post op days 5-9 averaging 3.5 lb loss per day -- too much too fast?

today is day 9 post op.  while i'm thrilled to be losing weight so quickly, i am concerned that it may be happening too rapidly if there is such a thing.  it took me until day 5 to drop below my pre-surgery weight due to swelling from the surgery.  since then, however, i've lost 3-4 lbs each day.  is this normal?  is it possible to lose too much too quickly?

here's my weight change:

surgery weight -- 339

day 5 -- 337 

day 6 -- 334

day 7 -- 331

day 8 -- 327

day 9 -- 323.2

clear liquids -- about 48 oz of water each day. 

full liquids -- two protein shakes with 8 oz of 1% milk and 2 scoops of protein powder (26g protein) and 5 ice cubes pulverized into a smoothie for about 68g protein/day.

will the extremely extreme weight loss taper off once i start soft foods next week?  it's so outrageous that, at my current rate, in 30 days i'd lose 105 pounds!  i knew i'd lose about 100 lbs in 5 or 6 months, but this current rate of losing seems unhealthy.  any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

thanks

Enjoy it while it lasts, which it won't!  However, I would like to ask why you're only doing 2 shakes a day?  Is that all you're eating?

You'll also probably want to up your water intake too.  With a high protein diet it's hard not to get constipated, and the water will help keep things moving.  

My post-op diet is similar - 2 protein shakes a day plus 1/2 cup skim milk (albeit, I sneak in a scoop of protein shake with my 1/2 cup of skim milk). I'd say I'm living on about 550 - 600 calories a day. I'm surprised I'm not passing out from having so few calories. 

yes, i'm only doing two shakes a day.  it comes out to about 500 calories/day which seems about right.  it also meets the 60g of protein i'm supposed to have and the 24 oz of full liquids (the ice cubes add another 5 oz to the 8 oz of milk).  initially, i was trying to do another meal with full liquid, like pudding, but it was much more difficult for me to get in the second protein shake for dinner.  since i was getting sufficient protein from two shakes, i decided to keep it to that.  my eating guidelines say that i need to consume 24 ounces of clear liquids and 24 ounces of full liquids per day minimum.  i thought i was doing well with 48 oz of water per day.  is that too low?  

How much water are you drinking each day? If you're drinking the 64oz+ a day, then you are one of the lucky ones who just loses weight fast. If you're not drinking all your water then it's possible that part of your weight loss is due to dehydration. Of course, how much exercise you're getting is another factor to consider.

@Ms_J:  

thanks for the suggestion.  i'll try upping my water to about 64oz.  at this point, because of my various health issues, i'm not getting in any exercise (as was the case prior to surgery).  i'm not trying to boast about losing quickly.  i'm concerned that losing too quickly could be damaging to my health!  i certainly hope that next week when i add in soft foods that my weight loss will slow down some.

i see you've just had surgery we well.  good luck on your journey.  i wish you the best!

Thanks! Good luck to you too!    Do you have any known issues with your kidneys? The only reason I ask is because you're the first person I've come across who was told to eat just 60g of protein a day (as opposed to 80-120g a day). Protein can be hard on the kidneys. But if you do have a known kidney problem, surely your doctor would want you to drink more than 24oz of water a day.     

So, I'm assuming you don't have kidney issues since your doctor didn't tell you to drink tons of water everyday to help filter out ketones (a byproduct of fat burning that is also hard on the kidneys). I am a little concerned about the low protein though. If you don't get enough protein, especially while on a very low carb AND low fat diet (which you are on), your body won't have enough sources (i.e., protein, fat, or carbs) to convert into energy so your body tries to metabolize fat (which is obviously good) AND sources of protein within your body - e.g., muscle. It might explain why you are losing weight so quickly. It's possible that you're metabolizing both, fat and muscle. Although, I'm no medical expert. My only knowledge comes from my Atkins days many many years ago and I never completely understood it then either.   

I would call my doctor tomorrow and find out if it's normal to lose so quickly and also ask him why he wants you to drink 24oz of water a day instead of 64oz and why he wants you to consume 60g of protein a day instead of 80-120g. He may tweak your diet by increasing your protein and water intake which will probably be better for you in the long run.    

i think i've realized why i was losing so much weight so quickly--EDEMA!  my hands and feet have been super swollen for the last couple of years.  my hands are back to about normal size, and my feet are significantly less swollen.  now that i've lost much of that edema, my weight loss is slowing down to something more reasonable, about 1 lb per day.

the program i'm affiliated with, mass general hospital weight center, says that you need to get at least 24 oz of clear liquids and 24 oz of full liquids per day in phase 2.  once the minimums are met, you can add more of either as you desire.  the protein requirements are listed as 60g/day for women and 80g/day for men.  there's nothing i'm doing that is particular to me. 

You might be right about your hand and foot swelling going down being why you have lost that much weight so quickly. If I remember correctly, I was supposed to aim for at least 60 grams of protein a day once I started in on protein shakes. I imagine your plan is a minimum of 48 ounces of liquids a day. If I were you I would work hard on increasing your liquids to at least 64 ounces of liquids, including your protein shakes. The last thing you want is to end up dehydrated. Enjoy this rapid weight loss. It probably won't continue much longer.