NOT A HAPPY CAMPER !!!

Hi, I am six months today and still stuck at just 65 pounds lost. I only lost 5 pounds and maybe 2 inches this past month. I am so discouraged and I don't know what I am doing wrong. I have been stuck for the past three weeks again and nothing. I have tried all kinds of things, shaking things up and changing things around, exercising more etc. If anyone has any ideas I am open for suggestions. Darlene 309/244/???

Darlene I am sorry you aren't getting the results you wanted. I have a few suggestions that may help, or you may already be doing these things: No sugar. No calories as liquids. Low carb diet--protein and non-starchy veggies only. 60-70 grams of protein every day. 70-90 ounces of water or other non-calorie non-caffiene fluids every day. Exercise 5 times a week with thirty minutes of aerobic activity 5 times a week and three sessions of strength building a week (you can get both kinds of exercise in 30 minutes at Curves). How tall are you and what surgery did you have? At six months we should have lost 50% of our excess weight with the RNY or DS. If you had a VBG or lap-band weight comes off slower. Carolyn Moore DS 11/03/03 317/218 (almost at century mark!)

I am 5' 2" and had an RYN 11/10/04 I have been trying to exercise by walking on the treadmill a few mornings a week but am thinking about joining curves. I think I get about 60-70 grams of protein in a day, and I drink plenty of fluids. Darlene 309/244/???

Glad to hear you are already getting in the protein and water--try cutting back on carbs, eliminating sugar and any fluid calories, and adding in the strength-building exercises. They are important because strength-building preserves and even adds muscle mass so that almost all of your weight loss is in fat, and also more muscle mass increases your metabolism and makes continued weight loss easier. If you are 5'2" your ideal weight is 137. You started out at 309 so your excess pounds were 172. You have lost 65 pounds or 38% of your excess weight, which is considerably less than the 50% we are supposed to lose by 6 months out. If the above suggestions don't kick in pretty quick I would consult your surgeon. We only have an 18 month window for weight loss and the first 6 months are supposed to be the best as far as loss goes. Carolyn Moore DS 11/03/03 317/218

Carolyn,, Please figure out my percent, I dont know how to get to that.. I started at 232. I am now at 158. I am 5'6" Please tell me..Tricia

Happy to help, Tricia. It is really not that hard. Ideal weight is what would give you a BMI of 25. Excess pounds is figured as pre-op weight minus ideal weight. Then take your actual weight loss, divide by excess pounds and you get a decimal number. Move the decimal point 2 places to the right and add a % sign. At 5'6" a BMI of 25 is 155 pounds. Your excess pounds then were 232-155 or 77 (you lightweight! giggles!) You have lost 74 pounds--a very high percentage, let me get my calculator....96%. Good job!

Hi Carolyn, I'm wondering where you got the ideal weight of 137 for 5'2".I thought the goal weight was much lower like maybe 120,although my goal is 135 and I am also 5'2". I am about 6.5 months out now and have got rid of 70lbs so far.I started at 225,now at 155 and heading for 135.How do I figure the percentages? Colleen

The number for "ideal weight" should be the one that will give us a BMI of 25. Some people, even some physicains, will use a number that gives a BMI of 23 or even lower, this is not realistic because we, the formerly morbidly obese, have much denser bones as a result of our obesity. It is easy to see that this is the case--for example, I now weigh 217 pounds, and on my weigh UP the scale, I wore a size 22 at this weight. On my way back down, I am wearing a size 18. Four sizes smaller at the same weight is because my bones are much denser and heavier, and there is a bit of sagging skin as well...anyway, my surgeon, who is the most experienced and skilled in the Southeast, uses a BMI of 25. The formula to figure how much of your excess weight you have lost is: Pre-op weight - ideal weight = excess weight, then pounds lost divided by excess pounds, X 100 Here are your numbers, Colleen: 225-137=88, then 70 divided by 88 = 0.795 X 100 = 79.5 or 80% You have lost 80% of your excess weight, which is excellent. Of course, you were less than 100 pounds overweight to begin with. The usual weight loss after the RNY or similar surgery is 65-75% of excess weight, while with the DS it is 80-85%. It may not be realistic for you to expect to lose another 20 pounds--you would have to really work at it. Good luck!

Give me a sample of your daily menu?? How much water are you drinking? Diamond

I had a plateau that lasted five weeks. I broke the plateau by spending two days back on creamy liquids, like yogurt and cream of wheat, along with my protein shakes. I was very very depressed. I have now lost 66 lbs, which is over half of what I am supposed to lose, so I have stopped crying and upped my protein a bit. Good luck and take heart - you will get there!