I Need Help

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

How in the world are there so many different perspectives among "the experts" (doctors and nutritionists) about eating, stalls, weight loss, "normal" weight loss, etc.?

All these differences reduce my confidence in some of the clinics now involved in the WLS industry.

Not trying to be negative -- just making an observation I'd make about any other process that inspired such disparate prognoses.

[DLCoggin 1,788]

I think that doctors are caught between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand they know that there are so many variables that predicting things like stalls, weight loss and even calorie goals with any degree of accuracy is almost impossible. On the other hand, many (if not most) patients don't want to hear that. They want/expect answers to their questions regarding what to expect.

So doctors do the best they can knowing that anything they offer is at best an educated guess. One that will likely be different from actual results. Since objective, science based, definitive answers are impossible, they're left with subjective opinions. The result is asking 100 doctors the same subjective question will get 100 different subjective answers.

Unfortunately that does not change the fact that some of the clinics in the WLS industry do not deserve our confidence. The recent 1-800-GetThin scandal which resulted in five deaths being a case in point. It pays to research your doctor and hospital carefully.

[CRMHYPO65 4]

I am mad that the Dr said you are behind. 74 pounds in 4 months is phenomenal!

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[NewAngela 60]

Wow. I am 63 pounds in five months. I tell them I am behind, and they tell my I am right on target. It seems that some people's bodies just drop weight quicker that others in the honey moon phase. If you are doing what you are supposed to be doing, there isn't much more you can do. I mean, I am far from perfect with my calorie intake, but I exercise a lot. Having a few higher calorie days that I don't do too much exercise does seem to break my plateaus though.

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[LPNAshley 194]

My surgeon and his team won't even talk about goals until the 6 month follow up appointment. That's where they told me that WLS patients typically lose between 50-70% of their excess weight and they calculate your goal weight based on your starting weight and the percentages. I like having two different numbers to reference [emoji847]