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I’m only two weeks out, but from reading these forums, it seems that nearly everyone experiences a stall at about the three week mark.

13 weeks post sleeve to bypass and have been stalled with weight loss...haven't lost for three weeks. I can't find anything that addresses this type of stall, so here I am! I've lost 35 since revision and was hoping to lose a little more. Having my three-month check up on Tuesday...thanks!

Stalls happen. We do say the first one happens at week three but it can be before week 3 or after. They can last one to three weeks. They do pass & you don’t have to do anything different. Your body just needs a break from all the changes - your body has shut the door & said nope, no more, I’m not moving & am just staying here for a while. You’ll also likely experience a couple of stalls along the way. We all lose at our own rate. Some fast, some slow. There are many factors at influence that rate: age, gender, starting weight, genetics, weight loss history… You’ve lost 26lbs - that’s great. Stick to what your doing. You’ll reach your goal.

Try some electrolyte drinks. I found the added energy boost got me through. I had poor concentration too - my head was very doughy some days but that was complicated by my low blood pressure. Are there specific foods that make you feel unwell or is it basically everything? Your tummy can be fussy for a while & something you eat today without an issue can make you unwell the next. It will pass. Are you eating slowly? I know that can be hard at work but it is important so as not to put pressure on your tummy. You may need to eat a little more especially as a tall, very active male. Have a chat with your nutritionalist & surgeon. Periods of not losing weight, stalls, are common we say the first one happens at three weeks but it can be earlier or later & they can persist for one to three weeks.

You would have to be very large portions very frequently over a prolonged period of time to stretch your tummy. And certainly if you had stretched your tummy this close to your surgery you would have had issues with torn stitches/staples & you’d know about it. How much have you lost since your surgery? How much were you expecting to lose at four weeks? A lot of people have very unreal expectations of how much weight they should be losing based upon programs like My 600lb Life. They lose large amounts of weight because they had large amounts to lose to begin. In my first 4 weeks I’d lost about 8kg (about 17lbs). This was a pretty reasonable amount for my height, weight, age & gender. Have you experienced the three weeks stall (though it can happen at week 2, 3, or 4)? With a stall, which is extremely common, you may not lose for anywhere from a week to 3 weeks. It’s just your body coming to terms with all the changes. You will start to lose again & you will likely experience stalls again as you lose. Ask your medical team for portion size recommendations. Most recommend 1/4 to 1/3 cup to begin but there are variations. Some are given caloric goals. Personally, it would take me three days to eat 2 scrambled eggs so three meals but some can eat more. I still think you should be eating a wider variety of foods to get a broader range of nutrients. Sweet potatoes are very low in protein. Are you meeting your daily protein goals? Are you tracking the caloric & nutritional content or your food?

I use the reminders, the calorie/macro tracker for protein goals, and the weight/measurement features mainly. I'm not really exercising yet or I'd hook Apple Watch up to it too. Sounds like you're doing great! I think my stall is very very slowly breaking still. I'm down to 250.2! I can't wait to see 249 on the scale. My body loves hanging on to weight at around the 250 mark. I am still happy with my overall loss though. My highest weight was 275, then I was 265 day of surgery (I did not have a pre-op diet, but still lost 10lbs in the three months leading up to surgery). So still down 15lbs in 3ish weeks, and 25 overall. Not a bad little start Also, welcome to all the new people. I hope your surgeries and recoveries go well! I didn't want to post a response to everyone individually and end up spamming the thread with replies.

three week stall. If you do a search on that on this site, you'll find something like 17,000 posts on it (and no, I am NOT kidding). It happens to almost all of us (and it's not always the third week for everyone - but sometime during the first month or so after surgery). your rate of weight loss is fine. I think some people's expectations come from watching shows like "My 600 lb Life", but keep in mind that those people start off at MUCH higher BMI's than the average WLS patient. Your rate is fine. I lost 16 lbs the first month, and I ended up losing 100% of my excess weight (over 200 lbs). As long as you stick to your program and your general weight trend is downward, you're good.

Even though we talk about the three week stall it can happen before or after that time. It could be what you’re experiencing. It’s just your body playing catch up with all the changes. You will start to lose again. Does the nausea happen more at certain times or with certain foods? Multivitamin made me sick & I’d often be nauseous, get the foamies or vomit a little most mornings. Your tummy can be pretty sensitive & fussy to begin. I avoided any foods that didn’t sit well with me. But I found that if I waited a couple of weeks, I wouldn’t have a problem with it.

That’s still pretty good. My weight loss is interesting. I’m not losing steadily. I’ve hit several stalls already. I got my first one about three weeks out from surgery …. Which was expected. I stayed the same weight for weeks, then all of a sudden I dropped a lot. I’m now in another stall. I’ve been stuck at 246 for two weeks now. I tend to drop a lot in short periods and then stall for long periods…. It’s also hard to meet my protein intake goal. I hate the shakes (I gag just thinking about them) but I still have to drink them otherwise I won’t meet the protein goal. I’m down to one though. I can get 30 grams of protein in through food and then one shake a day. I split that shake up so I don’t have to drink it all at once. clothes are another thing I judge my loss by. I had to buy an emergency pair of swim bottoms so I could actually continue going to the beach and pool without being arrested for indecent exposure lol. In sizing: I was a 24 or a 3XL pre surgery and I am now about a size 16 or extra large. I’m so happy I made this choice

Stats: Male, 6’4” (193cm for the more enlightened) 46 years old. All time known high weight 356lbs (161.5kg) (approx June 2013) Surgery weight 334lbs (151.5kg). Self pay, Dr Galileo Villarreal - Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, June 12, 2020 $4400 all in, VSG & hiatal hernia repair. Current weight 194lbs (88kg). This turned out to be way too long… sorry. The idea of having surgery wasn’t anything I ever really gave any thought to. I did the lifetime attempts at diet and exercise without success. The lowest weight I ever achieved was 285 when I hiked almost daily in the mountains surround Las Vegas. But like all my other attempts, things changed, I got tired of the same thing, and put it all back on plus some (yet again). Fast forward to 2020 and my wife looks at me and asks “have you ever thought about gastric surgery?” “Well, not really but I’ll look into it.” I don’t recall exactly how long I researched, I know it wasn’t long. One day, maybe two? I knew my insurance wouldn’t cover it at all, so self pay was my only option unless I wanted to wait and change to a different plan (I’m impatient so that wasn’t happening). Anyway I live near Houston so I started looking at the border towns in Mexico and came across the website for Dr Galileo Villarreal in Nuevo Laredo. I made a phone call to his assistant who handles US patients and had an appointment set for two weeks later (for the procedure, not just a consultation). The next few days I mostly looked at before and after photos and was really excited about the possibilities. I don’t worry about much in general(why worry about what I can’t control?) so I didn’t bother reading too many horror stories. I understood that people who have problems are far more likely to post, seeking guidance/solutions than people who cruise through easily. I did look up complication statistics and that alone completely eliminated any worries that may have existed. I watched several videos of the procedure (I was interested to see what’s going to happen to me) and that too brought me comfort, seeing how quick and relatively simple the procedure was. Traveling to Mexico also didn’t bother me in the slightest. The way I figure is a doctor either cares or doesn’t, it doesn’t matter which side of the border they happen to be on. The one obvious downside to surgery in another country is “what if something does go wrong?” But again realistically I knew that was unlikely and it’s not like I couldn’t walk into a hospital once back home to get care for anything I might have needed. I spent the next few days having tons of food funerals. I reveled in the experience and really went crazy with the Cinnamon Toast Crunch, smoked brisket, homemade carbonara pasta (I even found some real guanciale), more Cinnamon Toast Crunch… you get the idea.. My pre-op diet arrived via email. It was sparse and consisted of things like cream soup, protein drinks, electrolyte drinks etc. I had seven days of this before surgery. This was - by far - the worst part of the whole experience. Day one I was good. Day two I was pacing frantically. Day three I cheated and hated myself for it. Day four was a little better. Days 5 & 6 I had resigned to the lifestyle and at this point I was so giddy with excitement about the surgery I didn’t care anymore about the food as much. I was fortunate with my timing in regard to COVID. The border was still open and there were no issues about that, I was a little surprised that the Mexican Border Guards didn’t even care to see my passport or ask any questions. I was just waived through, barely given a glance. I arrived at the hospital a few minutes later to begin the pre op blood work and physical. This is where I had my first moment of “oh shit.” It was late in the day and apparently the normal nurse who handled the blood draw had already left. So this nice young man was assigned to get my blood. He takes me into a small room and I could tell he was really scared. We had an obvious language barrier but I kept pointing to a big thick vein in the crock of my elbow that you really can’t miss. I’ve had enough blood drawn in the past, no one has ever missed it first shot. He was literally shaking and sweating all over my arm. I kept pointing and saying “aqui” but he would get the needle close then pull it back and look around and sweat some more. It was a good ten minutes of this and I was starting (just starting?) to get a little worried. Again, I could tell he either never did this or rarely so I didn’t assume this was a sign of how it was all going to go (it didn’t, it all was fine after this). Eventually someone must have recognized there was an issue. Another nurse came in, looked at the obvious vein, and popped that needle in. I wouldn’t know if my blood work was ok until the next morning, so they drove us to the hotel (which was included in the price) and we went to bed. The next morning they picked us up and brought me back to the hospital. I checked in, got word that my blood work was fine and I forked over the cash for the procedure ($4000) plus a $400 deposit in case I had a hernia that needed to be repaired. The hospital was very nice. Beautifully decorated, polished marble walls and floors. As clean (to the naked eye of course) as any hospital I’ve been in. It was small, but appropriately sized for the area it served. It was not a dedicated Bariatric facility, just a typical public hospital. I actually enjoy the experience of being put under anesthesia and I wasn’t nervous at all so I declined the sedative and just went for it. The weirdest part was the staff asking me questions through google translate on their phones. Dr. Villarreal and his assistant spoke perfectly fluent English but the pre op staff had a lot of questions to ask. Even though they spoke some English and I spoke some Spanish, when it comes to translating medical related stuff it was definitely better using the app, it was just a little surreal. I was wheeled into the OR, greeted again by Dr. Villarreal who asked if I wanted any music played (I did) and I went under listening to some classic rock. I woke up in moderate pain, but nothing too bad. I was brought to my room where my wife was waiting for me. The first few hours I just relaxed in bed. Eventually I was given some ice chips to suck on and allowed to get up with assistance and go to the bathroom. Things were tender but I don’t recall being in a lot of pain. Walking was a slow shuffle and I was given permission to do laps around the hospital. I met a couple other people who had the same procedure the day prior and we nodded and smiled knowing we were on the same journey together. They were nice moments and I hope they’re doing well. Later in the day I did a barium swallow to ensure there were no leaks. It tasted like shit (sorry), and I got to watch it on the monitor. It was pretty interesting to see. Doctor visited me several times, and I asked if he had video or photos of my procedure, and he sent me some cool pics of my removed stomach and of my hernia and repair. I was given an antibiotic pill. I had read enough “no pills after surgery” posts here that this gave me concern. The pill was literally the biggest pill I have ever taken in my life. It was an inch long and thick. I pointed at my stomach and said “esta bien?” and she nodded and so I took it. It went down fine, didn’t hurt or anything. We stayed over that night which was more walking and ice and eventually electrolyte drinks and some jello. I was given a bag of pills, more of those giant antibiotics, anti nausea meds, and some non-opioid pain pills. They wheeled me out where my car was waiting for me and we started the drive home. The drive home the next day was about five hours total, we took our time. Getting into the US took an hour or so, but wasn’t an issue. One thing I took particular notice of on the ride home was just how many restaurants there are. I was obviously hyper focused on food and I was dumbstruck at the endless strip centers filled with high calorie options. Just endless. I’ll speed things up here…. The first week was fine, some pain in my left arm that scared me. Spoke to the doctor and he explained that gas left over in the abdomen can rest on the diaphragm which can translate into left arm pain. He advised the typical “walk it off” prescription and sure enough that fixed it. Food intake was slow but I didn’t care. This was much easier than the pre op diet even though it was essentially the same. Broths, Gatorade, protein shakes. By week two I was feeling great and ready for mushy foods. Cottage cheese was my friend. By week three I felt normal. I starting having a scrambled egg here and there and that’s when I began to feel the restrictions. The first meat I tried was around week three, I had some ground chicken with seasoned salt and it was pretty good and didn’t bother me. I visited my regular doctor a month or so in and he was happy with my weight loss. My back doctor was also happy and we both were hopeful it would fix my back issues (spoiler it didn’t completely). One year out I still have zero hunger. I had one spell in December where I thought it returned and it was disappointing and scary. It only lasted a few days and I don’t know what caused it. It really felt like the MORE I ate the hungrier I got and if not for physical restriction I would have eaten myself out of any other normal “diet.” Fortunately that’s gone and I’m back to no hunger, one year out. But im prepared and ready should it return. There are no significant stories or details for the rest of my journey. I’ve been very fortunate that I’ve had zero problems. No foods have bothered me, I did not get sick, my tastes didn’t change (my eating habits did but not due to bad foods no longer tasting good, Cinnamon Toast Crunch is still awesome but I just don’t eat it any more except a couple pieces here and there). My main drinks are coffee, diet Mountain Dew and Monster Zero Ultra (the white can). I’m not going to pretend that I’m a model citizen of this forum. There are plenty of things I eat and drink that I probably shouldn’t. I’m in maintenance mode now and still losing (very slowly) even though I’m eating garbage like peanut m&ms to try and up my calories without increasing capacity. I know there are better options but I like them and it’s working fine for me. I don’t take vitamins like I should but I just had my one year blood panel done and all my labs came back in the middle of the normal range so no worries on that front. Somehow my vitamin D is normal for the first time as an adult. Again, don’t look at me as a guide, but it is what it is and I think it’s important share what is working. I’ve included two screen shots of some graphs I used in a spreadsheet. The first is simply my weight loss over time. The second is a rolling weekly average using the past seven days. So each point on the graph looks back seven days, takes that weight, subtracts the current day’s weight. “I lost 2.4 lbs the past week” etc. This graph highlights stalls, and recovery from stalls etc. so you can see my weight loss was really fast at first. The big stall during the holidays where I didn’t gain or lose. For me this graph was more useful as sometimes I felt like I was stalled but the graph proved otherwise. Here is a breakdown of my loss at 30 day intervals. Don’t compare me to you or to anyone else. There are over 7 billion of us and we’re all unique. Day 30: 29.2lbs Day 60: 46.0 Day 90: 63.5 Day 120: 74.6 Day 150: 92.1 Day 180: 102 Day 210: 103 (holidays/long stall) Day 240: 113.6 Day 270: 120 Day 300: 129.5 Day 330: 135 Day 360: 138.8 Conclusion and final thoughts: For some of us this journey IS the easy way out, and I honest to God don’t care. Im happy and healthy and I’d do it again without hesitation. I want people on the fence about having the procedure to know that. It’s easy to get lost in the problems people post about. Those problems ARE REAL and do happen. But I really think there are a lot of us out there for whom this journey has been easy, you just don’t hear from us as often. People who are having a difficult time need advice or want a solution so it’s natural and helpful to post questions about those problems. But it does skew the impressions towards the negative. I wish I did this years ago. I don’t know why I never even thought of it. I guess it was one of those things I thought was reserved for medically necessary intervention. But you know what? I had a BMI over 40. It was medically necessary. I’m VERY lucky that at age 45 I was not on a downward spiral health wise, but it could have started any day. My wife’s dad was a “big guy” too, and was active and worked hard. Then one day, diabetes. Another day, bad knees. Another day a stroke. He had the sleeve AFTER these things and did lose weight but he can’t walk, can’t enjoy life, he’s miserable because he waited too long. Don’t wait. If you need to lose weight do it now. Figure out a way that works for you. Surgery is relatively safe, with far fewer complications than doing nothing and assuming you’ll just always be a healthy “big person.” But it’s not the only solution. Whatever it is that works for you, make it happen. I know I won’t live forever and I know I can regain and I know lots of bad things could be lined up in my future. But today I feel great. Today I’m happy. Today I look at myself and I see the me that I always knew existed. It’s the most wonderful feeling. I hope from the bottom of my heart everyone here will feel it too….. ….But I know not everyone will. My wife for example. Surgery has done nothing for her. 20lbs in a year. And she DOES follow the plan. For those of you in her situation who are probably cursing me and telling me to shut the f up, I get you. And I’m sorry. Don’t give up though. We’re all here for you; this forum is a great asset. We want you to succeed. Vent, cry, scream out, ask a million questions, we hear you. Just don’t give up.

Just curious about everyone’s experience. I’ve heard there’s a week 3 stall that nearly everyone experiences. I’m just finishing our week 3 and my loss has stalled. Even gained a pound. I assume it’s because of soft foods being introduced.

Every one loses at their own rate. There is no right or wrong amount of weight to lose each week. Yes, there may be average amounts of loss people who are similar height, weight, age, gender, etc. may have in common. As long as you see the trend of your weight loss going down you’re succeeding. The amount you lose each week will also slow as you progress. It is possible you are experiencing a stall as has been suggested. These are extremely common. We talk about the three week stall but that first one can happen at week 2, 3, 4, 5 …. It’s just your body taking a breath & trying to catch up with the changes (surgery, weight loss, reduced calories, dietary changes,…). You will likely have other stalls as you’re losing. We’ve all been on that gain, lose, gain roller coaster. Personally I know the reason I always regained after losing was because the diets I was on weren’t sustainable or I just went back to the same old way of eating. I’d start regaining a couple of weeks after the diet ended. The difference this time is that I work at sticking to the changes I made to how I eat, what I eat, why I eat every day. I have many years ahead of me but I’m going to work my butt off to try to stay my course cause that desire to go down my old path is always there. I just understand it & manage it better now. Your success starts & ends in your head. It’s not just what you put in your mouth. You have to do the head work. Many do this with the help of a therapist, others do it themselves. There are lots of people here who are happy to share experiences & offer support. Follow your plan, meet your protein goals, get your fluids in, be more active and your weight loss will continue. You’ll get there.

Three week stall, look it up!

My stall lasted almost three weeks but then I dropped a couple pounds right away. There is no need to change anything the stall will break.

Even on the purée phase if you stick to the portions on your plan you will only be consuming VERY low amount of calories. Your body can’t help but to lose weight. You may coincidentally have the three week stall but it will pass and you will continue to lose. Trust the process.

I hate to be the bearer of what you may consider to be bad news, but a large percentage of those who have weight loss surgery experience a stall or stalls. The first stall can typically happen within the first few weeks, google 'three week stall weight loss surgery' and you will find a lot of info about it. A couple of things to remember you won't be alone in experiencing a stall, most of us have been through it and it not an out of the ordinary event even when eating low calories. If you adhere to your post op guidelines you will get through the stall, it may be a week or two (or even longer) but eventually scale weight will catch up with your body changes. Remember you want to lose fat not just weight. Scale weight doesn't always reflect fat loss. Get out the tape measure, start capturing body measurements. Also look to non scale goals and measures to capture your success in fat loss, health and fitness improvements. How far you can walk or swim, improvements in blood tests for cholesterol, fatty liver etc. Improvements in blood pressure etc etc, clothing sizes reducing and so forth.

almost everyone has that early stall soon after surgery (it's usually the third week, thus we call it "the three week stall", but for some it comes earlier or later). Just stick to your plan, stay off the scale for a few days, and know that it will break and you'll be on your way again. It'll last 1-3 weeks. Mine was weeks 2 & 3 after surgery. During week 4, it broke and I dropped like 6-8 lbs almost overnight. P.S. if you do a search on this site of the three week stall, you will find something like 17,500 posts on it. And no, I am NOT kidding.

1) unless you're the size of someone on "My 600 lb Life", your weight loss so far is very normal. Most of us lose 15-25 lbs in the first month after surgery. Yes - you will find people who lose more or less than that, but they're the exception. You're in that range, so you're perfectly normal! 2) you're in the infamous "three-week stall". Almost all of us go through that. It's not ALWAYS the third week, but it is for most (hence the name) - but it can really happen any time within the first 4-6 weeks after surgery. Just stick to your program and stay off the scale if you need to. It'll last 1-3 weeks, and then you'll be on your way again. If you want to read more about it, do a search on this site for the three week stall. You will find about 17,000 posts on it (and no, I am NOT kidding...). It literally does happen to almost everyone. No changes necessary - just stick to your program and wait it out. It WILL break. oh - just re-read your post. Thirty grams of protein is too low. Most surgeons recommend at least 60. So THAT is a change you should make. Otherwise, you're good. Just hang tight!

Good luck! I would say to be open to doing things differently than you were expecting, if your body needs it. I had heard that tastes could change after surgery, and this was true in my case. All of the protein supplements I had purchased and planned to take made me vomit. After a lot of research and reading reviews, I found one that works for me. All of the vitamin supplements did the same. Pharmacists can be very helpful in this case, for example finding a slow release iron pill. Take notes on what you are eating for a while, times you eat and drink, times you take medicines and supplements, etc. If there is a problem later, it will help your team figure out what could be causing it. I am still a newbie, but I found out there is often a stall in weight at three weeks. Mine lasted for 12 days before it started inching down again. Don’t get worried.

Follow your plan. This is important because your plan has been designed to aid healing. Remember there’s a lot of stitches & staples holding your tummy together & you don’t want to risk putting strain or pressure on your tummy before it’s fully healed. Listen to your body. It will tell you what you can or can’t do or eat yet. Things are going to be different but you’ll get used to the changes & how your body may react. It’s not a competition. You’ll lose at the rate that’s right for you. You will lose some hair. Can’t stop it because it’s how your body reacts to the surgery & the reduced food intake. It’s just an acceleration of your natural hair loss cycle. The hair loss will stop. Your new hair is still growing in but just at its usual rate which is why your hair may look thin for a while until it catches up. You will have stalls along the way. It’s just your body taking a breath to catch up with the changes. They may last a week or up to three but they do stop & you’ll start losing again. You will experience constipation. Often a lot of constipation. Include some soluble (non swelling) fibre in your diet & have some stool softeners on hand. You may experience a temporary change in your taste buds. Some also find their sense of smell becomes more sensitive for a while. Some foods may suddenly become disgusting because of their taste or smell. Some people find binders useful post surgery as a support while healing. It’s an individual thing. I didn’t use one. Now the bad news - there is little you can do to stop or reduce the chances of having loose skin. It’s why so many have plastic surgery to remove it. The loose skin is a result of your fat stretching out your skin. Think of a hair band that’s been stretched out from lots of use & is loose. Ain’t nothing goes to make that band as tight as it was when it was new. How much loose skin you have depends upon factors like age, gender, how long you’ve been at your highest weight, etc. if you’re young & still have a lot of natural skin elasticity you likely won’t have as much as someone older like me. Don’t mean to scare you just wanted you not to be surprised if these things do happen. While they are common experiences, it seems they are things that many medical teams don’t tell their patients to expect. They can be quite scary when they occur if you don’t know they can. Good luck.

It's very likely just a temporary weight gain due to the three or four week stall or just the change from liquids/pureed foods to soft. It happens. Keep on your post op guidelines and you will be fine.

it's just the three week stall - happens to almost everyone. If you do a search on the three week stall on this site, you will literally find something like 17,000 posts on it. All you can do is stick to your plan, stay off the scale, and ride it out. As long as you stick to your plan, the stall will break and your weight loss WILL start up again. many of us experience several stalls along our journey - if not most of us. As long as you stick to your guns, they'll break and you'll be on your way again. They typically last 1-3 weeks. And absolutely you can lose all your weight. I lost all of mine - over 200 lbs. And I had several stalls, like most of us do...

It’s the weight loss cycle. Lose then stall. Lose then stall. Some people will say to increase your calories or increase your activity to break it. I just stuck to my plan & the stall broke. This won’t be your only stall. Some last a week others may last three weeks. They’re just your body taking a breath to catch up on all the changes. You will start to lose again.

My surgery was 3/3/21 I was 268 and I told myself aim big so my first weight loss goal was 205. I had a stall in April of three weeks the scale wouldn’t budge to pass 215! Then it began to move only took a week and a half to get to 206.8 and now guess what?! It won’t budge! It refuses to give me my first goal, lol

This thread is really old but some new folks say they are having similar issues so I will reply. The three week stall is so common. It can honestly happen before or after but usually it’s right around three weeks. If you do a search on this site you will see how often it is talked about. Rest assured. The weight loss will pick back up. Just stick to your plan.