kittykat84

My response is simply "A LOT" with a smile. My weight does not need to be a running theme with my friends and acquaintances and the more I shut it down, the less it seems to be talked about. Period.

To add the OP's excellent initial post, it seems that most people don't understand what a stall REALLY is.
A stall is not the loss of "only 2 pounds" this week nor is it no weight loss for the last 36 hours. A true stall is no movement in weight up or down for at least three weeks.
If you tracked your weight on the way up like I'd assume MANY of us did, you had periods of time where you gained daily, weeks where you went up and down daily and some days where you stayed the same no matter what you ate. You weren't stalled then and you aren't stalled now.
Embrace your success, current and future!

I definitely agree that both pre-and post-op, the stall is discouraging.
I certainly remember many times hearing my doctors and weight watcher people questioning why I wasn't losing weight when I was following the plan. That is definitely when I would give up and say, if restricting my food and enduring this deprivation doesn't work, why even try.
Thankfully, now, for me, giving up isn't an option.
Now that I have learned so much more about how my body works I have more patience. It makes me so much more willing and able to see a stall as an important and necessary part of the process. Not something to be feared or avoided. Plus, I don't weigh often enough to actually observe many stalls.
On retrospect, if I knew this 30-40 years ago, I MAY have saved myself from decades of yo-yo dieting and super morbid obesity.

I'm glad I found this thread. I have been having issues. I was stressing over my stall, but then I had some enlightenment. I am addressing the issues that triggered me to mess up and am learning more about myself and how to really change all of the things that need to be changed. Stalls aren't bad things as long as you don't waste the opportunity to let them help you.
We really need to dig in to our lives and find out what caused us to be this way in the first place -- with the same zeal we used to dig into a bag of potato chips! Get me?
It's a hard, slow process, but I truly believe I will be better for it when I come out the other side -- no matter how long it takes!

Great advice. Sometimes we want all the weight off so bad, that we don't acknowledge and appreciate the weight that has come off.
I am thankful to be down 74 pounds. And I am earning to change how I communicate that. Over the weekend my cousin asked how much I had lost? My response was I have lost about 70 pounds but I still have 100 more to lose!
I will stop discounting my sucess today. The next time someone asks my answer will be "I have lost over 70 pounds and I look and feel great!" Period. Because that is the truth.

I agree. I think learning to let go has been the biggest struggle and one of the main lessons of my first 50 years.

Great post! I have discovered that I have a cycle of losing really well for around 2 weeks and then 2 weeks or so of no weight loss. I have had to remind myself a few times to take a deep breath and just keep doing what I'm doing and not go crazy and try something radical to get the weight loss going again. It all evens out.
And I'd rather have a stall than a gain any day. :-)

You are SOOOO right, as usual! My last "stall" lasted a couple of months, broken today. I think it is most of those who have just recently had their surgery, who talk about the stalls so much. Like you said, it is part of the whole thing. And lest we forget, it is not unusual to "regain" a few pounds here and there on our path. Just the body shifting around, getting used to the new program. It's best to take things one day at a time, and as we follow our individual programs, it is important to remember that everyone is different, and we each, independently, will lose in our own way, at our own time. Your wisdom, Inner Surfer Girl, is spot on!!!! Have a great weekend, everyone!

It seems that at least 50% of the posts on BariatriPal are bemoaning a stall. Daily, and sometimes hourly, I am reading about how someone ONLY lost x number of pounds and now the scale hasn't moved in ___ [fill in the blank] days/months, etc. Oh no, they write, I am a failure/unique/my surgery didn't work/life is not fair, ... Why am I in a stall?
I know I am exaggerating but I think you get the idea.
Guess what? STALLS are a NORMAL part of the PROCESS of losing weight. If you want to lose weight, you will stall. Not just once, but over and over. And, guess what? A stall is where your body actually does the hard work of becoming smaller. It takes a lot of work and energy to dismantle a structure that has been holding up, in some cases, hundreds of pounds.
For those who think they have to DO something to somehow "break a stall" (in my opinion, you do not break a stall, you just ride them out), here is my response:
What can you do to "break" a stall?
1) STAY OFF THE SCALE
Relax and stay off the scale if it bothers you so much. Weigh no more than once a week, or even less often. Weighing only at your doctor's appointments early in the process is a good strategy if your mood and self-worth are dictated by the numbers on the scale.
2) PICK UP A TAPE MEASURE
In addition to using the numbers on the scale to measure your progress, take your measurements. Inches lost are also a great way to see physical progress when the scale isn't moving. Most people see the biggest physical changes in their body when the scale seems stuck.
3) TRACK YOUR Protein AND Water AND MEET OR EXCEED YOUR PROTEIN AND WATER GOAL EVERY DAY
As long as you are getting in all your protein and water and following your NUT and surgeon's instructions, you are doing what you are supposed to do.
If you aren't getting in all your protein and water, then increasing your protein and water is something you can do (and should be doing anyway whether or not you are in a stall).
4) EXERCISE
If you aren't exercising, then you can exercise (and should be whether or not you are in a stall). You can start slowly by walking or even moving more around the house. Exercising will help you feel better, tone your skin and build fat-burning muscle.
5) MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH YOUR NUT
If you are unsure or unclear about what you are supposed to be, or should not be eating, then make an appointment with your NUT (which you should be doing whether or not you are in a stall).
6) REASSESS AND REEVALUATE
About the only good result I see that comes from complaining about a stall is when you take an honest look at what you are doing and realign with the program recommended by your NUT and surgeon. Have you started eating more outside of your plan? Are you restricting calories? Are you eating enough carbs and protein for your exercise? Are you taking your Vitamins? Are you eating often enough? Are you eating slowly with protein first? Sometimes, all you need to DO is go back to basics.
7) JOURNAL
One of the biggest things I have noticed from the various posts is how anxious and out-of-control some people feel when they notice a stall. Journaling can help you gain some perspective and deal with some of the emotional turmoil.
-- Write about how you are feeling about the stall and your weight loss, and surgery in general.
-- Write about why you had the surgery in the first place.
-- Write about what life was like before surgery.
-- Write about what you hope and dream about accomplishing in the future.
-- Write about your fears.
-- Write about your NSVs.
-- Make a gratitude list.
-- Make a bucket list.
-- Write a letter to your old self; write a letter to your new self.
Just write.
8) SEEK HELP
Stalls are when too many people seem to revert to old, counterproductive dieting behaviors (restricting calories, over exercising, bingeing, etc.). If this is you, then another thing you can DO is to talk to a counselor or therapist or consider joining a bariatric support group or a twelve-step group like Overeater's Anonymous.
The discomfort of being in a stall can also drive people to develop new, unhealthy coping habits or even transfer addictions. This is where you want to marshall all the resources you have available to you and use them.
The last, and most important thing you can DO is:
9) EMBRACE THE STALL
Stalls are a normal and natural part of the process.
Our bodies are complex systems and not simple machines.
Stalls go hand-in-hand with weight loss.
If you had Weight Loss Surgery, then you probably want to lose a significant amount of weight. So, get ready to embrace the many stalls you will experience as your body is transformed. It will be worth it.

I am not a sleeve patient but I know many of them. I am a bypass patient.
I can tell you that this process is absolutely not magic so if you were promised that, yikes. You will have to work hard and it sounds like you are already doing that.
I am a little shocked at how many calories you are eating this early out. As I said, I am a bypass patient and if I eat 1200 to 1300 calories I maintain and do not lose. If I am closer to 1000 calories, I lose consistently.
That being said, you are a lower BMI patient and I would not expect huge drops in weight. You will likely lose much slower than some. That is not a bad thing even though it feels that way. The slower you lose the better you work at building good long term habits.
You did not put on this weight overnight and it will not come off that way either. Also I would just say, this really is not a diet, it is a lifestyle and your body needs time to get used to it.
When is the last time you lost 3lbs per week? That is great progress and you should be very proud of it.
Other than my first 2 months I averaged between 5 and 10lbs per month. It took me 18 months to lose 151lbs and get to goal. The good news is, this is my new life and I have and my body has had time to adjust.
Please be patient and if it makes you crazy put the scale away and stick to your plan. You will get there!
Best of luck to all of you.

30 minutes after the meal is my doctors order. Sometimes I take a few sips if I feel thirsty.

Hi. I stopped using Protein Shakes because my husband works third shift and sleeps till 4:00pm and I didn't want to wake him by making shakes in my Magic Bullet. I used to take Protein Shots (the liquid in tube) but stopped. I didn't have a clue what to do, until I found this Protein Drink on pinterest. And I LOVE it!
I'm a Decaf coffee drinker, hot and/or iced. So, I found that mixing a cup of cold coffee, Creamer, Equal and a scoop of vanilla Protein powder and shake real hard, makes a great, refreshing glass of iced vanilla coffee! BAM! I found something pleasing to drink (3 times a day) Also, since it's freakin HOT outside, my ice melts real quick so I poured decaf into an ice tray to make coffee ice cubes so when it melts, it just adds to the flavor.
Give it a try if you like iced coffee. VANILLA iced coffee!

Oh I forgot! An RN from the post op Unit spoke as well. He walked us through the Surgery portion from check in to discharge. We also watched a video about the Surgery and possible complications.