My Team Expects an 18 Pound A Month Weight Loss Is that A Normal Expectation of Me?

Hi Fellow Sleevers: I am a newbie. Just had VSG on the 9th of June. I am following the Pureed stage eating no more than 4 oz of food per meal yet the scale is not moving much. I hiked 8 miles last week. I am pretty active just want to know if 18 pounds a month is a reasonable goal. I am currently at 249. Lost 9 pounds the first 2 weeks so first visit weighed in at 254. I do not think I will be at an additional 9 pound weightloss on Thurs the 7th. Any suggestions???   

Try to eat according to plan and try not to focus on the scales.   The weight will come off.  The team may be looking at what the average out of a 100 did.  We are all different.  Hang in there it will come off.

No, I don't think that's a reasonable goal. I don't think any goal as measured by losing x pounds per month is a reasonable goal. IMO your goals should be:

--hitting your targets for calories, carbs, and protein (you mention eating 4 ounces of food, but what kind of food? 4 ounces of Lucky Charms vs. 4 ounces of mac n cheese vs. 4 ounces of chicken breast . . . all will give you different results.).

--sticking to your eating plan as prescribed by your bariatric team

--exercising regularly

--managing your stress levels and getting enough sleep

All of these are reasonable goals and you can control whether you meet them or not. Hitting a certain target weight loss of x lbs per month is not so controllable so I don't think you are doing yourself any favors if you adopt that as a goal, nor is your team doing you any favors by setting up potentially unreasonable expectations. Besides, what happens if you do meet that goal? For some people, that turns into, hey, I beat my goal by 3 lbs, I can start to eat cookies and still lose as much weight as they want me to! (Just commenting in general, not saying you would do that).

I am eating 4 oz of food per meal. Pureed 1/2 cup of chicken breast (100) cals with 1 Tsp of light mayo. I have pureed a kosher pickle in there these last 2 weeks in the pureed stage. Breakfast I use 8 0Z of protein shake-Muscle Milk the already prepped kind. 11 oz =32 oz of protein. I use 8 oz and cook 1/2 cup dried oatmeal 5 g protein(no sugar) with it. That is my highest cal meal at 310 cals. Typical lunch 1/2 cup of combo of lowfat cottage cheese and frozen fruit blueberries/rasberries which are 50 cal for half a cup. I think total I am eating/drinking about 560 cals a day give or take 75 cals. I never let myself go over 4 oz of food per sitting. I have not cheated on the pureed diet-sticking to lowfat prep food ie ricotta lowfat for ex/greek yogurt plain. Tuna in water. No grains except in the morning with the oatmeal. I have had 2 table spoons of hummus added to the pureed chicken. I use low sodium V8 juice. Any snack is usually a 10 cal sugarfree jello or sugarfree popsicle. I am stumped.

I would drop the oatmeal and the v8, too many carbs In both and yet it is an unrealistic expectation

Thank you for your input. My team said V8 low sodium was a good choice I will double check with them. So afraid I am not getting enough carbs-meaning that my pureed meals are too protein packed with nothing else, I graduate to soft meats this Thurs and will tt my dietician and see what I can do to help. Grand scheme first month post op I am down 14 pounds so I will not be sad about that! MY original weight in Oct first day of program was 299. I have lost 49-50 pounds depending on the day lol.

I am sure those items are on your plan,but the reality is,from someone who has lived it,is that we don't really need carbs.mcarbs including liquid ones and grains,turn into simple sugar as soon as they hit our mouths,where digestion starts. They go into the blood stream very quickly and are readily available for the body to use immediately.

the body having immediate sugar to use,for energy,will keep your body from breaking down your stored fat,to use for energy. Breaking down the stored fat for energy is what causes weight loss.

You will find many folks on this site that are very low carb- keeping it under 40. During my weight loss phase I counted carbs by meal/snack due to low blood sugar issues. Meals were 30 net carbs and snacks were 15 for the targets, 3 meals and 3 snacks. Now a few years out I should be going a little lower given my a1c was climbing a bit. Steel cut oatmeal is not a terrible option. My only concern would be if it is a little triggery for you. When i ate that I found a clear pattern that my calories would be higher on those days, and I dealt with hunger issues for those days. Other types of carbs I could do (no processed, refined, etc.) I would just pay close attention to how you feel after you eat carbs- if you notice a spike in hunger an hour or so later, cravings, etc. you might want to skip whatever carb it was you were eating. On the other hand, if you eat strawberries and it does not trigger issues then it IMHO is just fine.

That seems really high! My doctor says as long as I am losing about 8 pounds a month, I am doing great. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2PP3p4_4R8

This is a great GOAL talk.