I’m almost done with the dreaded 10 days of liquids and about to start the puréed phase. As others have said....surgery is a change to your body, not your mindset. I find myself dreaming about all the little cups of puréed foods I can make as others have suggested here: tuna salad, little taco/refried bean cups, Buffalo chicken dips (wout chips of course). A i’m just so scared that once I start eating real food and not just proteins shakes and yogurt I’m going to see the scale stall! I try not to weigh myself every day because obviously as I’m sure you guys can relate it becomes obsessive if it doesn’t go down! Any advice on how to overcome this and be able to eat in peace when I am finally allowed to have some thing other than liquids and yogurt! ?

I hate to be the bearer of what you may consider to be bad news, but a large percentage of those who have weight loss surgery experience a stall or stalls. The first stall can typically happen within the first few weeks, google 'three week stall weight loss surgery' and you will find a lot of info about it. A couple of things to remember you won't be alone in experiencing a stall, most of us have been through it and it not an out of the ordinary event even when eating low calories. If you adhere to your post op guidelines you will get through the stall, it may be a week or two (or even longer) but eventually scale weight will catch up with your body changes.

Remember you want to lose fat not just weight. Scale weight doesn't always reflect fat loss. Get out the tape measure, start capturing body measurements. Also look to non scale goals and measures to capture your success in fat loss, health and fitness improvements. How far you can walk or swim, improvements in blood tests for cholesterol, fatty liver etc. Improvements in blood pressure etc etc, clothing sizes reducing and so forth.

It's more a matter of time than stage or phase, as even those of us who never had all of those phases still experience a stall or at least a slowdown at around 2-3 weeks. So, proceed with whatever phase you are supposed to be in without worry - you will still stall or slow even if you keep doing what you are doing now,

It will be ok! ?

My 3-week stall lasted 10 days. Stick to the plan and you will see the weight decrease! Good luck and enjoy the next phase.

Even on the purée phase if you stick to the portions on your plan you will only be consuming VERY low amount of calories. Your body can’t help but to lose weight. You may coincidentally have the three week stall but it will pass and you will continue to lose. Trust the process.

the vast majority of us experience stalls along our journey. It's an extremely common part of weight loss. Just stick to your program and stay off the scale if you need to whenever you hit one. As long as you're following the plan, the stall will eventually break and you'll be on your way again.

Thank you all.... Yes I wasn’t really referring to a stall (all to familiar with this which is what ended all of my diet in the past ?) but more to the point that right after surgery we are only consuming all this liquid and hoping to drop pounds and then all of a sudden you introduce food.... and it’s like oh crap! How will I lose now?! But yes I do have to trust the process and I so appreciate all of your encouragement. I’ve been through some crazy obstacles in my life, but this is by far the hardest!! I love this group! the support is tremendous! ☺️☺️☺️

8 minutes ago, Mommy wants to be able said:

Thank you all.... Yes I wasn’t really referring to a stall (all to familiar with this which is what ended all of my diet in the past ?) but more to the point that right after surgery we are only consuming all this liquid and hoping to drop pounds and then all of a sudden you introduce food.... and it’s like oh crap! How will I lose now?! But yes I do have to trust the process and I so appreciate all of your encouragement. I’ve been through some crazy obstacles in my life, but this is by far the hardest!! I love this group! the support is tremendous! ☺️☺️☺️

Almost everyone goes through the liquid, puree, soft food stage. The change in texture of the food may cause a stall, but calories are typically low and as long as you adhere to your post op guidelines you will be fine.

I was listening to a Bariatrician discuss stalls with a support group recently. She said if a person stalls they should eat 100 fewer calories per day for 7 days and she said that would fix the stall. She also said, and this is a pain, but we must write down all of our calories every day to make sure to cut down by 100.

500 calories is 500 calories regardless of where the calories comes from. (500 calories is just a random number pulled from nowhere in particular.) If you eat a big piece of chocolate cake equal to 500 calories & nothing else for the rest of the day it is exactly the same as getting 500 calories from protein shakes. The difference is the quality of nutrients in those calories. Your body will burn the calories to function but it just won’t function well on the calories from the cake alone.

As you slowly introduce real food you will slowly be consuming more calories but they are nutritionally dense calories which your body needs to function well & healthily. It’s important to monitor your food intake, portion sizes & calories consumed to ensure you’re following your plan & taking best advantage of your surgery.

Your weight loss will slow as you progress. The glory days of the first weeks are just a kickstart. But every pound you lose is a win. Just watch the downward trend than the just numbers on the scale & celebrate all your non scale victories.

Stalls happen. I liked to think of them as my body taking a breath to catch up with the changes. I know some people suggest cutting back your calories. I never did & my first stall only lasted a week. Your stall will end when it ends.

Congrats on your surgery & good luck.

28 minutes ago, Arabesque said:

500 calories is 500 calories regardless of where the calories comes from. (500 calories is just a random number pulled from nowhere in particular.) If you eat a big piece of chocolate cake equal to 500 calories & nothing else for the rest of the day it is exactly the same as getting 500 calories from Protein Shakes. The difference is the quality of nutrients in those calories. Your body will burn the calories to function but it just won’t function well on the calories from the cake alone.

As you slowly introduce real food you will slowly be consuming more calories but they are nutritionally dense calories which your body needs to function well & healthily. It’s important to monitor your food intake, portion sizes & calories consumed to ensure you’re following your plan & taking best advantage of your surgery.

Your weight loss will slow as you progress. The glory days of the first weeks are just a kickstart. But every pound you lose is a win. Just watch the downward trend than the just numbers on the scale & Celebrate all your non scale victories.

Stalls happen. I liked to think of them as my body taking a breath to catch up with the changes. I know some people suggest cutting back your calories. I never did & my first stall only lasted a week. Your stall will end when it ends.

Congrats on your surgery & good luck.

Thank you for this in-depth explanation! Makes sense. I guess all of the anticipation has led up to all this hope and I’m just praying I don’t screw it up! I will definitely take all of your advice because it is wonderful that you take the time out to answer and I really appreciate it! My husband has been supportive but my family has not so this is such a big help!

I have my meeting on Thursday with my nutritionist as I head into the puréed stage so I’m sure she will give me clarification but for the rest of you....how did either your doctor or you come up with your daily calorie allotment as you enter the puréed stage and the blended stage just a week later??

3 minutes ago, Mommy wants to be able said:

I have my meeting on Thursday with my nutritionist as I head into the puréed stage so I’m sure she will give me clarification but for the rest of you....how did either your doctor or you come up with your daily calorie allotment as you enter the puréed stage and the blended stage just a week later??

we were told to just focus on protein and fluids, not calories. At least for the first few months.

Honestly, I wasn’t given a daily caloric goal. I was given portion size recommendations: a quarter to a third of a cup three times a day. Over time this increased to half a cup, 3/4 cup & then finally up to a cup. Almost all of this was protein & the remainder, if I could eat more, was vegetables. I also could add in snacks (fruit, yoghurt). My dietician would make recommendations of what foods to try to include in my diet (actually I used to make most of the suggestions & she’d say yes, no or wait). I saw her once a fortnight.

Eat slowly & you’ll soon discover how much you can or can’t eat. Once you get onto solid foods it’s much easier to tell when you’ve had enough. Oh, and your taste buds have likely changed & some foods may taste disgusting, even ones you’ve always loved. Don’t worry, it changes back & they’ll be yummy again. Plus your tummy can be pretty fussy (a petulant 2 yr old) & throw tantrums one day & be fine the next.

PS - LOL! I do tend to write long posts.? I guess because I know this process can be confusing & scary & I just want to ease people’s minds so they know they’re not alone in this. Plus I taught for years & then provided advice & information to others so I’m very used to including examples in my writing to help clarify information. Can’t break old habits. I’m sorry your family hasn’t been as supportive but at least you have your husband on your side. You’ll find lots of support here.

When I got to the solid food stage at my one month follow up the PA told me to eat 800 calories per day. I am a nurse, and when I work 12 hour shifts I’m often too busy to meet my goal of calorie intake. What I have noticed is that one day when I managed to eat only 630 calories for the day my appetite/urge to eat felt stronger the next day. At work I often drink protein shakes because I don’t have the time to sit and chew one ounce of food every 10 minutes as that was also recommended. I really make an effort to get my 800 calories. My BMI was at 50 when I started 2 months ago and my BMI is now 44.

Thank you all! Great advice! I’m curious to see what my nutritionist says on Thursday!
In my plan? The liquid stage is for 10 days...Saturday I get real food!
also just wanted to share if it helps... I don’t know if you guys drank the Ispopure clear drink while recovering? It’s a non-milky alternative to the numerous protein shakes and has zero carbs and 40 g of protein in 1 20 oz bottle so for those of us who have struggles trying to get the fluid intake you can kill two birds with one stone with that! I’m a busy hygienist wrapped in masks all day so it’s very difficult as well for me to keep up with the fluids and calories while at work. Also, fair life has a 42 g protein shake called CorePower you can find at Wawa if you want to try singles for flavor....that has also been helping!