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Your stall lasting for 2-3 weeks or even more is perfectly normal. I just possibly have started to get over my first stall, which lasted almost three weeks. We will see tomorrow when I get on the scale. Hang in there - our bodies are just adjusting. I was getting pretty ticked about it once it started to get over two weeks and found that just venting on my blog or going out and getting a bit of exercise helped me get it off my mind. It's hard not to be stressed about it, but stress just raises your cortisol level, which causes weight retention. The scale will start to move again, don't worry!

I had one (or at least part of one) to break a stall - wanted to up my calories, but knew I could only do it with a liquid. I think that was at about week three post-op. Went down fine and did break the stall as I expected.

When was your surgery? How long has the stall been? My stalls last a long time (three weeks) and then I lose. I am currently in one now and thinking of adding an extra protein shake. I also am not great with exercise and need to get better about that. I know that will help.

You have lost 15 pounds in three weeks. That is an average of five pounds a week! Awesome! If you were on weight watchers you would be doing a happy dance! There is typically a stall at around the three week mark. Mine lasted a few weeks with the scale bouncing up and down a pound or two daily. If you haven't already, start measuring yourself and whenever you hit a stall, measure yourself. Chances are likely you are losing inches. Also, look at your protein intake. I know at three weeks I was not getting enough. Try to increase it a bit if you can. It can help break the stall. Be patient. If you are eating the calories per day you mentioned and getting exercise, your body has no choice but to lose! I know it's frustraing, but it happens. I have experienced two stalls in my 11 weeks post op. Both have lasted three weeks, BUT the important thing is that the scale is going down over time and not going back up! I didn't let the second one bother me, but I did take the time to evaluate what I was eating to see if I needed to do any tweaking.

Hi Sharon! Not to worry, you're having the three week stall... Almost everyone goes thru it. You can search *three week stall* and finds loads of people worried just like you. I stalled for weeks but I measured myself and I still lost inches just not weight. Don't worry, your doing fine. Just keep doing the correct things and you will get smaller

three week stall.....happens to almost all! its not magic, it wont just disappear. you will get there, but you shouldnt worry about how quick you lose it, some of us take a while to see that scale move....and btw 22 pounds is a great number!

This thread sorta gave me an "Aha!" moment. I've been struggling in a stall for the last couple weeks, frustrating for sure. But, I have started excercising the last two weeks as well and started on solid foods three weeks ago, so I wasn't surprised. I was surprised that suddenly, lots of coworkers really started saying stuff to me about how good I'm looking and my pants got even looser. I'm hitting up thrift stores next weekend for some inbetween clothes... I'm looking too baggy and I fear my pants falling off. I had a pair of shorts fall right off while I was at home... hysterical. Thank goodness I was the only one at home at the time.

I am officially 3 weeks post op, and have not lost any weight for the past week, whereas I was losing a couple of pounds consistently each day for the first week. The first two or three days of this stall I experienced in complete denial. It's water weight, I would think to myself. Day six and seven of my stall brought me to google searches for answers. I've read countless reasons as to why I am possibly stalling, the following being more believable (at least to me) than others: It is a normal bodily response to drastic water loss and decreased caloric intake Your body is storing every bit of calorie you take in to burn for the healing process for your surgery, instead of burning actual fat itself My searches also brought me various methods, or "tricks" people used to break them from the vicious three week stall: Take in 200 more calories a day Increase physical activity Get one more hour of sleep each night Make sure you are drinking 2 liters of water every day, and 70-120 g of protein I have yet to be cleared safe by my surgeon to hit the gym just yet because at this point, I am taking in so little calories each day (300 to 500) that I would be so dangerously exhausted. As for increasing my caloric intake, I will have to do it in the form of protein shakes. I am still on a full liquid diet (thick liquids), so solids are out of the question for me. I also finally brought myself to sign up for a gym membership for the first time in three years. I work three days a week which leaves me 4 days of nothing but free time. Hopefully this will allow me to get back into a steady routine for the next year. At least I'd better get in there regularly! For one year of membership, it cost me $459 total but with no monthly payments. I'd be lying if I said I'm not excited about going to the gym. I vaguely remember the feeling of my body after a seriously intense workout. How I somehow just felt "light", and my limbs ached and felt like jell-o because I pushed myself harder than the last time. I also felt stronger. Anyways, I hope this week three stall breaks soon.

Hi Everyone, How are you all doing? I am slowly losing weight and have lost a grand total (from the very beginning of my journey) of four stone and 9lbs. Or for people who don't do stones, 65lb of horrible fat gone. Yea me. Or more importantly, yea my sleeve. So my ticker is lying, I need to change it again, but for some reason it is not responding how it used to. Before, I could click on the appropriate page, input my new weight and it would automatically change my ticker for me. Now it is a complete hassle, as I have to do a new ticker in order to get it to change!!! Why has this happened? I have no idea, is there an easier way to do it? I am sure there must be, but this technophobe has no way of knowing what that is. Any suggestions will be gratefully received. (Not necessarily understood, but still gratefully received.) So I am back losing again and hopefully won't go into another long range stall. I am always amazed at how much happier I feel when that needle on the dial drops down another pound. I shouldn't let it make that much difference to me, but it does. How sad is that? I guess there are many of you who feel the same way as I do. It is amazing how comforting that is, knowing there are others out there that really do know what I am feeling. Really understand the highs and lows of trying to lose weight. I am really busy this week as I am preparing for my trip to America, I have finished my sewing, and the new clothes fit perfectly. (giving myself a pat on the back) I am hoping to fly without the aid of an extension belt, not sure yet if I will be able to but am keeping my fingers crossed that I can. I will be off line for the full three and a half weeks but will let you all know how it goes. Regards Phoenix

I've only been drinking 1 carnation instant breakfast per day. I am not coming anywhere near meeting my Protein goals. Maybe with the premier protien (if I can find it. . . the first one was a sample from a nutritionist) I can at least get closer. My surgeon has one of the stricter post op plans I've seen. Nothing but strained liquids for the first three weeks. It didn't sound too bad until I discovered that I can't tolerate those super thin nectar and Isopure Proteins. Nevertheless, Dr. Nick was adamant that the majority of complications he has encountered resulted from people eating things that were too thick to fast. I chose him because I trust him, so I will tow the line. I know not getting enough protein may stall my weight loss for a bit, but right now healing my sleeve comes first. Plus, as of today only one more week to go!

You are in the most common stall that there is... the "three week stall" that happens to almost all of us. Go up to the top of the vst page, in the search bar and look up three week stall. Also, you will go through a "surge" of hormones. I don't remember when nor how long it lasts, just that omg I am so f'n hormonal, I felt like I was crazy. Just know this - it too shall pass. Change your perspective. Concentrate on your "levels" .. by that I mean protein, how many oz of water you get in, etc. You will have many ups and downs in this journey and through out each trial, you will learn how to best equip yourself for the next hurdle. You CAN do it! And the weight's going to start zooming off... watch. If I could, I'd bet money on that. And I'm not a betting woman... Hang in there sweetie! OH and I (for a while) only allowed myself to weigh every Monday morning. Otherwise, it drove me nuts. Now, I don't care what the scale says as much. It varies (for me) up to 5 lbs a day depending on the time of the day. Limit scale time to once a week if you can!

Do what your dr. says and it WILL come off. There is a common "three week" stall that is so true. You will have many more stalls. Do not live by the scale. Weigh once a week, two times if you are ocd about it. Try to limit that (I'm preaching to myself ok?). But do what you are told - watch protein, get your water in, exercise whenever you dr. gives you the green light (I think not yet for you, but IDK 100% to be honest). It'll happen. Watch!

Believe it sister, you are really losing weight and YOU WILL GET TO GOAL!! If you have lost 29 pounds since your surgery, you are losing almost 15 lbs a month! Considering most people stall at three to four weeks and then start back up again, I would say that is pretty darn awesome! Just think, if you had been able to do that when dieting alone, you would have been doing a happy dance! That being said, I have that same little voice of doubt once in a while. I think many of us do. I know I have seen a lot of posts on the forum of someone thinking that they are the only ones who will not be successful at this. It's not surprising, since most of us were unsuccessful at dieting on our own, or worse yet...were successful at losing and then put it all back on again and then some! But this is different! Yes, you still have to make the right choices, BUT those choices are so much easier to make when you are not hungry! You will get there. You have made an amazing, life changing choice and it will pay off for you!

A plateau is being the exact same weight for three weeks straight. It takes your body time to learn how to deal with major surgery, drastic weight loss and a significantly lower amount of calories. I'm not saying this to tell you to stop complaining - we all get frustrated on our journeys. I'm telling you this because for some people (myself included) losing in stops and starts is our body's normal. I lost all of my weight for the month in about ten days. I stayed the same weight (with a three pound gain around my cycle) for the rest of the month. I lost, on average, just over six pounds a month. And I had two nine week stalls in the 17 months it took me to get to goal. So, my advice is to take heart in the fact that you're losing. Try to let go of the expectation that you'll lose every time you step on the scale. At least once or twice you're bound to see a small gain instead of a loss, and as you near your goal, you'll find that you stay the same weight more often, too. You'll lose. You just removed 85% of your stomach and can't help but lose if you do the right things. ~Cheri

Yippie - I get to report that I'm officially a member of the Century Club! Interestingly, I was out of town all last week dropping my daughter off at college and getting her settled in to her new apartment. I ate LOTS of carbs. Lots of sandwiches at lunch time (argh-bread) and I even had a mini bagel for Breakfast a couple of times. Dare I admit it...and a glass of wine with dinner (very stressful week). It is so challenging to be away from home and find good protein/low carb options (Applebee's has a great under 550 calorie section of their menu, though). But I think all the carbs and subsequent return to lean Protein this week shocked my body out of an ongoing stall/slow spell I was experiencing. I just lost four pounds in three days. So, onward toward goal.

Im the same way! As a matter of fact my battery on my scale went out on me after three yrs the day before my surgery! I havent had the urge yet to even go and buy a new one. I almost want it to be a suprise when i go to my follow ups and the dr tells me how much more ive lost. I love going to my one week follow up last wed and them telling me i was 17lbs down! It felt great. So i am trying to hold out as ling as possible and just let things happen and find out what i weigh when going to see my dr. I dont know long ill last but im going to at least try it for the first three months. I see too many ppl upset or down on themselves when they hit stalls. And i know me i would be really hard on myself if i knew i was on a stall.

So, I am officially 12 days out. Tomorrow, on the 13th day, I have to go back to the office. Now, I don't necessarily mind what I do, but the idea of going back is scary. Will I be able to maintain my diet? Will I have any bathroom issues? I also usually work about 5 minutes from my home. However, I have to go to another office for a client meeting tomorrow morning. My office is great. The people are wonderful. This other office is horrid. It's everything that I hate about my job in 4 walls. It's also about an hour from my house. So, in addition to getting up and getting fully dressed for the first time in 13 days, I also have to drive quite the distance. I'm so upset about it. The client wouldn't budge on the meeting date. I don't understand why everyone thinks that their tax situation is so complex as to warrant a face to face meeting. Giving me your tax documents to my face does not make things any easier for both of us. In fact, it costs the client more money because they have to pay for my time in the meeting. I do this for a living, trust me, your W-2 is not complicated. In addition to this, I have to have a meeting with the managing partner about my list of clients that I need to call and "remind" to pay our bill. Now, that will be as much fun as a barrel of monkeys. This is a task usually set for people who are one step higher than I am and who make much more money than I do. Maybe I should be happy that I have the responsibility. However, this is a business, and they see dollar signs. They have found some one who can do the same tasks for less money. So, how wonderful is it that they have chosen little 'ol me to have the responsibility and work without the title and pay...OK, I need to get off of my soapbox. So, on my list for tomorrow are loose clothes, a huge water bottle, a protein shake (I'm unlikely to be able to drink more than one), and my laptop. God help me, it's going to be a long week. To make matters worse, I seem to be stalling a bit with the weight loss. I was losing 2lbs per day during the first week like clockwork. Now, the scale hasn't budged in three days. It's so depressing. It's also a lot like every other "diet" I've tried. I'm still not consuming much more than 200 calories per day. I've tried increasing protein and increasing food, but it doesn't seem to be working. Maybe I should try increasing my water intake. I feel bipolar, now. My emotions are all over the place. Just a few days ago, I thought I could have it all. Now, I don't know if I want it all. I just want to lay in my bed and watch movies for another week!

I had surgery on July 16th and lost well the first two weeks, then I haven't lost anything in the last two and a half weeks. I have read that people have a stall at about three weeks, but do they last this long? I am trying to get more liquids in, but my rings are tight every morning, so I know I am retaining water. Also having trouble getting more than about 40 grams of protein in a day. I am thinking of trying more meat because I am really sick of my protein drinks and they only have 12 grams of protein anyway. Should a stall be this long when I just had surgery a month ago?

Sometimes my brain just can't seem to agree with itself, and definitely not with my body. I know that the week three stall exists, and I know that my hormones are out of wack, but I am having a hard time not being frustrated at my body. I think it's a combination of the two, plus the fact that the week before last I put out a tiny also. I haven't had a decent loss since the middle of week 2. I have been stuck at 298 for the past week now. I should really learn to follow my own advice better. Put the scale away, Izuri! It's much easier said than done. It would be helpful if my rational brain could emerge a little more this week. I am on my period for the third time since surgery, which was almost exactly 3 weeks ago. I am not sleeping nearly as well as I used to, and I have had no energy for the past 3-4 days. I thought that maybe I'd switch things up on my diet. I've tried diligently to get in my protein, have cut my carbs down to under 40 like my doctor recommended, and have been loading up on water like it's going to disappear tomorrow. Nothing had helped me budge from 298. My rational brain knows that this surgery works. It knows that I'm already down like 27 pounds and that's a lot for 3 weeks, that I should just be happy and put the dang scale away. I know I'm retaining water because with all that like 80oz of water I got in yesterday I think I went to the restroom maybe 3 times (TMI? Sorry.) there's just no way I couldn't be retaining. Plus, my 28s fit, whereas they were loose before. I guess there's this little part of my brain that keeps worrying that maybe that was it. Maybe those under 30 pounds are what I get from this surgery. I know that's almost certainly not true, but I just wish that part of my brain would hush up. I just hate doing everything right and having it not work. I have read through a lot of week 3 stall posts to try and keep myself from being discouraged. I am not going to give up, but I would love if anyone had recommendations of things they do when they start feeling frustrated about a stall. I am gonna make it through this and come out on the other side finally freaking losing again. Anyway, I know it's been ranted about 100 times over, but I just needed to get it out somewhere.

I confess that I haven't counted calories or Protein or anything else since surgery (9weeks ago) I focus on eating protein and getting fluids in., but I have no idea exactly how muchim getting. I confess that because of the first reason I'm pretty sure that is why I've only lost 34lbs. I'm extremely concerned that I will be here next year saying how much I regret the sleeve and all I've lost is 35lbs and $5500 I confess I have a cup of coffee with half and half every morning and at some point between my other fluids I have iced tea. I also use a straw when drinking it. I confess that I've never been able to lose 34lbs on my own EVER, yet I still don't beliebe when people say they can tell I've lost weight. I'm convinced they are only saying that because they think I expect them to say it. I certainly can't see the loss so I'm sure they are lying about hat they see. I confess that I'm extremely frustrated that when I had surgery I was wearing a size 24 pants and now, 34lbs later I'm barely into a 22, and it's a tight 22 at that. I confess that out of 9 weeks, I've stalled twice, both times for almost ten days each, almost three weeks of not losing anything but confidence in this sleeve!

Not exercising can certainly be a factor in why you are not losing. But so could a lot of things. some you can control and others that you can not. First verify you are getting in enough calories, Water and Protein, other wise you will not lose. Exercise certainly helps, but even with exercise without those three you will stall. Stalls also happen for no real reason other than your body needs to adjust to your new weight etc. Make sure you are measuring your body, for the 3 weeks I was in a stall I saw the inches dropping but not the weight. Whenever I stall I up my protein and within a couple days my weight tends to start dropping. It took that 3 week stall for me to figure that out. I was eating 300-400 calories a day and 50 g of protein. Now I eat 700-800 calories a day and 75g plus of protein a day. Without enough calories and protein your body will eat your muscles not the fat and the weight stalls. Dont forget your Vitamins as well. Be patient with yourself this is a long process (marathon) and not a short race. Follow the rules and you will lose that weight, but follow the rules. Do not become complacent. In the beginning it is harder (10 weeks post op and it is still hard many days) but it gets better. Remember being stationary and eating the wrong foods is what brought us here in the first place. Best of luck! You can do this!!!

Don't worry, you're just in a stall. If you search 3 week stall or 4 week stall you will find a number of posts on this subject - You are not alone! You have just hit the dreaded stall that most of us eventually get to. The weight loss WILL continue, you just need to stick to what you're doing and not give up on your body. It's adjusting to this new shocking lifestyle. You threw it a curve ball. It's just trying to make heads or tails of it. However you wanna call it, your body will go back to normal and you'll start losing again. If you're looking for more information on this, there are quite a few threads I was able to find that may be helpful: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/47671-dreaded-week-3-4-stall-any-tips-to-break-it/page__hl__%2Bweek+%2Bstall http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/48315-stalled-at-3-weeks-and-now-at-6-weeksnormal/page__hl__+week%20+stall#entry443548 http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/47251-scaled-hasnt-moved-in-one-week-three-weeks-post-op/page__hl__+week%20+stall#entry432477 You will get through this!

On the first day of the challenge i was 195 today i weigh 184.5. I will be 14 weeks post op tomorrow. I went three straight weeks did not lose a single ounce. So i am assuming it was the "three month stall" at least i hope! My goal is to be under 180 by labor day! My bday will be the 5th. Then i cruise on the 15th! I would love to be 175 by sept. 15! nsv!!! I ACTUALLY jogged one half mile last night with out stopping, with a total of 2 miles on the treadmill and 20 minutes on the gazelle! Made me smile!!! I do allot of that lately!!! Loving my new life!

Readytolose Thanks for turning me on to this group. I too have a low BMI started at 194, been on Pre Op diet one week and down 9 pounds. Hope to get to at least 140, but would love to be in the 120-130 range, but I'll take baby steps to get there! =) For those in a stall, I have heard people talk about going back to an all liquid diet for three days just to jump start again. But Im pre-op so no idea.

People do not stall because they aren't eating enough. I see SO many people climb on here freaking out because they're "stalled" and the first thing they do after three whole days of no loss is start screwing with their diet. This is a major shock to our systems. Shedding weight at a rate of more than a pound a week is a shock to the body. It stops and starts and tries to recover along the way because you've completely changed from gaining weight to rapidly losing weight. This has been widely debated here but the starvation mode thing is doubted but a lot of us. Too many people carry those misguided notions from life prior to surgery (we MUST eat 1,200 calories or we'll starve, eat with a calorie deficit and you'll lose every time you step on the scale) and try to apply them to life post op. It's not the same. Diets are NOT all one size fits all, I say this over and over again. Why people who fail to lose the weight following a strict 1,200 calorie diet and exercising prior to surgery but then try to apply that same failed experiment to the sleeve post op amazes me. Calories are fuel. They are neither good nor bad. food in and of itself is not good or bad. Life and diet are not black and white. Food is fuel. The nutritional makeup of your food can be better or worse for your body, and you can certainly waste food space (very limited for a while post op) on absolute crap choices that do nothing to further your nutritional goals. Living like the sleeve is a diet is the biggest culprit I see in stressed out sleevers and regain posts. Everyone's body is different. How many calories you need is based upon how your body does. I was amazed to see that I lost best initially with about 800-900 calories a day. It took me months to get to the point where I could eat that much. I still lost when I ate less, and I still lost when I eventually upped my calories. It's not an exact science for most of us. There isn't a big, bold line we can't cross - it's flexible, and a lot of it is dependent on what you're eating and how your body reacts to those foods. I am a huge advocate of eating normally. That means no foods are off limits and moderation is key in all things. That said, I truly feel that our weight issues start with our brains and our habits of disordered eating. So until a freshly sleeved person learns more about how their new body tolerates things, and until they work on some of the head issues, I wouldn't say that worrying about upping calories, and downing possible trigger foods to do it, is a good idea. It's a process. There is nothing wrong with indulging once in a while - it's normal. But building a habit of telling yourself that you need extra calories, and therefore a bowl of ice cream (or some other such treat) is necessary each day *could* be a slippery slope for a lot of people. I truly believe you'll have such a hard time getting in your basic Protein first calories that you won't have room for the thought of anything else. That's how it is for the vast majority of us. And nothing tops a lower carb Protein shake for nutritional punch. We don't eat them to add to our calories in most cases. We eat them because you can drink pretty easily once you're healed, and drinking up to 50 grams of protein with only 200 calories for a meal is a darn good way to stay healthy once you're sleeved. You brought up some interesting questions. I am not trying to slam you or any of the other responses here, or lecturing you as if there's only one way to live post op. I've just spent a lot of time on these boards in the last three years and I've seen a lot of trends. Best of luck to you, and congrats on trying to work some of this out prior to surgery. It shows you're trying to prepare and that's important. Too many people skip the questions and research! ~Cheri