A Little Down :(

[crisanthemum85 0]

I'm just so upset with myself right now. My surgery date was September 24 and it has already been 7 weeks and I'm not at all where I thought I'd be. I started out weighing 203 and am down to 176. That's only 27 lbs!! A few other people I've been following are at a little over 40 lbs by 9-10 weeks. What am I doing wrong? Can someone please give me some advice?!

[Strangefruit 179]

I don't know how tall you are - or your BMI - but my understanding is that people with less to lose, lose slower? Have you talked to your doctor about this? I had my surgery on 10/22 and have lost about 29lbs, BUT I have/had 100lbs to lose...

[CowgirlJane 14,261]

What I am upset by is that people think that they should lose the same number of pounds as some person on the internet they know nothing about.

Look, it varies so much by age, gender, and perhaps most importantly - how much overweight they are! You have lost 27 pounds.... well, how much TOTAL do you need to lose to get to a healthy BMI? Let's just imagine your goal weight by the charts is 140, since you didn't provide that info. That would mean you started out with 63# to lose. You lost 27 already which is 43% of your excess! I would have killed to have lost nearly half my excess weight in 7 weeks and even though I lost "big numbers" - I had lost 41# by 7 weeks out that is only 27% of the amount I want to lose. If I go by the BMI charts, losing 41# was only 25% of my "excess weight".

So, I think you are right on target unless your goal weight is like 58 pounds.

[crisanthemum85 0]

When I said people I've been following I mean actual friends of mine who have had this same surgery.

I am 5'2. My goal weight is 125-130. I don't have more than 100lbs to lose, more like 73 total.

[CowgirlJane 14,261]

Okay, you have lost 37% of your excess weight. You are ahead of where I was at 7 weeks and I think I was and still am doing AWESOME!

My point is that you can't compare apples to oranges - you need to look at percentage of excess weight or do like they do on biggest loser which is percentage of your body weight lost. It isn't fair to compare to someone with entirely different circumstances.

There are men who have posted losing over 100# in 3 months. Well, no matter what I did, I couldn't do that so it is completely unreleastic comparison.

[geno5150 168]

Look at it a different way: I have three kids, one boy and two girls. A friend of mine has three boys. What am I doing wrong to not have three boys? Nothing, of course. We are two different families.

Unless all your friends that have had the surgery are identical clones of you that eat, work, live and breathe in an identical fashion to you every second of the day, it isn't reasonable to compare your weight loss to theirs. That is really the only thing you are doing wrong here- 27 pounds in a couple of months is fantastic.

[takroom 192]

On a more positive note...Congrats on your 27 lb weight loss in 7 weeks.... whoot, whoot!!! Be proud, it's a loss!!! You're doing great and remember, we all lose weight at different rates of speed. Keep up the good work

[crisanthemum85 0]

Thank you for the encouragement! I'm just going to take it one day at a time and hope for the best

[Peggylou 44]

Girl! Simmer down! I was sleeved on September 13th 204 start weight this am I'm at 171 that's 33lbs! I'm thrilled!

My BMI is a 25 was 35! Think about what your body has gone through! Your liver has to catch up. It's going to take us a lil longer. Time for us to step up our excersise. I bet you look amazing.

Give yourself a break! Enjoy feeling and watching your bones show up! I love feeling my tummy now. I feel my hip bones and ribs. My boobies are gonna need a lift but ill wait till I lose another 36 pounds. Goal weight 135! Your rocking it woman. My NUT told me I had above average weight loss so you dang sure have too. Keep it up!!

[iggychic 1,405]

Thank you for the encouragement! I'm just going to take it one day at a time and hope for the best

Ok I'll bite...yes you should be happy that you've lost 27 and that sounds perfectly normal, but just in case...are you charting your food on something like my fitness pal? Are you watching the sugar and fat content of the things you put in your body? Are you drinking 40 carbs a day in wine? Are you getting any exercise? Are you still at 600 cals and getting a lot of exercise but not supplementing your Protein intake?

You might be doing something wrong...you haven't told us what you are doing

I only had 70lbs to lose and my activity level was not existent for the first two months due to complications so I know my weight loss is on track for my situation. Many people have lost more than me...but they also were different than me. I'm actually ok with slow weight loss because it allows your skin to go back into place easier than with rapid weight loss or with high levels of weight loss. I also never minded the thought of losing hair because I have so much of it, but that hasn't happened because I'm not losing at a hugely rapid pace.

I recently had a long stall (a few weeks and I'm out six from my second surgery). But this week I lost 8....I did so by upping my calories and Protein and concentrating on Water intake (or fluids). I assessed my program, which I track carefully on MFP and made changes and the weight loss is moving again. So, look at where you are, think about what you are doing and be realistic about your loss. It's still a loss right? Have you ever been able to say "I only lost 27lbs and it won't come back?" That's a good thing I kissed goodbye to obesity yesterday for the rest of my life (hit the "just fat" category). Look to those goals verses goals set by the losses of friends. They just aren't comparable.

[Izuri 428]

I'm just gonna echo the others a little. You started at a lower BMI, which influences your weight loss rate. While 29 pounds was an 8% weight loss for me from my starting weight of 325, it's a 14% weight loss for you. You have lost 14% of your starting body weight in 7 weeks. That's awesome! The less you have to lose, the slower it goes. Hang in there - and enjoy that new number on the scale =) It will keep going down!