Not Making Goal

My surgeon gave me a 6 week goal of 30 lbs. My six week appointment is Wednesday and I am still 3-4 pounds over that goal. I know it's not too big of a deal, but I really haven't lost much in the last several weeks and I am worried my surgeon will be disappointed.

Needed to get that off my chest, sorry about the whine.

I understand completely because I am in the same boat. I go Wednesday for my 6 wk post op check up - and I am behind in my surgeons goal. It is disheartening when I know I have followed the NUT's program exactly.

Paula

As long as you have stuck to the plan and not deviated he will be fine with it. Surgeons are not weight loss experts, they are surgery and body part experts. Most surgeons do not know much about nutrition. WLS is a gold mine for them and they learn just as much as they need to know to make the sales pitch. Honestly I am not even certain why many surgeons require so many follow ups. Seems like you should be with your PCP for those.

I like how forthcoming you are with your cynicism.  ;) 

 

There are some surgeons (unfortunately, rare) that are in the bariatric business because they care deeply about their patients and want to help us live longer and healthier lives.  They even know quite a bit about nutrition and what it takes to be successful.  These surgeons are rare, but when you find one they totally kick ass.

 

There are others that require only the follow-ups necessary to get a insurance stamp-of-approval (like the "centers of excellence" designation) and see patients as little more than a paycheck.  And, of course, there are a lot of surgeons that fall somewhere in between.

 

I don't know anything about the OPs surgeon. I hope she has a good one, if she shes does I am sure he won't make her feel bad for just barely missing the first goal.    Instead, hopefully, he'll just offer her encouragement and useful tips for moving forward to the next goal.

 

BTW, OP, I think it sounds like you've done great!!

I wasn't trying to be cynical. Its not secret that the mainstream medical community regurgitates the federal food pyramid which we all know is a crock of hooey. I am not saying all doctors don't know anything about nutrition, but that is primarily why most bariatric surgeons have nutritionists on their staff. I guess I should/could have concluded that post with it is our own responsibility to learn as much about nutrition as we need to know to be successful with our new tool.Over the years I have learned a fair amount about nutrition and when I read some of these post op diets they are cookie cutter, they don't take into account our basic nutritional needs and the answer from the doctor is to supplement with fiber, vitamins, iron, etc. How about coming up with a program that allows you to get everything you need from real food sources and reduce manufactured supplements to a minimum.

I agree with you that there are doctors who care, but to your point they are few and far between.

When I saw my surgeon at my first week post op, he said I should lose 20 lbs by my next visit which will be this Thursday.  This Thursday will make me 1 month post op.  Well, I will be lucky if I have lost 5 lbs.  I used to be discouraged, but I can see the inches creeping off and the clothes getting smaller.  I keep a food diary and have been following the NUT recomendations.

 

I can't obsess anymore about the weight coming off so slow.  It is just the way my body reacts.  I figure it will be a slow, long process and that is just what it is.

 

Don't worry about your surgeon being disappointed.  Be happy that you have lost what you have.  Everyone loses at their own pace.

Omg consider yourself a success you are so close I only lost 10lbs pre op and ten the next six weeks so I say you are doing great it seems it falls off them stops suddenly your body needs time to adjust to what is happening to it but it will continue you are doing great keep it up and I'm sure your surgeon is going to be mighty pleased. Cheers

One of the many reasons I  my surgeon - we have no goals. Well, we have a stated end goal of 130 pounds but no time limit or anything like that. At my last check-in I was "on target" and was told in no uncertain terms that things were going to slow down for a while from a scale perspective but that my body would continue to reshape. He was right. I hovered right above 200 for over a month, now I'm dropping 2 pounds a week and he assured me there'd be another slide between 6 and 9 months.

Some lose faster than others. Men who work out lose faster than women who work out. It's all so relatively variable that I do my best to not compare myself to others or a chart on the wall.

My surgeon has always been more concerned about my mental and nutritional health than what the scale says. I appreciate him so much for that. Hopefully your surgeon understands that you are you, and no one else. Don't beat yourself up over it.

My surgeon told me 70 percent of weight loss within 12to14 months...goal at 24 months