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What were you expecting to lose? If you're looking for 30+ lbs the first month, that's pretty rare unless you're the size of someone on "My 600 lb Life". For most of us "average" WLS patients, that much loss the first month is pretty unusual. Most of us lose somewhere in the 15-25 lb range. Plus most people don't lose much the first week because of the "gain" from the IV fluids you get in the hospital (which of course is just water) - and then there's the infamous "three-week stall" that many of us experience, where you can go a couple of weeks (usually 1-3) without any loss, because your body is kind of recalibrating after the surgery - so you may be experiencing that as well. you're not going to lose the weight any faster than if you ate the same thing without surgery. With the extreme calorie deficit we have the first few months out, you'd probably lose about the same regardless if you had surgery or not. The difference is, it's much more easy to sustain that deficit with the surgery. Most people probably could not go for months on end eating something like 800 calories. But with the surgery, you can. Your hunger is suppressed, your stomach is tiny, etc. The most I could ever lose before surgery was about 50-60 lbs. With this, I lost over 200, and have kept it off for eight years. No way could I have done that without the surgery.

OHHHH dear one- the conversations we've had today on this forum about stalls!!! I am in one as well. Mine started at...guess when....three weeks!!! Yes, it's referred to around here as the "three week stall." I found a great explanation for it today from one of our seasoned sleevers. Check it out: (This was a post on another thread by "Tiffykins.") This is why you are in a stall. It's normal and expected. Your body will never go into a stall as long as you have body fat to burn: Weight Loss Stall or Plateau A weight loss stall or plateau is an extended period of time during reducing efforts where is there is no weight loss according to the scale and no loss of inches according to the tape measure. This is why it is so important to take your body measurements before surgery, so you'll have a reference as your weight loss progresses post-op. We suggest you take measurements of your chest, waist and hip, neck, upper arm, thigh and calf. Be aware it is very common for your weight loss to "stall" shortly after surgery. Diana explains the reason for this below. The Inevitable Stall By Diana C. A "stall" a few weeks out is inevitable, and here's why. Our bodies use glycogen for short term energy storage. Glycogen is not very soluble, but it is stored in our muscles for quick energy -- one pound of glycogen requires 4 lbs of Water to keep it soluble, and the average glycogen storage capacity is about 2 lbs. So, when you are not getting in enough food, your body turns first to stored glycogen, which is easy to break down for energy. And when you use up 2 lbs of glycogen, you also lose 8 lbs of water that was used to store it -- voila -- the "easy" 10 lbs that most people lose in the first week of a diet. As you stay in caloric deficit, however, your body starts to realize that this is not a short term problem. You start mobilizing fat from your adipose tissue and burning fat for energy. But your body also realizes that fat can't be used for short bursts of energy -- like, to outrun a saber tooth tiger. So, it starts converting some of the fat into glycogen, and rebuilding the glycogen stores. And as it puts back the 2 lbs of glycogen into the muscle, 8 lbs of water has to be stored with it to keep it soluble. So, even though you might still be LOSING energy content to your body, your weight will not go down or you might even GAIN for a while as you retain water to dissolve the glycogen that is being reformed and stored. Breathe, and fuggedaboudit for a few days. What You Can Do About a Stall or Plateau If you are experiencing a post-op weight loss stall or plateau further out there are a few possible causes. First, check that are you really in a stall. If the scale has stopped moving you may be losing inches, so check your measurements. Too Many Carbs? Carbohydrates can start sneaking into your foods without you being aware of how quickly they are adding up. For more information on carbs, see our section onCarbohydrates. If you are struggling with your weight loss you may want to examine your daily carb count. You can try to keep your carbs under 50g a day and see if that makes a difference in your weight loss. Do not eat carbs before bedtime as it triggers insulin and initiates fat storage. There are some great web site resources you can use to keep track of what you are eating.

Yes. It's normal. Do a search for the "three week stall." Sent from my SM-G925V using the BariatricPal App

look up "three week stall". Almost everyone gets it, and it's not *always* at exactly the three-week mark. Sometimes it's the second week, sometimes fourth or fifth. But always shortly after surgery. Mine lasted two weeks - weeks 2 and 3. Then I dropped like 6 or 8 lbs the fourth week.

Hello there! Thank you and Congratulations on your surgery date! You are going to be sooo happy!! I remember pre-op, I was on the liquid diet for 7 days, and it was hard at first, but by day 5 I was getting excited that my surgery was almost here and wasn't hungry any more. I am doing really well post-op - thank goodness. I am a little sore now and then, or if I move too quick in an odd position then I feel a little pinch, but other then that I am good. I am waiting to see if I experience the dreaded three week stall, but the truth I am not really dreading it if I do. I already feel so much better, and have lost 32 lbs in the last 26 days, that if I have to wait a minute for my body to catch up, then it's worth it. Are you excited? Are you nervous? Temecula is really nice - Wine Country!!

Our bodies are complex systems, not simple machines. @@Babbs has a great explanation of the technical/biological reason for the three week stall.

You lost 36 lbs in a month? And you think that is slow? That is 15% of your entire body weight lost in one month. That isn't slow, that isn't even average, that is actually a very big loss. A stall is common around 3 weeks post op. Do a search and you will find literally 100s of threads on the "Three Week Stall". The weight loss has not stopped, it has just stalled so your body can adjust to this new and prolonged calorie deficit. You have probably even noticed that while you haven't lost but a few pounds during this stall that you seem to still be losing inches and size. Your calories/protein/carbs look to be on point for this stage.... keep doing what you have been doing and the loss will resume! Your results are already great and show that this is working for you.

My (on-time) three-week stall just broke this morning (I dropped 1.4 pounds). After consulting my daily weight chart (yeah, I'm obsessive like that), I see that it lasted 6 days. No biggie. I was ready for it. And knowing it was a common phenomenon, I was so unbothered by it. BTW, I'm very sure Cowgirljane's comment above is the important one to heed.

I am wondering and I bet a few others might be too but.... I have seen it common for a rather large group of us to experience the "three week stall" (right after surgery) - but are there any other common stall times that commonly occur during the post sleeve journey?

https://www.bariatricpal.com/search/?q=three week stall You are not alone:) This, too, shall pass:)

The dreaded three week stall. Just stick to your plan. My three week stall lasted a frustrating three weeks, but many only stall for a few days to a week. It’s completely normal and you are doing the right thing by focusing on inches! 😀

Having not lost weight for nearly two weeks after surgery, I was starting to stress even thought I had heard of the three week stall. I then read this article and discussed it with my husband who's a meat science who confirmed its accuracy. A breath of relief and kept doing what I was supposed to and weight started dropping quickly again. Thought I'd share if someone else was experience and wondering what was going on. Here's the link: The article I read

almost everyone has their first stall within the first month after surgery. In fact, we call it "the three week stall", because it often (but not always) happens during week 3. If you search for it, you'll find tons of posts about it. Just stick to your program and it will break. i stalled weeks 2 and 3 and it finally broke during week 4. Then I dropped like 6-8 lbs within a couple of days.

We were at the same starting weight too give or take 10lbs (I WAS HEAVIER!) Surgery was 1/21. I had a very rough recovery, had the notorious three week stall which lasted 3 WEEKS, and have been feeling like my progress is NOT where it should be. I hardly ate or drank anything after surgery for at least a month. I had Water nausea & everything. Puree phase was the worst...I just could NOT eat and the sight of Protein shakes made me heave. She, on the other hand, had a super easy recovery and lost almost 20lbs more than me at this stage (her surgery was in Aug & 8 weeks later she was down 50) I just started tracking food- right now I'm having about 800-900 calories most days & I just started back to doing vigorous exercise this last two weeks. Tuesday I did a 63 minute spin class and ate 1500 calories that day. I felt that was WAY too much. I don't even like going over 1000 calories but according to FitnessPal, those 63 minutes burned off 1100 calories... Anyway, I've done over 190 minutes of exercise this week and lost only 2 friggin pounds. She's 10-12 years older than I am too. I''ve been teary all morning since weighing in. I don't know if this was really worth it. I could have struggled like this WITHOUT spending $7000 of my money on this effing surgery.

Oh, honey. You've just gone through another major operation! That's big stuff! You don't want to be beating yourself up so soon! Your body is probably saying 'what in the world?!' 'I'm hanging onto my calories, thank you very much!' Sounds like the common three week stall. Just keep doing what you know to be right and all will be well. One thing I will say - is food 'passing through' okay? As long as it is and you 'feel okay'.. Hang on in there. If, by another 4 weeks, things haven't 'levelled out', go back to your quack and have a chat. Hang in there, honey. It's too soon to be down and you'll be rocking your sleeve in no time. It's probably just your body's way of saying 'I'm grumpy, I've been fannied about with again.. Leave me alone!'

Almost everyone hits a stall at the third week. It doesn't matter what you eat (unless you are eating milkshakes and french fries or something awful and need to fix it). That said, my doctor prescribed a maximum of 60 g carbs and a minimum of 75 g protein while on purees. I also ate a lot of eggs, protein shakes, and refried beans. Other things I ate: Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and various white meats pureed with different sauces, such as: sweet & spicy tuna (the kind that comes in a pouch) pureed with sriracha sauce hickory smoked tuna pureed with low cal bbq sauce lemon dill salmon pureed with olive oil mayo chicken pureed with marinara sauce, then heated up with melted mozzarella cheese turkey pureed with peanut satay sauce I was limited to 3 tablespoons of food per meal, 3 meals per day, no snacks (other than liquids/protein shakes). All of that said . . . the three week stall is completely normal and it doesn't mean you are doing anything wrong with your eating! I promise!

The stalls SUCK! Just got out of a three week stall myself, and nothing anyone said really made me feel better

The three week stall is so common. I am sure there are threads on this forum and others devoted to nothing else. I did not have it (and I was expecting to), but based on what I have seen, I might be in the minority. Folks say to simply stay on track with your program and it will break. You are so early post-op it is not anything anything you did or didn't do. It is your body adjusting.

I too am a slow loser, but so far I have lost consistently each week with the exception of the famous three week stall that lasted 3.5 weeks. My surgery was 12-28-11, I have lost 29 lbs since my surgery and that includes the pre- liquid diet. Most people think I've lost much more. So far the skin is pretty good considering I'm and old lady. I have always been a slow loser, have less than some to lose and have age against. It came on slow, so I will be patient. I see huge life changes already. At to months I was afraid my Dr would be upset, she was elated, also counted the weight I lost prior to surgery and thought percentage wise I was ahead of schedule. I had feared her reaction and she actually made me feel so successful. Keep up the good work!

almost everyone has their first stall within 4-6 weeks after surgery. We call it "the three week stall", even though it's not always on the third week post-op. But do a search for it - you'll find thousands of threads on it. It happens to almost everybody.

This is something with a two part answer. The first is that, on average, we will be slowing down continually as we lose, simply because it takes fewer calories to move ourselves around all day at 300 lb as it did at 400 lb, and even fewer at 200 lb, etc. We will likely see stair steps, and some weeks or months will be lower or higher than others, but the overall trend is declining. The second part is that we will usually experience a big drop the first couple of weeks or so (and then typically get the dreaded "three week stall") and the proceed lower at a somewhat reduced rate. This is because our initial loss it mostly water weight associated with burning off our short term energy reserves of glycogen (basically stored carbohydrate) which gives us the "easy ten" lb that we typically lose when we start seriously dieting. After the glycogen is used up, we start to draw from our fat reserves, though there is often a pause or stall as the body changes gears.