4 months post-op, weight loss has stopped - is this a stall or something else?

[MoominMan 17]

Had bypass 4 months ago and my weight loss has pretty much stalled for the past 3 weeks. I have also noticed I am feeling much hungrier most days, and portion sizes are creeping up. Not significantly, but noticeably. Oh, and I am definitely missing my Protein targets. By a lot.

I am having big problems with food (just been diagnosed with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) which essentially means I have an incredibly small range of things I can eat. This not only makes meals extremely boring after a while, I have become quite reliant on relatively unhealthy foods (e.g. I use ragu sauce from a jar rather than making my own). Also, I slipped and had a small amount (but still too much) of cake and crisps. That said, this past week has been healthier and yet the weight loss is still stalling.

I'm not sure if this is just a periodic stall, the effect of not a very good diet in recent weeks, or if the effects of the operation are already wearing off? Does anyone have any similar experiences?

[GradyCat 3,697]

I quit losing at 4 months. I've maintained but not lost anymore.

[Jaelzion 1,129]

A few things that jump out at me:

1. You mention you are not getting enough Protein. This can make the body resist losing weight because otherwise you'd be cannibalizing your own muscle tissue. Giving your body sufficient protein is an important signal that you're not suffering life-threatening food scarcity and it's okay to burn stored fat.

2. You mention that you have a "small range of things" you can eat. I don't have any scientific proof for this but I have observed that switching up your diet can help when you hit stalls. It's like the variation in what you eat shakes up your metabolism and gets things moving again. I know it's easier said than done since you have ARFID. Maybe if you can't vary WHAT you eat, you can change things like how much you eat, what times of day, how much exercise you get.

3. It goes without saying that you've got to eliminate the junk food. Again, easier said than done but it's really important. One tip that someone gave me that has really helped me over the years: before you eat something bad, eat something good. What they meant was, rather than giving in to temptation and eating something completely off plan (like crisps or cookies), give yourself a small on-plan snack. It's better to eat a little more of your on-plan food than you intended rather than go off on a junk food binge. I have found that this works - often whatever craving I had will go away if I eat something allowed.

4. You've lost 77 pounds, which is a lot of weight. As we get smaller, our body needs fewer calories. So you may need to reduce your intake or increase your exercise in order to keep losing. The amount of calories you ate at 299 may be too much for you to lose weight at 221. For me, as my weight came down, I had to up the exercise to keep losing.

Stalls are not unusual and weight loss is rarely a perfect linear process. But those are a few things that can help keep things moving. I wish you well in getting back on track so you can see those numbers start going down again! 🤗

Edited December 12, 2020 by Jaelzion

[catwoman7 11,285]

could be either since stalls can last up to three weeks or so. But yes, it's definitely possibly to throw yourself in maintenance if bad eating habits have started to creep back in. If your weight loss doesn't start up again within another week or so, I'd start looking at my calorie intake and cut back a bit - and/or increase your activity level.

[NovaLuna 710]

I once had a stall that lasted 27 days and another that lasted 23 days. The 23 day one was around my 4 month mark. Both eventually passed. The 23 day one I ended up losing 5 pounds in one go. The 27 day one was only 3 pounds in one go, but both did eventually end. Stalls are incredibly frustrating and the longer ones will drive you up a wall and make you question every little thing. I seriously came to hate my scale. Now I try and only weigh myself once a week. I used to do it just about every day but frustration and stress made me stop that. I hope yours passes soon!

[WishMeSmaller 1,274]

If you are not tracking what you eat, you should. Be honest and track every bite you put in your mouth for a couple of weeks, including the not so good for you stuff. It might help with getting perspective and then you can make adjustments as needed. The stall will typically resolve itself, but with your dietary restrictions, you made need to tweak things a bit.

Good luck! 💕