(very) slow weight loss

[Babe]

I was banded in February, and I've lost maybe 30lbs since surgery. I've had 4 or 5 fills (lost track now) and I feel restriction. I generally follow all the bandster rules for eating, and i track my food intake. I get in about 1200-1400 calories daily and do cardio 3-4 times a week. I've talked to my fill doc and Dr. Miranda and all they tell me is that i'm a slow loser and to keep plugging away. I am so tired of this super slow loss. Yes, I'm thrilled to be healthier than I was a year ago. I know I couldn't have gotten here without the band, but I sometimes wonder if the magic will ever happen for me.

[MyNewLife]

Hi Babe and congrats on the 30lbs lost!

I think for alot of people that the weight loss is a slow process. The last 5 months have been turtle speed for me and is does get VERY aggravating when you eat as little as you eat and the weight is not falling off. I have found for myself that I can NOT eat that many calories and lose weight. I have to each much much lower. Honestly I would say no more than 800 day and that is really low. Everyone is different so you might have to adjust to see if maybe you need to lower your calorie intake. I do keep a log of what I eat everyday. I am the person that can not eat ANYTHING that is bad for me or it goes straight to the scale. I have to make REALLY good food choices and count everything that goes into my mouth or I will NOT lose the weight. I was not one of the lucky ones to be able to eat anything they wanted, just smaller portions and lose the weight. Please dont get discouraged. Dr. Miranda is correct, just keep on making good food choices and exercising and it will sooner or later come off. Dr. Miranda told me that since I am about 32 pounds away from my goal that exercise was going to HAVE to be my new best friend.... .... Words I did not want to hear...lol

Good Luck to you!

Carrie

[Allcdngirl]

Hi Babe.. I totally agree with Carrie. Reduce your daily calorie intake to 800 cal. With eating the right foods, and the proper foods, with restriction, it shouldn't be too difficult. It will shock your system, and this is what it needs, to give your metabolism a boost. Even if you have to go on the " 2 shakes, and one meal per day ".. you could try that. Another way is to follow the 5 day pouch.. here's alink to it. http://5daypouchtest.com/plan/theplan.html this will help you get back on track, as well as will give you a fairly good weight loss in the 5 days. Good Luck ( :

[bogiesmom]

Hi Babe.. I totally agree with Carrie. Reduce your daily calorie intake to 800 cal. With eating the right foods, and the proper foods, with restriction, it shouldn't be too difficult. It will shock your system, and this is what it needs, to give your metabolism a boost. Even if you have to go on the " 2 shakes, and one meal per day ".. you could try that. Another way is to follow the 5 day pouch.. here's alink to it. http://5daypouchtest.com/plan/theplan.html this will help you get back on track, as well as will give you a fairly good weight loss in the 5 days. Good Luck ( :

OMG!!! Thank you for sharing! I am only one week in but this info is priceless in my opinion. This is great information to keep in my back pocket. Never know when it is going to come in handy but I am bound to need it sooner or later.

Thanks Again!

[IrishRN]

I was banded in February, and I've lost maybe 30lbs since surgery. I've had 4 or 5 fills (lost track now) and I feel restriction. I generally follow all the bandster rules for eating, and i track my food intake. I get in about 1200-1400 calories daily and do cardio 3-4 times a week. I've talked to my fill doc and Dr. Miranda and all they tell me is that i'm a slow loser and to keep plugging away. I am so tired of this super slow loss. Yes, I'm thrilled to be healthier than I was a year ago. I know I couldn't have gotten here without the band, but I sometimes wonder if the magic will ever happen for me.

I can feel your frustration. I have seen a slow loss too in my own weight loss.... Hang in there... I believe the magic is already happening.

Laura

[CindyLou]

I just had my "bandiversary" and I have lost 46 lbs only. I am also a slow loser, but I have come to be very satisfied with this. I do not "count" anything and I am happy living more free than I was before the band. It is soooooooooo slow sometimes that I feel like I am not losing, but the fact is that over time, it adds up. .2 lbs here, .6 lbs there and what do you know.....before long those lbs add up!!!

Keep your head up and keep on losing!!!!

[MyNewLife]

Great Post Cindy!!!!!

We are all are SO very different slow /fast ...you have done great!!!!

Carrie

[dawns]

Hi Babe,

I just recently had a check up at the OCC. I am one year and 2 months since being banded. While I was at the OCC I had the opportunity to weigh on Dr. Mirandas scale. I have lost 54 since being banded. I talked to both her and Dr. So about how much I have lost and if I am on track. They both said that in the first year of being banded most people lose 50% of the weight, after that they can expect to lose 25% give or take, of the last 50% and then the last of the weight in the 3rd year. They also said that this pattern is more the norm than the exception. It made me feel much better about my 54 pounds lost because I was also feeling like I was losing way too slow. After having that conversation with them I am feeling more like I have been pretty successful so far and know that I will just keep plugging along to take the rest off.

The biggest thing I have learned from this is this is not a race and it is very easy to read posts on here and think everyone else is doing "better" than you are. NOT TRUE. Everyone is so different and their bodies react and lose differently. There will be people on here that will lose very quickly and that is great for them, but there are more people on here that lose at a slower pace and are still as equally successful. Keep your chin up and keep plugging away.

dawn

[AngieB]

Babe - When I first began this challenge, I really thought I had my head right. What I am saying is, I thought I understood the process and was educated about the band. In reality the band has really getting ready to educated me. Now that I am on the "other"side of the process, meaning banded I can see how many expectations I had. It was a rude awakening. It took me doing alot of self talk and pumping myself up to keep me in the game so to speak.

For example, I had it in my head that the 21 day liquid diet would really give me a start on my weight loss....guess what ....nope. My body gave up 4 lbs between the 1st and 2nd week. I could not wrap my mind around that. Matter of fact, everyone thought the same thing and didn't help with the struggle in my head. I was not a perfect little recovering bandster and did have a few mini cheats that made the difference. It was difficult for me to stay on track 100% but I did my best.

I held tight to the 15 lbs I had lost on pre-op, to give in a pound bymy first fill. I really didn't start loosing until, my 3-4th fill. At anyrate, for me, restriction really matters. Right now, I am down 40 lbs. The have been hard one and I am not one that sheds the weight like melting butter. In reality, I believe there are many many more slower loosers. We don't understand that because many don't post regularly. That is why I think it is important to speak honestly about our process. Not only for ourselves, but for those who are reading who just may need to hear those words.

Once I took the focus off putting myself through the ringer for the expectations I was unable to meet and accepting where I was it got better for me. I have my days that my eating is not the best, but I focus on the long term. I am living with this band and if it takes me 3 years than thankgoodness I could have the tool to help me acheive better health!

I don't know your story or stats, but let me say this, "People who stay plugged in have better success!" Why because our goals are at the front of our minds! We have support and friendship to help us along the way.

Welcome to the slow loosers club!

I am wondering, did you have your fills under floro? I ask this because if you are to tight, you may not be loosing the weight you would if you are eating the right portions. Do you eat protein first? What size portions are you able to eat?

For me, I can eat a 1/2 cup of hard protein in the mornings or a cup of soft protein like greek yogurt. For my lunch I can eat 1 cup portion, for dinner I can eat 1 to 1 1/2 cups of food. That lets me know I have restriction, but I am not at my "sweet spot." As I have read and found that "most" people or Dr.'s say the sweet spot is eating 1/4 to 1/2 cup of food at a meal. Another thing I have in my mind, be it true or not...I am not sure, but the "successful" bandsters I have spooken with do not eat 1200 cals a day as they get closer to goal. Now, I know this may get people up in arms but I am sharing what I know to be true.

I hope this rant helps someone.

[Babe]

Thanks for all the support and feedback guys! I just re-read my post and all the responses and few thoughts occurred to me...

1) There's nothing wrong with being a slow loser. It doesn't mean I'm not going to lost the weight, just that it will take way longer than I had imagined. Ultimately, it's probably healthier for me anyways.

2) I am still an emotional eater. I thought that I had stopped that horrible pattern a couple years ago, but I've noticed that I still do it even now post band. It's easier to eat chocolate and liquid calories instead of bandster stuff when I'm feeling depressed. This has not magically stopped happening and probable will always be apart of my life so I had best focus on being self aware and keep tracking my food daily - no exeptions!

3) I am not always honest with myself when I track my food. I'm not saying I don't eat healthy foods most of the time, just that I don't measure all the time when it comes to oil/butter/cheese. I've let this slide particularly in the past few weeks as my gran was ill and eventually died. It's time to re-focus.

4) I don't chew my food slowly enough. I was doing it the first few months, but I've grown complacent.

5) I eat lots of protein, but I'm still getting in to many carbs and fat. Not that I can eat much bread or pasta (it's too dense now), its more from the grazing. I never used to eat chips or nuts that much, but now I find myself grazing a lot more that ever before.

6) I think I might be resentful that I've had to get this surgery to help me lose weight instead of being able to do it on my own. I'm sure this probably makes no sense considering this was my choice and one I made after great thought. It's strange, because last year when I was making the decision, I was excited and truly grateful that there was another option for me. I think I need and attitude shift about this, maybe then I'll stop sabotaging myself.

7) I need to come back to the forum more often. I stopped for a few months because i had gotten discouraged, but this place (and LBT) is really inspiring and supportive. I had forgotten that.

mini rant over... thanks for listening

[DisasterWalking73]

Hi, Babe (and hi to all my other awesome friends on this board, I've been MIA for too long! How has everybody been?) - I just wanted to chime in and tell you that I sympathise because I, too, am a VERY slow loser. I found out shortly before getting banded that I have a condition called PCOS which causes hormonal imbalance and severe insulin resistance (which almost all of us overweight folks have anyway, but PCOS worsens it) and my weight loss has been sloooooow. Basically, 15 lbs so far and I was banded Sept. 29th. Most of that was from the pre-op diet - and on the post-op liquid phase I lost nothing. Seriously. Not one pound. In fact, I gained weight one day on gatoraid and chicken broth. Basically, if I'm not eating extremely low carb, I'm not losing weight. Sad, but true. Also, with Thanksgiving having just passing and other holidays looming on the horizon, I haven't exactly been eating spectacularly (I'm not filled yet) - but, somehow, I've found new motivation. My goal is to be 10 more pounds down by the time I leave for our annual holiday trip North (Dec. 20th - I'm publicly declaring it, right here and right now! And the good news is, although the band isn't helping me LOSE weight yet, it does seem to be helping me keep it off (a BIG plus, in my book, and something I have not been able to accomplish before) So, basically, I'm saying - I know how frustrating it is - but let's keep going - I'll bet we're gonna get there!

[RevyD]

You for sure will get there. One day at a time, one pound at a time. Next year on your bandversary you will be surprised at how amazing you look and what a year of being banded has done in your life. :lb21:

[AngieB]

Hi, Babe (and hi to all my other awesome friends on this board, I've been MIA for too long! How has everybody been?) - I just wanted to chime in and tell you that I sympathise because I, too, am a VERY slow loser. I found out shortly before getting banded that I have a condition called PCOS which causes hormonal imbalance and severe insulin resistance (which almost all of us overweight folks have anyway, but PCOS worsens it) and my weight loss has been sloooooow. Basically, 15 lbs so far and I was banded Sept. 29th. Most of that was from the pre-op diet - and on the post-op liquid phase I lost nothing. Seriously. Not one pound. In fact, I gained weight one day on gatoraid and chicken broth. Basically, if I'm not eating extremely low carb, I'm not losing weight. Sad, but true. Also, with Thanksgiving having just passing and other holidays looming on the horizon, I haven't exactly been eating spectacularly (I'm not filled yet) - but, somehow, I've found new motivation. My goal is to be 10 more pounds down by the time I leave for our annual holiday trip North (Dec. 20th - I'm publicly declaring it, right here and right now! And the good news is, although the band isn't helping me LOSE weight yet, it does seem to be helping me keep it off (a BIG plus, in my book, and something I have not been able to accomplish before) So, basically, I'm saying - I know how frustrating it is - but let's keep going - I'll bet we're gonna get there!

Hey DisasterWalking 73 - glad to see you back around.....what have ya been up too? Our Thanksgiving was great and I cooked up a storm! Yummy food. Glad I was able to really enjoy the holiday and stay on track. I weighed in this morning and I gained .01 lb! Not bad given all the festive food and how long it has been around! I love this band and even more when I was able to maintain.

Cheers to maintaining! Your fill is coming up! Hang tight!