Weight loss is slow...............getting discouraged!

[viancan1 38]

Everyone is different don't get discouraged take it one day at a time.

[Jim1967 3,569]

What you're going through is what we call Bandster Hell. It is that time in between being banded and finding that actual green zone. Unfortunately there is no way of telling where your zone will be. Some people rarely need any fill and others take several like myself. It took me nearly 6 months to find my zone. It takes time and a lot of patience. I too was very frustrated in the beginning. I thought OK I had surgery when does the weight start to drop. It did start to drop but it took a bit of time. As everyone has stated you are doing great. Might be a good idea to focus on physical dimensions to gauge your progress as well. Even if the scale is not moving your body could certainly be shrinking and losing some inches.

Hang in there it will definitely get better!!

[☠carolinagirl☠ 18,721]

to the OP of this thread:

are you losing inches?

have your clothes gotten too big or baggy?

have you had to buy smaller sizes?

if so, then no matter what the scale says or does not say, you are losing true and actual weight. And inches lost is a sign of losing weight.

You are doing a great job in my eyes. Good for you.

PS: larger people (like me) can lose more at the beginning and though it doesnt seem fair, its true but i have to lose it just like everyone else, 1/4 pound at a time.

[cheryl2586 3,053]

If you are discouraged with your weight loss then yes you are comparing yourself to what others have lost because you think you should have lost more. It will come just be patient. Right now focus on just what you are doing and stay off the scale. There are many reasons why you may not be losing. Are you retaining Water, are you moving your bowels daily, are you sleeping at least 8 hours every night, are you stressing over not losing what you think you should, are you drinking 64 ounces of Water every single day, because all these things will hold on to your weight. I am not being rude or smart but telling you the truth. The band works, give it time you are only a month post op. It's not a race to see who will lose it the fastest. This journey there will be many stalls of no weight loss and I can assure you that for the most part many of us have been in slow weight loss for months before it would go faster. Hang in there you will get there.

[Pepper28 82]

_@Buddy567

_{I know what you're feeling....you're following all the doctor's orders and you're not getting the results you thought weight loss surgery would provide.}

_{And its so difficult to accept the fact that you've not lost a considerable amount of weight in all this time.}

_{And its even more difficult trying to explain to family and friends why when they see you, you've not transformed into this thinner person they all anticipated.}

_{I'm right there with you. I can't explain the lap band process to those who do not have lap band. I have a girlfriend who ask me the same questions every time she sees me....}

_{Sooooo...why aren't you losing weight...they don't understand the fill/adjustment process I tell them I'm following the doctors orders and they can't help feel I've wasted my money.}

_{And I honestly hate to admit it as well. I should have gotten the sleeve. It was a couple grand more than the lap band, and I didn't think it would take 6 months to finally get some restriction or assistance from this 'tool'}

_{Needless to say, I'm stuck with it for now and I have to keep all my fill appointments until the weight loss finally happens.}

_{And all anyone wants to tell you is "put in the work" "follow the diet" eat your Protein first, stay away from sliders, workout, eat 1,200 calories, and you do ALL that, with no assistance from the band, and then you think so now what?}

_{Where's my weight loss???}

Edited January 24, 2014 by Pepper28

[cheryl2586 3,053]

Four pounds in 30 days is 1 pound a week. That is the normal with the band. Sometimes you may lose more or less but yes what you have lost is normal.

[bluegudren 156]

My dr has my goal at 10 lbs per month. And I thought that was low!

[jennybean 175]

Hey, I am there with you! Look at my stats below. Some days I just want to cry. I know I need to keep getting fills until I get to the green zone and hopefully the magic will happen. I though I would have lost a pile of weight by now. I eat sooooo much less then before. I have to have faith that things will pick up soon!!

I truly believe some people are just slower losers and it is not our fault. With the band, weight loss may be slow, but the great thing is we will NOT gain it back faster then you can say "diet"!!! We have to try to keep positive!!

p.s. I have had only 4 fills for a total of 2.9 cc in my band. Band was completely emptied after surgery due to complications. It is getting there but everyone is different when it comes to fills and restriction.

Edited January 24, 2014 by jennybean

[Pepper28 82]

@bluegudren

I'd KILL for 10lbs a month!

I think at the right fill/cc level, diet and exercise its obtainable.

I did that once with Weight Watchers. I stayed under my points and I worked out.

I lost 35lbs in 3 months.

Then I quit WW...and every single pound came back.

Maybe this time w/the band, it won't let me quit as easily this time around.

[bluegudren 156]

I had my first fill and appointment on January 13. Dr set 10 lb goal a month. When I weighed I was 2 lbs ahead of goal. But since then I have only lost an additional 2. I called to schedule my next fill early. I feel stagnant.

[Pepper28 82]

Sounds like even some of the medical staff are delivering these exaggerated #'s and this increases our weight loss expectations when in all actuality, I've not found any of this to be so.

I've seen 10lbs+ a month with the gastric bypass and sleeve patients.

10lbs a month with lap band has to come along with a 1,200 calorie diet, no carbs, and a ton of cardio.

Just my observation from my last 5-6 months being banded.

[2muchfun 8,927]

In the very beginning pre-op and post-op phase, most bandster's lose excessive amounts of weight. It's not all fat. In fact, very little of it is fat. It's mostly Water weight we lose during the pre-op and post-op diet/phase.

After the first 30-60 days we settle into losing fat. You need to burn off 3500 calories to lose 1 lb of FAT. Most of the girls need to eat about 1600 calories a day to maintain their current weight and physique.

So, let's say you walk every day and walk off 300 calories per walk. That means you're burning 1600(daily maint)+300(exercise)=1900 calories burned per day.

Now, if you eat 1000 calories per day, you are burning 900 calories more than you consume. So, 30 days X 900/cal = 27000 calories burned per month. 27000/3500=7.7 lbs per month.

Losing weight can be simple math but the losing/doing the deed is where the rubber meets the road. Many cheat and eat more than 1000/cal or don't exercise 30 days a month.

So, if you lose 4-6 lbs per month you are doing better than most.

Click on the link for the explanation re: Water loss: http://www.dsfacts.com/weight-loss-stall-or-plateau.html#.UqP7uBLn-Uk

[B-52 7,113]

Interesting...wonder why bypass and sleeve patients loose more weight per month....

Sounds like even some of the medical staff are delivering these exaggerated #'s and this increases our weight loss expectations when in all actuality, I've not found any of this to be so.

I've seen 10lbs+ a month with the gastric bypass and sleeve patients.

10lbs a month with lap band has to come along with a 1,200 calorie diet, no carbs, and a ton of cardio.

Just my observation from my last 5-6 months being banded.

I'm a Bander, and for a 7-8 month stretch, following my last and final fill, I was averaging at least 2 lbs a week, so that would be app. 8 lbs a month...average...I believe I had at least one 10lb month that I can remember...I had a 5lb loss one week in the month...then things started to level out as I got closer to a low body fat %....

And I never counted calories..still don't...that may have something to do with it...not sure.

And I am a Gym Rat for sure.....

Edited January 24, 2014 by B-52

[Pepper28 82]

@B-52

Interesting...wonder why bypass and sleeve patients loose more weight per month....

Gastric patients only absorb half of the calories eaten because the part of the intestine that absorb calories have been cut out along with the egg sized pouch. So they've got a double bonus!

Sleeve patients entire stomachs (not just the top portion like lap band) are cut into the shape of a long tube, much like a paper towel roll all the way down thru to the intestines

Lap Band on the other hand, all we have is the egg sized pouch, we still absorb 100% of the calories eaten.

[B-52 7,113]

@B-52

Interesting...wonder why bypass and sleeve patients loose more weight per month....

Gastric patients only absorb half of the calories eaten because the part of the intestine that absorb calories have been cut out along with the egg sized pouch. So they've got a double bonus!

Sleeve patients entire stomachs (not just the top portion like lap band) are cut into the shape of a long tube, much like a paper towel roll all the way down thru to the intestines

Lap Band on the other hand, all we have is the egg sized pouch, we still absorb 100% of the calories eaten.

I do not know much about Gastric and Sleeve Patients.....but it is clear from your explanation that one thing is true regardless of how you do it...the less calories = more weight lost...add exercise on top of that to burn what calories you do eat, and PRESTO!

Always has been, always will be....

It's good to know, from my experience anyway, that given the fact we banders adsorb 100% of the calories, I eat considerably less because of the band, so less calories to adsorb.....I quess it all evens out...

Edited January 25, 2014 by B-52