Serious Plateaus After Bypass Surgery

[LunarEclipse02 1]

Pardon my ignorance! I had gastric Bypass on January 15th. I had mine done due to gastroparesis not for weight loss. I weighed on average 250lbs before surgery. As of now I'm at 220lbs. Yes I have lost nearly 30lbs. Most of my weight loss was right at first and have hit two major plateaus after surgery. I consume little amount of calories. I mainly have Protein Shakes which consist of Premier Protein or Redcon1 MRE. I eat ground Proteins like lean beef or turkey. I am very strict on my diet. I work out daily and put in at least two hours. I would thought my progress would have been greater. I'm trying to lose weight before I return to work and build up my strength. I feel like I'm failing and I don't know what to do. Is this normal? I've been stuck at 220lbs for almost two weeks now.

Please don't beat me up too badly in the comments.

Edited February 20 by LunarEclipse02

[GreenTealael 25,545]

2 hours ago, LunarEclipse02 said:

I had mine done due to gastroparesis not for weight loss

How is your progress with this going?

[LunarEclipse02 1]

Going well. But keep in mind I'm not eating what I was before. But the upside is I'm not longer vomiting all hours of the night and especially in the morning!

[Arabesque 7,566]

Stalls or plateaus are very normal with weight loss so you’re not failing. Frustrating, yes but not a sign of failure. Almost everyone experiences them. Literally thousands of posts about them here. The first one (yes first because you can experience a few along the way) usually occurs around the 3 week mark though sometimes they occur before then or after. A stall can last around 1-3 weeks.

Stalls are a stress response. Your body thinks what the hell is going on here and shuts down. It uses the time to reassess your new needs (like what changes need to occur with your digestive hormones) as a result of the weight loss, changed caloric intake, surgery, etc. compare it with when you experience psychological or emotional stress and just want to shut the world out until you feel able to deal with the stress. Same for your body’s response to physical stress.

Stick to your plan. Don’t stress your body more. The stall will break when your body is ready. Take some body measurements as sometimes, while the numbers on the scale don’t change, your measurements may. Though every plan and advice given is different, two plus hours a day of workouts is actually a lot this soon after surgery. Your body is still recovering and healing (lots of sutures and staples holding your digestive system together). Is your team aware of how much & what activities you’re doing? If not I’d check with them.

Dr Matt Weiner (pound of Cure) is a great resource as is Dr John Pilcher. Check out their videos on You Tube (they have a lot so prepare to scroll). I‘ve included Dr Weiner’s on stalls as a start and to help alleviate your worries. He does podcasts too.

Glad the vomiting has eased.

[LunarEclipse02 1]

12 hours ago, Arabesque said:

Stalls or plateaus are very normal with weight loss so you’re not failing. Frustrating, yes but not a sign of failure. Almost everyone experiences them. Literally thousands of posts about them here. The first one (yes first because you can experience a few along the way) usually occurs around the 3 week mark though sometimes they occur before then or after. A stall can last around 1-3 weeks.

Stalls are a stress response. Your body thinks what the hell is going on here and shuts down. It uses the time to reassess your new needs (like what changes need to occur with your digestive hormones) as a result of the weight loss, changed caloric intake, surgery, etc. compare it with when you experience psychological or emotional stress and just want to shut the world out until you feel able to deal with the stress. Same for your body’s response to physical stress.

Stick to your plan. Don’t stress your body more. The stall will break when your body is ready. Take some body measurements as sometimes, while the numbers on the scale don’t change, your measurements may. Though every plan and advice given is different, two plus hours a day of workouts is actually a lot this soon after surgery. Your body is still recovering and healing (lots of sutures and staples holding your digestive system together). Is your team aware of how much & what activities you’re doing? If not I’d check with them.

Dr Matt Weiner (pound of Cure) is a great resource as is Dr John Pilcher. Check out their videos on You Tube (they have a lot so prepare to scroll). I‘ve included Dr Weiner’s on stalls as a start and to help alleviate your worries. He does podcasts too.

Glad the vomiting has eased.

Thank you for your insight. Yes my surgeon knows about me working out two hours a day and he is happy with my progress. He is only concerned that I am not consuming more food. I don't feel like eating much. I just focus on Protein. I will try not to worry about weight loss. Thank you again