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Another slow loser here. I am now just under four months post sleeve. The funny thing is though, when I look at the whole big picture of my weight loss I am AMAZED!!!! I started at 203lbs and am down to 162lbs. I recently had a three week stall but things got moving again scale wise a week ago. However, during the stall, my body obviously had a good old sort out and my shape changed and unneeded inches left various parts of my anatomy. I didn't have a say in any of the design ideas at all and just kept walking the dogs and getting my exercise. I'm back wearing jeans again and I threw out all my tracksuit pants the other day. I'm loving this journey and accept that as the weight crept on then it's OK if it creeps off. Keep reading the posts on this site and you won't go far wrong. We're all on the same journey.

Just finished a three-week stall myself, followed by a 10-pound loss. So don't give up, it WILL happen.

Just got over the three week stall - mine lasted 12 days - the good side of it all is when it is over you wake up one morning and bam - your pants fall off - everyone notices your new "face" and the pounds start to fall off again - not as fast but slowly but surely. I have been trying not to weigh myself as often and sticking to the NSV - they are so much better - gotta go - my pants are falling off me again - must readjust for the tenth time this morning and it is only 7:30a!

I’m six weeks post-op and had the three week stall as well. Mine lasted for about a week. Also, I wasn’t given any specific goals by my surgeon and dietician except for liquids and protein. But, they did specify to eat 5-6 small meals per day.

I wished I had packed a robe, I was missing a tie on my hospital gown so my husband had to hold it closed for me. I used the chapstick, gas-x strips & slippers I brought. At some time through the process you are going to freak out or just be done with the whole thing. About two weeks out I got really grumpy with my husband and just started bawling when he came to give me my shot (some surgeons prescribe anti-coagulant shots.) I was tired of the whole after care process and just wanted to be normal. After surgery Water may taste sweet to you & it may make you nauseous, it faded after 2-3 weeks but it is really tough to get water in when your main source tastes nasty. For me the whole process doesn't feel real, I had an easy recovery & am losing weight pretty quickly. I wish I knew that I would be able to drink normally. When you are in post op liquid phase you may be able to drink more than 4oz if so it will freak you out and get you worrying. Just make sure to measure what you drink and keep to your timetable. If you one of the lucky folks you also won't feel restriction during this phase but when you move to more solid food you will. Also the dreaded three week stall is real. The worst part of the stall is the mental games it plays with you, all your previous diet fears & emotions come bubbling up and you just can't help it. It will break as long as you follow your program. Almost every surgeon has their own plan and post-op instructions, I am following my surgeons instructions and tucking things I am learning from my online support group that follows my guidelines. Even though you feel fine one month after surgery, be careful a this is when you can really hurt yourself (your internal stitches have not dissolved yet and if you do something wrong you will feel "pinching". It is not pleasant.

actually, the infamous one is the three *week* stall, so you're past it! (most of us do experience occasional stalls along the way, so you may very well have one at the three month mark, but it's the three week one that's really predictable...)

Okay, take a breath. The weight will come off, but not in a couple of weeks time. You are just post op and your body is swollen and trying to adjust to the trauma of surgery. During the surgical case they give you IV fluid and you are going to get rid of that soon as well. Please be patient. I went through the same thoughts/feelings and it is much better now. You will go through plateaus and stalls when your body is trying to keep up with the loss. The three week stall is infamous, but it does get better. I'm 5 weeks out next Monday and still learning. I remember how I felt when I was where you are and I thought if I had to drink one more protein anything I would choke someone. . Take one day at a time. It gets better and there are a ton of ppl on here who have been there and will listen/encourage you. I'm keeping you in my prayers that this will turn around soon for ya.

Well first off, welcome to the rest of your new life! With that statement comes a great number of changes, mental and physical. First, I would say you are eating too much, however, I too had issues soon after surgery. Do not get me wrong, I am just now 3.5 months post-op, but down 70 pounds. Weight loss is 'strange' after surgery, especially in the beginning. I really set the bar high, and decided long before surgery that I was committing to a complete lifestyle change, and I am living it today. As mentioned earlier in this post, tracking your food is very important. This is one of the three reasons I recommend a Fitbit to everyone, you can track your food/water/protein input with the Fitbit website (or MyFitnesspal.com), secondly, you can track your activity, and lastly and this is a biggie, you can see your heartrate. Why is this so important? One of the very early signs of dumping is Tachycardia, and elevated heart rate. So, you are chowing down on a new food and you start to feel a bit strange. Am I eating too fast? Am I going to dump? Does this not agree with me? A quick glance at your heart rate is a great tool to determine why you are feeling the way you are, and more importantly to prevent dumping. I have had three such incidents now, where I was juuuuuuust on the border of dumping, but I began to feel odd, checked my heart rate, saw it in the upper 80s' low 90's and realized I was about to dump. I stopped eating the suspect food and within 20 minutes I was fine. Why is food tracking so important? One word, accountability. I look at my food intake every day. I log every single thing that touches my lips. My weight loss never surprises me. I know when I was adding new foods, or ate 'heavy' foods and lowered my expectations for the week. Tracking with software allows you to see, how well or poorly you are doing in a given day, and to evaluate the prior day once it had concluded. HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE. Activity. Let's face it, weight loss is really as simple as burning more calories than you take in. You need to be able to determine how many calories are being burned and a Fitbit does a great job at this. No it is not perfect, but it is better than guessing. No matter how obese you may be, you can walk. I do. In fact, I am up to 8 miles, 5 days a week. I am a full time student, so I have the two hours to dedicate. Many do not. Track your activity, and HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE. Pro tips: -Do not drink 30 minutes before a meal and for 30 minutes after a meal. -NEVER eat while distracted. NO EATING IN FRONT OF THE TELEVISION!!! Sit at the table, without distraction and slowly eat your food. FEEL what your body is telling you. Savor every bite. -Remember calories are not all created equal. I have gone to a rather extreme diet, but I like low carbing, I like the energy and the overall great feeling. Thus, I do not imbibe anything solid and white (fat free cheese is the lone exception), no Sugar, Flour, Rice, Pasta, Bread or Potatoes. There are only two things you are concerned with at this stage, really, two. Water intake and Protein. And your body will punish you for failing to take in enough. I shoot for 100g of high quality protein a day (not all Proteins are created equal, research PDCASS), and at least 80oz of water. -Calories, your mileage will vary, but I have found that I lose weight at the best rate when on active days I get in 1100-1300 calories and on inactive days 600-800 calories. I am never really hungry, and have to stick to a schedule to make sure I get enough calories in on any given day. -Milk, try Isopure in Fairlife milk. That is how I do it, in fact Fairlife milk is one of the many wonderful things I learned about here in these forums. Short story, it is lactose free, has twice the protein of regular milk and 1/2 the carbs. I use 2 measured ounces of whole milk in my coffee, and use the skim for everything else. It is much creamier than regular milk. The whole milk is more like cream, and the skim more like 2% milk. -These tips may or may not help you, they help me. -Fiber. Yes you need it, see the post about dealing with your new post op ass for more. I struggle with this, daily. In closing I would say, do not put your head in the sand. Hold yourself accountable for ALL your actions. It is the aggregate of all your actions that will determine what the scale has to say at the end of each week. You are nearly due for the 'dreaded three week stall'. It will pass. Do not let it get you down if it hits you. Seek counseling for food addiction. I am not a '12 step' kinda guy. I have to solve my own problems, but that is me. I think it is the Military in me, I do not like asking for help, I see it as a weakness. It is not, but as my ex mother in law was famously quoted, "Feelings are not facts". I FEEL like asking for help is a weakness, but my mind knows better. That is my issue to deal with. Best of luck. Post often. Keep us in the loop, there are a LOT of WONDERFUL people here.

I had a good three week stall beginning 2nd week of December and just ending this past week! I was sleeved on 11/12 so it started at four weeks post op. I am most definitely the slowest loser on these boards -

The three week stall is the most common, notorious stall. It's perfectly normal. Mine lasted for 7 days some people's last longer.

27 days post op 204 lbs Not much to post about lately cause I've been stalled now for a week. I hit the dreaded three week stall at 18 days out. Im going to have to get back to my Protein requirements because I've noticed since I started eating normal food I'm barely getting anything in. Last night hubby wanted sea food which I'm not a huge fan of but I like catfish and figured that would be a great source of protein. I made catfish, shrimp, fried okra, and red Beans and rice. I put a carefully measured three ounces of catfish on my plate and a tablespoon of tartar sauce. That was two fillets... I managed to eat one. So my dinner was 1.5 oz of fish. I should have stopped at one ounce I guess cause it sat there and sat there and I ended up getting sick live and learn I guess. As much as I'm sick of Protein Shakes I better just do it.

Yes, I feel like that frequently. Especially right now because I think I've entered the three week stall. I try to give myself pep talks, but it is hard! I too deep down feel like I'm going to fail at this too and it will be "just another one of the diets" that didn't work type of a thing. Logically, I tell myself that it won't happen this time, but after so many attempts and so many failures it is hard to get out of that thinking. So, I totally understand how your feeling.:thumbup:

I have just finished my three week stall. I started peop at 293. 285 day of surgery and was at 263 untill today. I have been working and eating mostly what I was told to. I am a nurse and have been thinking about this. I think part of the stall comes from our body being in starvation mode and conserving any calories we consume. The othere is we have completely emptied out our GI tract with the prepped cleanse and liquids. So as our intestines fill with waste it will add weight. Untill start having regular bowel movements. The reason to increase calories is to get your body out of starvation mode. Also need to increase water intake to wash awaw all the biproducts. Just keep doing what u are I dropped 3.5 lb in 2 days as hard as I try I can't go a week with out checking the scale I know I should not. Hope this helps.

Seriously, Bryan, big congrats on your big leap out of the gate. It must be terrifically motivating. BTW, you're now enjoying your "three week stall." Search for that at this forum or google it. It's a very common phenomenon. No biggie at all though. Just keep doing what you're doing. Best ....

it's the infamous three-week stall. Happens to almost all of us. If you do a search on this site for it, you'll find literally thousands of posts on it. Lasts 1-3 weeks. Just stick to your program and stay off the scale. Your weight loss WILL start up again.

DAY 49 29 days post op I survived the dreaded three week stall without stalling... But I certainly have slowed down. Went from losing a pound a day to about a little less than half a pound a day. Less than I was losing. More than I would be losing before surgery. What I am curious to know is if this is the new normal or if it will pick up again.... Or slow down more. UGH! My control freakishness needs to know! Looking forward to my one month appt tomorrow and hopefully clearance to eat fresh fruit, nuts, seeds etc. oh and salad! I'd love a salad. I am certainly not able to eat enough to get all my Protein and non protein foods in yet, but I'd love to have an option. A troubling item on the horizon- a few days ago I started feeling a twinge on my right side under my rib cage. At first I thought I pulled something, but now I am wondering if it might be my gall bladder. I am taking medication to prevent stones but I wonder if there is some inflammation or something. I will mention it at tomorrow's appt. if it I my gall bladder and they have to take it, then I want them to take it this year since I already met all my insurance maximums. Stay tuned for an update post appt. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

pretty much everyone stalls sometime during the first month after surgery. As the above poster said, do a search on the "three week stall". You'll find hundreds of posts on it (it's called the three week stall because it usually happens the third week, but not always. Mine was week 2 and 3). also, PLEASE do not cheat this early out! Not only are you not setting yourself up for a successful journey, but you could severely hurt your new stomach! Those incisions still haven't fully healed! and also remember - people lose weight at vastly different rates for all kinds of reasons. Your level of commitment to your program will have a MUCH greater effect on your ultimate success than your rate of weight loss will. I was a slow loser from the get-go. I lost 16 lbs the first month. And I've lost all of my excess weight - over 200 lbs! JUST STICK TO THE PROGRAM! The weight WILL come off if you're diligent!

Believe it. I had a stall weeks 2 and 3 post-op. Almost everyone has their first one some time in first 4-6 weeks. In fact, we call it "the three week stall", because it often happens the third week, but not always. Just keep sticking to your program and it will break. Once mine broke, I dropped like 6-8 lbs in just a couple of days

The vast majority of people experience the "dreaded three week stall" after having WLS, though sometimes it comes a bit sooner or later. That is most likely what you're going through right now. If you do a keyword search about the stall you'll find heaps of threads here about it with tips. You haven't done anything wrong. Your body just needs some time to adjust. It's been through a major surgery, radical eating changes, and weight loss all in a rush. You will start losing again. Just persevere. My stall broke when I increased my calories. Basically I'd been consuming far too calories, so my body thought it was starving and was holding onto to everything I took in to help protect me. It relaxed when I started having more calories.

it's the infamous three week stall - right on schedule! Fear not - almost all of us experience that. Just stick to your program and stay off the scale for a few days. Rest assured your weight loss WILL start up again. Stalls usually last 1-3 weeks, and you'll likely encounter a few of them on your journey.

I never had a three week stall and now I am stalled at six weeks. I had my period last week and when I weighed I was 240 now I am 242. I am not sure what to eat but I want to make sure I stay on track and keep losing not gaining two pounds. Please help ... what are some good recipes for six weeks out?

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.

To was feeling the same way at that time. I found I had to simply push through that fog and get going. I started working out using the elliptical and treadmill for 20 minutes a day. I found within a couple of weeks that I could do more and began increasing my workout time. I ended up at an hour a day and then got into a three week stall. I was told I needed to eat more and back down my exercise to 30 minutes every other day until the stall broke. Now I exercise every other day for a total of 40 minutes. I do a fat burn on the elliptical and add muscle endurance to that workout as mine has that feature. I also use the treadmill and do a cardio workout for about 20 minutes. By the way I excercise in the am when I have the most energy. I drink a premier Protein shake which has 30 grams of protein every morning. I work out shortly after I drink my shake. After my workout I have a yogurt with high protein granola. It is replenishing after a workout. I have been very consistently successful with this routine. I also noticed when I first started it was very hard for me to walk up my stairs leading into the lower level where my equipment is. Now, I can literally run up my stairs and I feel fantastic!

We do talk about the phenomenon of regret during the first few weeks post-op, also called "buyer's remorse" quite a lot here. However, pre-ops seem to close their eyes to this kind of discussion, so we have lots of people who post during their first few weeks asking about regrets, and replying to such threads. I wish somehow we could get the message out that this is a normal feeling, and barring complications, usually passes by the end of the first month, when you have mostly healed and food choices are getting more interesting. For those who are new, how could we have phrases this so you would have heard it during your pre-op research? When you were pre-op did you do a search for threads with "regret" in the title? Do you feel like you understood the post-op graduated diet before your surgery? I'm really curious if there is some way to make sure that the right info gets to people before the surgery is they are not surprised afterward by buyer's remorse, the three week stall, etc.

Hang in there, everyone talks a lot about the three week stall...don't get discouraged. I was sleeved on the 29th and I am trying to keep a positive outlook...I lost 15 lbs on the pre-op diet but since the surgery (3 weeks ago), I am down almost 10 lbs. Pre-surgery me never had luck losing 3 pounds a week and keeping it off - so I am trying to focus on that....but it is hard when you read about how weight is flying of people and wondering WTH is going on!!!!! Keep at it