Question:
How much weight should/could be safely lost in a day?

I am just over a week out from LAP RNY. What is the average daily loss for a day. I know a lot of people don't believe in daily weighing but, I do, I have done it for years just to keep below a certain weight that I have in my head. I am a strange one. Anyway is just a pound a day a good loss for right after this surgery? I go to see my surgeon Thursday and I am not sure what he will be expecting. Thanks in advance.    — S C. (posted on July 27, 2003)

July 27, 2003
I understand and can emphasize with the need to weigh in frequently. I was so stressed out those first two weeks thinking I hadn't lost a darned thing... but Hon, let me save you a lot of future heartache and tell you right off the bat---don't even bother comparing your loss to others. There is no right or wrong amount per day, week, month or year. Your body will lose as it should. Your brain may not agree, but you have to get past that. --Jen, RNY 11/12
   — Mrs. Rich

July 27, 2003
I've lost 62 lbs in 10.5 weeks... so 62 lbs in 73 days, including a two week plateau that started at 3 weeks post op. Protien and water is a MUST to keep losing well. God bless you on your journey.
   — Happy I.

July 27, 2003
Jennifer E is right. Don't set yourself up for disappointment by setting goals that you can't control. Nothing you do at the early stages will change the amount of weight that your body will lose. Some people will average a pound a day, some will average more, and still others less. Regardless, you don't control it, so don't set up expectations for yourself that you cannot do anything about. You'll make yourself crazy if you don't meet these "goals", especially when you hit that plataeu everyone hits somewhere between weeks two and four. Don't set yourself up for disappointemnt. Set goals much later out (after 6 months), when what you do does have some affect on what you lose. That can be motivating. It is only demotivating to set goals earlier.
   — Vespa R.

July 27, 2003
Let me be perfectly blunt--- you are making a tragic mistake weighing yourself every day, especially early on. I have enjoyed fairly constant weight loss and dropped over 80 pounds my first month. But, when I get in an obessive rut, I find that my weight will fluctuate by a pound or two every day (big difference in weighing yourself first thing in the morning, right after a "weighty" bodily function excretion or at the end of a day where you drank lots of fluid). As long as you are not trying to make a weight classification in wrestling, you should probably avoid weighing yourself more than a couple of times a week-- the body's natural fluctuations are maddening. And, if you find that your weight is a pound higher after a day of high protein, low carbs and lots of fluids, what would your strategy by to increase weight loss? Also, you stated that you've done daily weighing in for years-- yet, you also had weight loss surgery. So, perhaps, daily weighing in hasn't been a benefit to you. Think of what an amazing step you've taken to control your weight-- think of how brave you've been in undergoing life-altering surgery. And, then ask yourself if you really need a daily affirmation from a somewhat fickle collection of springs and dials.
   — SteveColarossi

July 27, 2003
Well, I am a daily weigher too, so I'm not going to tell you not too. Just don't take the weight too seriously if you gain a few pounds, it happens. The most I ever lost was 1-1.5 pounds per day. I think 30 pounds in a month was tops. Depends alot on your starting weight though. I have lost 150 pounds so far and just hit my 1 year mark. I view weighing every day as just staying on top of things so that I don't get on the scales and discover that I have gained 5 pounds all the sudden. If I see that I am trending up, rather than just fluctuating, that tells me to adjust my diet to compensate.
   — Greg P.

July 27, 2003
I weigh every day, but I don't necessarily recommend it to everyone. You have to be willing every day when you step on the scale to see no loss or even a "gain." (It's not a real gain obviously -- just a normal fluctuation.) I often psyche myself into "expecting" no loss or a gain on some days, and then have a pleasant surprise. I love having the data so I can see the rate of loss and run the charts. It helps me not panic when I see all the previous deviations from a straight line loss, to know that "this too shall pass" even if I have a non-losing day. Again, this is not for everybody, but for me it works.
   — Jim F

July 28, 2003
I weigh every day, also. It keeps me honest and I think of it as a hobby or just sort of a novelty. It's also why I can look back and say I have been on a plateau for a couple of months. I have also had a couple of medication changes during that time (particularly thyroid medication) and I truly believe that has made a drastic difference in my slowed weight loss. (I plan to ask my PCP to bump it back up a little at my next visit to see if anything changes.) I doubt I could convince my doctor of this if I didn't have my weight records, The rate of weight loss depends on many things - the type of surgery you had, your surgeon's diet instructions, how obese you are, your metabolism, your gender, etc., so "your mileage may vary"! At this early stage, just concentrate on eating right and starting to exercise and the weight loss will be at it's own rate.
   — koogy