. I'm getting married in 3 weeks and it's going to be a huge wedding. There will be a lot of people there that have not seen me since before surgery. I really wish I could have lost something like SIXTY lbs. by that time, but of course that ain't gonna happen! Nevertheless, I'll take the 40 that I *have* lost because I KNOW the difference shows ;) And I'm sure it's the truth when your hubby tells you how great you are looking! Keep your chin up, keep plugging along and one day you'll reach goal and think of how quickly time fly by! Angela 07/28/04 229/189/140