Question:
Why am I not losing weight?

4/30/03- COMING UP ON 60 DAYS POST OP AND I ONLY LOST 6.5 POUNDS IN THE 2ND MONTH. The weight just isn't coming off. I don't get it......? The first month also, I lost 5 pounds over the three weeks following surgery (first 10 pounds in the first week). Anyone else have these kind of results? I have lost 23 pounds in 2 months.Start weight was 237. I'm 215-217. My friend had surgery the same day and she's at 205 and we both weighed the same, 237. Any ideas or am I just a slow burner? I honestly feel like I'm NOT losing weight.    — barbsbasic (posted on May 1, 2003)

April 30, 2003
You say 175 is your normal weight in your profile. If you only had 65 pounds to lose, where did you find a surgeon to do the surgery, since the surgery is for MO persons? My best guess is you are losing slowly because you have less to lose.
   — barbara A.

April 30, 2003
I agree with previous poster. You don't have as much to lose so you are losing slowly. I don't see how tall you are, but I am guessing 5'7" or so? And you probably have tons of muscle. I am very fit muscle wise too. I started at 336 and lost FAST until I hit the 220s. Now it is very slow - about your rate. I was at 216 FOREVER (8 weeks) and now lost 4 pounds over 2 days, doing nothing different than before. I am not sure this surgery was a good idea for you. You weren't that overweight, you say in your profile you didn't try everything or try hard enough without surgery, that you had done it before (granted your activity level is now hampered) and now you are unhappy with your loss. I am not trying to be mean, please don't get mad at me. You say you don't believe people when they say they have tried everything, I am sorry that even you, who chose this drastic step, have no idea what some of us went through pre op. I DID have will power and was active. Problem was, as soon as I started eating like a normal person instead of a rabbit, I would start gaining and give up. Something happened in that surgery because even though now I can have things I shouldn't I can say NO. Before my stomach was constantly screaming at me - feed me and my brain was backing it up. I now think like the skinny people who said "ooh this is too rich" and I would be like -WHAT!? Give me a break! The other day I said eating healthy choice ice cream would put me in a coma and I thought OH NO I have become one of those people! Had a heard someone say that when I was 340 I would have wanted to smack them - C'MON HEALTHY CHOICE ice cream!!! Give me a pint of the real stuff and I am still no where close to a coma. Anyway, I hope you can come to terms with your situation. That is the most important thing now. What is done is done. Work on coming to terms with your slow loss just knowing some day you will reach your goal and be able to MAINTAIN it.
   — Kristy J.

April 30, 2003
first of all, I will say the previous poster was not very nice to you. period, enought said! I too am a lightweight and started at 226 and am 5'3". I am 3 weeks postop and have lost 25.5 pounds. I have been stuck at 201.5 for almost a week now. in order to make myself feel better I went to the Q and A pages and read all about plateaus. We have lost a lot of weight in 3 weeks and our bodies need time to adjust. This too will pass! I also found a page that you can plug in your starting weight and then see what you might be 1-24 months out. it also includes low and high weight loss and averages. don't despair and absolutely discount comments that are negative, especially when they come from another OB person. good luck, email me and we can compare notes. Robin in Va who is trying to keep everything in perspective
   — Robin I.

May 1, 2003
Update on previous post fome me - When I read your profile, I thought you had recently said you felt you had not tried everything and did not try hard enough pre-op. The fact that you are not saying that POST OP makes a HUGE difference and I am sorry we misunderstood each other. I thought that is how you felt POST OP. Please excuse my sincere apology.
   — Kristy J.

May 1, 2003
I am a terribel typist <p> Update on previous post from me - When I read your profile, I thought you had recently said you felt you had not tried everything and did not try hard enough pre-op. The fact that you are not saying that POST OP makes a HUGE difference and I am sorry we misunderstood each other. I thought that is how you felt POST OP. Please ACCEPT my sincere apology.
   — Kristy J.

May 1, 2003
THANKS FOR ALL YOU INPUT. As for a doctor doing my surgery...ALthough my natural weight is 165-170 AT 5'4 (I'm not 5'7 as most think from photos) I AM 118 POUNDS OVERWEIGHT. I'm supposed to weigh about 120-125. I weighed 237 Pre Op so, yes my BMI was 40.1 and the doctor said I should absolutely have the surgery. Although my weight naturally stays at the size 12 170 pound area that doesn't mean I don't want to be less....And as for the comments that I haven't tried everything PRE OP they obviosly didn't read my profile all the way through. Barbara
   — barbsbasic

May 2, 2003
Ok, Here goes the lecture as to why you and many others may not be loosing weight... I am not scolding only informing: First of all everybody is different...but we all work within the same "natural" guidelines. For fat to be removed from our bodies...it takes 2 things... one we have to Burn more fat than we take in. DUH we all know this... The second however, many DR's don't tell you is this... When the body uses stored fat for energy a chemical reaction takes place in the body. Particles are broken apart and the actual breaking of these chemical bonds is what "burns" the fat...so to speak...What most of us do not realize is that for the residue of the chemical reaction, I call it "molecular trash", is left behind. If there is not enough H2O in the body to "remove" this residue it is "re-stored" in the neighboring Fat Cells......YUCK. That is why older fat is more yellow in color than "new" fat. (like yall really wanted to know that) Anyway, THE point is this, fat does not just disappear from our bodies, it has to be removed....Without proper hydration the body "cant" remove this fat residue. The body saves it water for more important things like "brain function", or kidney function. We have all heard that 8 glasses of water a day is what we need (8oz x 8 cups=64 oz)...That is not really true...64 ounces of water is what a 200lb person (male) needs to stay hydrated, (just for regular body function) not extra stuff like removing 150 lbs. of fat residue. So the rule of thumb is this....for every 25 lbs. of body weight you have you need about 8oz of water. An average person is 150 lbs. (that's what the Dr.'s figure on) a skinny person's average need for water....(I get mad every time I think about it) Anyway, Say I weighed about 300 lbs. That would mean that I would need 96 ounces of water just to stay hydrated...to do normal body functions. If I wanted my body to do more, like remove a ton of fat, I need more water. I know that some of you all are already thinking that this will mean that you will never leave the bathroom... And yes this is true, for a while maybe a few weeks at the most. After your body gets that hydration that we so desperately need, it returns to a more normal "bathroom" schedule. So what I am saying is this. PLEASE do NOT beat yourself up, Just drink more water...I swear on my Bio-Chemistry Books it will work. Now for the Weight gain do to muscle building, muscle weighs more than fat....almost 4x's as much. But it is denser and takes up less space. So if you have reached goal and have gained back a few pounds, "YOUR SOPOST TO"...you body is building its self back. Now for the emotional eating...I had been in OA for several years...I did not loose any weight at all. I did however begin attending a Codependency Recovery Group 2 years ago. I now know that I am so ready for this surgery. I know that the skills I learned in CoDA have given me the confidence to face my emotional demons, and send them packing. Without CoDA I would have gained back the weight from the emotional eating. My advice to EVERYBODY is to go to a CoDA meeting in your area, look for a group that has long term recovery from Codependency issues, there you WILL find the skills to rid your self of the "fat", "food" demons. This I swear by the God that loves me...You WILL learn how to live and not just to "get by" emotionally. Love to all.... Rachel Surgery May 19, 2003 Little Rock AR Dr Mark Gibbs
   — Rachel D.