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I went for my two-week post-op check up today. (Actually, I'm just 10 days out). In those 10 days I have lost 10 pounds. I'd say that's pretty good. I have been stalled at 207 for three days, but I feel bloated and today I have the cramps. Yuck. Monday I get to start full liquids, which includes purees. Yay something other than sweet!!! I'm thinking pureed taco Soup, maybe some bean soup, etc. Hope everyone is having a great day!

I usually lose all my weight for the month the week after my TOM. I stall for two weeks and gain for about three days before. Everyone is different. Pay attention to your own body. Step back and look at the long term.

I am happy for Tom, too!! You are doing great, too!! Looking forward to my surgery very soon!! Take care. RSR53 So happy about the jeans. Thats just wonderful. I agree that there is bad with the good. But for me the good out numbers the bad. My weight at pre op was 234 my weight today is 198 and 5 1'. I am what is considered by my surgeon a "lite weight" But my BMI was 44. So to me I wasn't a lite weight by no means. I did hit a stall at three weeks that lasted three weeks. I just cleared that hurddle. So the frustration that goes along with it is there. I do struggle with decisions that I make everyday when preparing my lunch for work. Just because I can doesn't mean I should. So I stick with Protein first. Generally I barely have room for carbs. I do try to squeeze in a brussle sprout. My husband has not had WLS either. He does his best to encourage me with my decision to have had WLS. He has been there the whole time. It does help to have a cheerleader on your side. He works out with me. We take turns on the treadmill, spot each other when lifting weights. I haven't eaten out yet. I guess that will be when I'm ready. I do get strange looks at work when I am eating. A big girl eating small pieces of chicken cut into tiny squares. Then the giant bottle of Water I carry around all day. They were so use to seeing me eat junk food, sodas, chips. All day everyday at my desk. So yeah I have done a complete 360 on my lifestyle. For the better, So yes it can be frustrating. There is no going back for me. I will never allow myself to fall back into unhealthy habits again. The sleeve has made see why I eat. I do wish you the very best on your journey. Deb

Hi Kitty, Great news that you lost 50 pounds!!!! I'm almost to that 50 pound mark. I did stall at week three and stayed there for three weeks. I know what you are saying. There are times I do not want to eat either, I do because I know I have to. I know I need the Protein and I know I need the fluids as well. I'm almost to that three month mark to. I know exactly what you are saying. I haven't ventured out to eat yet. I really don't want to either. I don't know how I would handle it. So I don't even think about it. I do very well with my protein 70 grams a day. My fluids are above the 64 ounce mark. I also found that I do not think about food all the time now, like I did before. It seems to have become mundane. I struggle with the options available to me to prepare my lunches and such. I became very tired of eggs so I don't eat them anymore. I lost my fondness of yogurt as well. I have found I do very well with seafood. I did try shark. (Not for me.) I will try to re-introduce some fruit back into my diet. I get 30 to 45 minutes of exercise a day. I know all of this will be a big adjustment. Like with any life changing event. We do adapt to our surroundings, so I believe we will adapt to our new lifestyles. I don't regret doing this and I would do it again in a new york minute. Wishing you much success on your journey Deb

So happy about the jeans. Thats just wonderful. I agree that there is bad with the good. But for me the good out numbers the bad. My weight at pre op was 234 my weight today is 198 and 5 1'. I am what is considered by my surgeon a "lite weight" But my BMI was 44. So to me I wasn't a lite weight by no means. I did hit a stall at three weeks that lasted three weeks. I just cleared that hurddle. So the frustration that goes along with it is there. I do struggle with decisions that I make everyday when preparing my lunch for work. Just because I can doesn't mean I should. So I stick with Protein first. Generally I barely have room for carbs. I do try to squeeze in a brussle sprout. My husband has not had WLS either. He does his best to encourage me with my decision to have had WLS. He has been there the whole time. It does help to have a cheerleader on your side. He works out with me. We take turns on the treadmill, spot each other when lifting weights. I haven't eaten out yet. I guess that will be when I'm ready. I do get strange looks at work when I am eating. A big girl eating small pieces of chicken cut into tiny squares. Then the giant bottle of Water I carry around all day. They were so use to seeing me eat junk food, sodas, chips. All day everyday at my desk. So yeah I have done a complete 360 on my lifestyle. For the better, So yes it can be frustrating. There is no going back for me. I will never allow myself to fall back into unhealthy habits again. The sleeve has made see why I eat. I do wish you the very best on your journey. Deb

Just what I needed.....starting my fourth week of my "three week stall". So ready to be losing again.

Hi Maddie, A three week stall is a long time. I know you're frustrated! You're just now six weeks out, so you are starting on 'everything'. Carbs can bring you to a halt fast depending on what you are eating. To kick start a plateau, I'd always up my Protein and Water, do a little exercise and it worked like a charm every time. Protein for me was normally 60 - 65 and I'd go to 70 - 80. My calories when I was where you are were between 500 and 650 per day...and I did good to get that much in. During my losing period I averaged 675 per day. I had great restriction, I still do. I call cottage cheese, the Breakfast of champions, I love it. 1% of course. Eggs; steamed shrimp (i keep a bag on hand for lunch), tuna, I measure 2 TB of lite mayo for a can; whatever meat you want at night; stay away from bread, rice, Pasta, all sweets, nothing until you reach goal; chips; if it's in a bag or a box....chances are, you shouldn't have it!!! The exception, Special K Crackers, a few with tuna rather than bread are ok - recommended by my dietitian. They even have a little Fiber. I have two glasses of skim milk per day. I get liquid and 16 grams of protein, killing two birds with one stone, so to speak!! Greek yogurt, the plain, has TONS of protein in it, add Stivia or some other artificial sweetener to it, or sugar free jelly....a little fruit, be creative, just nothing you shouldn't. Great source of protein. I hope these suggestions help!!! Three weeks is a long time, you can overcome this, I promise you!!! Good luck, this tool works, just work with it!!! Also, I still weight and measure EVERYTHING....and keep an on line food log, it's good to know exactly how much you are eating and to keep track of your protein and calories!!! Just a suggestion!!

If you are not doing so, join a site like Fitday.com. Write down what you put in your mouth. 1200 at week three is pretty high. You might watch salt intake too... drink all of your water... you could be retaining water. Like others have said, the big 3 week stall is common (Mine was at 2 weeks and lasted 4 weeks) I was eating 350-600 cals a day when that happened! Stalls happen. The sleeve works if you follow the sleeve rules... protein first, drink your water, exercise (but please don not overdue for the first 6 weeks) walk until you can do more. Exercise patients too! I don't think that many insurance companies would pay out hundreds of thousands of dollars on sleeve surgery if your worst fear was true! CHILL Hip!

Stalls definitely happen, even if you have a perfected daily routine. (I like Reverie's term that weight loss is not "linear.") I was clicking along, losing pretty regularly, but hit a wall when my doctor and I agreed to eliminate another of my daily medications. Good news for me about daily meds, but it messed with my metabolism, which I think had grown accustomed to how I was living my daily life. The after-effect was that I went up and down fighting a half pound or so for nearly three weeks. Like you, I had tried adjusting this or that, in hopes of getting the scale moving again. In the end, I changed the foods I was eating (more solid Proteins, fewer slider foods), and bumped up my Water intake. And bingo - that was the key. I lost four pounds within a few days, and the scale is moving downward again. As others have suggested, look at every aspect of what you're doing daily. Is something different? Is everything still the same old thing? Maybe that's what needs to be changed. Bodybuilders achieve success by muscle confusion, by changing up their routine frequently. I'm beginning to think weight loss works in similar ways. If the daily numbers end up the same, how you get there may be the key. shake up your daily life a bit, but maintain end-result consistency, and see if it doesn't help. Good luck! Dave

Hey Hip! I know it is difficult but try to stay positive! The first couple of weeks are about getting better, healing and recovering. At your stage in the game Water is going to be important, try to get in as much as you can. I hit the dreaded three week stall and the same as you, I stayed there for 2 1/2 weeks. This has become my pattern but I am still losing albeit slowly and I am now 10mths out. Over the last couple of weeks I have really struggled mentally with this whole process, but I am getting there now and feeling more positive about myself. It will come off... as yes, extrafluffy said you don't really have that much to lose; you're a 'light weight' ...lol have a look around at other stall posts.. there are a lot of them! It would seem that a lot of us go through this and it is part and parcel of our bodies way of taking time to adjust. take care of yourself and keep us posted... chin up! =]

I had a close starting weight (242 pounds). I lost a grand total of 23 pounds my first month post op. Stalls are very common at week three - mine started week two. I've been a stop-and-start loser the entire time. Stay the course, DO NOT mess with your diet plan. It only makes you crazy. As long as you're following surgeon guidelines, don't mess around with anything. The weight will eventually come off, I promise. I'm a slow loser compared to a lot of folks, but I've lost more than eighty pounds in nine months and I'm almost to goal. Hang in there. And seriously, you won't be able to help it but try not to compare yourself to other people. Your body will lose at it's own pace and stressing about how fast or slow it happens is only going to mess with your head. And remember - stalls happen. This is probably the first one and most likely it won't be your last. Accept that it's part of the process for most of us, and that it will eventually break if you keep eating the right way. Good luck! ~Cheri

This has been aired a lot of times on this forum;people who have just had surgery and a couple of days or weeks out stall in weightloss, IT'S NORMAL! Take a deep breath and please reflect on how long it's taken us all to pile the weight on?! It's not realistic and / or healthy to think it's ALL going to fall off in three weeks! You've put your body through major surgery and it needs time to recover. Please be kind to yourself and your body and give it the time it needs! Stick to your dietary plan and the weight will come off, hopefully in a healthy way and in a pace that you can mentally handle. Best wishes and good luck!

Haven't posted much lately. I have been working on this stupid stall for about three weeks. It broke finally!!!! So excited!!!!! I have lost another four pounds this week!!!!!!! Amazing, just amazing. I'm now exactly one pound away from onderland!!!!! I am so hoping that by this Sunday I will be under 200 for the first time in ages. Thanks to everyone here during the stall I used everyone's suggestions. By not stressing over it it finally happened. The power of positive thoughts. Deb

Congratulations! And I'm glad it's helping your diabetes. I've seen folks on here end up completely off their medications; I think most of them are Type 2, but even so going down that much in just over a week is exciting. I was sleeved same day as you and haven't lost anything, but I have an adrenal condition and had to have buckets of steroids the day of surgery and the next couple days. I'm still dumping the fluids from that! Plus I had miracle loss on the liquid diet. I teased my doctor that made this week my three week stall. But the sleeve is gonna make this work where it never has before. I'm soo happy for you.

I had my surgery on 3/2/11 with BMI of Texas in San Antonio. I went into surgery at 322 lbs and as of this morning I am 257 lbs. I have had one stall a week after surgery that lasted nine days and another this past week of 7 days. The two stalls really bothered me, but just as I read on this forum, they were temporary. I also had a three week battle royale with the gout in both knees and ankles, so my exercise has been limited until last week. This surgery is a great tool and I am still getting my 'sea legs' as far as broadening my food choices. I got overly ambitious on two occasions with poor outcomes... Hang in there and you will be successful. With the road blocks I have had, when I look at my results so far, I realize these are just slight impediments to a healthier way of life. I wish the absolute best to all of you. TexasReD

I cannot comment on the legitimacy of the "starvation mode" theory; however, what I can say for certain is that I have been stalled for two weeks and I have been burning many more calories than I'm consuming. I'm getting in about 700 calories on a good day and burning upwards of 1000 calories/day (biking, walking, elliptical, treadmill). I figure that just seven weeks ago my body went through hell with surgery (although I had a smooth recovery and felt back to normal by day three post-op), so I'm trying to be patient and am going to keep pushing forward. I think eventually these things balance themselves out. So I might not be losing weight now, but I think my body needs time to figure things out and catch up. I've been overweight my entire life; I can't expect my body to adjust to all these changes as quickly as my mind has.

It looks like you lost some weight pre op. My doctor said the first 30 pounds were the easiest. After that it gets harder. Looks like you may be in the same boat. I lost 12 pounds total in the first two weeks and nothing in week three. I was ready for the 3 week stall and didn't get freaked out. I keep looking at 42 pound total loss and am feeling better than before surgery. Stick with the program and it will come off! HUGS

Yesterday I decided not to weigh myself. I had been a little obsessive the past few weeks, kind of obsessive, and sort of endlessly disappointed the way I always am on the scale. You know there is that after-party feeling you get when you've just gotten weight loss surgery and even the loss of 30 pounds in three weeks somehow doesn't satisfy. It's the death of the fantasy-surgery in which you fly back from Mexico suddenly weighing 135 pounds. I mean it was weight loss *surgery*, right? Medical Magic? Where the hell *is* my flying car, by the way? I know there are people who give you this advice anyway. The Weight Watchers lady, the Jenny Craig lady and the Diet Center lady were all prone to the same advice and now thinking back on it they might have all been the same lady. Remember her? Skinny, size zero dress with a tiny waist and no sleeves, huge grin on her face and at least en years younger than you perkily dispensing dictums about how one should comport one's self in life. I swear she was always the same girl. And as far as I knew I was listening to a person who was subsisting on styrofoam and black tar heroin. Jenny Craig was probably the worst diet ripoff I ever encountered -- five hundred dollars "registration" fee and then I would come to get "my food", as they called the minsucule globules of prepackaged crap frozen dinners and "snacks" such as two thumbprint sized, elven lemon butter muffins. Jenny Craig is owned by Nestle Corporation. They are in the food business. The whole thing is designed to sell a vulnerable, aging and overweight population of females their crap food at an astronomical markup. It's all like this, all of it. All of it. What I keep thinking about still is all the lies and nonsense I paid for to try to lose a hundred pounds for the third time and I just knew I never would. I would just *keep buying products* as some sort of offering. Sure I was overweight. But I was doing something. I was spending thousands of dollars a year in extra shit I never used or got satisfaction from because those thousand dollars represented some kind of hope but then....after a while..it's just what you do. You're fat -- this is not a condition but a demographic, a role, a llifestyle. Your market speaks and your ears perk up right away. The salesman in your living room gets you to part with only six payments of 59.99 for some Chinese appliance wih moving parts you are supposed to press or move or kick; or some tape or "plan*. I will never regret the money I spent on weight loss surgery. What I regret is all that *other* goddamned money. Tangent, sorry. I decided to stop weighing myself because I am trying to save myself from the feedback loop I seem get sucked into with the scale. I know it's "stall week". I know I'm going to "stall". I would just rather not hear about it from that appliance. Because what it doesn't know is that I barely have a stomach anymore and I am eating less than six hundred calories a day on average so it's very *likely*, I mean one could *project* that I am losing a shit-ton of weight here. I'm sticking with that for the time being. For as long as I can stand it. It's very zen of me. And today was much better than yesterday. Special K went down with joy and peace in its heart; and then around 4 I went to Culvers and got a cup of bacon and potato Soup to dissect and pulverize. It also went down like a sleepy baby and gave me a nice, rounded, carby buzz. I had some juice in my veins today and did not cry, although I did get way too interested in mineral makeup products and at-home microdermabrasion which I had to force myself not to buy. I don't look all that great for a person who just lost thirty pounds. I look tired and kind of sucked-in and gray, which is what I hear happens to people who've . had surgery recently. But I decided it was not time to worry about that yet. It's really unlikely I'm going to look like Heather Locklear tomorrow no matter what I purchase online. A little more new normal today. And no scale, which to me should be the most normal thing of all.

Just wanted to share my story so far. I had my 1 week appointment at the Dr.s today. I had my surgery last Thursday 4/14. It has been an easy recovery for me. I was out of the hospital the next afternoon, Friday. On Saturday, I had promised to dogsit and went to walk dogs three times. I also grocery shopped. Sunday was two more walks and some errands. I have been out every day since. I have been doing doing some walks with my husband and yesterday we did almost three miles. The doctor said everything looked great. I am down 18 pounds, 10 since the surgery and 8 from my five day pre-op liquid diet. My starting weight was 237 and I am 5'7" tall. I can't see or feel any difference in my body yet though. Getting the Protein in is tough. I do not like the shakes but have been able to tolerate the Isopure drinks which is a big help since a 20oz bottle has 40 grams of protein. I usually get my 64 ounces of Water in and am getting about 60 grams of protein. I am averaging around 400-500 calories a day. My eating plan was nothing at all the afternoon/ evening after surgery, then 2 days of Clear liquids followed by 12 days of full liquids. Next is 2 weeks of purée and then 2 weeks of softs. Full diet taken slowly starting 6 weeks after surgery. 7 more days until pureed food which I am looking forward to - only to try and get more protein through food. I'm not hungry and making meals for my family hasn't bothered me. I am dreading the thought of an upcoming stall. I am also fearing losing my hair as it is super thin to begin with. I am off pain meds and have been able to sleep on my side since the second night. My only problems are slight nausea here and there, but not bad enough to have to take the meds they gave me, and diarhea. I was also lucky as my surgeon did not put in drains. My other issue is that i had the top of my hand turn black and blue, but it was not the hand that had the IV. I know others have had more issues after their surgery and I feel bad as I read their posts. I just wanted to share my experiences so far. Please excuse any typos as I am typing this on my phone and it won't let me go back and reread or edit. Good luck to all the upcoming surgeries!

I was really looking foward to eating again but there are some drawbacks to coming off a liquid diet. First thing is your stomach wakes up and wants to have a long, serious talk with you,. I woke up today feeling a little sick. Just a little nauseated, a few cramps in my intestines. The tummy is pissed. The tummy wants to know what it ever did to me. And finally, the tummy is putting up with none of the shit I tried to lay on it before. Oh, no. It is in charge now. It is recovering from surgery and no way in hell is it parting with the TV remote. Eating was a little easier today mostly because I applied some of the principles I've read here on the board and also because I gave up trying to eyeball what I thought would go in my stomach and broke out the kitchen measuring implements. 1/2 cup Special K Protein Cereal. Out of the measuring cup and into the bowl. 1/2 cup milk. Slowly. 30/30/30. 1/2 cup Healthy Choice red Beans and rice Soup. Chew. Swallow. Slow slow slow. 1/2 cup cottage cheese. It all went down pretty well but the whole time I've felt guilty for eating at all, and also nervous that I had to measure. See the thing with me is I can either be hyper-undisciplined and just dive into the carb ocean, fall asleep inside a cherry pie. Or I can be like this. Obsessive compulsive. How many calories? How many carbs? If I get it into my head to eat according to the numbers no kitchen implement, measuring device or obsessive thought goes untouched. I was hoping that this surgery would free me of *both* things so I could be a normal person so really just the introduction of digestable food has given me a case of nerves. I caught myself thinking today that I might have gained weight because I ate a mashed potato yesterday and felt vanquished. Okay. So this is all stuff I've read people on the boards saying before. Learning how to eat again is weird and miserable and usually causes some kind of strange breakdown somewhere later in in the first month. I did not actually regret what I did to myself but there was a sudden realization that all the unconscious food assumptions i had made up to right now were no longer going to help. Because my stomach simply was not going to let me get away with a single bad choice. My son told me he thought the reason that WLS works so well is tha basically you're afraid your stomach with explode if you eat too much. It's actually not like that, it won't explode. It will *complain*, the way the villagers complain via pitchforks and barn burning. My stomach now reminds me of my mother, who I would rather kill me than *complain* at me. I allso went swimming yesterday and loved it. I've been looking forward to that for three weeks but a few hours after I got home I felt cold and squeezed out. I couldn't get warm for the rest of the night. I turned the thermostat up to almost eighty and snuggled a heating pad. And finally I realized I overdid it. An hour in the pool after recenly...well, recently...was just too much. Just because you can have a mashed potato does not mean you're fully recovered. On the contrary, it means you've got all this other crap to do like count the number of times you chew your oatmeal and figuring out how to not be so overcome with stupidity you don't even know it's time to get out of the pool. . Recovery is ongoing. Today I recovered from overdoing it in the pool yesterday, and overdoing my portions yesterday because when your stomach says NOT ONE MORE MOUTHFUL it is truly not kidding. And I am also recovering from my fear of food. I figured it was going to be stall week this week and I also figured one possible reason is the stomach's getting back to it's job of digesting stuff. The problem is I didn't figure on how I would feel about it. I am afraid I will never lose another pound now that I am eating again until I can get somebody to take the rest of my stomach out. But that is completely irrational and I know it. I ate 380 calories today and to do it right with no pitchforks it took a lot of attention and effort. Simultaneously I'm worried I am starving and/or gaining back the thirty pounds. This cannot be the new normal otherwise my stomach has just become my new career.

Yea 5 weeks.... The first two weeks I was really positive and this last week I just don't feel like anything is happening, like I am in a stall on the pre-op diet, not sure how that happens, I'm not eating hardly anything. Plus every three months I get a depo shot and it is coming up to get it again, May 2nd, day before surgery. Since I have been getting the shot I never get my TOM, however it must be the drastic change in my diet because I have had a light one for the last 2.5 weeks, enough already.....I suppose that is making me more irritable and frustrated. Sorry if that was TMI. I just want it to get here already and I am afraid if I don't lose anything else, he might postpone me again.... Started reading a new book, so hopefully that should keep me busy. Thanks for the support =) Coming here keeps me busy for a while and I love reading all the successes people have and seeing the photos.

I'm so glad to hear that everything went good and that you are feeling GrrrrREAT! LOL I was the same as you 3 days post op, walking fine and sipping tons of baby sips. I'm almost a month out now and I can handle mushies, tuna and seafood meats like scallops and snow crab very well (they have lots of protein too by the way), which is especially good if you have a hard time choking down any type of protein drink on the planet like me! I wish you the best of luck and success with your weight loss. I lost 20lbs the first two weeks and had the dreaded third week stall everybody talks about, but right after dropped another 7lbs in three days. So, don't fret if or when the scale doesn't move on or about the 3rd or 4th week because it is normal. I too wish I had went to Dr. Almanza a few years back when I didn't have as much to lose :-( Oh well better later than never right! I take a One a Day Women's Active Metabolism vitamin, a vitamin B-6 high potency for energy and metabolism and a hair/skin/nails vitamin from Wal-mart. Even with such a little amount of food I feel FANTASTIC!!!! Take Care. You are going to do really well and lose all of your weight :-)

body composition changing. i have been through two shifts in measurements. kind of surprising. my weightloss stalled for about three weeks. I had a fill so everything is moving again. I am learning the weight goes then the body shifts. I am beginning to wonder if the plateau we go through is more of our body adjusting to the weightloss. I was really shocked yesterday when i put on a pair of pants that were a 20. i am so used to wearing 28-30. Congrats on your weightloss!

The scale hasn't moved since last week. That's an initial eighteen pounds at the end of maybe the first week, and nothing thereafter. I think my three week stall came early and I am making myself not think that this might mean I am going to turn out to be a slowpoke loser. I can't start soft food for another seven days. I have to wait eight days til I can swim. I am still changing my drain gauze. Two days till I can stop fussing with paper tape every day after my shower. I miss my moisturixing body wash and my bufpuf I went shopping yesterday and tried to get excited over cream Soups. Brought them home and attempted to add unjury Protein to these things and three attempts at this ended up in the sink before I gave up and had a Yoplait LIght and Fit Red Velvet Cake. It's clear to me that I am in the valley of the worst part of the recovery period for a VSG. Nothing is happening, eat your Jello. Just eat your Jello and watch Midred Piece on TV and go to bed at a decent hour. Your metabolic chemistry has undergone something like a nuclear detonation so just shut up and whatever you do, do not go on a rampage and get a bottle of wine and a philly cheese steak at Culvers. I am on Day 13 since my surgery but I think I'm on Day 2 of gutting it out.

Hey Dani, Try not to feel disheartened! I know it is diffcult. I am well known for my stalls...lol... and am currently in the middle of a LONG one, but I am not gaining so I am relatively happy! It will pass, at three weeks out concentrate on feel 'well'. Remember that your body is still adjusting and is probably wondering what the hell has happened. Your stall will pass and you will lose weight. Chin up and let us know how you get on... =]