First Stall and I am scared

[Lilia_90 52]

Hi there!

Newbie here. Been reading a lot of the threads and already feel like a lot of you are my friends when I haven't actually spoken to any of you 🤣

I had my surgery on the 17th of December 2023 and my stats were:

Height: 166 Cm (around 5'5/5'6?)

Weight: 90 KG (198 lbs)

I didn't do the liquid diet because my surgeon doesn't believe in it. Also, my surgeon specifically said "I will be very happy if you lose 20 KG (44 lb) but it's quite unlikely".I wan't heavily overweight and I was very athletic with a lot of muscle mass.

Fast forward 18 weeks post surgery I have lost around 28.4 kgs (62.48 lbs) and my surgeon's mind is kind of blown lol, he wants me to stop losing but I do not think I am done yet. I get these comments that I look "stick thin" but mostly get many compliments as there is no sagging or loose skin (due to muscle mass pre-surgery).

My problem is that I have hit my first stall ever this past week where I didn't lose anything (I was losing quite rapidly) and I am low-key freaking out. I still want to lose another 7 Kgs (15.5 lbs) just to have a wriggle room if my body decides to gain a little rebound weight later. I have started some heavy lifting the past week and man I am SO SORE so I think it's due to the inflammation?

I am quite sad and disappointed to have not lost any weight the past week and I need some emotional support. I eat around 800 kcals a day with 65 grams of Protein - give or take- (starting the past 2 weeks as I was still on a 300/400 kcal a day prior to that). Could that be another reason? Was anyone done losing at 4 months post op? While I know my weight is currently good/slightly under what is good for my height, I really want that wriggle room and I really don't want to be done so soon.

Any advise?

Edited April 28 by LLRH_90
Amendments

[SleeveToBypass2023 1,845]

So...I'm struggling with how to answer this because I want to give you helpful information, but I still have questions. I guess I'll jump right in and see how it goes.

1) You started off at a lower weight to begin with, so your body is likely at the point now where it's at it's healthiest. As of right now, you're 5'5" and 136 pounds with a bmi of 22. You're exactly where you should be. If you lose 15 more pounds, you'll weight 121 pounds and have a bmi of 20. On paper, that's still healthy. But my concern is you're becoming addicted to losing the weight and even though you're exactly where you should be (and could even gain 10 pounds and still be where you should to be) you'll panic and possibly go about things in an unhealthy way to drop those pounds.

2) Were there other reasons besides your weight that led you to getting the surgery? Did you have any comorbidities such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, etc? You didn't mention that. My fear is, if you only wanted to drop weight and your bmi was 33 to begin with, and now you're wanting to continue to drop even though you're being told you look "stick thin" (and you're in the healthy range now but still want to go lower), that this might have more to do with the number on the scale than getting healthy.

3) Stalls are normal, and happen all the time. The fact that you haven't had one until 4 months out is actually kind of surprising. They do break on their own, but honestly, you may lose little weight going forward (and what you DO lose will likely come off slowly) since you're already well within the healthy and normal range and your body feels it's happy at its new set point.

4) Your body likely thinks it's in starvation mode, based on how you're working out and lifting and what you're eating. The harder the workouts, the more calories you need. Prioritize Protein first above all else, then veggies, then carbs and healthy fats. But you definitely need to increase your calorie intake. This isn't necessarily advice for dropping more weight (although that tends to happen when things like this go on) but for healthy purposes. If your body thinks it's starving, it'll hold on to every single calorie and bit of fat. And it'll eat away at muscle before fat just to make sure you survive. So my suggestion is to increase your calories. I don't do heavy lifting, but I DO do weight training, and on those days, I go up to 1400 calories. Core and strength training, I go up to 1300 calories. Cardio I go up to 1200 calories. Non work out days I eat around 1000 calories.

5) You didn't mention what surgery you had, but I'm assuming it's the sleeve. If I may ask, what made you choose having surgery versus doing anything else for weight loss? Have you tried changing your eating habits before, did you try medication, or did you go right to surgery? How have you changed the way you eat, and what you eat, since the surgery? How much Fluid are you taking in every day? How much protein and carbs are you taking in each day? Are you taking your Vitamins every day? How many days per week are you working out (should give yourself 2 days off ideally, but for sure at least 1).

[Lilia_90 52]

Hi darling,

Thank you for your elaborate reply, I appreciate it.

So to answer some of your questions:

1. I had the sleeve, it was the best option for my size and BMI.
2. I do not have any comorbidities, on the contrary, I was healthy and worked out consistently for over 15 years.
3. My problem is kind of unusual, I maintained a BMI of 22-23 my entire adulthood through working out, eating well, all sorts of cardio and resistance training, I actually am a certified trainer and nutritionist. Had my first child and snapped back, had my second and snapped back quickly too, then 2 months later my body blew up and I gained over 20 lbs in one month and struggled to lose weight after that. Back in 2022 I had a very bad foot injury practicing Taekwondo and was in a cast for 4 weeks, I couldn't move without pain and my mobility was greatly affected and I gained another 40 lbs and since then no matter what I did, how little I ate and how intensely I worked out I couldn't lose a single gram, my weight kept going up and my foot started killing me that I needed to bring my weight down, I even tried injectables (Liraglutide) and not a single gram dropped. So after struggling for 5 years and my foot injury worsening I decided to get the surgery.
4. I know how it sounds being upset when I have reached my goal, it is just terrifying to me to gain weight again or go back to what my reality was pre-op. I really really don't want to be overweight again, hence wanting to lose a few more KGs to ensure that I have some wriggle room
5. I try to get in 1-1.5 liters of Fluid a day, keep my carbs under 55, try to hit my 65 grams of Protein. I take my Vitamins daily and I try to workout 3 days a week, doesn't always happen but I get in at least 2 sessions a week.

Hope this answers your questions. Thank you again

Edited April 29 by LLRH_90
Correction

[SleeveToBypass2023 1,845]

5 hours ago, LLRH_90 said:

Hi darling,

Thank you for your elaborate reply, I appreciate it.

So to answer some of your questions:

1. I had the sleeve, it was the best option for my size and BMI.
2. I do not have any comorbidities, on the contrary, I was healthy and worked out consistently for over 15 years.
3. My problem is kind of unusual, I maintained a BMI of 22-23 my entire adulthood through working out, eating well, all sorts of cardio and resistance training, I actually am a certified trainer and nutritionist. Had my first child and snapped back, had my second and snapped back quickly too, then 2 months later my body blew up and I gained over 20 lbs in one month and struggled to lose weight after that. Back in 2022 I had a very bad foot injury practicing Taekwondo and was in a cast for 4 weeks, I couldn't move without pain and my mobility was greatly affected and I gained another 40 lbs and since then no matter what I did, how little I ate and how intensely I worked out I couldn't lose a single gram, my weight kept going up and my foot started killing me that I needed to bring my weight down, I even tried injectables (Liraglutide) and not a single gram dropped. So after struggling for 5 years and my foot injury worsening I decided to get the surgery.
4. I know how it sounds being upset when I have reached my goal, it is just terrifying to me to gain weight again or go back to what my reality was pre-op. I really really don't want to be overweight again, hence wanting to lose a few more KGs to ensure that I have some wriggle room
5. I try to get in 1-1.5 liters of Fluid a day, keep my carbs under 55, try to hit my 65 grams of Protein. I take my Vitamins daily and I try to workout 3 days a week, doesn't always happen but I get in at least 2 sessions a week.

Hope this answers your questions. Thank you again

I can relate to being afraid of gaining weight after working so hard to lose it. We all deal with that here. But it's a fine line between being mindful about it and developing disordered eating habits. I can speak to this because it happened to me. I was dropping weight like a champ, then I hit stall after stall, and each one lasted longer than the previous one. And I would panic. And I would restrict the amount I ate, I would kick up the intensity and frequency of my work outs. I would have anger and confusion and fear anytime I either didn't lose or I gained a little (turns out, I'm one of the ones that gains 3-5 pounds during a stall and then just sits there for weeks and weeks. Then when the stall breaks, I drop like 6-7 pounds all at once). I had to actually go to a therapist that specializes in bariatric disordered eating (not easy to find, btw) to get my head on straight. And it's still a struggle sometimes. Especially since these last 11 pounds absolutely fight me tooth and nail and just don't want to come off.

I said all that to say just be very careful. I never started out intending to have these issues. I thought I'd have the surgery, lose the weight, get healthy, and bada-boom bada-bing, life would be great. But it's never that cut and dry, is it? We can become obsessed with losing the weight, seeing how low we can get the scale, getting into that lower size, looking thinner, never gaining weight again, getting that bmi just a little lower.....and before you know it, you have a whole new eating disorder that's even harder to get out of and we're doing even more damage to our bodies without even meaning to. And we can justify what we're doing because HEY, we got off our meds, we're getting healthier, we're losing the weight, we're EXTENDING OUR LIVES damn it!!! And that's harder to overcome and harder to recognize and going too far than being obese is. We knew we needed help. We knew we were doing wrong. That's why we had the surgery. But now? Now it gets harder to see what we're doing because HEALTH!! WEIGHT LOSS IS GOOD!!! NO MORE MEDS IS THE GOAL!!! JUST A LITTLE MORE WEIGHT OFF CAN'T POSSIBLY BE BAD!!! So please please just be really careful with where you're at now and where you're wanting to get to.

Lastly, on the days you're working out (especially the really hard weight days) increase your Protein and calories. Your body thinks it's starving, so you need to reassure it that you're not. The heavier the work out, the more your body needs. You can't run a car without gas and you can't run your body without food. So give it what it needs, in the amounts it needs, and it'll do what you want it to. Make sure you also have a larger amount of fluids than you normally would on those days, too. Dehydration can really do a number on the body, as well.

Edited April 29 by SleeveToBypass2023

[SleeveToBypass2023 1,845]

And for reference, here's where I was and where I am now. I got off all my meds, got my mobility back, and then....the slippery slope appeared and I slid right down it. You can start off with the best of intentions and then it can all go to hell without you even noticing it. So PLEASE just be careful.

[ChunkCat 694]

Hi, welcome! I read the posts here a lot before my first post too and felt like I knew everyone even though they didn't know me! LOL It is a funny feeling...

My first thought is you aren't eating enough to be physically active. The body is pretty particular about how much energy it gets and after bariatric surgery our metabolism gets a nice reset (it is part of what helps us lose the weight) but to maintain that nice, new metabolism we need to EAT. And what is enough when you are mildly active isn't near enough when you are doing things that strain your heart, muscles, and burn a good bit of fuel. So I agree with the above, I'd eat more on days you work out. 65 grams of Protein isn't enough for working out, I'd add in at least a Protein Shake, a little healthy fat, and some complex carbs.

Second, it is normal to stall for a few weeks at any point, but it is especially normal if you start working out, or if you increase your workouts. This is because it changes the Fluid balance in our bodies and the body takes a bit to even out. Some people even see increases on their scale when they start adding in more workouts! So if that happens, don't panic. We can also stall when our food intake changes. This is commonly seen when you go from fluids to solid food, but it can also happen if you jump in calories at any point, even if it is a needed point. My stalls seem to last for 6 weeks at a time. It is super irritating.

At 4 months out you are not likely to be done losing weight yet. You may lose a little bit more. But weight loss slows WAY down the closer to goal we get and you are on the small end at this point so I wouldn't be surprised if it slows now. The most rapid weight loss is the first 3 months, then it tapers off slowly depending on how much you need to lose. Since you are used to being at the lower end of your BMI it is reasonable to expect you may drop a bit more to have the space you want if you rebound some. Just be careful not to starve yourself to get those extra lbs off, if it isn't sustainable for your body you'll really have to fight for it and it could damage that nice new metabolism in the process!

Oh, and weight redistributes after weight loss. So you may look a little thin now and it may balance out a bit in the next year. This happens especially around the face for some people.

Edited April 29 by ChunkCat

[ms.sss 14,742]

lots of good comments and recommendations here...i won't repeat.

i will however leave you with something to ponder: the "harder" you try to lose weight (vs. it coming off naturally based on a sustainable diet and lifestyle that YOU sustain), the harder it will be to keep off.

based on your stats, you are already in a place that most bariatric folks won't reach (i.e., "healthy" BMI), and by the sounds of it, you achieved this quite effortlessly? sounds like a win to me! congrats!

[Lilia_90 52]

17 hours ago, SleeveToBypass2023 said:

And for reference, here's where I was and where I am now. I got off all my meds, got my mobility back, and then....the slippery slope appeared and I slid right down it. You can start off with the best of intentions and then it can all go to hell without you even noticing it. So PLEASE just be careful.

You look AMAZING! really well done! I am so happy for you and I hear everything you say. I have increased my intake on the days I workout to a 1000, let's see how it goes ❤️

[Lilia_90 52]

14 hours ago, ChunkCat said:

Hi, welcome! I read the posts here a lot before my first post too and felt like I knew everyone even though they didn't know me! LOL It is a funny feeling...

My first thought is you aren't eating enough to be physically active. The body is pretty particular about how much energy it gets and after bariatric surgery our metabolism gets a nice reset (it is part of what helps us lose the weight) but to maintain that nice, new metabolism we need to EAT. And what is enough when you are mildly active isn't near enough when you are doing things that strain your heart, muscles, and burn a good bit of fuel. So I agree with the above, I'd eat more on days you work out. 65 grams of Protein isn't enough for working out, I'd add in at least a Protein Shake, a little healthy fat, and some complex carbs.

Second, it is normal to stall for a few weeks at any point, but it is especially normal if you start working out, or if you increase your workouts. This is because it changes the Fluid balance in our bodies and the body takes a bit to even out. Some people even see increases on their scale when they start adding in more workouts! So if that happens, don't panic. We can also stall when our food intake changes. This is commonly seen when you go from fluids to solid food, but it can also happen if you jump in calories at any point, even if it is a needed point. My stalls seem to last for 6 weeks at a time. It is super irritating.

At 4 months out you are not likely to be done losing weight yet. You may lose a little bit more. But weight loss slows WAY down the closer to goal we get and you are on the small end at this point so I wouldn't be surprised if it slows now. The most rapid weight loss is the first 3 months, then it tapers off slowly depending on how much you need to lose. Since you are used to being at the lower end of your BMI it is reasonable to expect you may drop a bit more to have the space you want if you rebound some. Just be careful not to starve yourself to get those extra lbs off, if it isn't sustainable for your body you'll really have to fight for it and it could damage that nice new metabolism in the process!

Oh, and weight redistributes after weight loss. So you may look a little thin now and it may balance out a bit in the next year. This happens especially around the face for some people.

This has really given me perspective. The whole "reset" and "new metabolism" is such a nice way of putting it. I have increased my calories on the days I workout to a 1000, let's see how it goes. Thank you very much ❤️

[Arabesque 6,513]

First, congrats on your weight loss. Wonderful! Second, is it a stall, a very normal & important part of your weight loss, or is it just your body slowly down the loss to seemingly nothing as you’re nearing or at your body’s new set point weight?

If it is your new set point, you will constantly be fighting it to try to lose more. This is where your body is happiest. If your weight loss has slowed/stopped at this weight that means you will need to continue to eat the 1000 calories you are eating now to maintain it. Or less to lose more. Is that sustainable? Is it healthy in the long term? There’s the weight you want to see on the scales & the weight your body wants you to be & is compatible with your life & lifestyle. This alone can take time to accept & wrap your head around. Just some things to consider.

Not everyone has a bounce back regain. I didn’t. I still weigh about what I weighed when I first stabilised with the same fluctuation range of about a kilogram/2 lbs at almost 5 years out. And I consume more calories now than I did when I first stabilised (1300 then & 1600 now). I don’t do any real exercise, am a little shorter than you & quite a few years older than you I expect.

Also, look at increasing your Fluid intake. You should be aiming for 2 litres a day & more on the days you’re more active.

Your weight loss isn’t over until it’s over. A stall doesn’t mean it’s over. Just your body taking a break to reassess your current needs.