Question:
Scientific data?

Does anyone know of any scientific data about the rate of weight loss? My whole life I've been told be friends, family, doctors, strangers on the street...that the healthiest way to lose weight is to do so slowly. "Slow weight loss is the best." And yet, the majority of people who have had WLS seem to lose weight at a staggering rate. My sister argues that losing so much weight so rapidly surely cannot be healthy. So who's right? Is one rate better than the other? Where's the scientific data, the cold hard facts that say what rate of weight loss is the healthiest?    — Dragon G. (posted on February 28, 2003)

February 28, 2003
hey ginger. sorry i don't have any facts to show you. but don't you think it is safer to looses weight faster than to stay overweight? i could understand if you were starving yourself or some other unsupervised diet. but as long as you get in all the things your body needs and are being supervised and checked by a doctor, i think it is much safer than being at an unhealty weight. people always say most diets are unhealthy, but...haha they are the same people how eat things that aren't good for the, smoke, drink ect.. or they watch YOu eat and do unhealthy things but don't really say anything. but when you say you want to loose weight they always put their two cents in.i do agree that slower is better on other diets, but wls is a different way to loose weight so the rate of lose is going to be faster than other diets. ask your doctor for some info. good luck
   — k K.

February 28, 2003
I don't know of any scientific data, but I can tell you this: I have lost 50 lbs and I am off one blood pressure med and taking the lowest dose available of a second one. I am off medication to lower my cholesterol, and haven't taken Glucophage XL to help my body utilize the over-produced insulin. What's bad about that?! Now, as an example, let's say you were walking uphill with 2 big bags of groceries, and are huffing and puffing along, your heart is pounding and you are short of breath. Would it be easier on your heart and lungs to stop every 10 feet and put down a can of green beans or 5 lbs of flour or a bag of chips, or to stop and put down one whole bag and go on, and then put the other one down and move on from there? Telling people losing slowly is best is probably only a way to try and motivate people to keep working at it, but when you are trying to lose 100lbs or more, losing 1/2 lb or so a week is discouraging, no matter how you look at it. I say, put down that bag of groceries now!(lol!)
   — koogy

March 1, 2003
Hi Ginger! People say that losing weight slowly is best, but that is probably for people that don't have that much to lose in the first place. People who have 100+ pounds to lose WILL lose it very quickly for a number of reasons. 1) All tissue in your body (fat and muscle) uses calories to keep it going. So, your basal metabolism to MAINTAIN your weight is very high (4500 Calories/day roughly). When you're only eating 500 Calories a day (like with WLS) your body has no choice but to use stored fat for food. 2)Your body has to work a lot harder than a small person's just to move itself around. Just think, a person who weighs 400lbs is doing the equivalent of 800lb leg presses each time they take one step! It adds up pretty fast. So losing weight fast is not necesarily bad. Usually, doctors warn people about it because it's usually an indication that all you're losing is water weight and muscle mass. But with people who've had WLS, it's truly fat loss, so don't worry! :)
   — Brittany C.