One month out

 Hi everyone!

I'm one month out and am frustrated.  I lost 6 pounds in the first week after surgery and NOTHING since then.

I've been following the meal plan for the most part and have been exercising every day burning at least 350 calories a day.  My intake is less than 900 daily but still...no loss.  I'm scheduled to have my first fill on Monday.

I know that the band is only a tool...but I should still have lost more than 6 pounds, don't you think?

Actually you are perfectly on track, the average loss is 1/2 - 2 lbs a week. Especially if you haven't had a fill yet and it may take several fills to feel full restriction. Don't worry you are doing just as expected, hang in there.

The views expressed are based on my own experiences - and should NOT BE FOLLOWED IN LIEU OF DOCTOR/NUTRITIONISTS’ ADVICE/INSTRUCTIONS. Only your Doctor knows your condition, and make sure you talk to them before making any changes to your diet.

With that said:

 

I noticed you mentioned “calories". In the beginning don’t be too concerned/worry about “calories, fats, sugars, carbs, etc". Make sure you are getting your 60 to 80 grams of protein. THIS IS IMPORTANT TO WEIGHT LOSS. In the future you can worry about all those other things, but for now - WORRY ABOUT THE PROTEIN. Now don’t get me wrong - I don’t want you to eat a bag of chips, or whole cake or drink tons of ice cream shakes in order to get protein in. You need to use some common sense :) !!

 

When I first had the operation I noticed if I ate 4 ounces of protein I didn’t feel full - however if I ate 6 ounces I did. I spoke to my Doctor about it. FOR ME he said that those “numbers" are somewhat guidelines. He went on to explain there are some folks who feel full on 2 ounces of protein while some need 6 or 8. He also explained that the calories intake should not be too much of a concern in the beginning. The way he explained it to me was: Prior the operation I may have been taken 3,000 calories per day. After the operation, with the amount of food I was taking in - I may have been taking in 1700 calories. While that’s 500 calories more than the recommended daily allotment - it was actually 1300 calories less then what I normally took in. So not only was I losing weight, but was also feel full. We need to worry about calories when out weight slows downs/stops or starts going up. ADVICE WARNING: TALK TO THE DOCTOR/NUTRITIONIST BEFORE INCREASING YOUR INTAKE.

 

When I first had the operation I had the same concerns as you. A close friend, who is a Certified Fitness Trainer, gave me a valuable lesson concerning losing weight. He gave me some information I found interesting, and thought I’d pass it along. The first thing he said is “You have to EAT in order to lose weight". I know, it sounds strange. He further explained, this does not mean to OVEREAT, but eat sensible portions. That means eat until you feel full (not stuffed).

 

He explained 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 functioning. If a person intake is less then what it expels, the body will start to “store" food. If a person stay on this type of eating regiment over a prolonged period, the body starts to “eat it self" - which is extremely unhealthy and could be fatal.

 

According to my friend, the first thing the body will first start to “eat away" at is all the stored sugars in the body. After that has been depleted, the body then attacks all the (both good and bad) carbohydrates and fats. Finally the body starts to “digest" the proteins in the body. The proteins are mostly stored in muscle. One of the most important muscles our body has is the HEART. That’s why many anorexia patients die of heart problems - basically the body ate it away. 

 

He said don’t worry if you’re loosing right away. He said as long as we follow the guidelines our Doctors/Nutritionist has set for us, we will loose weight. The body sometimes takes a while before it “resets" itself.

 

ADVICE WARNING: TALK TO THE DOCTOR/NUTRITIONIST BEFORE INCREASING YOUR INTAKE

 

That’s why I hate “the scale". 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.

 

Many may compare their lost to someone else’s, and get discouraged. 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 loose more weight than the others. All three lost 10% of their body weight. Noticed, I started at 435 pounds. So my weight loss, while number wise may seem a lot, could be the “same result" if someone started at a lower weight and lost less “total amount" of pounds

 

And sometimes it is not the number of pounds that someone loses in a specified period of time that is important. Remember, 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 weighing 200 pounds with a body fat percentage of 25 is carrying around 50 pounds of extra fat. That same person weighing 200 pounds with 10 percent body fat would be carrying only 20 pounds of fat. So it’s not the number that is important.

 

Be proud of your lost. No matter how small it may seem. IMHO, it’s better to lose nothing then to GAIN an ounce.

 Hi Tom,

Thanks for the reply.  Your friend is a smart one...I saw my exercise specialist yesterday and have lost 13 pounds of pure fat, my lean body mass has maintained since surgery.  I've also lost 3% of body fat and a few inches here and there.  She said the same thing...my body thinks its starving so it's holding on to everything I put in.  I'm going in for my first fill on Monday but until then I'm going to not worry about my calorie intake.  I'm going to continue to make smart food choices and eat only until I'm satisfied...hopefully I'll see a difference.

I cannot stress enough - HIT THOSE PROTEIN NUMBERS !!

Worry about the Protein ,and put everything else out of your mind ... UNTIL later on and/or you begin to GAIN !!

.. Again, you don't want to eat an entire cheesecake to hit them. But I know you know that :D