This can't be true...

[cutlass6521 122]

Okay, I know what everyone is going to say...throw the scale away. (my husband hid my 2 scales this morning )

I went for my first fill and checkup with the nurse yesterday. I haven't lost any weight in the past 3 weeks. Actually it went up 4 lbs then back down, then up a pound today. What is going on with me?? I go for a 30 minute walk each day as well.

The nurse tells me that I am not eating enough to lose weight? Could this be true? I am getting in 60g of Protein a day, low carbs and eating around 1000 calories. She tells me I need to eat a protein snack or two during the day to get to 1200 calories and then the weight will start to drop.

Is this true????

anyone else experiencing this????

thanks,

confused

[jennybean 175]

I have heard this before, but honestly don't really believe it. Some people find that it works, but not for me.

[runt 26]

Yes. It has happened to me... Pre band life. Your body goes into starvation mode because your not eating enough. It holds onto every calorie you consume. As soon as you increase intake and your metabolism corrects.. The pounds drop.

They aren't crazy.... It's science.

[enjoythetime 1,457]

Yes,this is a true statement. I went in about 2 months post-op for my normal monthly check-up and my Dr. asked me how many calories I was consuming, I answered about 1,000, I was still losing weight but she told me my body was going to go into starvation mode and that eventually I would kill my metabolism and have to overcome a huge plateau. They told me to consume 1200 cal per day and sure enough at the next visit I had lost 4 more lbs. than the month before and ever since then have lost my weight at the same pace every month. Do exactly what they tell you and you will see the lbs. come off!!

[2muchfun 8,927]

Apparently you weren't a scale watcher till you were banded or you would have noticed how much our weight fluctuates every day.

This is universal for anyone. You consume food, you consume liquids, your body reacts to these by creating hormones to utilize and sometimes store what is consumed. If you consume too much sodium or carbs your body will react by storing more Fluid. If you drink a lot of Water as you should, not all of it is pee'd or sweated away. It can roll over to the next day or two.

Also if you work out, you're breaking down muscle cells and they will retain fluids while they repair themselves. Many things can affect how much your body retains in fluids. TOM, sodium, illness, weather, stress processed foods and carbs.

This is a very long journey. No need to panic just yet. Here's a link that explains what happens right after we have surgery which is where you are now:

http://www.dsfacts.com/weight-loss-stall-or-plateau.html#.UqP7uBLn-Uk

And, if you can't cope with the daily weight swings which happen to even people who have reached their goal weight, you should only weigh yourself weekly or monthly. I weigh myself 2 times a day.

Edited February 28, 2014 by 2muchfun

[cutlass6521 122]

2muchfun: thanks for the info. the Water retention thing has become a problem for me in the past 2 weeks. I am exercising more and all of a sudden my ankles and calves look like balloons. My doctor is pretty sure it is because I am exercising and all blood tests show normal.

I guess I am a panic kind of person (my old boss called it the Electric chicken Syndrome). So many diet failures in the past that I am stressing over every ounce.

Well, the scale has been shelved and I will concentrate on good food and sensible exercise.

[sleepingarby 71]

O man am I ever experiencing this! All I can see is plateau for miles around me!! So I try to add calories (healthy ones, changing daily intake from 900 to 1500) to boost me metabolism, and sure enough gain 4 lbs. in a week However I decided today March 1st, to shut it down. Meaning go back to basics- stage 3 diet for a week so see if I can trick my metabolism into losing again. Plus I added more strength training to my exercise routine to keep my muscles metabolically active. It's worked in the past-by that I mean pre surgery, here's hoping it works again. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, we can keep the faith together.

Edited March 1, 2014 by sleepingarby

[HealthyNewMe 1,935]

The first few weeks/months of exercising caused my ankles and legs to look like elephant legs. That sure has stopped now.... I've been exercising 9 months now, six days a week.... So, it does get better. About the scale...., it has taken me 53 years to do this, but I honest to God, quit weighing. I ONLY WEIGH AT MY DOCTOR'S OFFICE, once a month. Every single month since I had the surgery, I have lost weight. I don't deal with daily fluctuations any more. I just see a steady trend of losing. Now, whenever I get to maintenance, I will weigh once a week. But for now, giving up the scale was one of the best things I've done for MY weight loss journey!

[BillieG 81]

Okay listen up... the same exact thing happened to me! For my initial follow up, the guy told me don't focus on weight loss but worry about healing. So I didn't... and I ultimately went back up like 4 lbs. So when I went for my first fill I met with the physician who will be seeing me from now on and she is tough! She said that is a bunch of bull because we (bandsters) are supposed to lose AT LEAST 1 - 2 lbs per week! So she went through the entire diet plan and found that I was drinking my calories! I have to use myfitnesspal on the computer and print out my food report EVERY DAY to show her on my next visit. If I don't lose in a week I have to figure out why. This has helped A LOT recording every little thing I eat and drink. My first week I am now down 5.6 lbs and I will way in ONLY one day a week. This is just with monitoring diet as I have not returned to working out yet. Oh! Another tip is to eat at least 20g of Protein for each major meal to keep you full longer.

Good luck!

Okay, I know what everyone is going to say...throw the scale away. (my husband hid my 2 scales this morning )

I went for my first fill and checkup with the nurse yesterday. I haven't lost any weight in the past 3 weeks. Actually it went up 4 lbs then back down, then up a pound today. What is going on with me?? I go for a 30 minute walk each day as well.

The nurse tells me that I am not eating enough to lose weight? Could this be true? I am getting in 60g of Protein a day, low carbs and eating around 1000 calories. She tells me I need to eat a protein snack or two during the day to get to 1200 calories and then the weight will start to drop.

Is this true????

anyone else experiencing this????

thanks,

confused

[silly_weasel 39]

I can so relate to weighing myself daily! But I HAVE to do it to stay motivated. I'm the kinda person that needs to "see" the progress in order to keep going and to stay on the right track. I weigh myself same time every morning, pretty much naked. When I see the decrease, I get all excited and motivated for the day. I figured out that if I skip my workout for 1-2 days, the scale doesn't budge. So I'm more motivated to get back to the gym the following day. I know this won't work for everyone. But this is my way, it works for me, and I'm sticking to it

[Bandista 7,466]

Early on when I was reading posts ahead of my surgery I noticed that two months out is a tough time for many, many people. I think you're doing beautifully and you just need to hang on a little bit to let that first fill settle in and then it's step by step. You will be losing again shortly but things are just evening out a bit. Don't get discouraged -- this happened to me as well but since I knew about it ahead of time I wasn't worried. The scale will start moving in the other direction but meanwhile take note of all the non-scale victories as they will be very prominent in your life from here on out. I was wearing 18 jeans and am now wearing size 14 (same brand). The number might not be shifting as fast as I'd like but the thought of buying size 12 before much longer is tremendously exciting. Best wishes to you -- you're doing great!

[cutlass6521 122]

Thanks everyone for the great advise.

I have been reviewing my food journal. I use the Lose It web to record everything that I put into my yap.

I feel that I must be doing something wrong. I reviewed the calories-way under what I should be eating.

Then I started to look at the report section. It gives info per day and week. Protein is right where it should be, 60-70 grams each day. Then I looked at the percentages. Uh oh.....my Protein is 33 % of my calories, carbs 25 % Fats 42 %

I think this is the problem. the Proteins I am eating have too high a fat content. Example: eggs-whole, not just the whites. Steak-wow, that one is a killer on fat. I reviewed the nutrition for the past weeks, every week the fat % is winning the race, protein second and carbs are last.

Today, I flipped the numbers around. For 2 of my three meals today: 61% protein, 28 % fat, and 11% carb.

does anyone else track these numbers?

[LeeB1946 261]

Yes, this can be true. It happened to me early on. If I ate as much as 200 calories more per day for a couple of days the weight would come off faster. It is the thing about thyroid thinking it is starving. Feed it a little extra and it speeds up I was told. As far as the scales goes. Well, toss that sucker. I bought a digital scale and have gone through 3 batteries in 6 months I got weight so often. My dietitian keeps reminding me to not get on the scale, but I am hooked. Need to start a scales anonymous group I guess. Best of luck.

Edited March 5, 2014 by LeeB1946

[cheryl2586 3,053]

You should be eating any where from 70 to 90 grams of Protein daily and staying on the higher side for sufficient weight loss.