Stall out and depressed

[fourmonthspreop 525]

I know this is posted on here time and time again but I'm so frustrated. I'm getting ready for a cross country move. I really imagined that by this time I'd be in the 230s. I have stalled out for the last 3 or 4 weeks and am so frustrated about it. I keep going in between 248 and 251. I don't know if this is maintenance because im only a bit over 4 months post op from gastric bypass. I have definitely increased my calories but am eating in a deficit. My BMR is around 1900 and I'm eating in between 1000 and 1300 a day plus exercise. I have been slacking in Water and have not been having Protein Shakes at all because I'm getting a decent amount through solid food and don't want the extra cals.

How do I get past this? I'm going to stay off the scale until the end of next week but I'm still feeling really down and bad about myself. I feel like a disgusting fat mess honestly. I haven't had these feelings since pre op and I just need to vent about it. I was experiencing a period of mania a week ago for a good 2 weeks straight (I'm bipolar) and missed some of my meds. I think I might be crashing and going through a depressive state. It's not super bad but the weight loss stall is making me have a lot of negative self image and feelings of failure.

Should I just get back on liquids for a week or something? I'm losing my mind and getting depressed as hell. I'm taking my meds regularly again. I really only missed like 3 or 4 days and I take a small dosage. So I'm hoping to even back out soon but the stall is messing with my brain and confidence.

What do you do?

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[Arabesque 7,609]

Stalls happen. You can experience several of them while you are losing & they usually last - 3 weeks but sometimes more. They are part of the process. Your weight loss will never be a steady decline but will have ups & downs & flatlines. Your body needs time to play catch up with the changes - weight loss, dietary changes, etc. - & your weight loss stalls. (Someone recently posted a link to a surgeon who described it as a pause which I like.) You have been putting it through a lot. Many find that while the scales don’t move they notice their clothes are still getting loser. But yes they can mess with your head.

If it persists, contact your dietician. Your diet may need a small tweak or you may need to shake up your exercise (though moving house will keep you very active). Usually they will pass just following your plan.

[liveaboard15 1,294]

Your profile says you have lost 91lb in 4-5 months. Consider that amazing. Most take longer to loose that. and stalls happen. I am 2 months post op and i have had 3 stalls. they can be depressing but you will get over it and loose again. as you start to get closer to your goal weight and get more months past your weight loss will slow down. just stick to the program and you will continue to loose some.

[catwoman7 11,284]

if you're eating 1000-1300 kcal/day and exercising and weigh 248-291 lbs, you're not in maintenance - you're stalling. Unfortunately, stalls are very common. And a 91 lb loss at this point is amazing. You're losing a lot faster than I did. Stick to your program, and quit weighing yourself so much. The weight is going to come off as long as you stick to your program, whether fast or slow. I was close to a year out before I'd lost as much weight as you have, and I continued losing for almost two years. Be patient and just stick to your plan.

Edited June 28, 2022 by catwoman7

[kcuster83 1,505]

Reach out to your team.

I have heard before that sometimes you need to increase your calories for a week or so and then drop back down to like reboot your metabolism.

I only heard about it on these groups, but it does make sense to me so I would ask your team for pointers. Ask about the calorie increase and see what they say? They are the pros, we all are just here for support and opinions.

Good luck and you will get through this!

You are doing an amazing job!❤️

[fourmonthspreop 525]

9 hours ago, Arabesque said:

Stalls happen. You can experience several of them while you are losing & they usually last - 3 weeks but sometimes more. They are part of the process. Your weight loss will never be a steady decline but will have ups & downs & flatlines. Your body needs time to play catch up with the changes - weight loss, dietary changes, etc. - & your weight loss stalls. (Someone recently posted a link to a surgeon who described it as a pause which I like.) You have been putting it through a lot. Many find that while the scales don’t move they notice their clothes are still getting loser. But yes they can mess with your head.

If it persists, contact your dietician. Your diet may need a small tweak or you may need to shake up your exercise (though moving house will keep you very active). Usually they will pass just following your plan.

Yeah, I guess this is my first real stall. None of them have lasted more than 2 weeks. I do find odd things like a pair of jeans that didn't fit me at 235 lbs in the past fit me now at 250. I don't understand that. The number can be so devious to me. I just wish it didn't make me depressed. I need to find a way to detach my value from my weight.

I have been doing pretty heavy exercise, running again and lifting weights at the gym in fact this weight loss stall seemed to have started when I started the heavy exercise. Exercise has definitely increased my appetite. I'm in between a rock and a hard place because I want to be fit and build muscle but I don't want to feel hungry. I will call my dietician if this lasts longer than 2 more weeks.

[fourmonthspreop 525]

3 hours ago, liveaboard15 said:

Your profile says you have lost 91lb in 4-5 months. Consider that amazing. Most take longer to loose that. and stalls happen. I am 2 months post op and i have had 3 stalls. they can be depressing but you will get over it and loose again. as you start to get closer to your goal weight and get more months past your weight loss will slow down. just stick to the program and you will continue to loose some.

I appreciate it, thanks! Just to be clear, I've lost about 60 lbs in 4 months since my surgery. I lost 30 before my gastric bypass. I will definitely try to focus on the positives but as you know it can be such a frustrating experience when it's a huge goal in your life. Hopefully, this gets better!

[fourmonthspreop 525]

41 minutes ago, kcuster83 said:

Reach out to your team.

I have heard before that sometimes you need to increase your calories for a week or so and then drop back down to like reboot your metabolism.

I only heard about it on these groups, but it does make sense to me so I would ask your team for pointers. Ask about the calorie increase and see what they say? They are the pros, we all are just here for support and opinions.

Good luck and you will get through this!

You are doing an amazing job!❤️

That definitely makes me want to contact them. That's interesting. I know there are these like "resets" you can do but I haven't heard much in the way of efficacy about them. I really do love my dietician, I should just send her a message. I guess lately I've felt disconnected from my bariatric journey because of the stall. Maybe the honeymoon phase is wearing off or I am just depressed. I don't know. What an odd experience but I'm glad I have a place here where we're all familiar with it. Thank you for your kind words.

[fourmonthspreop 525]

1 hour ago, catwoman7 said:

if you're eating 1000-1300 kcal/day and exercising and weigh 248-291 lbs, you're not in maintenance - you're stalling. Unfortunately, stalls are very common. And a 91 lb loss at this point is amazing. You're losing a lot faster than I did. Stick to your program, and quit weighing yourself so much. The weight is going to come off as long as you stick to your program, whether fast or slow. I was close to a year out before I'd lost as much weight as you have, and I continued losing for almost two years. Be patient and just stick to your plan.

That's true, stalls are just terrible. I am feeling so disconnected from my weight loss journey because the number doesn't move every day or every two days anymore. I am going to contact my dietician if I don't get below 245 in 2 weeks or possibly next week if I choose to weigh myself again. Idk I need to come up with some strategy. I've lost 60 lbs post op about, 30 pre op. I do get nervous because my surgeon said you can expect to lose 100 lbs, what if this is it? Mann, I'd be upset. But yeah, I will be patient and keep making good decisions, getting my Water in the best I can and Protein. Thank you.

[kcuster83 1,505]

36 minutes ago, fourmonthspreop said:

That definitely makes me want to contact them. That's interesting. I know there are these like "resets" you can do but I haven't heard much in the way of efficacy about them. I really do love my dietician, I should just send her a message. I guess lately I've felt disconnected from my bariatric journey because of the stall. Maybe the honeymoon phase is wearing off or I am just depressed. I don't know. What an odd experience but I'm glad I have a place here where we're all familiar with it. Thank you for your kind words.

Depression is a b***h! Just don't give up, on anything. Mental or physical health!

You know you will get through it. Just take one step at a time.

[catwoman7 11,284]

3 hours ago, fourmonthspreop said:

That's true, I do get nervous because my surgeon said you can expect to lose 100 lbs, what if this is it? Mann, I'd be upset.

They're giving you the average statistic. Statistically, gastric bypass patients can expect to lose 70% of their excess weight. But like with any other statistic, you're always going to find people on either side of that. There are people who only lose 30 lbs - and there are other people who lose 100% of their excess weight. If you want to lose more than 70% of your excess weight, it's certainly possible. It'll take work, but you'll find several examples on here of people who've done it.

re: wearing the same clothes at 250 that you used to wear at 235, that's because you're building muscle. A pound is a pound is a pound, but a pound of muscle takes up a lot less space than a pound of fat. Muscle is very dense. So even though the scale reads 250, you probably appear exactly the same to the outside world as you did when you weighed 235.

also - muscle holds a lot of Water - that accounts for some of the weight as well.

[Splenda 257]

4 hours ago, fourmonthspreop said:

That's true, stalls are just terrible. I am feeling so disconnected from my weight loss journey because the number doesn't move every day or every two days anymore. I am going to contact my dietician if I don't get below 245 in 2 weeks or possibly next week if I choose to weigh myself again. Idk I need to come up with some strategy. I've lost 60 lbs post op about, 30 pre op. I do get nervous because my surgeon said you can expect to lose 100 lbs, what if this is it? Mann, I'd be upset. But yeah, I will be patient and keep making good decisions, getting my Water in the best I can and Protein. Thank you.

A few questions:

1. Have you taken measurements lately? Are you losing inches, but not pounds?

2. How do you physically feel? Do you have good energy? Are your joints sore?

The reason I ask is because I am in the middle of a very stubborn stall right now. No matter what I do, the scale wants to revert to 273-275. It's annoying/depressing to eat right and go on a 5 mile walk and get back and have the scale still say 274. I want to hurl it through a window. But my clothes are looser than they have ever been. I told a close friend about the stall and he told me that I physically looked like I had busted it, that I had lost weight. I have more energy and find myself doing exercises that I physically could not have done a few weeks ago. If I look at all of the available evidence other than the scale, I am doing great.

I've decided that if the scale doesn't accurately represent my progress, then the scale is wrong, not me.

[SleeverSk 635]

12 hours ago, fourmonthspreop said:

Yeah, I guess this is my first real stall. None of them have lasted more than 2 weeks. I do find odd things like a pair of jeans that didn't fit me at 235 lbs in the past fit me now at 250. I don't understand that. The number can be so devious to me. I just wish it didn't make me depressed. I need to find a way to detach my value from my weight.

I have been doing pretty heavy exercise, running again and lifting weights at the gym in fact this weight loss stall seemed to have started when I started the heavy exercise. Exercise has definitely increased my appetite. I'm in between a rock and a hard place because I want to be fit and build muscle but I don't want to feel hungry. I will call my dietician if this lasts longer than 2 more weeks.

Muscle weighs heavy than fat so with your heavy exercise maybe you have gained muscle mass and still lost fat but the scales remain the same. hence jeans that didn't fit at 235 now fit at 250, muscle takes up less space than fat but weighs more if that makes sense?

[fourmonthspreop 525]

A few questions:
1. Have you taken measurements lately? Are you losing inches, but not pounds?
2. How do you physically feel? Do you have good energy? Are your joints sore?
The reason I ask is because I am in the middle of a very stubborn stall right now. No matter what I do, the scale wants to revert to 273-275. It's annoying/depressing to eat right and go on a 5 mile walk and get back and have the scale still say 274. I want to hurl it through a window. But my clothes are looser than they have ever been. I told a close friend about the stall and he told me that I physically looked like I had busted it, that I had lost weight. I have more energy and find myself doing exercises that I physically could not have done a few weeks ago. If I look at all of the available evidence other than the scale, I am doing great.
I've decided that if the scale doesn't accurately represent my progress, then the scale is wrong, not me.

I dont measure myself but I have like small goal clothes I try on periodically that are always looser when I do. I do feel though my body hasn't changed much in fact the last 3 weeks....mostly I look in the mirror and still see a 340 lb girl. Physically though I feel a lot better, ive had a surplus of energy but with the bipolar depression, mentally i have been just wanting to sleep all day thr past week. But i get up and down off the ground with ease, can run without getting out of breath, can do stairs without getting out of breath, and my knee pain is a lot better although the past week it's been flaring up which is causing me pain and discomfort. I know Physically I'm a lot better off but when that number doesn't change, I get really low and filled with despair. I need to adjust my thinking and be more accepting that the journey isn't linear. I wish my brain wasn't so messed up. Gratitude and greatfulness is everything. I am trying so hard to internalize that.

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[fourmonthspreop 525]

Muscle weighs heavy than fat so with your heavy exercise maybe you have gained muscle mass and still lost fat but the scales remain the same. hence jeans that didn't fit at 235 now fit at 250, muscle takes up less space than fat but weighs more if that makes sense?

It's possible! I have a small bicep muscle showing now when i flex which was not there before. I just want the number to drop though ughhhh to be less than 250 lbs a girl can dream LOL

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