So here I am in the midst of a 3 week stall. I eat much less than I used to, and certainly at enough of a deficit that the weight should be falling off week after week. I know this is normal, and I know it will pass. But it has got me thinking about how I felt in the past.

In the past, when I ate like this (bird-like, half portions, healthy choices) it was sheer misery. I'd count the minutes to my next meal or snack and fixate on the empty gnawing of my stomach. Then I would see the scale just SIT. STILL. No changes, no loss, nothing different, and then I would completely give up. Get in the car, drive to McDonalds, and get a 2 cheeseburger meal supersized with a coke and a chocolate shake for dessert.

I am ever so grateful for my lap band because not only is that type of binge absolutely out of the question, I don't feel miserable It's quite peaceful, really. Even though my loss is stalled it doesn't mean it's the end. It doesn't mean I've failed and it doesn't mean I have to go back to my old ways because it's useless living a life a deprivation with no results.

As much as I'd love to see the numbers fall on my scale, at least I know it will pass and I'll get through it, and I don't have to suffer from the white-knuckled denial I used to experience.

Just an observation. WLS is truly a game-changer.

I agree. This has been one of the biggest revelations for me after surgery. This and how important Protein is to weight loss.

Embrace the Stall

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

@@Inner Surfer Girl you'll appreciate this. I had a great first hand experience this morning.....I've sort of been bouncing around the same weight now for the last 5 days....not in my opinion a real stall, but my surgery was just 5/16 and since surgery I've lost "something" most everyday. so we can just call it a mini stall...............It just so happened that I just updated all my measurements on 7/18, just three days ago......So this morning I figured I'd just spot check a few measurements and in just three days I've lost a whole inch from my waist, another inch from my hips, and a half inch from each of my thighs!!! 3 days!! wow! I'll take that any day!!

@@Inner Surfer Girl you'll appreciate this. I had a great first hand experience this morning.....I've sort of been bouncing around the same weight now for the last 5 days....not in my opinion a real stall, but my surgery was just 5/16 and since surgery I've lost "something" most everyday. so we can just call it a mini stall...............It just so happened that I just updated all my measurements on 7/18, just three days ago......So this morning I figured I'd just spot check a few measurements and in just three days I've lost a whole inch from my waist, another inch from my hips, and a half inch from each of my thighs!!! 3 days!! wow! I'll take that any day!!

Awesome!

@@needtorecover Good job! Yeah before surgery I would have quit in a stall, now there is no option to quit and eating right is easy to do.

Is your weight current?

I know, right! I have learned so much about the whole fat loss process since my surgery. I wish I had known some of this stuff 10 years ago, but when we know better we do better. so that's where I'm at now.

This. Exactly this. You see people on this board struggling everyday with stalls. How many of those people would make it through without their band/sleeve/RNY? Almost none of us. I never would have. Looking back, that is always when I would quit. Quitting is no longer an option, so losing becomes so much simpler.

Now maintenance, that's a different story. I'm not there yet, but I worry.