Most people lost one to two pounds a week. If you stick to your diet, you could drop 25 pounds in about three months. The real secret of weight loss is lowering calories. So weigh and measure everything and track it somewhere like MyFitnessPal. You need 10 calories per day for every pound you maintain. To maintain 150, eat 1500. To maintain 200, eat 2000.

To lose one pound per week, cut out 3500 calories. That is is 500 per day.

P.S.

How much should I be able to lose & how fast?

I got my test results back from a full ds blood tests. 14 are either high or low. Mostly things improved. My copper went up, as did most of my low stuff however my red blood count tests went down, my white blood count went up. Hmm. To me it seems a low copper might have cause all the other problems. I'm feeling a lot better then last week. I'm happy to see most things getting better but I have not talk to my doctor yet. I eat lots of protein almost to much food but because normally I don't eat anything bad like I snack on roast beef. I dunno I'm not complicated and I just want to get better. I need to work out but I feel to tired too. So I don't know how to start. I'm taking everything my ds doctor told me too. So I'm covered on the stuff doctors tell you to do. I have great doctors. Ive never gained muscle in my life. I've worked out but I never managed to get in shape... Guess I'll look on you tube for work out stuff and maybe start writing down what I eat so I can add up my calories, drink more water, and I need to talk to my doctor about my latest results.

I realize this is a very old thread but I have been struggling to find much discussion on this issue. (Maybe it is the brain fog). I am on my second "round" of moderate protein calorie malnutrition in the past few years and my second GJ feeding tube. I am on continuous jtube feeds and water boluses 24 hrs/day, (plus vitamins, iron infusions, etc.) I have the pitting edema and all of the other symptoms mentioned. When I tried a year without the tube thinking I was "better" I declined so fast it made my head spin. Then...covid happened to the world. I have had other issues, (falling due to weakness and breaking my jaw in several places...that had to be rebroken in surgery, rebuilt and once that healed some of the teeth that broke had to be pulled...I still have "altered sensation" and other teeth that are chipped that will eventually need to be dealt with in some way. I can feel how weak my teeth are. It is very depressing.) I just feel like I need to get these deficiencies under control, in particular regain some strength an clarity by resolving the protein issue. I have had weeks where things "flare up" and I can't even get out of bed to barely use the bathroom that is connected to where I sleep...so not very far. I am so blessed in so many ways but I feel like I am failing at life until I get this under control. I do drink protein shakes when I am unable to eat orally. When I eat orally I try to stay towards protein although my team is pushing more carbs. The carbs shoot my heart rate up and just make me feel so sick but I am willing to do almost anything to get my quality of life back so that I can be stronger and more present in Life. If anyone comes looking for this topic in 2021 feel free to either post here or message me. I did not have the DS but maybe I can learn from someone's experience. I had VSG converted to a short (modified) mini gastric bypass due to complications (my body didn't heal correctly...it formed mass scar tissue and twisted and bent my sleeve. I formed ulcers after my conversion and I have had several other surgeries to untwist intestines and to remove scar tissue from throughout my abdominal cavity all the way from my diaphragm, my cavity and even within the small amount of stomach I have left, which isn't much. I am trying to be as informed as I can be to work with my team but to also take responsibility to learn from others and find any emerging research that might exist on this topic. If anyone has read this far... thank you.

What's the point of this post, Karen? Is there a question that I missed?