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Breaking the 3 week stall!



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I had surgery on 12/12/19 and I dropped 20lbs right away, then another 3 over the 3rd week. But I've been stalled for over a week and a half. I decided to stay consistent with my Protein, meet my Water goals and stay on top of my Vitamins. After a couple days of this, I dropped 3lbs over night!! I know it's a small victory but after having surgery being stalled so long is worrisome. Anyone else go through this?

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pretty much everybody does. Not all, but a vast, vast majority.

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Yay!!! Congrats. Doesn't it feel fabulous?!! Work the plan, the plan works for you!!! :)

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I guess I'm more surprised I'm so close to my surgery date and and almost a 2 week stall seems a lot. Anyways, I am feeling good now to see the scale move. The first 20lbs just dropped like nothing. Hopefully i'll see that happen again lol. I know there will be stalls and a lot of people have them. I think it's the first one right after surgery that seems scary..like did I do this for nothing 🤣

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I read a lot of threads that seemed to have a variation of stall somewhere between 2-6 weeks post op. We just completely changed the physiology of our body’s digestive system so our body is trying to avert crisis while rebooting to our new normal.

It can be really disheartening to not lose anything for a week or two right after surgery but stay diligent, drink the Water and get the Protein that you’re body needs to heal!

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17 minutes ago, jlb8080 said:

I guess I'm more surprised I'm so close to my surgery date and and almost a 2 week stall seems a lot. Anyways, I am feeling good now to see the scale move. The first 20lbs just dropped like nothing. Hopefully i'll see that happen again lol. I know there will be stalls and a lot of people have them. I think it's the first one right after surgery that seems scary..like did I do this for nothing 🤣

it seems like the infamous "three-week stall" (doesn't always happen the third week, though - sometimes it's a little earlier or later) usually lasts a week or two. I know one woman whose first stall lasted 3.5 weeks. UGH! Mine lasted two weeks. Once the weight loss started up again during week four, I dropped like 6-8 lbs within a couple of days.

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I'd never heard about the "three-week stall" in my pre-op classes so I absolutely freaked when the weight loss stopped during weeks 2 and 3 post-op. I thought I was going to be the first person on the planet whose weight loss surgery wouldn't work. Thank God for internet forums like this one - I found a gazillion postings on here about it. I've been volunteering with the pre-op classes for the last three years at my clinic. Trust me, I tell every group about the three week stall!

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@catwoman7 It's def something good to know beforehand. I was stuck in the stall and researching it but it's not the same as knowing before. And then you still second guess the surgery. I think it's a lot of mental stuff in the beginning like you said. Everyone is like Oh what if i'm the only one it doesn't work for. And then wanting to rush through the weightloss just to get where you are eventually going to be. I hate being in limbo with stuff and this is one big limbo journey lol

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Mine was at three weeks, also. It freaked me out, but I was still turning a ketostix purple so I know I was still burning fat even though the scale wasn't budging. I always say you shouldn't weigh daily, but when you get stuck like that you want to jump on the scale hoping "Is today the day the stall breaks?"

So if you can stand not knowing you are better off weighing weekly.

Edited by JRT Mom

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The key is to follow the guidelines to the letter don't try to experiment with food too early :)

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I am beginning the fourth week of my three week stall. I am six weeks post op, and while I know the stall will eventually break, it is really discouraging while it's going on. It's helpful to read about other people's experiences, and to know I'm not doing anything wrong - it's my body fighting back....I mean, adjusting. 🙂

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I've been on this journey nearly 5 months and I've had maybe 1 week of no weight loss so I must be doing something right....

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6 hours ago, Superman84 said:

I've been on this journey nearly 5 months and I've had maybe 1 week of no weight loss so I must be doing something right....

no, you're just an exception. And lucky.

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And down another couple pounds today!! Good to see what they say is true.. when it breaks you start dropping quick!! ☺️ thank goodness lol

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    • LeighaTR

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    • Doughgurl

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      1. Selina333

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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