Weight loss comparison and EWL- how to figure it out

I am noticing several posts lately about members concerned with a "slow" weight loss in the first month or so. I would encourage you to consider not the pounds lost, but rather the percentage of your EWL lost. EWL stands for excess weight that you need to lose. Here is how to calcuate it, and I will use an example of a starting weight of 300 and goal weight of 195:

1. Take your starting weight on surgery day and subtract out your goal weight. This is your excess weight. 300-195=105, so 105 is the excess weight.
2. Now, take your month 1 weight loss and divide this number by your ewl. If I lost 21 pounds in month 1 then 21/105=.2. Slide your decimal two place values to the right (or multiply by 100) and that is 20%. That is a big chunk of what you need to lose completed in just 1 month!
3. Remember, you didn't gain it all in 3 months, so be gentle and patient while you work on taking it off. Some make goal at 6 months, 8 months seems to pop up a lot, and our super heavyweights lose well into year two and take of astounding numbers. The folks who make it to goal consistently follow their plan until it is reached. Good luck in your journey!

Ahh, I love it when you do math.  Yeah I've seen a few posts where people get caught up in the numbers. I mean way too much. I think about the long haul. If I got that crazy every week I'd never get as far/continue to push forward.

Thanks for posting! 

Ah math....and good logic. I think part of tbe journey is learning to think long term. A good friend of mine just had sleeve surgery and was upset she only lost 9lbs the first month. I told her I lost 11 the first month and had more than twice as much weight to lose.

For most people weight loss doesn't happen in  a straight line...

I was pretty down on Saturday about having a very slow week 2 (I'm exactly at 3 weeks today). Week 1 was tremendous. I lost 19 lbs. and then the second week only 1.5. It took some stepping back yesterday to realize that 1. I wasn't going to lose 19 lbs. every week, and 2. I had lost 20.5 lbs. in two weeks! I was down another 2 this week. 

This thing takes time, and I needed to remind myself. I love the EWL calculation!

Yes, be patient! It is the cumulative totals after several months that are so powerful. Individual months are comparitively tame. If you look at my ticker I didn't post huge numbers every month, but it sure did add up!

Thank you so much for this explanation! Makes me feel so much better.