weight loss first week post-op?

 I was banded a week ago and have been on the liquid diet. I only lost 1.5 lbs this week. The week before surgery when I was on liquids I lost 17 lbs. Is it normal not to lose weight right after the surgery? I'm worried because if  I'm on liquids now and not losing what will happen when I go to mushy and regular food.

Hi - I'm kind of in the same place and I wonder how (un)common it is.  I was banded two weeks ago today.  When on the liquid diet for the week before surgery I lost 9 pounds.  The first week after surgery I lost 4 pounds.  The second week I lost 1 pound and the scale has been exactly the same for the past 6 days.

When I saw my doctor for the follow-up visit last Friday, they were concerned that I wasn't eating enough.  On the pureed foods, I wasn't getting down much - between 300-400 calories/day.  On Friday, my dietician advanced my diet to soft foods and I'm doing a bit better getting more down.

I made it to the gym on Sunday and was able to do a little on the treadmill, but have been snowed in since.  Anyway, I'm getting pretty discouraged...  Any ideas?

Hi Kim,

Don't worry too much about 1.5 this week (which by the way is awesome to loose any amount of weight)  and remember that they pumped you full of saline solution with  your IV's during the surgical procedure.  Concentrate right now on recovery and learning to live your new lifestyle... the rest will fall in line and the pounds will come off.

My weight loss did slow down after I got on mushy and regular food but I was still loosing.  They told me to expect 1 to 2 pounds a week and that has pretty much been the norm.  I'm happy with that.

I'm thinking the 17 pounds lost the week before surgery was mostly water weight and I wouldn't expect those kind of numbers weekly.

You will do awesome and I hope your recovery is going well.
Best wishes to you!
Leslie 

Thanks! I didn't expect to lose a significant amount of weight this week but when you factor in the calories-in vs. calories burned I assumed I would drop maybe 3-4 lbs.

But my jeans fit loose and I can see a difference so I'm doing okay.

I agree with everyone else here. I think I lost 10lbs the first week but I didn't have a pre surgery diet so that could be why. I believe surgery shocks our bodies and we lose weight then our bodies catch on to the surgery and go into the non weight loss mode. I know its awesome to pull big numbers but after looking at the big picture I will take the 1 to 2 lbs a week. I went for my first fill last week and I was thinking I did horrible with only 4 pounds lost in 3 weeks and the doc looked at me and said are you kidding you did awesome thats over 1lb a week. He's right, I think we all go through so much to get here we want results. Results are good but learning a longterm lesson is better in my eyes. But because I had pulled big numbers each week in the beginning I kinda expected that to last or I wasn't doing well. I even got to wait 8 weeks for a fill because I was looking with just the band and no fill.

Well thats my two cents and what I will say is the numbers will come just take care of yourself and let your body recover, it took me about 4 or 5 weeks to get real engery back and get used to very low calories daily. This last week I had wonderful engery and thats just as good as losing a few pounds. I wish you a speedy recovery. Take care, Melissa

Kim – not to be personal, but if T.O.M. is near you could be holding back some water weight which may be why you haven’t lost more.

 

Also, are you following ALL your POST-OP plan? Drinking your 64 ounces (or whatever your Doctor told you) and drinking your Protein allotment? Make sure you are meeting your daily protein requirements. THIS IS IMPORTANT TO WEIGHT LOSS Please make sure you follow all the rules. If you think not eating a lot will help you lose quicker, you’re wrong. It can make you lose SLOWER.. The body is a marvelous machine, and it will protect itself. If one doesn’t eat enough, the body’s metabolism will slow down - in order to keep it self functioning. If a person intake is less then what it expels, the body will start to “store" food.

Plus this is your first week. Your body may take a little longer to lose. Believe me, the first month I lost 17 pounds and was excited, until the next month I lost an additonal 30 pounds. Each person loses differently. Just be happy it's a lost .. and with that said ..

 

Please remove the following word from your vocabulary .. The word is ONLY !!

 

I get very upset to read, or hear, “I’ve lost only X pounds". Why use the word ONLY !?!?!?! Be proud of those pounds you lost!!! This is a major accomplishment!! How many times were you NOT able to lose that amount of weight????

 

Remember, this isn’t a race. “Slow and steady wins the race".  We are a generation of instantaneous results, however remember we didn’t put all the weight on at once, it took years. So don’t you think losing it would take just as long? This isn't one of those miracle instantaneous weight loss programs. We all know types of programs always fail. This is a way of life

 

Nowhere does any of the literate state you will lose x amount of weight in x days. Think LONG TERM. If it takes you 2 – 3 -5 years to lose all the weight, WHO CARES!!! How long did it take you to put all those pounds on? Try to remind yourself that even if I lose only 1 pound per week, in year’s time I’d be 52 pounds lighter. Many doctors believe the slower you lose weight, the better chance you have of keeping it off. 

 

Many folks are hung up on the number. It’s not the number of pounds that someone loses in a specified period of time that is important. It’s how you feel. Don’t forget, if you are toning up muscle – your weight loss may seem to have slowed (or stopped), when in fact you are replacing fat with muscle. Muscle is heavier then fat. Someone weighting 200 pounds with a body fat percentage of 25 is carrying around 50 pounds of extra fat. That same person weighting 200 pounds with 10 percent body fat would be carrying 20 pounds of fat. So it’s not the number that is important.

 

The amount of weight lost is affected by many factors. Everyone loses weight at different rates. It has to do with age, gender, one’s weight, exercise, etc.. A 10 pound lost to one person could be as affected as a 40 pound lost to another. Think of it this way: If a 400-pound person loses 40 pounds; a 300-pound person loses 30 pounds, a 200-pound person loses 20 pounds, and a 100-pound person loses 10 pounds – the 400-pound person didn’t necessarily lose more weight than the others. All three lost 10% of their body weight.  

 

Also there are other “scales" you can use to monitor your success: your constant hunger reduction (eliminated); reduced clothing size; increase energy; re-familiarizing yourself to body-parts unseen for years (errr… toes) ; “common" activity becoming easier (walking, climbing steps), just feeling good about yourself; sleeping better (reduced snoring); the mirror; better medical exam results (lower cholesterol and/or blood pressure); etc.         

 

Be proud of your lost. No matter how small it may seem. Remember, it’s better to lose not a pound than to GAIN an ounce.

 

So starting today – let’s officially ban the word ONLY, and take pride in your lost!!

 

 

I was banded 4 weeks ago and did the same thing.  I lost 10 pounds on the pre-op diet the week before surgery and 2 pounds the week following.  I think this is normal.  You lose so much that first week then you have surgery and they pump you full of fluid and you still have some swelling going on in your belly.  Just keep going with your Dr.'s orders on your diet and it will come off.  Good luck!  Keep use posted.

I loose extremely slow and I was banded November.  So far I'm down 21 lbs.  I was told by my doctor that I could expect to loose my 80 lbs within 2 years so I guess I'm on the right track.  I'm averaging about 1/2 to 1 lb a week which is normal for me.    It does get depressing especially when other people have the weight falling off them but I guess as long as it's down in the right direction I'm happy.

I found that my body held onto the weight for like the first 6 days and then all of a sudden it started to drop fast.  So you might get ont he scale tomorrow and be like "holy crap!!".  Give it time, it'll happen!!  Your body is healing right now.