I posted a chart last week called "Data on vsg for newbies" or something like that. It shows my 3-month chart and you can really see the stalls visually. The first one is the longest one and the hardest and it will be different from one person to the next as far as how long it will last. Just know that you are right, the weight is going to come off. Your body is in a bit of shock. It had to spend a good amount of energy to heal and is probably trying to conserve energy now that it isn't having to divert its focus to that. It will break. In the meantime focus on what you can do to help it break - get as much protein and water as you can and be active every day, even if it is just going for a walk.

Additionally, you can decide to weigh yourself only once a week (this doesn't work for me but if you can do that, it would help). If you do have to weigh yourself every day, make sure to track the number but try to think of your weightloss as a rolling average rather than a day to day number. For instance "in the last three weeks I have lost 18 lbs - that is 6 lbs per week!" is a better way to think about it than "Yesterday I gained a pound." Both are true, one is both more motivating and a more accurate way to measure your weightloss, right? So for me, some of it was trust and some of it was working hard to rephrase the question. It is frustrating though - ride it out and stay positive!

Hi everyone I always tell people this is why pictures are so important and I mean underwear pics, I lost most inches on stalls, I would get so sad on my stalls until I started comparing pictures. I will try to attach my pic to show you all but doesn't seam to work, you can add me and see what I mean. Thank you

I agree with Jessvaliquette - I seem to lose inches faster during my stalls...the body us doing some sort of reconfiguration...

Dannadl wrote: »

Stalls are totally normal. That being said, when I hit my 1st on (around 3 weeks post op) I freaked the heck out. I was weighing myself 20 times a day, I was in a panic. My husband ended up loading my scale into his car and taking it to his office for a month. (I'm a stay at home mom). I couldn't weigh in for a month. I just had to focus on doing what I was supposed to and trusting the process. By the time I got my scale back the stall had broken and my panic was over. I really recommend having the scale removed during scales if you need to. Best thing my husband could have done for me.

Now that's the type of support all of could benefit from. Tell your husband to keep up the good work

I do get frustrated sometimes. Pre surgery I was losi g 3 to 4 pounds weekly. Last week I gain weight and this week only lose a pound. But I'm hanging in there and trusting the process

Hang in there and trust the process I was the same way but it picked back after week four, it's your body adjusting. When I was able to work up to 600 calories consistently it seemed to increase my loss, also the best piece of advice I got from my wls team was everyone's journey is different we all loose at different paces but end up at the same in the end - the reason is we don't all start at the same place or have the same body make up. I watch my friends on here post daily losses, I don't have big losses daily (I don't lose a pound a day) but if I wait and capture my weight loss once a week I will the see the scale move 3 maybe 4 lbs and by the end of the month it has added up to a significant amount that makes me very happy!

I stall for 2-3 weeks at a time, but lose consistently from month to month.

My doctor didn't require any diet or weight loss before surgery, though, so it's all come off since.

2BeHappy2 wrote: »

jillcwatson1 wrote: »

Some in these forums mention NOT losing on purpose prior to surgery to maintain their BMI status and others say they lost only during the liquid diet prior to surgery.

Wow, really??
Ive not heard this!
Usually Dr's require patients to lose some amount of weight either so surgery will be more successful or for him/her to see the patients dedication prior to surgery.

Actually, I can understand this. There are some people that I have ran into that have tried to get a bariatric surgery who were required to lose weight prior to the surgery (to "show that they mean it") by their medical insurance...and then because of the the weight they lost they actually dipped below minimum weight and/or BMI required by their insurance to cover the procedure.

This means they not only lost weight as they were told, they lost their means to the surgery. I think it's a crappy move on the part of the insurance company, taking the weight right before the surgery instead of the initial weigh-in, but that's how a number of insurance companies do business.

(But then I don't know what their BMI & weight requirements are. And if you're right at that point and go below both minimums...barring any other medical conditions, do you really need a bariatric surgery? Or can you do it on your own?)

Having said that, mine was covered by Medicare. (It has improved my health so much that my headaches & migraines have lessened to the point that I may be able to go back to work. Which means I will get off of Social Security Disability and be productive again! ) I only had to maintain my weight for 6 months, not lose any. (But then, I also lost around 100 lbs on my own before the surgery itself. And I still weighed in at 356 lbs on the day of the surgery.)

Everyone is different. So everyone is going to have different experiences.

(As to only losing weight while on the liquid portion of the diet, those people need to look at their habits after getting back on to solid food. I've met people that have said the same thing...and then I watched what and how they ate. It was no wonder that they either didn't lose any more weight or they gained it back.)

I was advised to keep my weight more or less consistent so as not to rock any insurance boats. That said, I had to do a 5-day clear liquid diet right before surgery to shrink my liver for the procedure. So I still ended up 15 lbs. lighter than I was 5 days prior. One of my friends who had the surgery at a different hospital had to do a two-week full liquid diet prior to his.

In my program, we were told right at the beginning that the start weight was the weight used for insurance. I lost 100 pounds pre-surgery and spent some time struggling with the decision to continue on with the surgery. I continued on because I realized that all of my weight loss efforts in the past came with a surge of high motivation and then 'something' happened and the behaviors that felt so permanent at the time slipped.

As I develop a plan for maintenance, I am very vigilant for signs of past behaviors and see the VSG as a support that will limit the damage until I get control again. I am very happy I had the surgery and very happy I approached the pre-surgery time the way I did. Had I worried about losing too much, I am sure I would not be at goal today!

Rob