I am 3 months post op and have lost 73lbs. The last few weeks I keep losing and gaining the same pound which I am fine with but the past three days I'm up two pounds. Any suggestions? I follow the eating plan. I eat by the clock because I rarely experience hunger. I log EVERYTHING, exercise, and eat my protein goal of 75g. The only issue I have ever had is a struggle to get a full 64 ounces of water in and usually only get in 60. Any suggestions or tips? I know this is only temporary!

I would imagine your body will start loosing again soon, that is a lot to loose in 3 months. Maybe try to change up your exercise routine or add some different foods into your plan to shake things up

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It's most likely muscle or a stall. It happens to all of us. My suggestion, stop stressing about it and try to relax. The stall will break.

Try Focusing on how your body is fitting into your clothing. You are probably losing inches at this point. I barely lose on the scale but I keep going down in sizes.

Example) This month I only lost 1.4lbs but dropped 2 dress sizes. From a 16 down to a 12.

Sounds like me when Aunt Flo comes for a visit. No worries, you're doing great, and this will happen from time to time!

I am not sure what type of surgery you had.

Assuming you had gastric bypass, one thing to do now at this stage is to assess your protein intake. Your daily protein requirement is met by a combination of the amount of protein you obtain from food combined with the amount of protein from protein supplements (protein shakes, protein bars). Right after gastric bypass surgery, the volume of food you consume is minuscule (2 ounces) per meal. But as you get further along, the meal volume increases. Therefore you have a very important option available to you. As a result, you can begin to reduce your reliance on protein shakes. I went from 3 a day, down to 2, down to 1 and eventually none when I reached 1 cup per meal at a year and a half post-op.

This is important because protein shakes contain calories. If you can reduce your caloric intake, then you can end a stall. At least that was the approach that I used and it worked for me.

nikki, if i can make 1 suggestion it would be don't weigh yourself as often going forward. At first that constant weight loss is a real boost but as your body tries to find a stable place and fights you the constant weighing will be a distraction from the more important goal of good overall health. i am 9 weeks post op (GS) and i have switched to weighing only on sunday morning. i had plateaued at 274 for 6 straight days and i could really feel the pressure from those scales and it wasnt helping. i picked up the pace in the gym just a little to get a higher heart rate will working out and finally broke through and have continued down ever so slowly. Your early weight loss is very impressive but it does make the next pounds that much harder so try not to stress and keep doing what you know will work and let it come in due time.

yes - stay off the scale for a few days. If you're following your plan, your stall will break.

Can you "gulp" water yet? How quickly can you drink it? I ask because, I think you need more water (in general). If it were me, I'd get up, and "pound" down 8oz of water as soon as you pee and weigh. Even before coffee. Then mid-morning I would pound down another 8oz. Mid-afternoon do another 8oz. Before bed do 8-oz. That's an extra 32oz over what you are normally drinking. Even if you can only "pound" down 4oz out a time, that extra pint of water will push you more into where you need to be. Don't sip it. Just drink as much as comfortably fits your new anatomy. The rest of the fluid comes from how you already get your 64oz in. My nut said that my 36oz (3-12oz cups of decaff coffee) and 1 glass (12oz) of iced tea count towards my fluid totals. From that, I find my thirst has been reawakened and I drink 4-20oz bottles of water per day.

Can you "gulp" water yet? How quickly can you drink it?

Nope. Cant gulp. Gets filled up immediately if i do that. And then takes a couple, 5 mins to empty. Sips only for me. Is that ever going to be possible to do again?

Just now, Amburmist said:

Nope. Cant gulp. Gets filled up immediately if i do that. And then takes a couple, 5 mins to empty. Sips only for me. Is that ever going to be possible to do again?

Some vets have discussed that "breaking up the surface tension" helps. So things like water drops or dilutions of liquids can help. For instance, use a flavored tea (decaff=celestial seasonings or tazo) and brew it really strong. Then use that concentrate to add an ounce or two to your 12oz of water. Maybe that could help a little bit? Also slicing fruits and cucumbers and adding herbs can adjust the surface tension of the water (like slicing a strawberry and floating it in the water). I've no idea if this trick works, but I do think there is a difference in flavored water for me. I'm not a big sweets person, so a slice of strawberry or a squeeze of citrus fruit works well for my tastes.

Thank you all for taking the time out of your day to help me out. I will try alll of your suggestions. I had the sleeve surgery and I know this is only temporary! But getting off the scale is my first move. Thank you again!!

At first I could only swallow one mouthful at a time. At about 4 weeks I could swallow two. At 6 months I can swallow about 3 moderately-sized mouthfuls (about 3 or 4 oz) before having to wait a bit.

No pounding down for me! But, I can drink a pint of water in about 15 minutes by taking a couple sips every couple minutes.

Took me the better part of a year before I could "pound" water and it's still like 8 oz max at four years out. Breaking up the density or surface tension or whatever it is is a big part for me. Like our tap water is from a well and my whole family loves how it tastes.... but it sits "heavy" in my stomach. Bottled water does not. I also add NUUN electrolytes to mine... started because I run, but I do it when I'm not running too now because it breaks it up and adds a non sweet flavor. The tablets fizz though so wait till they are done before drinking, I learned that the hard way! Yikes!