It's been three weeks since your WLS, and you feel like you aren't losing a pound.
"What am I doing wrong?"
From SmartForme:
Weight loss for any individual can only occur through a reduction of calories. The general rule to follow is 1 gram of weight loss for every reduction of 7 calories needed to maintain existing weight. This means that a person with a daily calorie requirement of 2,000 calories will be expected to lose approximately 72 grams (2.5 ounces) of overall body weight if he (or she) reduces their caloric intake by 500 calories, and ingests only 1,500 calories. This equates to about a pound of weight loss a week.
PLEASE NOTE: If a person takes in less calories a day than is needed to maintain his or her existing weight, and does not take in adequate protein, the overall weight loss does not mean that only fat is being lost. On the contrary, the body will first lose retained water (about half the total weight lost the first 3 weeks is water), and then the body will lose muscle. Fat loss will be last.
Basically, the body will compensate for the reduction of calories by first taking energy from stored carbohydrates (1,500 to 2,000 calories), and will then convert muscle or Lean Body Mass into needed energy. Even though fat is eventually lost, the body tries to store fat reserves, and draws on other available energy sources first.
This type of weight loss from simple calorie reduction is ineffective. The end result is that people who lose weight through simple reduction of calories actually end up increasing their total body fat percentage because of the loss of lean body mass. This is further compromised if the original weight is gained back. Studies have shown that those individuals who gain their weight back after dieting by simple calorie reduction gain their weight back as fat. If the cycle is repeated several times (as is often the case), the overall body composition of those individuals changes dramatically. In addition to being overweight, they now have a much higher percentage of fat than normal, and have a much lower percentage of lean body mass. This leads to strength loss, as well as to possible health risks.
