3 Week Stall
JillianMarie73
Posts: 1 Member
Hello all, I just joined the group and hoping to find some ideas on how to break this frustrating stall. I have not seen a change in my scales (with the exception of .6 of a pound in 8 days!) I have lost 12 lbs post op which seems way slower than anyone else on the planet and I just don't understand it. Most days I get up I weigh myself and I want to burst into tears. Of course everything you read says, "You are not eating enough".... give me a break. I'm sad and so frustrated. Some days I feel like I did this for nothing.
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Replies
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Sent you a FR. It helps to have someone look over your food log.
Lots of people told me (during my MANY stalls):
- drink more water
- take in more protein
- add shakes back into my daily routine
- exercise... even if just a little
- of course... eat more... but c'mon how could I?!?! I tried though.
- don't weigh too often... once a week or so
- water weight or being constipated can change the whole weight game
Things will get back on course. You just need to pinpoint the issues. Tracking every bit of food, water and exercise might be the best thing right now.
Ohhh ETA.. you are still early Post Op... I had a horribly long stall early on. They are extremely common as your body is in "Fight or Flight" mode. It is trying to hold on to every bit of fat you have. Once you pass this early stall you will see HUGE drops. I was amazed! I can remember being so upset for about 1-1.5 months early on, then BOOM, it just started falling off. It will happen. Don't give up!!
:flowerforyou:0 -
I hit the same thing... 12 lb loss post surgery, and then 3-4 weeks of nothing. So frustrating, but it was the first of many! And actually I learned that I pretty much lose 1-2 a week for 3 weeks, and then drop a bunch in the 4th week. For me, I knew I had a LONG journey (with over 200 to lose) so I had to get myself quickly on board of "As long as I'm doing what I'm supposed to do, the weight will take care of itself" mode. Also in the first 3-4 months I finally just put the scale away and only weighed myself once a week. People are sooo different on this journey, there are people who lose pretty steadily, and other who drop weight in spurts and stalls. Right now, I've been in a stall for 2 months (this is at 15 mo out, and 135 lbs down) Talk about frustrating! But I know several things are going on, the weight I'm at now, my body was very comfortable with for many years, after a big loss last year, I also know my body is just recalculating itself. It will eventually move on again. So while I know it's frustrating, you are very early on in the process and I promise it WILL work, if you do what you need to do! And it's great! You may also want to look into buidling some calming skills, (if you haven't already) by picking up a yoga class, or downloading some guided meditations (deepak chopra has some good ones)
I'm sure I'm sounding all Zen voodoo, but this whole process is really just a complete mindtrip. You'll pick up again.
FR me if you'd like - Jill 0 -
Just want to say thanks to Jilly and HMD for chiming in. It's very helpful to hear your experiences. I am 2 weeks post op and am already stalled for the past week!! So, I understand how you are feeling Jillian. It is extremely frustrating. For me I think it has alot to do with water intake. I need to really work at getting enough water. All the reasons posted sound about right, but really who knows why the body decides to 'stall' for such a long period of time when you are working so hard.
I'm not getting freaked out, I'm actually looking at it in a positive way. The slower you lose, the healthier in my opinion. It's also better for your skin too. These stalls give your body time to catch up and stay healthy.
I still weigh everyday, out of curiosity, but I don't expect much anymore. I'm still happy with what I see, because it's much better than what it was a month ago. Good luck, don't stress. 0 -
I can't tell how far out you are but I went through a similar 2 week stall at weeks 3 and 4 post op when I switched from a mostly liquid diet to a mostly solid diet. Like others I put the scale away and started a couch to 5k program. I also drop a lot then stall then drop a lot.I noticed during the stall I lost inches (a whole clothing size) so my body was basically still losing fat but building muscle and redistributing my weight if that makes sense. Stalls are frustrating and I of course start fearing my weight just won't drop any more because I've always had a hard time losing. Anyway, in an effort to not drive myself crazy I've started focusing more on fitness goals (like being able to run a 5k) instead of pounds lost as a measure of my success. Focusing on pounds lost at times has been discouraging because of stalls. I've found running to be really empowering and has given me way more satisfaction and appreciation of my body then losing a pound or even five each week. In fact last night my was first run with no walking breaks. I had to run for 20 minutes straight something that would have taken a miracle preoperatively. I was worried all week I wouldn't be able to make it but I did easily. It felt amazing! I'm not saying take up running if you hate running but do find something other ways to measure success other than the scale. Ideas-measure inches lost, body fat percent, progress towards a meaningful fitness goal, getting into skinny jeans. I'm sure others on here have great ideas. Just make sure it's empowering not discouraging! I'm realizing that we are running a weight loss marathon not a sprint and a big part of it is learning how to play the "mental game" so to speak. Good luck on your journey!0
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I hear your pain! I'm 4 weeks post op tomorrow and finally broke the stall (well..I'm hoping it's gone for a bit) I hit after my 2 week post op. I think the part that contributed to it was that I was on a 3 week liquid diet before surgery so I dropped 20 lbs then...then another 15 in the first two weeks post op. Then...NOTHING! So my body was readjusting to a 35 lb loss in just about a month in total.
I was obsessing with weighing myself...but finally decided that was counter productive. I just weighed this morning and the scale is back on my side...down to 264 so that's 3 lbs in the last 5 days since I last weighed.
I did a couple of things but the one I think helped me was that I upped my fats...I ended up getting 2% yogurt not 0 and went with reduced fat cheese not low fat. So i was actually getting closer to 20 g of fat...where I had earlier been getting like 5-10. I'm still staying around 600 cal...but the change in the fat brought me up there from 500 cal. Plus...it tastes better! :-)
Good luck getting over it! If you want to be friends on here as we are in about the same part in our journey send me a request. :-)
Cheers,
Renee0 -
Hi, I'm new to this group. I will be 5 weeks post-op tomorrow. It's good to hear others are also experiencing this. Not only have I been stalling, my weight fluctuates 2-3 lbs every other day. I only had to do a liquid diet one week prior to surgery. So far, my total weight lost is almost 30lbs.0
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Hi l completely know what you mean. l am 8 weeks post op tomorrow. I have been soo frustrated because the scales were not moving. l consciously now weigh only on Wednesday morning so tomorrow will tell. My first real loss was last week- 2.6kg down. l wrote everything in my food diary, started 10 mins in treadmill once a day then twice a day now 15 mins twice a day. I bought my first belt at 4 wks post op and asked the salesman to put more holes in the belt as 'I am losing weight'. The guy rolled his eyes as if he hears thats all of the time. Well I now need more holes as I am on the last hole.
I think that for me tracking every morsel of food, eating as close to 1200 calories as possible, and that little bit of exercise works for me. Maybe it can work for you too. Oh and the great support from most of the people here too!!!
Happy to be a support person for you.
TM0 -
Girl I'm 3 wks out myself and gained a pound I was like what the crap. I went through all that, Paid out of pocket for the surgery (and we aren't well off) and gained a pound , really?? Weighed I 296 initial I was 277 day of surgery, I lost 15 lbs during the initial 2 wks what I called the starve down you know now liquids only but coming off that to soft food must have something to do with the lag. Today I'm back at 262 so. ... back at it trying to keep calories down & protien up, measureing everything , log before I eat , water before food, no drinking for 1 hour after. I have to keep telling my self you wanted this, paid for it ... so use it.
I would love to add friends to support each other0 -
Stalls happen, and are very common. This particular surgery won't take the weight away magically. Your body will do everything possible to keep a hold to all the energy (fat) that it can. The biggest key is to eat your calories, drink every ounce of water that you are supposed to and exercise. You have to get your heart rate up to a fairly vigorous level and sustain it for at least 30 minutes. There is no real magic except staying the course. Remember you are in a marathon not a sprint. The weight will go away if you follow the plan. Just be patient.
If you need a friend on MFP look me up. Almost all of my 30 some friends are WLS (sleeve).0 -
Don't let yourself get frustrated already. I would suggest not weighing yourself but once a week. I am sure you will be losing weight steadily for quite a few months at the least before you reach a real stahl. I have been there and know how it feels, but even if the scale is not reflecting the changes you are making, you should be feeling alot better. Good luck to you.0
