support/help needed!!

 HI,

I am looking for some advice/help...currently I am 10 weeks post op, and I am feeling pretty frustrated with my weight loss. I am working extremely hard and my weight loss is 1-2 pounds per week. I have not had a "big" weight loss week. I have started walking 5 km a day, and I am very conscience about what I am eating, but it does frustrate me to see the scale move so slow...in fact I gained a pound 2 weeks ago...HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN??? I know so many people that have had huge weight loss in the first 6 mths post-op. 
Has anyone experienced this? What can I do to see my weight drop?

Any thoughts/advice

THANK YOU!!!!

you are in a stall. put your scale away. Do not pay attention to it. Things will move again. There is no way in heck that at this stage you are done losing. Everyone has experienced this, and you will experience this again.

Breathe. Keep eating the right things, keep walking. Record what you're eating and drinking, so you can be sure that you are eating the right amounts of protein.

breathe. Things will move again.

Even if you kept going at 2 pounds a week (which is highly doubtful), that's 104 pounds in a year!  Look at the big picture here.  We didn't get this way overnight and we aren't going to lose it overnight either.  Slow and steady wins the race...and listen to Monica and put the scale away. :)  

The following explanation is courtesy of Diana Cox.

Our bodies use glycogen for short term energy storage. Glycogen is not very soluble, but it is stored in our muscles for quick energy -- one pound of glycogen requires 4 lbs of water to keep it soluble, and the average glycogen storage capacity is about 2 lbs. So, when you are not getting in enough food, your body turns first to stored glycogen, which is easy to break down for energy. And when you use up 2 lbs of glycogen, you also lose 8 lbs of water that was used to store it -- voila -- the "easy" 10 lbs that most people lose in the first week of a diet.

 

As you stay in caloric deficit, however, your body starts to realize that this is not a short term problem. You start mobilizing fat from your adipose tissue and burning fat for energy. But your body also realizes that fat can't be used for short bursts of energy -- like, to outrun a sabertooth tiger. So, it starts converting some of the fat into glycogen, and rebuilding the glycogen stores. And as it puts back the 2 lbs of glycogen into the muscle, 8 lbs of water has to be stored with it to keep it soluble. So, even though you might still be LOSING energy content to your body, your weight will not go down or you might even GAIN for a while as you retain water to dissolve the glycogen that is being reformed and stored.

Jennifer D I think I got that. I am in the same boat (surgery July 25th) I should have read this 1st before posting my own post about the same thing. I haven't had any appts since 2nd week post op. I have my 1st appt Oct4th so I am hoping to get some answers.

 thanks Jennifer that was very informative!

I agree 100% it's not about HUGE weight loss each week, it's about constant weight/gradual loss...my surgeon said that those who lose their weight at a constant pace are more likely to keep it off than those who lose quickly and drastically.

6 months x 2 lbs per week....= roughly 32 lbs....and there will be peaks and valleys...at 10 weeks post-op your body is STILL getting back into the groove and some people's bodies actually hang on to the weight for a bit onger.

try not to get frustrated and whatever you do, please do not weight yourself every day..that only leads to frustration.

also remember that with walking...your body is now taking some of that reserve ad storing it as muscle...breaking down the fat...and you know that muscle weighs MORE than fat..so while you don;t see a change on teh scale..you will definatly start seeing a change in your clothes nad how they fit.

at almost 3 years post-op...I can tell you that there were times when the scale would barely move..but I definatly noticed a change in how tightly or easily something could be done up..

try this....but a pair of jeans from a 2nd hand store...maybe a size smaller than you are...and try it on every other week..chances are in a few week it will fit like a glove and you will admire your changing figure.

slow and steady wins in this case and remember to congratulate yourself along the way for your success!!!