I was wondering if you all wouldn't mind sharing your weight loss success?

I have been at it for about a month, and have lost 4 lbs.

I look forward to the comfort of knowing some one is able to loose the weight.

Bella23

I am on day 15 of lowcarb/high protein. Don't ask which plan because I've read lots of them and sorta combined them into my own thing. But as of today I am down 9.75 poounds and feeling Great!!!

Oh, Bella, you are going to get so tired of me butting into all your posts!

Be careful not to get caught up in the weight loss obsession. It is okay to check to see how much you have lost, but you need to be sure not to check your weight every day or more than once a day and get depressed if you have gained a pound or two in the last 15 minutes.

Water weighs about 8 pounds per gallon. That means, if you drink enough you should weigh a bit more after that drink. And remember how much water is held onto before your period... ooops, should I say, before your time of the month? Sorry - I'm a nurse and just blurt out all this gross or embarassing stuff before I even know I did it.

Anyway, if any of you are the kind who lives and dies by the scales, try measuring yourself once a week instead. Or take weights and average them once a week to tell how you are doing. One weight one day means very little. It does change often during the day, and often during the week.

And, to lose adipose tissue (fat) we can only lose about one or two pounds per week. It is how our bodies work. We simply cannot pull out more fat and make energy out of it in a week. So, if you are losing more - it might be body instead of fat.

[Jiffy, I know you are losing more, and I have wondered if you are really losing fat or some body tissue too... I really don't know. I know you mentioned exercising to keep muscles intact, and that makes sense. But our bodies can use any food substance, even protein or fat, to convert it to energy. So, on so few calories you take in each day, either those guys who said you can't lose more than 2 pounds are wrong, or your surgery makes you a special case, since your digestion has been radically altered...I really do wonder about all of this. You will have to tell me how you are doing and how you feel. I will stop saying this if you do great. It simply does not make sense to believe you can only lose 2 pounds per week if you are losing 8.]

Anyway, just to answer your question, I lost about 38 pounds. But, I lost 25 over the first four months, hit a plateau and never budged. Then eventually I quit the low carb life and got to really indulging and gained some. I restarted low carbing and have finally lost a total of almost 40 pounds. But I am still about 100 pounds over my "ideal weight." That is not my goal, though. I would like to lose another 60 or 70 pounds, but am not worried about it. If I stay fat the rest of my life, so be it. I know I am a good person in my heart, I have people who love me, and I have a good life. Who cares if I am fat? It is a crime of our society that only the anorexics get to be consdered beautiful. I am, and I am glad to see some of the catalogues using fat models! We must be gaining ground over that insane belief that we are not acceptable unless we are skinny. Not true.

Oh-oh. I got going again, didn't I? Okay, I quit! I just can't seem to say anything in only three sentences!

Remember, it is okay to be big. But I hope you do find we can lose weigt more easily on low carbs, not because it is the magic diet, but because it keeps us from being out of control in cravings and hunger, so we can lose weight by burning more calories than we eat. It is still true, but more easy to do when we are not starving and sneaing Snickers and ice cream.

giggles... first off, it's GREAT, FABULOUS, WONDERFUL, TERRIFIC, [what other adjectives can i come up with??] STUPENDOUS, DELIGHTFUL, to see you posting again. i've so missed your wisdom and smart-a*** comments!!!!

as for the surgery, i'm not quite sure what's happening, but it is indeed true that the digestive process is altered. for instance, we can't absorb more than about 20 grams of protein at a time. and nutrient absorption is also affected. the roux en y bypass has relatively minimal effects on the fat soluble vits [unlike the duodenal switch], but please note the word RELATIVE.

the weight loss has definitely slowed, but it's now more like 4-5 pounds a week. still an incredible amount, as far as i'm concerned [and bella and everyone else, please don't think that i'm saying that the surgery is the right thing to do. it's not an easy road and i only wish that it had not been necessary]

we're all on at least 2-3 centrum or similar vitamins per day, plus 1500 mg calcium [NOT as carbonate] and i add extra vit C as well. i'd just about give a body part for a decent tasting liquid vitamin.

as for the loss. yes, there's a risk of losing muscle, which is one reason we have to eat so much protein. and we have to exercise [and i've been very good about that, at least until this latest bronchitis hit. i'll be back to bendies and stretchies this week, though].

but i have to tell you, my belly is going down. my arm fat is going down, and i can actually start to feel some muscle in my arm, and the muscles are getting bigger!!!! collar bones have been spotted, and i can feel a rib or two!!!

there's still a long way to go, but i'm 2/3 done, and it's great. i have more energy and stamina, although i still need to work on that because of the lung damage. and at some point, i'll have to get a scale to keep me honest. or maybe i could just borrow peachie's....

but i do need to get on a scale soon. i think i have officially reached the 200 pounds gone mark!!!! and then in a little while, i'll have less than 100 to lose!! and won't that be happy!!!!!

if you find out any info about the muscle loss, i'd be real interested in it...

Giggles,

Don't worry, it's always nice to hear from a person in the med field. But to ease your mind. I don't own scales at home. I weigh my self only once a week (at the gym) and I have the gym measure me once a month. I was only asking this to give all of us an idea of our accomplishments.

It is a great inspriation to look at what others have done and then to tell myself that I to can do that. I can get to where that person is.

Thank you again for your advice,
Bella23

Awww, Jiffypop,

you have me blushing now!

As far as the liquid vits, try going to a health food store (only because they have TONS of vitamins and minerals to choose from) and see if they have liq multi vits without the B vitamins. Then get the B's separately - maybe in Brewer's Yeast or another form that could be gulped without tasting it much. If I am right, it may just be the B vits that taste so horrid.

And it is stupendous-feeling to be here again. Might not be able to come often - life gets busy for me now.

Hi Bella Bella!!!!!

Don't ask me why I felt the need to put your name in twice....it just feels right to me! Perhaps it has some deep seeded reason having to do with my nice Italian Grandma ....beats me, I just like saying....Bellla Bella!

ok, I'll stop....ooops maybe not....see this is the difference between Jiff (my real life sister) and Giggles...they may digress, but at least they know "stuff" me? I don't know nuthin' so I'll just answer your question.

I started posting on this board about 3 years ago. While doing strict Atkins I lost about 40 pounds. I have done CALP and straight weight watchers too. Sept 11th came and I gaine
d back 20 BUT now I am doing the higher protein version and have lost 28.2 since Jan. 31st . If I go back and am really really honest with my starting weight (which I REALLY don't like to do but will because it is an exercise in truth) I started at 52 pounds higher than I am now. I keep saying that I should count it as 70 pounds because I gained and lost the same 20 back but Jiff might tell me that would be cheating

It is a known fact that the more you post, the more weight you lose and posting DOES count as exercise!

Are you beginning to see the difference between my digressions and the others?

As to Jiff and the scale, well, I sincerely hope she does NOT buy one. She can use mine and we can make a big commotion and have lots of fan fare OR I do kind of like the interesting places she has hunted them out. She is quite inventive.

AND! I have gotten to the point where I don't always weigh my self every day...huge step for me BUT on the days I am working my program well I feel that I am doing all that I can and why bother....the sun and the planets may be aligned wrong and I am doing my part.

Hows about that?!!!!!! Perhaps I am learning patience after all!

YEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAAAW

Welcome Bella Bella, post often and I am glad you found us!

peach

peachie forgot one major point: i can't add or subtract anymore!!! it has to do with college trauma in physical chemistry class. hand calculators had just come onto the market, and were waaaayyy too expensive for me, so i did all the calculations by hand!!!!

and it fried the adding/subtracting sections of my brain.

i can't even balance my own checkbook!!! i'm always asking elementary school students how much 11 minus 4 is!!!

so, i really don't know how much peachie has gained or lost, or how many times she's done it. i DO know, though, that her butt is getting flat!!! so, she is certainly doing something right.