Slow weight loss

Hey all, I have a concern and I wonder if anyone else has experienced this.  Very slow weight loss after surgery.  I had thr RNY gastric bypass on October 8 and have only lost 36 pounds during this time.  My surgeon seems quite disappointed by my results and frankly so am I.  Now truth be told I have not been exercising however I am eating an average of 60 gr of protein a day, dring 6 glasses of water plus and I eat about 1000 cals a day.  I cannot understand for the life of me what is going on.  Now don't get me wrong I certainly didn't expect to lose 100 pounds overnight but I did expect my loss to be a little more subtantial than it has been.  I'm frustrated and scared at this point.  I am headed back to the gym because of course I can move more but I'm afraid that i'm gonna stop losing and start regaining.  Ugh, anyone else experience this? 

On my plan, 1000 cal is a lot during the weightloss stage.   I am 5 months out and aim for 650 cal, 20-30 carbs, 90 protein and 80 fluids.  How many carbs are you eating?  Are you weighing or measuring your foods?  Exercise will definitely help.  

You can do this. Just keep moving forward!

Our Canadian guidelines are quite a bit different.  I am actually recommended 1200 calories a day with 66-79 grams of protein and no supplementing with shakes.  I don't know why the big difference but since adding exercise i'm losing aobut 3 pounds a week now. Thanx for your insight

That is a lot of calories and bare minimum protein. Maybe try increasing the protein, decreasing the carbs? I'll be 3 months out on Tuesday and usually eat between 550-700 calories a day, depending on what shift I work. 

Each person is different but try upping he protein. 60 was stressed as a minimum for me and I have learned that I need at least 80 a day to lose consistently. 

Without seeing your menu it is hard to make suggestions. The other osters had good suggestions. Maybe take a look at your menu and fie tune it

You don't mention whether or not you are measuring your food portions.  It's very easy to let portion sizes creep up and eat more calories than you think you are eating.  I agree that you are not eating enough protein if you are only getting 60 grams in 1000 calories per day.  Shoot for 90 grams of protein... and make sure it's dense protein like chicken, fish, or beef.  It stays with you longer and you will feel full longer.

Are you eating simple carbs like bread, pasta, crackers, sugar....or starchy veggies like potatoes, corn, or peas?  If you are... then that will drastically slow your weight loss.  You will get enough carbs from eating non-starchy veggies and dairy products for your body to function.  Throw out the stuff that has no nutritional value.

Are you drinking with your meals.  If you are then you are flushing the food out of your pouch, allowing you to eat more in one sitting, and this can effect your weight loss.  It also will make you feel hunger faster after you've eaten.

Are you drinking at least 64 ounces of fluid daily?  This is not an option.  You must remain hydrated for your body to function properly.  I found that my body requires 120 ounces daily or I get constipated, leg cramps, and generally feel terrible.  You have to really tune into what your body is telling you and find that number that works for you.  We are all different.

You have to be painfully honest with yourself during the losing phase of your journey.  This is the time to learn new habits that will help you maintain when you get your weight off.  I'm over three years out from surgery and STILL measure my food.  I don't trust my eyes or stomach to do the right thing.  I know if I let myself...I would eat MUCH larger portions than I need. 

You can do this!!!  

I measure my food and my liquid.  I don't drink while I eat because it is quite painful.  I eat slowly and try to avoid simple carbs.  I could definately try to add more fluid but so far exercise truly seems to be my key.  i think i have  it back on track :)

Hi Dearnik! I had surgery shortly after you, Oct 21, and I'm sorry your are struggling so much. Have you talked to your surgeon and/or NUT about this? You said your surgeon was disappointed, but did he/she offer any advice or recommendations for moving things along?

I realize all of our plans are DIFFERENT!, so what works for one person may not work for you. Between 1-3 months, I was told my goal was 800 calories. It took me some time (almost 3 months) to get there. I was averaging 700-800 calories and when I went to my 3 month follow up appt, my NUT recommended to increase my calories a bit with a new goal of 1000 calories. So when people are many months out and eating only 600 calories, well, I just say to each their own and whatever works for them, great! 

What I will say is that we all have something in common, and this is the need for water/fluids. I've mentioned this on other posts befoe so I feel like a broken record, so please excuse the redundancy. We need adequate water/fluids for our liver to do it's job - burning fat. When you are not getting enough fluids, the liver has to do the job of the kidneys and stops burning fat. Personally, I know this to be true for ME. I find when I get  at least 100 oz of fluids, I have better and more consistent loses. Of course, my body tends to hold on to fluid, so I need to keep flushing it out! My body loves to retain water for several days during my period AND during ovulation. So my weight levels out for 5-7 days, loses for a week or so, levels out again during ovulation for several days, then I start losing again. Weird!

Others have posted asking what you are eating during your day and I think that is worth looking at. Also, are you weighing/measuring, drinking with your foods, etc. Do you track your calories?

Wishing you well and I hope things start moving for you soon.

According to your weight-loss ticker, you've lost 107 pounds---is that total, including the 36 pounds you've lost since surgery? Looks to me like you've lost 107 pounds out of a total of 160 pounds you wanted to lose, which is VERY GOOD.

You need to understand that, having lost 71 pounds BEFORE usrgry, you're not going to experience the rapid weight loss you see a lot of people reporting, and the closer you get to your goal the slower it will happen. The less you weigh, the fewer calories you burn just being alive. Going by your ticker, you went into surgery only needing to lose 69 pounds, and you're already lost more than half of that. That is VERY GOOD.

Now, as to what you're eating---if you're only eating 60 grams of protein, that's 240 calories. So where are the OTHER 760 calories coming from? Unless you're eating a LOT of fat, you're eating a LOT of carbs. Most of us find that carbs are the devil when it comes to weight loss. You don't necessarily need to dramatic reduce the number of calories you're eating, but you need to make sure that most of them come from protein and fat. Fat is NOT the enemy, carbs are. Did you know that with your RNY you will always malabsorb about 30% of the fat you eat? Did you know that things that are made artificially low- or no-fat replace that fat with CARBS?

Journal your food for a few days BEFORE you make any changes in what you're eating. I think you'll find your answer there.

All of the information I have seen on RNY, including from my surgeon and the surgeons I work for part time, indicates that 30% is the initial malabsorption of fat, and only a small portion of that (as with the caloric malabsorption) is permanent.  I still malabsorb some fat, but no way is it still 30%.

Lora