unhealthy and afraid
 

Hi, I have some major surgery coming up. I can hardly breathe due to weight gain and asthma/allergy. It just hit me. I've got to lose weight to live!! I've thought of it for years--Even lost 40 with ww to gain 55 back and that last 15 has really made it hard to breathe or to sleep without pillows. I'm really scared. Is 10 pounds a month a realistic goal I'd like to lose 40 by mid December and have surgery then.

Not knowing how old you are or how much weight you want to lose altogether I wouldn't be able to answer, but I know that would not be possible for me since I am a snail at losing!!
I do wish you luck though and even if you can't lose the entire 40 lbs. can you still have your surgery??
((((((Hugs!!))))))))) I hope you find the plan that is right for you!!!

I was losing 10lbs a month at the beginning in January, but it has really slowed down now, and I am grateful if I lose 5 a month. Don't put yourself under any pressure, eat well, exercise the best you can (I have chronic asthma too, and sometimes it's really hard to exercise but other times I am fine) and the weight loss will look after itself.

I know its hard, but approaching it positively and strongly is the best tip anyone can give you. You can and you will do this.

Everyone is different, but it appears to be that the more you weigh, the more you may be capable of losing. The general rules seems to be 2 pounds a week is safe. However, I've noted that for myself and many others here, when in the over 200 lb. range, we tend to be able to lose around 5 pounds a week. I lost about 5 per week until I was down to around 220 or 210 (don't recall exactly). Then my loss started dropping, first to 3 a week, then 2, then I had to drop my calories for 1 to 2 a week after dropping below 170. And dropped the calories more as my weight continued decreasing. I ended up at about 1300 calories a day toward the end...but found out I'd been pregnant too. No wonder it was so danged hard to lose. ;)

Focus on changing habits, adjusting attitude, and getting healthy mentally and physically for a lifetime of weight maintenance. Don't set timetables about how much you will lose in a certain amount of time. There is no way to predict how much you will be able to lose safely, as we are all different. Your current health and medications can play a role in how quickly or slowly you might lose, as well as standard conditions such as metabolism, hormonal issues, etc.

ANY changes you make towards better nutrition, reducing stress on your system from overeating and eating junk, improving your relationship with food and activity, and losing any amount of weight are changes for the better. Did you know that health improves significantly when you lose just 10% of your starting weight? Every 10% is a huge leap in health benefits, not to mention that you are feeding your body healthy food instead of crap.

Good luck!

Have you spoken to your physician about this issue? S/he might have an opinion on both the surgery and the best plan for you to lose weight.

From what I've observed on the board, Almostheaven's post accurately describes how weight loss can be fast at the beginning and slow at the end. Plus, the more you weigh, the more quickly you lose.

Good luck to you in your WL journey and your surgery!