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it's a stall. Almost all of us experience them - and the first one is usually within the first 4-6 weeks after surgery (it's usually the third week, but not always - sometimes it's the second week and sometimes it's the sixth week. But if you want more info about, search this site for the "three week stall" (it's so common to have it the third week that we call it the three week stall). There are over 17,000 posts on it here on BP (and no, I am NOT kidding..). best way to deal with it is to stick to your program and stay off the scale for a few days. Stalls typically last 1-3 weeks before you're on your way again. And just so you know, this is likely the first of several stalls. It's a normal part of weight loss.

Read up here on the Three Week Stall. Almost everyone gets it and what you are doing is not wrong. Chill out and hang on tight, when people say this surgery is a roller coaster, they were not kidding. And think a minute here.. how could you stay the same forever n less than 700 calories a day? Worry will not make you lose faster.

I agree with @catwoman7 that stalls can last much longer than three weeks and it is completely normal. When I was 5 months out I was probably eating about 800 calories per day. Also not to be a downer or anything but I have read that the amount of calories that an exercise machine tells you you have burnt is not all that accurate. They have been found to overestimate by as much as 40% sometimes. I think you are good and you just have to stick with it and you will start losing again.

I wasn't eating that many calories at five months out, but then again, I wasn't exercising as intensely as you are, so...?? I do know that the further out I got, the longer stalls seemed to be. Three weeks is not that unusual for a stall, actually...

My weight loss has been VERY slow and in a pattern. I lose for about a week and then I stall for three. This has been ongoing since surgery. I have "only" lost 44 pounds since surgery day on September 12th and I have only lost two pounds since Christmas, which was five weeks ago. Be patient, it will happen and your body is just freaking out right now.

Hi All: I have been busy keeping busy watching all the new posts and wishing everyone well from here in CA. I wanted to write a follow-up to life after the sleeve procedure almost three weeks out this Thursday. First of all I wake up every morning and tell myself this is a JOURNEY, not a RACE! With immediate success with weight loss during the pre-op phase and even rigth after surgery, you get this feeling like "Wow, At this rate, I should be down 100 pounds in no time." Reality check, you didn't gain the weight in two months so it isn't going to come off that fast. For those that are feeling a little let down because the weight loss is slower than you expected, please, please do not get discouraged. I know that I started at 240 On Oct 1st and don't know what I weighed on surgery day. As of today I am 214. While on the surface you might say that is fantastic, let me tell you the whole story behind this weigh loss. After surgery I am assuming I immediately lost weight. How could one not... you aren't eating or drinking anything. I think we are sort of like spounges that after preop and the one week post op, we are all rung out. There is literally nothing left in you. Then you start to feel better and you get rehydrated. Guess what, rehydration will start to actually make you gain weight. Now the former fat girl in me starts to panic at this point. I say to myself, "you just paid an ungodly amount for this surgery and you are gaining weight?!" Again,we revert back to what most of us know and are familar with and that is yo-yo dieting and the initial rush of weight loss followed by a serious let down of regaining the weight. Got a news flash for you.... you are not gaining weight and you are not reverting back to your old ways. It is almost impossible for you to gain weight back with 7/8 of you stomach being gone. Anyway.. back to my story. So I start to rehydrate and gravitate around the 216-217 mark on the scale. At week two I start back on soft foods (actually truth be knowns, I started back on a lot of things that were not on my doctors short list.) For me, I am really looking at this as a life long change and I am taking my time along the way to get to know the new me and the new stomach. Tast buds to change and things that I loved before don't work for me know. This is not to say I am eating like a crazy woman (again, you won't be able to because trust me, we you get beyond three ounces of anything you literally start feeling like you are having a heart attack with chest pains, cold sweat, dizziness. I think this is normal. For me the best advice is if this happens to you, stand up and criss cross your arms over you head. It passes but it shares the daylights out of you.) So back to my diet, The good things I have been eating are fish, greek yogurt, meatballs with a small amount of sauce, ground beef, chicken chewed really really well, eggs, oatmeal, Soups, potatoes, cheese. What I have experimented with (and when I say experiments I mean like one bite.. doughnut, ice cream, cookie and three tortilla chips with salsa. These were favorites from my past. While us sleevers don't experience dumping, at least for me the sweets don't sit well with me and have actually lost a lot of there appeal. My sampling of foods for me was a good exercise to see what works and what doesn't. I think I have a realsitic view of what I can eat and how much. I have really had to educate my immediate family on not being the food police with me. A simple explanation of "I know my body or at least an learning new things every day about it... I appreciate your love and support but I also need you to trust me. If I have a bite of something that does not look like "diet foos" please don't freak out and judge. I can only eat 3 oz at a time and I know that eating my proteins first is what works for me. I am human and my head is still going to send me triggers that I want something so let me try and learn along the way. I am no longer a fat person that is going to go through life on a yo-yo diet. The surgery I have done is permanent and restricts my intake so while there are food choices that I can make, I cannot undo the procedure or sabotage the journey to being health and happy as I did in the past. This weigh loss is going to happen." After a week of going up a couple of pounds and then holding at the same weight I am starting to lose again (not five pounds a day but a steady progress.) Kepp the faith for those of you who are entering week two or three, you probably will experience a stall. It is normal. You did not make a mistake in your decision nor are you the one rare exception in the bunch that got sleeved and won't lose the weight. Remember... it is a JOURNEY not a RACE. A year from now, we will all go back through the posts and say "Remember when I was complaining about the pre-op diet, freaked out about my surgery day, in pain the first day or so, nervous about starting food, mad at the weight stall, excited about the change in sizes and the comments that friends and family are making. We are all going to get there and in our own time. Sending my love and support to my fellow November sleevers. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! - Marshawn

I think I need to revise my goal due to the longest stall in history (ok in my history LOL). Let's say I don't gain anything before thanksgiving! Original Weight 188 Current Weight 155.1 and holding Goal Weight.....ok 154.1 would be nice!!!! (That takes me out of the obese category and makes me just "fat") LOL I used to teach a class to bankers on setting goals. I would have never taught them to make such an easy (ya right) goal LMAO! And let's add a two mile walk three times a week! That I can actually control! Oh...except DS woke up sick so today will be a challenge....grrrrr

hi everyone - Three weeks out. Yesterday one one of my incisions started oozing yellow. I had a small green spot on the scab as of last week. I messaged my care team. I have a feeling it is infected. It looked wonky since the start and they told me at my last appt it looked fine. All my others are nearly gone now. Still dealing with the seriously itchy welts from the Lovonox allergy. They have not gone away or gotten smaller. I have one 2-4 inches in diameter every place I injected for the first two weeks. Literally covered in then. Between weeks 2-3 I only lost half a pound (I only weighed Sunday). Either the stall came early, or all the Benadryl and swelling from my rash is keeping me from loosing (Benadryl can cause weight gain when taken over time, and I was taking it 3-4x per day for a week). Pretty down about everything. I feel like I am missing a chance for major weight loss and just ridiculously uncomfortable.

I am three months post op and I have stalled a good part of the time. I even gained one pound from last week to this week which was new for me. No, I don't like it but it's all part of the journey like the post above states. They are extremely frustrating. I only lost 2 lbs my second month but 8 on my third month. So...hang in there as depressing as it may be. Your body needs a break from the rapid weight loss.

I had surgery 3/28/16 and have lost 31 lbs... but I've been at the same weight for the last 4 days. I know everyone says during week 3 you hit a stall, but it's still disheartening when all I have been on full liquids for three weeks.

could be a stall, but crackers and fruit snacks are a no go on my list and im on stage three, 6 weeks out....did you dr give you an eating plan?

I had a good three week stall beginning 2nd week of December and just ending this past week! I was sleeved on 11/12 so it started at four weeks post op. I am most definitely the slowest loser on these boards -

Hi everyone..yes we passed our onw month mark. I have been enjoying following this thread because we are all in the same place time-wise. I have lost weight and inches about 32 lbs since surgery, had a three week stall but finally got things moving again. I have had two awful experiences with slimeing and nausea and then vomiting, I vomited for 6 hours and was terrified. Of course it was the weekend and there was no blood so I tried to ride it out and keep calm. The cause was cooked cauliflower, I boiled it forever but ate a full cup of it and ate it fast and it stuck and I stayed up until 3am pacing and freaking out. Today is a new day and the cauliflower has gone away. The problem is that I want t be eating real flood and all I can do is puree shakes and soup. Oh well. I have to realize that this is all such a change for me. I am 66 years old and am a food critic. Obviously I had to take a break from work for 6 months. I go from loving the sleeve to hating it...an emotional roller coaster. I have opted out of Thanksgiving this year, too stressful.

it's the infamous three-week stall. Happens to almost all of us. If you do a search on this site for it, you'll find literally thousands of posts on it. Lasts 1-3 weeks. Just stick to your program and stay off the scale. Your weight loss WILL start up again.

Many have eperienced this. Its a stall, they can initially appear anywhere from week one up to who knows. Most of the initial stalls are experienced between week two up to about week six and can last anyway up to a week to three weeks or so. Keep following your post op plan, and the scales will reflect your efforts again soon. By the way it would be helpful if you filled in our profile...Surgery type, surgery date weight, current weight, height etc - it provide context to questions etc.

Generally for the first two or three weeks you are going to be swollen and retain fluids some so you may not see huge amounts of weight come off. I actually gained almost 15 pounds in surgery but it was gone a week later along with a few pounds. I'm eight weeks out and have lost 26 pounds since surgery (the rest of my weightloss so far was pre-surgery diet) so I'm losing 2-3 pounds a week and have had a couple of one-week stalls.

I'm going on to a three week stall. This is no fun. I realized that as soon as I got my period is when I stopped going down. I've been walking for 30-45 mins a day. Getting in for the past three days over 60 grams of protein and about 64 oz of water. I only eat chicken beef or egg. I follow everything my Dr said. Do you think the scale will start moving soon?

I am almost 4 weeks post opp now. I dropped 28 lbs in a month before surgery. Then I lost another 28 lbs in three weeks after. So a total of 56 lbs in 7 weeks. Now I am at a stall and I feel it is to early for a stall but maybe I am wrong ? I was weiging my self every day and I was losing 2 lbs a day and now the last three days or so I have not lost any thing. I have ranged from 300 calories to 1000 ( The 1000 was just one day and that was yesterday) Most days I am between 600 and 700. I also have developed a staph infection mostly in my leg ( I get these some times) So I am on antibiotics and not sure if maybe the infection could have somthing to do with my stall ? I know it has caused my BS and BP to come up. Any way I am not to worried about it but I did figure that I would lose between 60 and 100 lbs my first two months out and then maybe slow to 20 lbs a month for awhile. My BMI is at 50.19 now so not sure why I would stall so early.

Yes, a cup of liquid (not necessarily puree or cream soups) anything goes down easily. I remember in the hospital when they brought my first meal: good size bowl of broth, small juice, popsicle, Jello cup and I was thinking what on earth am I supposed to do with all this? All I'd ever heard was sip, sip, sip and don't ever take in more than 1oz at a time. Boy was I in for a surprise when the nurses were really irritated with me for not eating it all and not drinking the huge pitcher of ice Water they kept refilling! At home on Clear Liquids I'd usually fix myself a 16oz bowl of broth and sip it down slowly but I didn't have any trouble taking it in. I had a stall in week three. It was also time for my period and every month, things seem to stop a week and a half before I get my period, then I start and drop 2-4 lbs over night and start inching down again from there.

Hey there Kaz, I was actually thinking bout you today and wondering how you were doing. Ahhh mazing by the way!- .5 is still .5 take that and add it to the rest it will all add up in due course. I've learnt early on to remember not every time i overate or ate wrong foods did I see immediate weight gain but sometimes I did and sometimes it came on slowly but eventually it did of course - therefore on the flip side, I expect I should see some immediate losses, some slow ones and some stalls.... Just coming out of a stall and slow loss these last three weeks. Keep going strong - and remember all the good advice and support you give to everyone else :-) Thanks, I needed that. Yes, slipped off the bandwagon into a chocolate lake again. Not the answer! Have to keep reminding myself of the money and pain I've put myself through for this; I'm determined again! X Hi Kazyy! I think we are both walking the same path but we will not be defeated! I know stalls are frustrating but we have to push forward. One of my tools is to only weigh myself once a month or I just wait until I go to the doctor. I took someone else's strategy about getting more Protein in. I also let my clothes tell me if I am losing. I bought a dress on 4/25 that was too small for me (it was bulging on all sides, lol). Yesterday was my second time wearing it and it is now too big. I didn't realize how big it was until I saw myself in a photo my friend took. So although the numbers on the scale aren't necessarily going down, my body is obviously getting smaller. So.....take it slow, keep eating healthy, exercising and getting in your Water and protein and you will do just fine.

Hi everyone! First time poster, but I've been lurking around for a few weeks. I had surgery on 7/29. I lost 20 pounds in the first 2.5 weeks, and then hit my 3 week stall a little early. It was hard meeting my protein and fluid goals while I was on the liquid diet, but once my dietician cleared me for soft foods 2 weeks post-op, it got a lot easier to meet those goals. However, I've thrown up three times in the past week and I'm starting to lose my mind a little. I am still learning what my new stomach likes and can tolerate, but it's not really food that sends me running to the bathroom. The first time, it was because I thought I still had some food left in my stomach, so I took a medication that requires food in my stomach, but apparently my stomach emptied even faster than I anticipated. The last two times, it was because I waited half an hour after eating to drink water, and I guess that wasn't long enough. Today in particular, I haven't been able to even come close to meeting my protein and fluid goal because I threw up earlier this morning. At least they've been isolated incidences and it's not an all-day thing... I'm also still feeling extremely tired. I've gone out for a few walks/left my apartment for a few hours, and it just completely wipes me out. I was out for a few hours to see a comedy show on Friday, and walking around the area with my friend after the show left me feeling physically exhausted and with sore shoulders lol. That's how I know I'm really tired. I take my vitamins and move around my apartment every hour, but I was hoping that I could at least do a short cardio workout by now. Even the thought of doing that makes me tired. But otherwise, things are going well and I'm glad I got the surgery. I didn't the first two days while I was in the hospital, but things really do get easier every day... now just to get the throwing up under control!!!

Weight loss mode. Just recovered from the three week stall, the scales finally moved down one today. Currently 255 Hope to be 242 by 9/19 Sent from my KFTT using the BariatricPal App

I enjoy reading this thread. I tried 5:2 for several weeks and it helped me break a stall. I've since returned to three meals a day, but I do see the benefit of this method.

My stall is also officially broken. I've lost four pounds in the last week, which does wonders for my moods! I'm still not weighing every day, and it really helps me not focus so much on weight. So far I'm down 30 pounds and I'll be eight weeks out tomorrow. That's not as much as I wanted to be down by now, but 30 pounds is the most I ever lost on any "diet" in the past. I did Nutrisystem in 2006 and lost 30 pounds in almost four months. So, to drop that amount in half the time is a definite success, and I can't be too displeased. I hope to lose another 13 pounds over the next month - that will bring me to 199 pounds. We'll see if it's possible. La: I am SO happy to read your stall is broken. I know how relieved I was when the scale moved again! I hope you're doing well. WildIris: It sounds like you're doing awesome! And you seem very happy with your success so far. I'm sure you'll be hitting that goal in no time. Coops: I've only had one cycle but I expect one in the next week. I can tell you that it DID affect my weight. I gained three pounds! It didn't drop off again until a few days after the cycle ended. I also experienced the first (and only) food cravings and "hunger" I've felt since surgery. I wanted to eat everything in sight, especially bread, chips, candy, etc. It was awful. Now that I'm due in a few days, I have the same huge desire to eat, eat, eat. It's GOT to be hormone related. I'm munching on cheese sticks and very ripe fresh fruit when the urge to much hits me. It's not great, but it's not a Snickers, either! Dickson and Kathy: You guys are doing awesome. Why is it the men lose so much more quickly? Unfair! Ellisa: I just did the same thing with my clothes! I have two huge totes of clothing to send to my mom and sister because they're winter clothes and they will never fit me again. Isn't it wonderful? I have a GoWear Fit (like a Body Bugg) and it does the same thing for me as your new shoes - it makes me want to move around and get active. Whatever it takes, right? Lou: You are kickin' butt, buddy! I still get envious when I see how quickly the men lose, though. I'd be happy to have a way to fit a bit more food in - sometimes I still can't meet my calorie goals for the day, so being able to make some extra room with a good belch would help me finish those eggs or fit in a few extra bites of chicken. Keep up the good work, you're doing a great job! Possumtrot: Great job! Huge, HUGE congrats for making it halfway to goal (and in such a short time!) and for losing 50 pounds. Before you know it you won't be shopping in the plus section any longer. That's got to be a great feeling. I bet everyone is noticing, huh? I can't wait until I hit that point. Well, everyone, I'm off. I don't have a tremendous amount of time to post since we're gearing up for a month of visitors and then we're moving in November. I'm busy, busy, busy! ~Cheri

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.