Is it normal to stall two weeks out? Also, I'm having a hard time with liquids and Protein. Frustrated!

J. King

Very normal to have periods of stalls, and it is also very normal to have trouble with meeting your Protein goals at 2-weeks out. My nutritionist advised to concentrate on making my goals in this order: hydration, protein, and then Vitamins. In other words, if you need to skip a little protein to make sure you are getting hydrated, you should do that first. It's going to be very tough for you to approach your protein goals until you are back onto solids -- and even then, it requires work to always make sure you're eating your protein first.

One thing that has helped me through stalls, by the way, is recognizing that whether I am losing at the moment or not, it's not like I could go back to my old ways and start eating pizza. Because we can eat so little, we have to make sure we're meeting our protein goals. So, I just focus on making sure I'm doing that and realizing that what is happening with my weight doesn't change what I need to be doing.

A "stall" a few weeks after surgery is not uncommon, 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 a patient is not getting in enough food, the body turns first to stored glycogen, which is easy to break down for energy. Then when 2 lbs. of glycogen is used a patient will 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.

However, when the body stays in a caloric deficit state the body starts to realize that this is not a short-term problem. Then the body starts mobilizing fat from adipose tissue and burning fat for energy. But the body also realizes that fat can't be used for short bursts of energy. So, it starts converting some of the fat into glycogen, and rebuilding the glycogen stores. 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 the patient might still be losing energy content to their body, the weight will not go down or it might even gain for a while as the retention of water dissolves the glycogen that is being reformed and stored.

What You Can Do About a Stall or Plateau

If a patient is 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.