I need to lose fast - for a good reason.

I am new to this site and am in need of some advice. I am having lap band surgery on September 27. The place where I am going said I need to lose 20 pounds on my own before the surgery. I had one month to accomplish this task. They wanted me to eat around 600 calories a day which has been a real struggle. I have lost only 8 lbs. and have been running very close to what they asked me to do. I have also been swimming 3 times a week and hitting the treadmill. Help!! I need suggestions on how to lose the weight. I want to be healthy so no crazy stuff.

More exercise I would guess.  I mean you can't eat much less.  How much do you weigh?

I don't know much about lap band, but that seems.. pretty extreme.

Something about that request catches me as extremely not right?

you may do well to reschedule your surgery for a couple of weeks further down the road, rather than put yourself at a health risk trying to lose so much weight so fast.  trust me, they're not going to stop performing these surgeries at the end of the month, so why not ask if you can reschedule for mid-October?

 

As long as you are heart healthy, try taking long walks, pick the same time everyday and just do it, that in combination with your calorie deficiet and swimming should do it.

I weighed 322 and they want me at 302 on surgery day. They say I need to loose it because it will lessen the fat on my liver which makes the surgery safer.

I played basketball for 2.5 hours everyday and dropped 20 pounds in two weeks.  I guess you could try that if you have the time.

Actually, and I am assuming the poster is female, when first starting out and being over 300lbs, it shouldn't be a problem to drop 20lbs in a month.  I am half that weight and in the first month I can definately lose like 12lbs.  The first two weeks I lose almost 10lbs.  Its not all fat though.  I thought they asked you to lose weight before surgery as kind of proof that you are willing to make a lifestyle change.  Otherwise the surgery is useless - but I think that might only be for gastric bypass.  I watch these shows on TLC>....

Requiring a 20-lb loss in one month seems extreme. If they had said two months, that would have made sense.

I understand why they might tell you to eat only 600 calories a day (you won't be eating much more than that after the surgery). However, they should have also told you to take a multivitamin to ensure that you don't become malnourished.

Honestly, you might be better off trying for 1500-1800 calories a day and losing the weight on your own. There's a thread on the motivation forum ("Gastric Bypass Diet") which has some interesting testimonials - I know lap band is different, but if anything the results with lap band are less dramatic (losing just 50 or 100 pounds is common).

Even doctor-supervised VLCDs are a better idea in my opinion. One CC member lost 150 lbs on one.

Being a doctor i can tell you exactly why they say you have to eat only 600 calories a day: because that is where you will live when you get the lap band.  I dont really agree with weight loss surgery at all (i think that if you can control your impulses enough to eat 600 calories with a band, you can do it without...) but they need to see you're not going to rupture your stomach once they band or bypass it.

Working in an ER, i see the side effects of all these weight loss surgeries, and i can say that having seen it, i'd never reccomend it to anyone... But to each their own... you wanna follow their instructions tho, 600 calories a day, one multivitamin, a lot of water, and hope you lose the weight before surgery.

I completly agree with djkling, I'm nurse on a Medsurg floor and from what I have seen from these procedures are clients who gain a lot of the weight back within 3 years and have serious health issues r/t the surgery to boot!

I was gonna say that although 322 lbs seems like alot, you can lose it on your own.  Use this website, plus the weight should come off relatively quickly in the beginning.  Once you start exercising, it will get a bit easier.  Its a long journey either way, but maybe you can save the surgery money for an awesome trip once you reach your goal!!?!?!

If you can work out and watch what you eat to lose 20 lbs, then why cant you do it to lose 120?

I'm 322 lbs right now...   Its hard...  trust me, I know, just like you do...  but if you do it on your own, youre more likely to keep it off because you actually worked really hard to do it.

Lap Band is a quick fix IMO

Honestly, if it were a "quick fix", I think I'd be advising it much more than I do.

My issue is that it isn't really a "fix", just a bump in the road for most obese people. Tons of people gain their weight back after surgery - not right away, but 5 or 10 years later. The only way to ensure that your post-surgical weight loss is permanent is to change your habits for the rest of your life -  and if you're able to do that, then you can lose weight with or without surgery.

That's why I worry - not that I feel you should have to "suffer" to lose weight - heck, ideally, no one would ever suffer at all - but because the surgery is just a temporary fix, and one which carries its own risks.

The bottom line is that 1 lb of fat is 3500 calories, and there's nothing you can do to change that.  My point in saying that is that it's math and you can't fight it, don't blame yourself if you don't lose 5 lb s a week, most of the time it's not healthy.  As a woman you'll go into starvation mode and damage your healthy if you eat less than 1200 calories per day - so go off of that, and don't kill yourself exercising!  Swimming is one of the best forms of exercise and doing whatever burns the most per hour is probably best.

It doesn't sound healthy at all what they're asking you to do, lose 20 lbs by eating 600 calories.  You'd probably faint doing that.  I wouldn't suggest it and I would re-examine your options - for your health's sake.

I say lose the 20 pounds and then just keep on going on your own. Forget that surgery. You have more freedom NOW. After the surgery your life will be forever changed. Spend that money on a psychologist if you need to, to figure out why you overeat. It'd be more beneficial all the way around. :)

I agree, if you can lose 20 lbs, then just keep going 10 at a time and see how far you can get on your own.  If cannot get down to a healthy weight, then reconsider the surgery.  You can always elect to do the surgery, you cannot undo the surgery once it's been done.  You have scarring, rapid weight loss, and potential side effects or complications to deal with.

Lots of helpful suggestions here but I'm going to be a pedant now. Sorry everyone, but I see this so often and I've decided to mention it everytime I see it so the word gets out there.

It's the old bugbear of loose and lose. 

Loose rhymes with goose (my pants are loose)

LOSE  rhymes with whose (I want to lose some pounds)

 

thank you for you time. This was a public service announcement for pedants anonymous

 

(by the way, I don't think less of people who use the wrong word, because frankly it's out there, unchallenged and uncorrected, in such large numbers that you'd be forgiven for thinking it's the right spelling or would make people doubt themselves, so don't feel bad for using the wrong word. Such is the power of the internet)

I guess I should give a little back ground info. I gained most of my weight 12 years ago while pregnant with my son, then more weight 3 years later with my daughter. I then went thru a divorce and lost both of my parents in a 2 year time period. I began to over eat and slowly gained the rest of the weight I now carry. I did see a therapist for over 2 years to deal with my grief and other issues and I no longer have an eating problem. My mind is better but the weight is my reminder. I am not looking for a quick fix. I have tried diets in the past and have not been able to lose enough weight. I spent almost $2,000 going to a personal trainer and following weight watchers for 6 months only to lose 16 pounds. I am tired of being fat so I started looking at my options and finally after a lot of research decided on the lap band surgery. I know my life will change and I am committed to doing what the doctors say I must do to be successful. I am going thru this surgery with the support of my family. Thank you all for your helpful ideas.

we all wish you great success, whichever way you choose to go about losing!!!  i see that you have only been on calorie count for a very short time, and i would like to encourage you to give it a longer trial period before making up your mind!  but, in any case, continue to use it to monitor your intake, both before AND after the surgery.  it costs nothing, and it works amazingly well!!