Fast vs. Slow

WLS patients seem to be divided into two categories: Those who lose a lot of weight very quickly and hit their goal weight right on schedule. Those who do not lose weight quickly or see a steady melting of the pounds but never really reach their goal weight no matter how hard they try. Last night at my WLS Support Group meeting we were discussing this a bit. A theory was proposed about why people are so different in their weight loss results. What if people who had a very unhealthy diet of high fat, high calorie foods were the ones who saw quick weight loss…. And people who had followed a very healthy eating plan before surgery are the ones who saw slower results. The healthy eater has a body that is already accustomed to lower daily calorie intake and doesn’t have that far to adjust with a post-op diet. Whereas the unhealthy eater can drop pounds quickly because of the drastic changes being made in their diet post-op. My friend, Ali, has struggled with losing all her weight and has struggled with extended plateaus. Rather than losing the 150 pounds she wanted to, her weight loss stopped at 85 pounds and no matter what she did to push her diet along, she couldn’t lose another single pound. Before surgery she ate an ultra-healthy diet and exercised extensively. She was already on the right road for health before she had the surgery but wasn’t able to lose weight without the help of the surgery. My sister, Shelly, lost her weight quickly after her surgery and hit her goal within the first year post-op. The difference? Could it be that Shelly didn’t eat a healthy diet before her surgery? She was leading a high-fat, high-sugar, high-calorie, no-exercise lifestyle. But the sudden change in diet and exercise after surgery caused her to lose weight quickly. She lost a total of 190 pounds and has kept it off for five year. I bring this up because of my own current lifestyle. I’m eating a very healthy diet right now with an average of 1,300 calories per day. I’m exercising 3 to 5 days per week. In general, I’m healthy with low cholesterol, normal blood pressure and low resting heart rate. Will I struggle after surgery with slow weight loss? I don’t know, but it’s something to consider and prepare for now. It’s a theory with no real research or anything to back it up. I wonder if there’s more information about it online. And you know me…. I’m going to go dig up whatever is out there and read read read. Just something to think about… Pam