Stalls and plateaus

[Tomo 1,137]

I don't do carb cycling because I eat a lot of carbs (tons of fruit) BUT, I naturally do calorie cycling. I know both carb and calorie cycling are effective. Some days I just feel hungrier so I eat more those days. I track calories by the week (net calories under weekly goal) so there is a lot more leeway, freedom and flexibility, for those bottomless pit days. My longest "stall" ever was during my maintenance phase. It was 33 days. I'm still trying to find my maintenance calorie level but if I keep losing, I won't stress, I'll just let nature takes it's course since the honeymoon phase will inevitably end soon enough since I'm 15 months post-op.

Link:

"Research suggests the benefits of calorie cycling include greater weight loss, improved ability to stick to a diet, less hunger, and a reduction in the negative hormonal and metabolic adaptations of a normal weight loss diet."

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/calorie-cycling-101#:~:text=Research suggests the benefits of,it works best for you.

[qtdoll 534]

Been 183 since Oct 26th, but I lost an inch around my waist so I'm not too worried about it!

[Arabesque 6,480]

First, stalls happen. They’re part of the weight loss journey. Some have more of them. Some experience ones that seemingly last forever. The thing to remember is they do break.

Secondly, the further out your are the slower your rate of loss which make you think your stalling too. If it persists, chat with your dietician. Maybe a tweak to your diet or activity will help. And yes, track or monitor your food. It can be easy to eat a little more than we think or eat something we think is okay but may not be the best at this time.

And I’m with @kcuster83, I often find I weigh a little more after I break a couple of days of Constipation. It usually doesn’t show until the following day. I wonder if it’s because I’m retaining extra Fluid at the same time??? How our individual bodies work can be fascinating (& frustrating).

[Ms.LaTasha82 11]

19 hours ago, Arabesque said:

First, stalls happen. They’re part of the weight loss journey. Some have more of them. Some experience ones that seemingly last forever. The thing to remember is they do break.

Secondly, the further out your are the slower your rate of loss which make you think your stalling too. If it persists, chat with your dietician. Maybe a tweak to your diet or activity will help. And yes, track or monitor your food. It can be easy to eat a little more than we think or eat something we think is okay but may not be the best at this time.

And I’m with @kcuster83, I often find I weigh a little more after I break a couple of days of constipation. It usually doesn’t show until the following day. I wonder if it’s because I’m retaining extra Fluid at the same time??? How our individual bodies work can be fascinating (& frustrating).

I guess I'm just nervous that I'm only 4 months out..... and don't want to fail at this new lifestyle. Thanks for the input

[Janice Flores 1]

Change your diet or your exercise. But not both. If you did that you wouldn’t know which thing worked [emoji1787]

I usually eat a few more carbs or walk a little farther that week to break a weight range.

Eat more carbs?

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[Janice Flores 1]

I just came out of a 4 week stall. I added weight training, really paid attention to my calories and carbs (added up and wrote everything down...you would be surprised how even healthy food and drinks have calories and carbs we don't even think about) and I changed up my workout a bit. And then my stall broke and I even finally made it out of the 300's.

What's your calorie and carb intake? How far along are you?

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[Janice Flores 1]

I just came out of a 4 week stall. I added weight training, really paid attention to my calories and carbs (added up and wrote everything down...you would be surprised how even healthy food and drinks have calories and carbs we don't even think about) and I changed up my workout a bit. And then my stall broke and I even finally made it out of the 300's.

What's your calorie and carb intake? How far along are you?

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[SleeveToBypass2023 1,816]

32 minutes ago, Janice Flores said:

What's your calorie and carb intake? How far along are you?

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Well, I'm 14 months out from my sleeve and 2 weeks out from my sleeve to bypass revision (had horrendous gerd, esophagitis, gastritis, and a ton of pre-cancerous polyps). With my sleeve (and also what I will be doing with my bypass) I was at 90g Protein per day, 30 carbs or less per day, 900-1000 calories per day when not working out and 1200-1300 calories per day when working out (I was going beast mode, tho), and 50g or less of fat per day. I did different work outs each day. 2 days I would do cardio, 2 days core and strength training, 2 days weight training, and 1 rest day. I would alternate what exercises I did when so my body never got used to what I was doing. If I noticed I was in a stall for 3 weeks or more, I would change up the intensity and actual exercises I did to confuse my body and break the stall. My Fluid intake was always 64-76oz per day (zero sugar gatorade and/or flavored propel along with Water on work out days, flavored water on non work out days). I lost 116 pounds in 10 months before everything went stupid and I had my complications and ended up needed my revision.

[Spinoza 1,180]

Honestly and genuinely, and without disagreeing with anyone here (because only they can know what has worked for them and all of our experiences will differ) stalls and plateaus are a completely normal part of losing weight after WLS.

If you stick rigidly to the plan you have been given then in the vast majority of cases stalls will break, plus eventually (sooner or later - and people get there at different rates) you will get to your new set weight. That weight might not be your ideal weight but that's what the surgery does.

All of the side stuff you do along the way makes little to no difference IMO. It's window dressing. And we kill ourselves angsting about it.

Sure, if we've been on a long stall and we then decide to increase/decrease protein/carbs/exercise/type of exercise/duration of exercise/CALORIES/whatever, and we resume losing weight, it is human nature to attribute the renewed loss to whatever we did. But we're working with an experimental group of 1 (me) with no control group. Basically if all the time we're sticking to our programme then that's what kick starts the new loss, not the other stuff.

If I could go back in time 20 months I would just say to my post-op me "stick to the plan, use your tool, and see how far you can get. You will lose rapidly and lose slowly with no rhyme or reason. Stop comparing yourself to others - they're different to you. Surgery works, stick to the plan!!!!"

I really hope this helps someone else.

[Janice Flores 1]

Been 183 since Oct 26th, but I lost an inch around my waist so I'm not too worried about it!

I'm right there with you. I've been 178-180 since September. I wonder if we stay at a certain weight. I exercise and lift daily. But I went from a size 24 to a 12, 3xl to a medium so I think I'm good. The scale really messes with my head

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[Janice Flores 1]

Been 183 since Oct 26th, but I lost an inch around my waist so I'm not too worried about it!

I'm right there with you. I've been 178-180 since September. I wonder if we stay at a certain weight. I exercise and lift daily. But I went from a size 24 to a 12, 3xl to a medium so I think I'm good. The scale really messes with my head

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[Arabesque 6,480]

10 hours ago, Janice Flores said:

I'm right there with you. I've been 178-180 since September. I wonder if we stay at a certain weight. I exercise and lift daily. But I went from a size 24 to a 12, 3xl to a medium so I think I'm good. The scale really messes with my head

You may have reached your new set point - the weight your body is happiest at & is easiest to maintain. Unfortunately, your new set point may not be the weight you wanted to settle at. You can lose below your set point but your body will gravitate back to it. It’s why we’d struggle to lose some weight in the past but then quickly return to the weight we were - the higher weight was your set point. Remember too, muscle weighs more so if you’ve been lifting you will have more muscle & weigh more than if it was just fat.

If the scale is messing with you, stay off it for a while & rely on body measurements or the fit of your clothes.

[BlondePatriotInCDA 223]

On 11/10/2022 at 10:42 AM, kcuster83 said:

Hmm, has me curious. Maybe mine is hollow? HAHAH! Sometimes pieces float and don't flush. ..weird convo but it happens. HMMM... My brain is going crazy now.

I am also regular after surgery which is about the best thing ever because I suffered from MAJOR Constipation before surgery and dreaded what would happen after. Got lucky!

Omg this made me spit out my Water laughing! "Hollow" poop! Thanks for the much needed laugh!