5 months out...tortoise or the hare?

[ItsMeAgain 8]

TORTOISE...unfortunately

I'm what most people would call a slow loser or stair step loser...I suppose. However, I really hate having to own those titles because quite frankly I'm a little teed off about my weight loss thus far. Yes, I've lost weight and I really do feel better about myself BUT I really think there's got to be more I can do to enhance the movement of this very slow losing process. I've only lost 45lbs from day of surgery and I'm going on my 5th month out! If you do the math I can barely get 8lbs a month on average after the 1st big drop in Month #1.

So, with that said, I've really been contemplating on going back to my old HcG diet days with some slight modification (to ensure I get my Protein and Water intake) since I was losing more quickly with that than what I am now. I'm not giving up on the typical WLS diet but this slow movement is getting on my last nerves. And yes...I do eat right, drink close to 64oz of Fluid daily, and exercise hard plus alternate days of weights too (5-6 days/week)!!! Every now and then I eat a piece of chocolate or two when its close to my TOM and I have no guilt about that because I'm human and I do a darn good job of eating right and exercising as a whole. BUT for the life of me I just don't get why I lose so slow. It's really a pain in the rear! I suppose I just have to keep figuring this thing out until I can beat my own statistics. Anyone else have this issue that's truly doing all the right things but having SLOW results? Have YOU found a cure for this madness? Thanks all for reading my rant!

[ItsMeAgain 8]

Oh yeah, my weight info is a little misleading. I was 301 BEFORE the 1 week pre-op diet but lost 10lbs by day of surgery.

[SlowlybutSurely 73]

I can imagine the frustration and I'm afraid of encountering the same thing. I know someone that had the same problem and actually didn't lose but 40/45 pounds total but she sabotaged her weight loss with her high carb intake. You mentioned fluids…..are we talking Water or juices? Sometimes it's not all about the calories but I would think that if you're exercising, the carbs wouldn't be a huge issue. Are you taking B12 to speed up your metabolism?

Edited March 12, 2014 by SlowlybutSurely

[ItsMeAgain 8]

You have a great point about juices but I'm not that person. I drink coffee (1 cup per day), Water and the typical sugar free drinks like crystal light and those store brand kinds. I once weighed 335 after having my last kid in 2011 so I've been working on myself through various diets since 2012. I'm proud of my accomplishments but I was hoping the surgery would push my loss a little quicker since it's the most drastic thing I could have done for optimal weight loss. Congrats on your loss so far and thanks for replying to my post!

[ItsMeAgain 8]

Oh yeah I take a high count B12 once per week as prescribed by my doctor. I enjoy that little piece of sweetness on Monday's. It taste like a sweet tart. LoL

[magtart 603]

I'm over 3 months out and have lost only 32 lbs. You are not the only one.

[BigGirlPanties 957]

PEOPLE, PEOPLE, PEOPLE!!! Come on!!! When was the last time you lost 50 pounds in 5 months??? The last time I lost 50 pounds, it took me a YEAR on JC!!!

If you remember, the tortoise wins the race...slow and steady is the way.

Your body is adjusting to changes, it's all good... you are moving forward and your weight is coming off, and if you are doing the right things, it will continue... we can't compare ourselves to others, we all lose at different rates, based on metabolism, age, amount of exercise we can get in, and even how much we started at...

don't downgrade the success you all have had...it's wonderful!!!'

SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE!!!

[MsShuggggg 2]

Oh yeah, my weight info is a little misleading. I was 301 BEFORE the 1 week pre-op diet but lost 10lbs by day of surgery.

I was exactly the same, SW 301, DOS 291 a week later, I've only lost 35 lbs since my surgery on 12/16....very depressing n frustrating!!! 3 wk stall n then dropped 5 lbs n currently n another 3 wk stall!!! Ur definitely not alone, I don't want to do Atkins again because I don't want all of that weight to come bk like it did before!! All we can do is hope that sumthn gives soon...I also exercise 5 days a wk, n get around 700-900 calories a day, my nutritionist said I wasn't eating enuf before with exercising so she told me to have 800-1000 a day, but I can barely get to 700 most times!! SMH!!!

[MsK1972 112]

Slow & Steady for me...but I'm happy..I've lost 47 lbs in 4.5 months..I'm ecstatic!! If I was losing faster I Think I'd be frightened..hang in there ppl this is great progress!!! ????????????????

[Catherine707 253]

I got totally freaked out by the people on this site and others that lost 100 pounds in 3 months! I kept thinking - "What am I doing wrong?" but when I stepped back and realized that I was losing 2 pounds per week (Same as you!) and I had never done that before and kept it off, I realized that my expectations were not realistic, and that 2 pounds per week is DAMN good!

As Big Girl Panties points out, it is the long sustainable weight loss that really matters. It sounds to me like you are doing exactly what you should and reaping the rewards too. I would guess that you didn't have 5 months of 2 lbs / week weight loss with the HCG diet....

[ItsMeAgain 8]

Honestly, I think we all compare with each other's results on this journey and I think it can be a bit emotionally damaging especially when we see those large numbers other people are putting out there (congrats to them btw). The problem I have is that I'm not losing 1 or 2lbs per week at all (I wish it were that steady). I'm on this weird stair step trend where I drop a couple pounds, gain a couple, lose some again and then stall for a few weeks. It makes me feel like I'm not doing my personal best and that's the psychological part I've hated about this journey. The diets I'd been on since 2012 had been more of a steady loss so I ended up getting used to that type of weight loss cycle. But this one is taking quite a bit of getting used to for me. Maybe I have some Fluid retention which causes the crazy fluctuations...IDK

All in all I'm very happy I got the surgery and wouldn't change a thing. I know that in the long run VSG will help me stay the course and give me the opportunity to bounce back from any future weight gain I may have. I absolutely know for a fact I wouldn't be able to do it on my own if I hadn't gone this route so I'm extremely thankful I could afford to pay for this. Good luck to everyone who's working hard to stay the course and I'm happy to be on this journey with you all!

[LBD 121]

Tortoise here as well. Saturday will be 5 months out from surgery. 15 pounds down on my preoperative diet then 56 since surgery. I am thrilled to be down 71 lbs total... Never ever lost that much in my life! I plateau a lot, but I always have & at this rate, I'll be at goal within 7 months... I'll take it!!! Feeling great, able to get around much easier, far fewer aches and pains. I have been back teaching art in middle school & actually have the energy to do my job well again. Grateful!

[ItsMeAgain 8]

That's awesome LBD! Good luck on that last leg of the race...you're almost there!

[SlowlybutSurely 73]

When I decided to get sleeved, other than having a safe procedure, I had two main concerns: 1) not losing weight or very little weight, and 2) loosing weight too fast. I think we're all kinda worried about whether the procedure will work for us so that was a natural "what if" scenario. But I also didn't want to lose weight too fast. To each his own, but losing 100 pounds in 5 months just wasn't my thing which is one reason why I didn't opt for the bypass surgery. I'm almost 50 and I know I would have had major skin sagging issues at that rate. However, I understand the frustration that you 're feeling with the slow weight loss as well. Stalls are the worse but whenever I stall, I eat MORE and within a day or two, I'm out of the stall. It sounds funny but if you're taking in too few calories, your body will try to hold on to it's "comfort fat". Try an extra Protein shake a day as well. Sometimes it's just easier to drink a few extra calories.

Keep us posted on your journey. I think it's interesting how everyone's journey is different. As for me, I'm the burping queen. If I even think about a burp, I end up burping...and I don't think I've burped more than a dozen times in my entire life before the sleeve.

[Chris_R 20]

I had my sleeve on 11/21/13 and to date have lost 42 pounds and can't tell you how many inches. I'm averaging a pound a week. The weeks I exercise more have been 2 pounds lost. I too thought I was a slow loser, but my surgeon as well as my PCP have said healthy weight loss is 1 to 2 pounds weekly. Hey, any weight lost is an awesome thing!