Hi all. Today I'm exactly 3 weeks post op. I lost 28 lbs pre-op but I've only lost 12 lbs since surgery; not to mention the scale keeps going up one lb, then down 1. I'm so frustrated!!! I've been reading post after post where people are losing 25 to 30 lbs the first month post op, and here I am with 12. The scale has not moved in a week. Should I be concerned? Also, I am on stage 2 of mushies, and I can eat almost a whole (small) chili from Wendy's. It takes me at least 30 minutes, but I can almost eat the whole thing; and I seem to be hungry quite often. Talk about bummed!!!!!! Has anyone else experienced anything similar to this at all?

Anna,

OMG you are doing soooo well! I just noticed your BMI and total wt loss...you are almost at the century mark!! Sooo cool! I'm very excited for you! Looking foward to joining you there!

GG

Good for you! A wise decision I think! It will be tough though to be disciplined to stay OFF the scale. I know for myself, I have gotten into the every morning habit. In the beginning when you lose a lb a day, it gets so encouraging and that motivation is addictive. Then it lets you down so badly when the lb/day stops, or worse, retreats the other direction! But we all need to remember that Water weight fluctuations and the addition of muscle all mess with the scale (and with our minds!)

I have been doing the 1 down, 1 up, then 2 down, after a couple of iterations of the fluctuation. Kinda drives me nuts. I am doing great on the food intake, not eating the wrong things, getting my fluids in. But I just cannot stay off the freaking scale.

I think I have this irrational fear that if I don't look I might get gain and it will get away from me and I will end up like I did before, very overweight and out of control. Anybody else feel like this?

GG

One week after my surgery I lost 20lbs and I thought this was going to be a breeze...then I hit a stall. I thought I was the only person who wasn't loosing weight after surgery! I cried myself to sleep a couple of times. My scale did not budge the second week, the third week, and then in the 4th week I lost 5 more lbs. I am now in my 6th week and I have not lost any more weight. Reading everyone's stories really helps a lot. I have decided to really pay attention to what I am eating, and then just let nature take it's course. If I eat the right things and exercise the weight will eventually come off (I sure hope!) So, I am going to set my sights for the one year mark and not agonize over the in between patterns of loss.

Absolutely! I cannot stay away from the scale. My Doctor told me to just weigh myself once a week. Right! I weigh myself twice a day. Morning and night. Plus, I fear that if I weigh myself just once a week I will catch myself on one of those days where my weight is up and become even more discouraged! So, I keep weighing myself, but I try to not take the numbers to heart. It sounds like you are doing all of the right things, eating what you are supposed to...I am sure you will do great. I can't wait to see how we are all doing 6 months from now!:thumbup:

Ditto Kiddo. I am with you in thinking this would be breeze. Watching and reading everyone's wt seemingly just melting off gives one a false sense...

But, on the other hand, in many ways, it has been a breeze. I cannot cheat. I cannot overeat. Even if I want to. And, the fact that this is a permanent solution to a permanent problem gives me incredible mental strength that I cannot explain to anyone who hasn't gone through this. I have seen people hit goal in 6 months. As a heavyweight starting out, I know this isn't going to happen for me, but I know that I will get excellent results in 6 months just the same. Considering in less than 6 months I have already lost 71 (due to the 40 pre-op while waiting for my surgeon). and only 31 of that has been post op (6 weeks yesterday) I really cannot complain. I believe by Christmas I will lose another 50 which will put me down 120 and that's about the same as lighter weights getting to goal. Christmas will be 4.5 months post op. So that is a good case for celebration! I am so happy with my sleeve. I plan to work it a full year and hope to get within spitting distance of 150 lbs. When that happens, I will be down 230# from my heaviest wt (March 2010). Of course, my short term goals are much smaller as the 230 number is just too overwhelming to think about by itself.

But the part that really gives me the giggles is knowing that this time I can prevent the wt from returning. Because, there's no way I will ever be able to eat the quantity of food I ate before. Never. It's just not possible. And that is sooo liberating.

GG

You have done an outstanding job! Especially with the loss you had PreOp. That shows the determination you had when you went into this! We must have had our surgery about the same time. I had mine on August 18. I did not lose any weight PreOpt, but I must admit I did not try that hard. I have lost 25lbs since my surgery. But, like you, I feel an inner strength that I could never find before. And when I dieted before, the hunger would become so overwhelming that I couldn't think of anything but food. Then every weekend I would give up. Now I can go out to eat, have a taste and feel as satisfied as I would with a whole meal before. This is the best solution I have found and the encouragement keeps me going. The success stories give me faith.:thumbup:

I was August 12th, Dr. Aceves in Mexicali (awesome surgeon, btw). In some of my prior threads, I told of how I gained lost and regained 250 twice over the last 30 years. I could always lose a lot of wt. But I couldn't keep it off once the "diets" ended. And each time regained with a 30% bonus. I knew the yoyo was killing me and I had to do something drastic. I have never, not for 5 mins regretted my decision. Best thing I ever did for myself.

GG

Totally normal. My advice that I had to learn the hard way is two things:

1. Don't compare yourself to ANYONE! I used to compulsively look at Daisy and Tiffykins tickers over time and be annoyed that my pace wasn't as quickly as theirs.

2. Be nice to yourself. Be patient to yourself. If someone you loved had the surgery you had and was having the experiences you are having how would you treat them? You deserve the same kindnesses and patience.

Go you!!!!

Anna

I totally agree with wannalise here. . . don't compare yourself to others weight loss. . . my loss may be different then yours, or Tiffy's, or wannalise. . .but then i might be taller (of course which woman is 6 feet tall) have had more of a BMI or even more fat loss then someone else. . .the other thing hon is TOSS THE DAMN SCALE!!!!!!!:thumbup::w00t: you wouldn't know it but that stupid thing sabatoges your progress. . . in the beginning i only weighed myself once per month and then only at the doctors office. . now at 9 months out i weigh myself maybe ever 2 weeks if that. . . i'd drive myself absolutely nuts if i became a slave to that mechanical piece of fecal matter! Good luck!

What a great thread, I too am stalled Today is day 15 for me and I lost 21 pounds which is good, but I lost that the first 10 days! It seemed like the stall happened when I started to introduce mushies so not sure if its the different types of foods. I pretty much only eat protein, my meal plan:

Breakfast I have a string cheese 9g,

mid morning snack protein shake 30g,

lunch (one of the following) 1/4 cottage cheese or greek yogurt, ground roasted chicken, or baby food turkey.

I get my water in so I'm not sure whats happening, I understand its normal but I never thought it would happen so soon. Does anyone find anything wrong with my meal plan?

I'll just hang in there, and hope for the best! Good luck everyone!!

Edited September 24, 201015 yr by determined1

Wow this thread really hit home with me. I'm almost 4 weeks out and stalled at 214. But I knew this was coming so I'm not sad or worried at all. I also think that I may need to eat more. I have not eaten 800 in a day yet. By now I should be. So I think that may a part of my problem. That's really backwards for me. So over the next few days I'm going to try to get to

800 calories and walk a little more. Everything will be ok guys. Just know that we are better off now than we were before.

This thread is so helpful because I am 5 weeks post op in what I will call my second stall. The first one was at 3 weeks. I've heard that an official stall is 14+ days but seeing the scale move every day right after surgery was quite fun! I thrive on results but I think I might try to weigh only once a week and see if I can stop stressing over the numbers. This will be a challenge for me!

I find it helpful to take measurements once a week. Yesterday even though the darn scale didn't move, I still lost 3 1/2 inches. So I am shrinking! :thumbup1:

It's funny how everyone's experiences are so different but yet the same in many ways. It's comforting to find that others are going through some of the same challenges.

Just my quick reponse to this thread. I'm 3.5 weeks out from surgery now - and had been losing almost an average of 1lb/day for a couple of weeks. I think I've hit the stall now, though. Super frustrating because I bounced off that "magic " 300lb mark and have been between 300 and 302 for 4 or 5 days now. Can't wait to see a "2" on the scale again!!

So, what is the "average" stall duration? Am I correct in that it's called the 3 week stall? Is that because it happens at week 3, or because it lasts for 3 weeks? I know we're all different, but there's nothing in my weight loss "bible" that talks about this.

Thanks all!

I'll bet your body is trying to conserve. Take another shake later in the evening. Sometimes when you add Protein calories your body doesn't try to hoard so much.

I hit my stall at 5 weeks. Lasted a week and the scale started moving again at week 6. I have now lost 32 since surgery, and 40 in the 4 months before surgery. I can't wait to hit the century mark, but really what excites me is that 9 more lbs I will cross into Twoderville for the first time in about 9 years. That really tickles me.

Keep it up. Keep drinking your Fluid. Add some calories and see what happens. Funny thing, I also noticed the scale doesn't move on days that I didn't get adequate sleep the night before....weird...but it's true.

GG

What a great thread, I too am stalled :scared0: Today is day 15 for me and I lost 21 pounds which is good, but I lost that the first 10 days! It seemed like the stall happened when I started to introduce mushies so not sure if its the different types of foods. I pretty much only eat protein, my meal plan:

Breakfast I have a string cheese 9g,

mid morning snack protein shake 30g,

lunch (one of the following) 1/4 cottage cheese or greek yogurt, ground roasted chicken, or baby food turkey.

I get my Water in so I'm not sure whats happening, I understand its normal but I never thought it would happen so soon. Does anyone find anything wrong with my meal plan?

I'll just hang in there, and hope for the best! Good luck everyone!!

But, on the other hand, in many ways, it has been a breeze. I cannot cheat. I cannot overeat. Even if I want to. And, the fact that this is a permanent solution to a permanent problem gives me incredible mental strength that I cannot explain to anyone who hasn't gone through this...

But the part that really gives me the giggles is knowing that this time I can prevent the wt from returning. Because, there's no way I will ever be able to eat the quantity of food I ate before. Never. It's just not possible. And that is sooo liberating.

GG

GG I just wanted to mention this is an excellent post! I completely agree, and even though I sit here and wonder for a split second WTH I did to myself I am quickly reminded that had I not done it - I would still be gaining, etc.

I needed something that wasn't so easily cheated. I have an eating problem and I will try to get as much in as I can. This will only allow me a tiny bit - any more and I will regret it. I won't have any room for garbage food either so I'll be eating food that will nourish my body.

I already love my sleeve!

My stall should be coming soon and yes, I'm positive its going to be because I'm adding more solid foods and more calories to my diet. There is no way it will last that long because the fact is, calories in will be less than calories out. But just more than I was doing on all clears, so it will take me longer to lose that full pound.

There are other factors that go into it too, such as Water retention (even eating slightly too much sodium can do this to us), menstrual retention for the ladies, adding strength training to the workout (muscle mass), infrequent bowels, etc. Just a few thoughts that might be the culprit.

:scared0:

Everyone goes through stalls at different times - your body's gotta do what it's gotta do - so try not to worry! Just keep doing your thing! As far as the small chili.... I hate to tell you this but I can't finish it at 4 months post-op. I wouldn't be concerned though - I think the answer to that is that you are taking 30 mins to finish it. I was told to finish my meals by 15 mins max. If you wait longer, you begin to digest, and therefore can fit more in. Try stopping at 15 mins. It's ok to get hungry more often, I eat every 2-3 hours, 5-6 times a day usually, and that's what my surgeon recommended. I don't know if any of this helps, just thought I'd throw it out there!

Everyone goes through stalls at different times - your body's gotta do what it's gotta do - so try not to worry! Just keep doing your thing! As far as the small chili.... I hate to tell you this but I can't finish it at 4 months post-op. I wouldn't be concerned though - I think the answer to that is that you are taking 30 mins to finish it. I was told to finish my meals by 15 mins max. If you wait longer, you begin to digest, and therefore can fit more in. Try stopping at 15 mins. It's ok to get hungry more often, I eat every 2-3 hours, 5-6 times a day usually, and that's what my surgeon recommended. I don't know if any of this helps, just thought I'd throw it out there!

Christie, thanks that is really valuable info. Once I start hitting my solids or foods with more calories and substance I'll stick to that rule too.