I wonder if I will ever reach onderland????

I have my 2nd post op appt with my surgeon on 03/22/2013. My revision from lapband to RNY was 12/27/2012 since I am down 44lbs and it has been this way since 03/02/2013. I write down my weight loss on my calendar and have since I got out of the hospital 12/29/2012. I am to the point where I just want to stop consuming anything all together. I am 28 almost 29 yrs old and I wanted to spend that last year in my 20's happy and healthy to start the rest of my life that way. I realize this is a tool and you have to put in effort to keep the weight loss consistent, yet I feel like this process is going too slow. I have looked at sooo many before and after pics and am becoming obsessed with comparing my weight loss to this point (10 weeks on Thurs) to others at their 10 week mark. And the avg weight loss( ppl around my starting weight and my height) is like 55 lbs... WTH.
Any suggestions?

Keep low carb and high protein and don't give up. Feed your body so it will release the fat. Increase your water, take your vitamins and keep moving to keep your metabolism going. It will happen.

--gina

Thank you for the advice Gina! You're right I didn't go through all this for nothing I'm not going to give up that easily!

--Talia

Stop comparing....this is an individual journey and revisions may lose a little slower....it will come off.  Do not starve yourself and like Gina said, increase your protein.  Aim for 100 grams a day.....ban the scale if you need to (I did once for 6 weeks as it was just a downer).  The scale will move again....keep on keeping on.

Good luck!

~~Jennifer

this is not a race, it is a journey.  You are in it for the long haul, like it or not.  So stop worrying and keep on keeping on.  Get your protein up, hide the scale.  Take your measurements, sometime you lose inches when you aren't losing pounds.  You can do this.  44lbs in 10 weeks is over 4lbs a week.  goodness, that is wonderful. 

You can't compare absolute pounds. Most of those people have 150 to 300 pounds to lose. Of course they are going to lose hugh numbers. But some of them are actually losing slower than you are.

For example, say you have 100 pounds to lose and I have 200. I lose 15 in a month and you lose 10. So I lost more than you, right? NO! I only lost 7% of my excess weight but you've lose 10% of yours! If we keep going like this, you'll get to goal faster than me.

BAN the scale at least until your next doctor appt. And then weigh only once a week at most.

Okay, LW's LOOK like they lose slower but we don't:

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.

I am so PROUD of you for having this done in your 20's!!!  My biggest regret is not having my WLS when I was younger.  I missed out on soooooo much!   I have 3 DD's just a little older than you and only 1 struggles with her weight.  She just had her 2nd baby in January and I am hopeful that she will get this weight off since she isn't planning on having any more.  If I don't see an improvement in 6 months I'm going to approach her about considering to at least getting the band. 

You are probably in a stall which is perfectly normal.  If you are taking your measurements usually during stalls is when you have your biggest losses in inches.  I don't know why but it's true.

If 55 lbs. puts them in a "normal" BMI range then that's great but if not then they are probably not a LW or they are struggling for some reason.  Most of the  LW's I know get to a "normal" BMI.

Some of things I have learned since having my surgery: 

1. I CAN NOT LOOSE WEIGHT UNLESS I EAT!!!!!!!!!!  In fact I gain when I don't eat!  (Eating includes my Protein drinks).

2. This is a lifetime commitment.  You can't starve yourself the rest of your life.  You have to find what works for you
    and plan on doing it forever.

3.  PROTEIN...PROTEIN...PROTEIN!!!!!  Protein drinks work for me and I have over 100 grams a day. I've found that If I "drink"
     my Protein then I don't have to keep track of how many protein etc. that I eat.  The less I have to calculate the less I
     think about food.  I don't want to live like I'm on WW and counting points etc. for the rest of my life.  I DO NOT consider
     Protein Bars in my protein total....too many carbs and they are a trigger food for snacks. 

4.   "bad" carbs....During the losing stage I rarely ate "bad" carbs other than 5 saltine crackers with cheese or peanut butter.

5.   "good" carbs.....I eat a lot of bean soup, chili, vegetables with my Protein.

6.    Fruit is a trigger for me because it has a lot of sugar.  It makes me hungry for more fruit and sweets

7.    Small meals.  I eat about every 3 hours.  Sometimes it's a Protein Drink and sometimes just a cheese stick but I have
       found that works for me.  Some people don't believe this but I feel like I have been very careful not to stretch my pouch.
       I eat very little at a time and I still get full quickly. My DH says I eat like a bird.

8.   I basically eat/drink the same things all of the time.  You might say I'm boring but it works for me and if you read M&M you
      you will see that a lot of us don't stray away from our regular menus for most of the day. 

I understand you are young and probably dating, going out with friends etc. but I've found that since I've lost weight having confidence, wearing nice clothes, not feeling like an outsider  is so much better than eating fries and chips!  I don't drink alcohol but if you do that is a sure way to put on weight and not get to goal.

Just for perspective, maybe you are way ahead of most of us because you are doing this at such a young age

In reality, taking a few weeks more or less than someone else takes to lose the weight just doesn't matter when you consider that you have the rest of your life to live in maintenance mode.

This too shall pass. You're doing great and we're all ver happy to watch your success!

Thank you all for your help, support, and kind words. I am down 2 more lbs. 205.3 as of this morning. I don't know what it is about week 9. But that stall really scared me. I know most of you said to weigh in once a week but I just felt as if I'd lost more weight these last 4 days. Not to sound weird or anything but when I touch my body like my wrist, hips, and bottom I can literally see feel the difference. I cannot believe I am going to know what it is like to be thin as an adult. Thank you all again for your support!!!


--- Talia