Hello all,

I am 4.5 month out from surgery. i am 26 years old, 5' 9 male who used to weigh 352 lbs (on day of surgery) and now i am (264.5). First of all, i am a bit worried that should have lost more than that compared to guys in my age group and weight. I exercise about 3-5 times a week for 1 hour between weight lifting and cardio. My Protein intake is very low and can't manage to top it for some reason. all my blood tests are good except Vitamin D insufficiency and low serum Iron but good hemoglobin levels at 14.6 and everything else looks goods (low cholestrol levels as well). I am just a bit worried that i won't be able to reach my goal weight (200 lbs at least).

So my questions are the following:

88 lbs in 4.5 months bad or ok? ( i know its an improvement but i need to know so i can make some rearrangements)

what should be my calorie intake at this point and what was yours at this time? (my Protein shake on skimmed milk is about 200 calories alone 120+80, which is a lot tbh specially if taken twice per day)

What is your protein intake at this point?

What to do to minimize loose skin at this point or to keep skin healthy?

Your help would be greatly appreciated

My hubby is 36 and weighed 360 before and then 336 on surgery date. He is 3 months out and is down to 269. He works out for 30 minutes 3 to 5 times a week. He did have several weeks where he battled severe nausea so he did not eat very much during that time. I am a woman and am about 2 months out and I have lost 76 pounds but only 45 since surgery date. I work out 6 days a week and eat less than he does. Everyone is different and losing weight differently. You have lost a lot of weight. The worst thing to do is to compare yourself to others. Keep doing what you are doing.

ON the Protein shake part, we only do 1 a day. It has 30 g of protein and 160 calories. It is a pre mixed shake called Premier Protein. We prefer the chocolate or vanilla flavors over the strawberry. We also have the unflavored powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury brand of Protein powder than can be mixed into food or beverages. It only has 90 calories per scoop. We pretty much eat fish every day. We get about 12 to 15g of protein with our fish per day. Greek yogurt and cheese sticks are my go to Snacks. The yogurt has about 80 calories and somewhere between 8 and 12g of protein. The cheese is 80 calories and 5g of protein. We also eat fat free turkey lunchmeat slices (the thicker cut ones). They have 25 calories per slice with 5g of protein.

I think your weight loss speed is great. I was losing about 15lbs a month at 4 months. Eating 800 calories and walking 2 miles a day. I ate primarily Protein with just a few vegetables on the side. I tried to stick with 75% protein 25% vegetables. I never really paid much attention to the exact amount of protein grams I was eating.

To minimize loose skin, I massaged the skin. I was a massage therapist and know that blood circulation is the key to healthy skin. I'd spend 2 or 3 minutes just kneading and moving my gut around, like I was kneading dough. :-P It gets the blood circulating more, and helps move fluids out of the cells.

I have heard that Gold Bond makes several skin creams that promote healthy skin, but I rarely used any creams. But for less than $5 a bottle, you might want to try it.

Don't compare. Everyone loses at their own rates. However what are you eating that prevents you from increasing your Protein? That should be your number one goal, especially if you are working out. You could add some plain greek yogurt to your protein shake to up the protein. (I am partial to FAGE 0%).

Many factor go into determining who will have lose skin; age, race, genetic, etc.... You can try and prevent it by keeping skin moisturized, keeping your body hydrated and lifting weights which may help replace the fat with muscle, but there are no guarantees.

I also like adding a bit of chopped spinach (fresh or frozen) to my Protein drinks. It add Vitamins and nutrients like Iron, and it's good for the bowels.

As for calorie guidelines, you should call and ask your nutritionist. In fact you might want to call them and brainstorm about ways to increase your protein intake.

I am almost three months out from surgery and have only lost 52 lbs including the 18 lbs lost in pre-op phase. I've been in a stall for a week but I continue to walk 4 miles a day seven days a week. I feel like I am losing inches but the scale doesn't lie. Breakfast is 2 scrambled eggs and 1/2C fruit. lunch is 4oz of lean Protein. dinner is 4oz lean protein and 1/2C cooked vegetables. The hardest part is getting in 64 oz of Water and I have to force myself to reach that amount each day. My plan doesn't allow yogurt until six months out. I do drink two mugs of caffeinated coffee in the morning which I'm not supposed to be doing. One cup of caffeinated coffee is allowed at six months. I do have a container of sugar free Jello in the evening and during the day I have one or two low fat cheese sticks.

Hopefully soon the weight loss will resume. I'm getting a bit discouraged with my progress. The surgeon predicted I'd lose 17 more lbs but I'd like another 30 lbs more than that. At this rate it will be a year before I can reach my goal. One good point is that I've been taken off blood pressure medication, have had my statin Rx dose reduced by half and had my CPAP pressure settings lowered.

I would add a scoop of Protein powder to that coffee you are drinking. A lot of docs don't want its to continue w/ protein supplements after 3 mths but as long as most of your protein is from food, you should be fine. If you are a cream in the coffee type, a vanilla flavored protein powder can replace the creamer. Just liquidfy the powder before adding it to your coffee. Perhaps consider dropping from 2 cups of coffee to 1. Dark green leafy veg also contain a but of protein so if you're eating veg, reach for those first.

ETA:

I feel like I am losing inches but the scale doesn't lie.

The scale is not the most accurate method to monitor the changes in your body. Take your measurements. I do boobs/chest, neck, waist & hips. I retake them every 3 months. On those days when the scale doesn't move, this will give you a more accurate view of the changes occurring. BTW, I only weight myself once a month. I am focusing more on eating well and exercising so I don't want to be ruled and/or disappointed by the scale. Another NSV (non-scale victory) is the reduction of your medications. Those are fair more important that just some numbers on the scale.