Tomorrows weigh in
GOD BLESS YOU
First of all, you have done a fabulous job losing a significant amount of weight to date.
Secondly, it's great that your mom is trying to support and motivate you in your weight loss. That said, it's important to recognize that as long as we are following the protocol our doctor and his support staff have given you that you will lose your excess weight in your own time. I can't tell from your post or your signature line when you had your surgery, so I don't know how far post op you are, but I hope that you are aware that the weight loss slows as we get farther and farther post op. This is not because you are doing anything 'wrong.' The reasons for it are multi-faceted, but basically in the weeks and months immediately following surgery the mal-absorption and extreme restriction you incur right after surgery push your weight loss forward at an accelerated rate. Also, even though you are taking in about the same caloric content now as you were sometime earlier in your journey, as your body mass shrinks, so does the caloric requirement to maintain the weight. Since you weigh less, you won't lose as fast. Finally, we don't lose weight in a steady slide downhill. Instead, we tend to drop some weight and then slow down or plateau even though we are following our doctor's protocols in terms of diet and activity. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you may or may not hit the arbitrary target on a particular date, but that doesn't mean you aren't being compliant or that you won't hit it in your body's own time.
I also hope that you know that there are a number of ways to measure your success during this process. Of course, the number on the scale is a significant marker, but you will often see movement on the tape measure when the scale doesn't move. Beyond these numbers, there are the myriad of health improvements, quality of life improvements, improvement in our feelings about our appearance and our self esteem. All of these things are the things that help us do what we need to do in the long term to maintain the loss of inches and weight so that we can maintain the improvements in our health, quality of life, appearance and self esteem.
No matter what the number on the scale is when you go for your weigh in, hang in there and keep doing what your doctor and his team are telling you to do so that you continue to maximize your weight loss opportunity.
Wishing you continued success!
Please, please don't set a time table on your weight loss. This will only set you up for major disappointment and feelings of failure when you have been doing what is you are suppose to be doing. If you are eating off track and not sticking to your plan, that is a whole different matter. At 5 and 6 months is when your major weigh tloss will occur. It will slow down after that, more at 9 months and even slower at one year. This does not mean you are done by any means but you need to not have yourself or your mom give you such conditional terms on how much weight you have lost!!!! I am over 9 months and have stopped losing for over a month with only a one pound loss. I have lost 94 lbs. and my surgeon said I could expect to lose another 35 to 50 lbs. I expect that to take at least another year. But that is for me and couldn't be more happy because of the quality of my life in spite of my other mobility issues. I look great in my clothes, I look in the mirror and amazed at what is looking back at me. I am off diabetic meds after being a diabetic for 15 years.
So yes, WLS is measured in many ways besides the scales. The heavier a person is the faster they will lose and then start to slow down like everyone else. You have made great strides so don't let the scales defeat you. Jane
