Question:
My weight loss has slowed down ,I am worried. Is this normal?

I had bypass 7 weks ago ,have lost 45 lbs,but it seems to have stopped. I have my appetite back,afraid I am eating too much,HELP!! What should I do to increase my weight loss?    — angieRN (posted on June 3, 2008)

June 3, 2008
45 lbs. in 7 weeks is a heck of a lot in a short period of time. Your body needs to adjust and plateaus are a normal part of any weight loss plan. Also getting a bigger appetite is normal as well, as your stomach's swelling from the surgery is reduced. My nut told me something that has helped me. She said, "it's normal to be able to eat more as you go along, but you don't need to start worrying until you see that you're eating the same amount as "normal" people". As for me, even though I can eat more than I did in the first few weeks following the surgery I still have a stop limit pretty early on. Also, since meats fill u up more than carbs make sure you eat your protein first and u won't want as much of the other stuff. Good luck...you've done great so far. Chris
   — cjjordan

June 3, 2008
This is a fantastic amount of weight for 7 weeks!!! Follow the plan exactly like told, no eating 15 before or after you eat and get your water in everyday. When my weight loss slowed down it seemed like I lost in increments of 5lbs at a time. I am sure it was God's way of showing me patience and that he has a sense of humor. Hang in there your doing great!!
   — diamond0801

June 3, 2008
I am expercening the same problem at this point it has also been 7 weeks for me and I have lost 38 lbs. I think my problems is that I am not able to walk at a fast pace due to pain in the left surgery area. So I think that may have slowed me down a lot. But I trust my doctor and staff and I know that this will be resolved soon. I am also worried, but we have to hang in there, and the final result will be GREAT. good job, keep it up.
   — zydeko47

June 3, 2008
This is normal to a certain degree. If you haven't already seen a nutritionist, I would highly recommend that you see one. He or she will be able to customize a diet that will fit your tastes and your dietary needs and will help you to lose the maximum amount of weight that you can lose. First off, weight loss is not always a straight line loss. Some times there are plateaus. Some times there are gains. There are a few possibilities that you need to consider. The first is: Are you retaining water? The second is: Are you getting enough protein and exercise. In the FIRST scenario: the issue will probably resolve itself given time. In a few days or a week or so, you will lose the water and lose the weight. The SECOND is actually a GOOD thing if it is occurring! If the SECOND scenario is the case, what is happening is that the protein that you consume is being turned into lean muscle mass on your body by the exercise. Lean muscle weighs more than FAT per cubic inch so you can't measure your progress by the SCALE at this stage of your weight loss but you CAN with a MEASURING TAPE! If you are NOT dropping pounds but ARE dropping INCHES, you are GAINING Muscle! MORE MUSCLE means LESS FAT! The lean muscle mass will help to ACCELERATE your weight loss! There is the possibility of a THIRD option that I did NOT mention before. If one of the FIRST two are not your problem then the THIRD option is likely. The THIRD option is that your body's Metabolism SET Point could have readjusted itself to starvation mode. This IS possible. Give it some time. If things don't start working in a week or so you may want to contact your physician and get PROFESSIONAL advice and go to a nutritionist. A nutritionist will be able to tell you just how many CARBOHYDRATES you can consume per day and how OFTEN you need to eat them to MAXIMIZE your weight loss. He or she will also tell you how much PROTEIN to consume to maximize your lean muscle mass. You may want to do this in ANY case. It COULD help to MAXIMIZE your weight loss potential and make your weight loss journey a quicker, safer, and more enjoyable one. This is what I suggested at the beginning of my missive to you. I hope this helps, Hugh
   — hubarlow

June 4, 2008

   — Ira Sansolo

June 4, 2008
Forty-five pounds in 7 weeks is phenomenal... that means you've been losing almost six and half pounds per week. If you continue losing at this pace, at the end of a year, you will have lost over 330lbs... I don't know what your starting weight was, but I'm guessing that a 330lb weight loss would be overkill. It's normal for weight loss to slow down. Your body needs to catch up with itself. If you continued to lose at this rate, you'd start losing muscle and other lean tissue, not just fat. I have not had WLS yet, so I can't personally comment on the appetite issue, however, from what I've read on here, appetite does come back to some degree (for most people), but its not the same as pre-WLS. As far as eating too much, most people are given info about what they should/should not be eating and how much . If you weren't told things these or its not clear, then call your surgeon and ask. Once you know what you're suooosed to be eating, measure, measure, measure and stick to the amounts you've been told. I'd also suggest asking your surgeon how much weight you can expect to lose each week including how much is too much. Exercise will also help you lose... if you aren't exercising now, it will help you lose more/faster if you start and if you are already exercising, try increasing the amount of time you exercise and/or the intensity. Good luck. How much are you losing now and if none, how long has it been since you last lost weight? What are you eating and how much? What kind of exercise? If you post more info, I think you'll probably get more specific info. Good luck.
   — mrsidknee