I just have an observation about my journey (short as it might be: I was sleeved on 5/23/16). I had to go through a comprehensive program before I could get a referral to the surgeon. Nutrition classes, support groups, psych eval, exercise classes, smoking cessation lectures, monthly weigh-ins...pretty much the whole shootin' match. I was explicitly instructed on every aspect of the surgery of my choosing. I was given a goal weight to reach and was not to gain ANY weight or I got to go back to the beginning and do it all again. Once I completed all of this "stuff", I would advance to the next phase. I am sure this is no surprise to anyone here by now; it's pretty much the gold standard in weight loss centers of excellence. So here's the part I am finding the most fascinating and INFURIATING: I did it all flawlessly. I sailed through that program and got approved for surgery in three months. Then, I endured my two week pre-op liquid diet like a champ. Never cheated once. I reached my surgery goal weight and all was well! Fast-forward to today. I have done everything by the book...and NOW I can't seem to lose ONE damn pound? Wasn't the surgery supposed to make things happen? Wasn't it supposed to be a great tool that might even make things a little easier? I am so disappointed in myself and the "process". The thing I hate most of all is this: I can't seem to relax and let this happen. I just wake up every morning, still at the same weight, and keep on keepin' on. And I ask myself: What have I done ANY of this for? I am so afraid I will end up the same fat person with the same fat problems, only my insides got rearranged and I went through a lot of sh*t to lose 30 pounds. And then I pray. I pray for success. I pray for patience. I need this to work. Is it going to work?

Disclaimer: I am in no way meaning this to be a pity party, and I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. I just needed to get this off my chest, and maybe hear from someone who also struggled like I am. Nothing more, nothing less. Thanks for listening.

It's going to work:) i understand your frustration at extremely slow weight loss. Hang in there. The pounds will come off. You are going to do great.

Even if you do everything by the letter, you are going to experience stalls and slow downs in weight loss. None of us lose at a constant or steady rate. We all experience stalls. Stalls are a normal, natural, and necessary part of the process of losing a large amount of weight. To me, the key to success is how I respond to inevitable stalls. Will I keep following my program or will I get discouraged and go back to old, bad habits? You get to decide.

Embrace the Stall

http://BariatricPal.com/index.php?/topic/351046-Embrace-the-Stall

I think we have all been there-those feelings! Unless I am reading your profile wrong - haven't you lost 19 pounds since surgery? If so...that is awesome - you may just be in a bit of a stall as your system tries to straighten out - that happened to almost everyone - I went back and checked and I was down 20 lbs 6 weeks out from surgery - where i had a week stall at the same weight (and a weight gain) even when following the program to a t - Now I know there is no way I could gain weight based on what I ate so It had to be Water weight etc -

my recommendation (which you will see in many many posts) put the scale away or use it sparingly the first few months. I am 4 months out so still very new and weigh twice a week - fridays and mondays as i am able to eat more foods and I am exercising more - I want to see what the impact is on my weight in general. I want to make sure now that i am increasing my exercise and increasing my calories because the exercise is making me hhhuuunnngggrrryyyy that it is all still in line. so far so good. And I am sure it will all come in line for you as well -

Countless posts are found here where the poster (me included) was second guessing or worried "if it is working" and by month 3 it is starting to make sense. Good luck to you!

Edited July 8, 201610 yr by goplay94123

Thank you all SO much. You really made me feel better!

Yes, this process can frustrate the heck out of you but I promise if you follow the plan the weight will come off.

Your body just needs a bit of a break once in a while.

I remember when I was 11 months post op and had stalled for the umpteenth time. I posted almost the same thing you just did.

Someone responded with you are probably done at this point. WAIT, I am not ready to be done. That's not possible, did I really go through all of this just to end up short of goal?

Many others reminded me that the further away you get, the slower it goes but stay the course and the weight will come off.

I will say that as time went on I found that I did have to make changes to what I was doing and what I was eating. I learned that I wasn't eating enough and my body went into starvation or, I was eating and exercising the exact same way for a couple of months and my body did not like the repetitive behaviors. Just a small change got things going again.

You will get there given your record for following the plan. You just have to believe it yourself and move forward.

Congratulations on a great start!

Thank you, @@Djmohr!!!

I've been feeling the same way. Two weeks out and 9 stinking pounds. Haven't cheated. Followed every instruction. So upsetting [emoji24]

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Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I think I had it all figured out in my head that since everything went so smoothly for me pre-op, that it would just continue and be magical until I reached goal...Yeah, right. I never expected to do better pre-op than I have post-op. I find it to be very odd, quite honestly. I am so glad I had the surgery, and I still very much see it as a blessing. I was just so unprepared for it to be harder to lose after surgery!!! And I don't care what anybody says, it is very possible to be physically hungry after the sleeve. I am on a PPI which has worked like a charm. I still get hunger pain. I know what it feels like to be physically hungry. I still have head hunger, too, but I know the difference. It's all very strange and wonderful and maddening, LOL.

Fast-forward to today. I have done everything by the book...and NOW I can't seem to lose ONE damn pound? Wasn't the surgery supposed to make things happen? Wasn't it supposed to be a great tool that might even make things a little easier? I am so disappointed in myself and the "process".

You described your problem already very well in your post.

What I mean with this is the following: you already have lost quite a bit of weight as it seems, so you didn't start out at your highest weight ever. Your body already adapted a bit to the lower amount of calories you were eating for quite a bit.

As for WLS "making it easier to lose weight" or "make it happen": well, when it comes to metabolism, you will still experience some of the drop down in metabolism simply because you're weighing less than you used to and so you're experiencing a stall right now that almost everyone seems to experience when losing weight.

Surgery works because you eat less calories than you're used to. Not really a magic wand involved here.

You will continue losing weight, as long as you're eating less calorie than you're using up. It's just a stall that happens after months of being on a diet already. Try to stay off the scales for at least two weeks (or one week if two weeks seem to intimidating).

As a master of driving myself crazy with calories, nutrients, weight, exercise etc. I hold the opinion that relaxing a bit seems to be really doing the trick.

I've been feeling the same way. Two weeks out and 9 stinking pounds. Haven't cheated. Followed every instruction. So upsetting

It's not upsetting, it's normal.

1 kg (about 2.2 lbs) of body fat contains about 7000 kcal of energy or so it's assumed. There are different opinions on this but let's assume 2.2 lbs contain about 7000 kcal of energy you have to burn to lose that fat:

To lose "9 stinking lbs" you'd have to burn approximately 22000 kcal of energy which means a bit less than a 1600 kcal deficit a day.

Thanks for putting it in perspective. It's just hard when everyone else is losing 20-30 in the same time frame. I know we aren't supposed to compare but it's only human.

@taracutch: Don't worry, I have to remind myself of the math behind it over again and again.

I had a huge epiphany this morning. While I feel like I will never lose this weight, I know I will. I lost 2 more pounds, and if that is all I lose in a week or two, it's still pretty good. I don't have to lose every single day to know that I am succeeding. All I have to do is stay on the program, and my body will do the rest! Thanks to all of you for taking the time to give me words of wisdom and support.

I had a huge epiphany this morning. While I feel like I will never lose this weight, I know I will. I lost 2 more pounds, and if that is all I lose in a week or two, it's still pretty good. I don't have to lose every single day to know that I am succeeding. All I have to do is stay on the program, and my body will do the rest! Thanks to all of you for taking the time to give me words of wisdom and support.

Two pounds a week will take you to your goal pretty quickly, though! I have to admit, I am worried about being in your position. Although I didn't have to follow as rigorous a protocol as you did, my surgery has been postponed twice now, so I've done the 2 week liquid only pre-op diet twice: 13 days the first time, 9 the second time my surgery was postponed. I made it a goal to not regain the weight (down 36 pounds since January)while waiting for surgery, so I've been trying to stick to 2 or 3 Protein shakes during the day and a dinner of protein and salad/low carb veggies. Now I'm wondering if I should loosen up a bit and eat a little more- maybe more like Atkins induction- so my body doesn't kick into starvation mode and slow down on the weight loss. I totally understand how you feel about not dropping weight miraculously, like so many others. Just stay on the eating plan, keep exercising, move forward- it's gonna happen!!