I’m wondering what causes weight loss stalls for everybody at any stage of this journey. I’m just in my pre-op phase and am trying to drop lbs. prior to surgery. For example, if I drink protein shakes and have that “healthy snack” in between meals, I will not lose any weight!

Im not stalling yet but i dont have any snacks just three meals a day. Does your program allow them?

On 09/17/2020 at 03:15, tarotcardreader said:

Im not stalling yet but i dont have any Snacks just three meals a day. Does your program allow them?

Yes. My dietician said to have a healthy snack in between meals. Also, she gave me a calorie limit of 1200 to 1500 calories per day. I laughed, of course. I asked if she would please cut my calories back since there was no way I could lose any weight on such a high calorie count. She gave me between 800 and 1200 but I actually eat less than 800 ( and mostly protein by means of FOOD - no shakes!)

Stalls are just part of the weight loss process. There is nothing anyone does that causes them, and therefore there is nothing that can be done to prevent them.

On 09/17/2020 at 03:41, sillykitty said:

Stalls are just part of the weight loss process. There is nothing anyone does that causes them, and therefore there is nothing that can be done to prevent them.

Yes, but is there anything that helps you get past it?

1 minute ago, Kaki68 said:

Yes, but is there anything that helps you get past it?

Lots of people will give anecdotal evidence, add calories, reduce calories, drink more water etc., but IME the only thinkg that breaks a stall is time.

I have seen people on this board been driven crazy by stalls. My advice is just to accept them. And trust that if you follow your program and have a significant calorie deficit, in the mid to long term the weight will come off. There is always a lag and stops and start with weight loss. So that's why it is important to take a longer term view point. There will be times that you will be perfectly on program and stall, or you will get a little off track and lose. The cause and effect of weight loss isn't immediate.

Today at my appointment w/my surgeon --- I asked my surgeon if there was anything I could do to kickstart weight loss again since I am in an almost three week stall... and he said there is nothing to be done during a stall. He said just wait it out and I will start losing again in time. ? It is so frustrating!

I upped my exercise routine hardcore about a week and a half ago... I was on the stationary bike for 1 hour and 10 minutes... and then I went on the treadmill for 30 minutes tonight... 13 miles altogether.. . I am still pushing myself to try to jump start the weight loss again.. Who knows if it will work? But I have been sleeping better at night and feeling more energetic during the day, so it is still beneficial..

Anyway, I have heard people had success intermittent fasting.

Edited September 17, 20205 yr by Lanie992

39 minutes ago, Lanie992 said:

Anyway, I have heard people had success intermittent fasting.

Malabsorbative surgeries such as Gastric Bypass and Duodenal Switch/Loop Duodenal Switch CANNOT intermittent fast! My surgeon said intermittent fasting with a malabsorbative surgery increased the risk of malnutrition so unless someone wants to risk hospital time and put their very LIFE at risk to lose a little extra weight do NOT do that!

Edited September 17, 20205 yr by NovaLuna

3 hours ago, sillykitty said:

Lots of people will give anecdotal evidence, add calories, reduce calories, drink more Water etc., but IME the only thinkg that breaks a stall is time.

I have seen people on this board been driven crazy by stalls. My advice is just to accept them. And trust that if you follow your program and have a significant calorie deficit, in the mid to long term the weight will come off. There is always a lag and stops and start with weight loss. So that's why it is important to take a longer term view point. There will be times that you will be perfectly on program and stall, or you will get a little off track and lose. The cause and effect of weight loss isn't immediate.

3 hours ago, MsMocie said:

Yes, the thing most people lack: patience.

1000x yes to both of these answers. You just stick to your plan and stay off the scale if you have to. Know that it's going to last 1-2 weeks (and some - esp later on in the process - may last longer), but the weight loss WILL start up again. It's all a normal part of the journey. I think your body just has to stop and recalibrate every once in awhile...

I've always thought stalls were my body's way of catching up.... When i had a stall... i would go back and look at what i was eating or Not eating..... Doing or Not doing. I would then make adjustments

Some think.... i'll snack on nuts... well they are good for you, but when you eat a large bag of them a day... NOT good.

Make sure you are logging your food, water and exercise.

Remember to take pictures and measurements.... sometimes we think we are at a stall, but our measurements reflect differently.

2 hours ago, MsMocie said:

Why? IMF is just eating your food at a shorter time table. I want to see some sources on this, as the only downside I can see for bariatric patients is either bigger meals in the eating period, or many meals in the eating period.

We all fast each night. If this were a thruth all of us need to get up during the night to eat.

During our pre-op nutrition class the surgeon discussed why intermittent fasting was dangerous for malabsobative patients. They told us about several patients who had done it against their advice and a few even died. I know a guy who had the same surgery as me as he's in my nutrition class and he was hospitalized and almost DIED because he was trying up his weight loss with intermittent fasting. They had to take away the DS part of his surgery so he now just has the sleeve portion. He ALSO told me not to intermittent fast unless I wanted to end up like he had. Every doctor has a different opinion but I'm trusting my surgeons judgement with his own patients experience and also the person I KNOW who went through it!

And yeah, most do fast in a way through the night, but on average I sleep 6-8 hours MAX. My stomach wakes me up by growling REALLY loudly. Fasting for 16 hours is not only crazy but irresponsible when the amount of nutrition you get in a day is already painfully low. It's common sense!

35 minutes ago, NovaLuna said:

During our pre-op nutrition class the surgeon discussed why intermittent fasting was dangerous for malabsobative patients. They told us about several patients who had done it against their advice and a few even died. I know a guy who had the same surgery as me as he's in my nutrition class and he was hospitalized and almost DIED because he was trying up his weight loss with intermittent fasting. They had to take away the DS part of his surgery so he now just has the sleeve portion. He ALSO told me not to intermittent fast unless I wanted to end up like he had. Every doctor has a different opinion but I'm trusting my surgeons judgement with his own patients experience and also the person I KNOW who went through it!

And yeah, most do fast in a way through the night, but on average I sleep 6-8 hours MAX. My stomach wakes me up by growling REALLY loudly. Fasting for 16 hours is not only crazy but irresponsible when the amount of nutrition you get in a day is already painfully low. It's common sense!

it probably depends on the type of intermittent fasting (IF) they're talking about and how far out they are from surgery. I know some vets who do it - but they do the kind where they don't start eating until 10:00 a.m. and then stop eating at 6:00 p.m. That might be fine for people who are out a ways (but definitely not newer post-ops). The kinds of IF where people fast for a whole day or two at a time is probably a different story.

4 hours ago, NovaLuna said:

Malabsorbative surgeries such as Gastric Bypass and Duodenal Switch/Loop Duodenal Switch CANNOT intermittent fast! My surgeon said intermittent fasting with a malabsorbative surgery increased the risk of malnutrition so unless someone wants to risk hospital time and put their very LIFE at risk to lose a little extra weight do NOT do that!

Okay. But the original poster's bio on the left side says she had GASTRIC SLEEVE, not Loop Duodenal Switch or Gastric Bypass. I was going off of the profile info. Also this thread is under the SLEEVE forum..

If she has posted elsewhere she had gastric bypass & loop duodenal switch, then I missed it.

Edited September 17, 20205 yr by Lanie992

5 hours ago, MsMocie said:

Why? IMF is just eating your food at a shorter time table. I want to see some sources on this, as the only downside I can see for bariatric patients is either bigger meals in the eating period, or many meals in the eating period.

We all fast each night. If this were a thruth all of us need to get up during the night to eat.

Not to mention, most -- if not all-- of us had to be on a clear liquid diet for a MINIMUM of one week.

I doubt only eating in a 10 hour period each day is more risky than not eating AT ALL for 7+ days...

Edited September 17, 20205 yr by Lanie992

6 hours ago, NovaLuna said:

Malabsorbative surgeries such as Gastric Bypass and Duodenal Switch/Loop Duodenal Switch CANNOT intermittent fast! My surgeon said intermittent fasting with a malabsorbative surgery increased the risk of malnutrition so unless someone wants to risk hospital time and put their very LIFE at risk to lose a little extra weight do NOT do that!

2 hours ago, NovaLuna said:

During our pre-op nutrition class the surgeon discussed why intermittent fasting was dangerous for malabsobative patients. They told us about several patients who had done it against their advice and a few even died. I know a guy who had the same surgery as me as he's in my nutrition class and he was hospitalized and almost DIED because he was trying up his weight loss with intermittent fasting. They had to take away the DS part of his surgery so he now just has the sleeve portion. He ALSO told me not to intermittent fast unless I wanted to end up like he had. Every doctor has a different opinion but I'm trusting my surgeons judgement with his own patients experience and also the person I KNOW who went through it!

And yeah, most do fast in a way through the night, but on average I sleep 6-8 hours MAX. My stomach wakes me up by growling REALLY loudly. Fasting for 16 hours is not only crazy but irresponsible when the amount of nutrition you get in a day is already painfully low. It's common sense!

Early post op, when getting adequate nutrition is a challenge, it's common sense that intermittent fasting is ill advised. But once one is at or near maintenance, many RNY patients on this board have found IF as useful tool to get them to goal or to help maintain.

More anecdotal two cents...

I just naturally intermittent fasted, from Day 1, actually.

Even pre-op, I rarely ate until at least after noon/1pm, (just not a breakfast person, never was, still not). But after surgery, I stopped eating by around 6-7pm because I had some early reflux issues and I wanted to make sure that my stomach was COMPLETELY and TOTALLY empty before I laid down for the night (or even to just lay down on the couch to watch tv). So this basically had me eating in a 5-7 hour window every day.

All my labs came back swimmingly (still great, had my 2 yr follow up early last week) and I had energy for days (still do).

P.S. I was sleeved

P.P.S. Been in maintenance for well over a year, and I no longer suffer from nighttime relfux, so I do now often eat past 7pm...so i’m not naturally IF-ing anymore.

Just my personal experience.