Concerned about stall and general slow weight loss

Hello!  I know that everyone is different but yesterday marked six weeks from my RNY and I've only lost 20 pounds.  I doing my very best to get 64 ozs of fluids and 65 grams of protein every day.  I had a bit of trouble finding the time for exercise, but have been getting better at it.  I walked five miles the last two days with an average speed of 20 minutes per mile, and nothing.  The scale hasn't moved much in days.   In fact today I gained a few onces.  I have a checkup tomorrow with my surgeon and I am hoping he can help me get things going again.  That said, I would appreciate any suggestions. 

Did you take your measurements?  If not, I would suggest that you do that.  Sometimes when you don't lose numbers on the scale, you will be dropping inches.

Most everyone goes through stall periods.  It will happen - just have to be patient!!  Keep walking, that will help.

Linda

'only lost 20 pounds'  That's more than 3lbs a week!!  You're doing great.  You're body's probably having a bit of break having lost so much in such little time.  You sound like you're doing the right thing, just keep keeping the protein high and the carbs low.

I know it's disheartening (really, I do), but hang in there.  You didn't gain the weight over night and you're not going to lose it over night.

Although I think you have done super, everyone is different, you do need to keep working on your fluid and protein.  You want to be working towards 80-100g of protein a day and about the same in oz of fluid. 

don't compare yourself to heavyweights.  they look like they are losing more, faster, but the percentage of weight lost / excess weight, we are about the same. 

Hi Suzanne...I would do these things:

Make sure you get a minimum of 80-120 oz of protein every day.

Get 64 oz MINIMUM of fluid.

Get RID of the scale...only weigh when seeing a doctor.

It's not POUNDS, it's PERCENTAGES!

by Carolyn M.

Two people, both 6 months post-op. One has lost only 63 pounds and feels bad about her "slow" weight loss. The other has lost 96 pounds and thinks she's doing great.

They are both wrong.

Person A had only 105 excess pounds, so she has already lost 60% of her excess weight. She is actually ahead of the game at 6 months out and is on track to lose it ALL.

Person B had 265 excess pounds. At 6 months out she has only lost 36% of her excess weight. At this rate, she will end up retaining 28% of her excess weight, enough to keep her in the obese category.

See what I mean? Don't compare pounds to pounds, that's like apples and oranges.

Percent of excess weight lost: pounds lost divided by total excess pounds
Use a BMI of 25 as a goal weight

On track to lose it all is 25% lost after 2 months, 50% after 6 months, and 80% at one year.

Please note: These are averages. Your mileage may vary.

Thanks for all the kind words and encouragement.  I will definitely take your suggestions on protein and liquids.

One last question...do you all follow the 30 minute rule, no liquids for 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after a meal? 

i agree with your other posters and as far as liquid goes,no,I drink right up to the first bite of  food. liquids go right thru your sleeve/pouch,so there is really no good reason to wait 30 min before. I can drink a lot in 30 min and I can't waste that time doing nothing,lol. I do wait 30 min after.

GL

I drink up until the first bite. After all with no valve the water is running right through my funnel of a pouch. I do however wait 30 min minimum if it was hot or spicy food if it wasn't I wait 60-90 mins. I find the longer I wait the fuller I stay.

20 pounds could be a lot or it could be nothing. Since you are a lightweight, I'm guessing it's at least okay.  If you had 200 pounds or more to lose, that would definitely be on the slow side though.

Exercise helped me a LOT in losing my weight but I found that every time I upped my exercise it took 1-3 weeks to really show up on the scale. You aren't going to get fast scale results because your muscles will retain water at first.

As for the 30 minute rules, my program says 15 before / 45 minutes after. But my surgeon will tell you that you can drink right up until. I also found in the early days that 45 minutes was always enough, especially if I'd eaten lean protein. But now I'm kind of lazy and sometimes I get really thirsty and behind in my water drinking. So now I do 30-60 minutes depending on what I ate and how hungry I am.