Search the Community

I totally understand what you are going through, and I'm with you in the frustration. I'm 8 months from surgery and I've stalled for the last three months. I've only lost around 20 kilos (44 pounds) and I'm still 15 kilos or 33 pounds from healthy weight. I can't believe this is all the result I will get from a very costly and difficult surgery. I'm halfway there, and I don't know how to jumpstart my weight loss. It seems to make little difference what I eat. I don't eat a lot. A typical day for me is 8-900 calories. I went on a week long trip this Easter and decided to eat whatever. I still didn't eat a lot at every meal, because I get full really easily, but I ate regular food and didn't write down calories. I normally use myfitnesspal, but skipped it this week. The result? I still weigh the same as I did three months ago. Now I've gone back to low carb and I've gained 100 grams. During my vacation, I walked a lot. Didn't make any difference. I haven't exercised as much as I wanted to, because I've had repeated injury, but I still try to move as much as possible. And I cannot fast during the week, because it makes me so tired and cranky, and I need energy for working with difficult teenagers. I'm at a loss what to do.

if you're sticking to your clinic's food plan, then it's a stall. Most of us do experience our first one sometime within the first month or so after surgery, so no, it's not too early. HOWEVER, if you are eating too much, then you need to get back on track. It'll never be easier to lose weight than it will these next few months. This is the opportunity of a lifetime to lose a huge amount of weight, so you don't want to blow it.

So your plan must allow you to eat regular food son after the surgery? I know everyone's plan is different. We had to do protein drinks until you were starving, then added easily digested food like cottage cheese. I lose very slowly but staying on the liquid protein drink for 3 weeks allowed me to drop 15 pounds the first 3 weeks. I think psychologically it helped more than anything! I think you are doing the right thing by adding protein, stick with the 4 ounces, add some vegs, we were told carbs twice a week. I like that you can have them, just not everyday. If I'm told I can't have something at all, I rebel and want it twice as bad. I was amazed at how much I could eat after surgery. Once I was able to add popcorn, which was months down the road, I could eat 3/4 to a full bag! At the same time I'm, reading about people who were 6 months out and couldn't barely take 3 bites and wanted to throw up! I remember thinking mine must be a failure. But I'm a year out, had surgery 2/23/22 and have lost 60 pounds. Stick with it, keep the carbs low or out of there and it will happen. I know sometimes I question if I'm always over eating because like you said, you take one extra bite and you do feel over full. What works for me is meditation, if I can do it everyday the practice of mindful eating is easier to do. I try to always leave something on the plate and stop eating before I'm to full. I suspect this will be a lifetime battle. Hang in there! Your body is still adjusting after surgery and going thru a lot of changes. You may drop several pounds at a time, then stall out, then drop some more. Thats what my weird body did.

By overeat, I mean eat even when I know I'm full. Probably like two or three more bites, but I still definitely get full after a few ounces. If that's not considered overeating, then I'll go ahead and delete that section. Thank you for your support.

I am 4 weeks and 3 days post surgery - nothing tastes good, following my plan and trying new things to see if finally something will taste good - I've tried meatballs, chicken, turkey, eggs, ricotta bake, LOTS OF THINGS and they all taste horrible - getting frustrated and only applesauce and mashed potatoes taste good enough to be able to eat - I keep reading that this will get better, but I cannot live on these 2 things alone, cannot be good for me! Waiting for April 21st for "regular stage" but don't have much hope that things will taste good then either Have had a couple break downs and cried, but trying to keep my hopes up!

I had my surgery Feb. 28, so it's almost been two months. A week after surgery my weight was 212 and i have barely moved since. At first, I thought I was holding weight because I hadn't had a regular bowel movement. Nope, not the problem. Then I thought it was because I started eating too heavy too soon; which was definitely part of the case because I had gained four pounds, almost five pounds back. But then I got back on track and lost the five pounds, plus two extra. But since then, for about the past two, almost three weeks, my weight has been sitting between 209 and 211. I've stayed on track and have been sticking to low carb, high protein meals. Any snacks I have are sugar free and so are the drinks; either sugar free or low sugar. I haven't gone off track until last night for Easter. I had a small plate of food within my limits, but ate a dessert that was high in sugar. I know it's bad that I had sugar at all, but I am proud of the self control I did have with not over eating/eating too much. I listened to my new stomach and stopped when I felt myself getting full; which is something I am still getting used to and figuring out. I have been struggling financially, unexpectedly, after having the surgery so I haven't been able to meal prep and buy all the foods and snacks I need to stay on track and not give in to temptations. And seeing as how I don't know when this financial struggle is going to get better, I don't know what to do about staying up on nutrition. Besides Easter, I've found it easier to barely eat anything at all, than to risk eating badly again. I am supposed to be eating 4-6 small meals a day to make sure I'm getting nutrients and proteins in, but it's more like I eat 2, MAYBE three times a day, high protein meals, just to get close to protein goals. Even though I am proud of the little restraint i had, I am still ashamed that I ate badly in the first place and that I wasn't strong enough to fight cravings. Which is definitely still a real thing after surgery. But I am really scared and concerned that I caused my surgery to fail because of the first time I went off track. Did I? I think I am in a stall. Is it possible to stall this early? What do I do? By going off track did I cause my sleeve not to work anymore? If not, how do I get back to dropping the weight like before? I know the "honeymoon phase" of dropping weight goes on for about a year to a year and a half, but did I cut it short by not staying on track and eating things I shouldn't have. I really need to know and I really need some guidance. My doctor's office is really busy and they haven't been the best getting back to me unless I have an appointment.

I think if we had a poll on here more of us probably stalled around the 3 mark than ones who didn't. It's normal, stay the course, you're not broken you just put your body through a load of trauma and it needs to heal.

We just got back from Barranquilla and have only good things to say about Dr. Jimenez and his fellow docs and staff who helped our daughter, a 16 year old. The surgeon as over 15 years of experience as a bariatric specialist and is himself a gastric sleeve patient. His assistant surgeon has a daughter who had the surgery when she was a teenager. And he has handled many other teenagers from the US as well as Colombia. His other staff doctor has had the surgery as well and done very well (7 months out). She handles the protocol/nutrition and questions, along with standard follow ups, at least one week, one month and several months thereafter. These we do virtually, but we plan to fly down for a follow up visit in 3 months. Our local hospital in Raleigh has a weight loss clinic for teens and they signed us up for local post-surgical care as well. We are very lucky to have them and to have found this nice group of skilled physicians in Colombia. He has very reasonable charges and no hidden or additional fees, no "selling," just good medical care in a top flight, modern hospital setting.

I was getting so upset, I stalled at 97lbs down... this morning I past 100!

In 17 days I've lost 7.2 lbs in 18 days (nothing yesterday, .2 the couple days before. It's slowing down). Better than the 1.5 per week on my pre-surgery diet, but not as much as I hoped for the initial period. I'm hoping it will pick up once I can start exercising. I'm going to try walking again today and hope my back pain doesn't come back (back pain is a seperate issue, but triggers easier since the surgery).

the dreaded week 3 stall... it sucks, but it will pass. I think most of us hit that in the first month.

My stall Finally Broke!!!! It was just over 2 months.

I broke my stall and broke 100 Lbs! I'm so excited to be at this point!

some information: I'm 24 73kg/160,9lbs 179cm/5'10. So I had my surgery around August of 2019. I lost around 50Kg from than till now but I don't wanne lose any more. I started going to the gym last week but before that I also did 3-4 month at home training because I didn't wanne go to the gym before i could at least do something. (stupid to think like that but yeah...) My arms looked like twigs and still do but at least there is a some muscle to see compared to 4 months ago. All the information I find online regarding gaining muscle is all about "eat big to get big" but that's the thing i can't eat big, like probably most of you guys. I have been drinking protein shakes 2X a day protein bars... and other food that contain protein to at least get as much as I can let's say around 80g of protein But I don't see much progress (counting the 4 month workouts at home) and I don't know if I should just trust what I’m doing now or change something... Sorry about my writing, I would say sorry about my English but even in my langue I write with many spelling mistakes.

Thank God for this question and advice because I have been going crazy! I added in veggies and poultry during puree period and gas and bloating is back!! Weight loss stall broke one day and I lost a lb abut then gained it back the next day!!😫

I stalled 14 days out, and then stalled so frequently in that first year post-op, I genuinely lose count of haw many stalls I had. It sucks, but you just have to stick to your plan and have patience for the process.

I had the sleeve don in 2010. I was lacto ovo vegetarian the whole time. I lost slowly for the first two rears, then started to gain. I employed 5-2 semi fasting program and lost to goal (90lbs) by year three. I maintained for less than a year, then slowly started to gain until around 2019 when i platoued at 20 lbs under my initial weight. Around that time i was diagnosed with breast cancer. I went to a “surviver clinic” run by my medical plan(Kaiser). They recommended i go whole food plant based to reduce most causes of premature death. I was motivated. That was 4 years ago. I am currently down 35 pounds from my high. I wish i had done this insted of surgery, because whole food plant based relies on eating a lot of food to work. I can eat quite abit now… i guess my stomach has stretched out quite a bit, but i still cant eat as much as i could before surgery. Check out nutritionfacts.org for lots of current research on nutrition, weight loss and health.

Yes, frustrating, but as everyone has said stalls are common. They are also an important part of your weight loss. It’s the time your body takes to respond to the stress of your weight loss & reset itself to your lower weight & needs like certain hormones & your metabolism. I used to think of them as your body taking a breath, a timeout, shutting the door and saying I don’t want to talk to anyone just like you may at a stressful time. I recommend the videos by Dr Matthew Weiner & Dr John Pilcher. Very helpful on a wide range of topics.

You won’t stretch your tummy. It takes a prolonged length of time eating excessive volumes of food to do that (think how long you were working on stretching your tummy before surgery). What you may do at this stage is stress or strain your healing tummy & delay your recovery. Though some do continue to feel hunger after surgery it is not common as most/all of the section of your tummy that produces the hunger hormone is removed. You could be experiencing head hunger - eating for comfort after the stress of the surgery, etc., eating out of habit, craving a texture, food or flavour, etc. At the moment your body is still producing the amount of stomach acid you needed to digest larger volumes of food in your old larger tummy & in reaction to the surgery. Stomach acid can make you think your hungry (hunger pangs). A PPI will reduce the amount of acid in your tummy (via a prescription or over the counter like Pepcid or similar). Also a growling rumbling tummy is usually a sign not of hunger but of your body digesting food. The stretch you felt possibly was just a muscle spasm (your tummy is a muscle). Usually we aren’t able to eat pudding until we’re on the purée stage about two weeks post surgery & after the liquid only stage. Plans can be very different but check to ensure you can have it. When eating purées, like pudding, I was a teaspoon dipper so only putting food on the tip of the spoon. That way I stretched out the time it took it eat the portion to more like 30minutes & was much like the 5 minutes between sips advice. Also this is when I started, what is still a habit, of asking myself if I really need the next bite or just want it. Listen to your body & go slowly.

For most it is just temporary. Keep your fluids up. Add some extra salt to your diet. If you’re going out or being active take an electrolyte drink with you to sip. Get up slowly from lying down or seated & wait before moving. March on the spot or your feet up & down to get your blood back up to your head. Usually waiting or marching, etc. for 10-15 seconds is long enough to avoid it occurring. I’ve always had a predisposition to low BP (it runs in the family). Now my BP sits around 80/60 and sometimes lower all day everyday & I regularly experience further drops causing loss of vision & lightheadedness. I can feel it coming on just before my vision starts to narrow. I usually stop moving & reach for a wall, chair, table, even a person to ground myself. I sometimes bend over at my waist so my head is lower than my heart & come up slowly. It passes quickly - a few seconds. Occasionally I’ll have a drop, recover then have another one straight after. It’s not debilitating. Just know it can happen. Never fainted either. I have been put on medication but it didn’t help. They were concerned it was so low after my gall surgery they gave me a shot of adrenaline. My BP went up for like three minutes and five minutes later it was back where it was. For me it’s normal.

I think it would be too soon. I'm sacrificing a week of unpaid time off.

I’m five weeks out— none of this for me, and I’ve suffered from vertigo in the past that would cause the room to spin, which totally sucked. I think I’ve heard this before: “worry is just asking for the worse to happen”. Sounds like a doctor would be able to help solve with you if this comes up.

Eh, I operate fairly independently. Not sure id call it brave or just taking matters into my own hands. Insurance would cover, but I was borderline and was told not to lose any weight while i went thru process of 3-4 months to get approved. I said screw that and went to Mexico three weeks later for the same price as my out of pocket would have been. I could NOT carry that weight any longer. Plus, the kids can pretty much care for themselves- I dont have to actually carry anyone like i did after breast reduction after my second kid. The ex husband was pretty useless to help back then, so I see doing it alone as an improvement. No one to complain about it or worry with wringing hands over nothing . Plus, I hate to say it but my body is invisible to the kids- they are too worried about themselves- as teens do.

Sometimes our bodies just decide to hold onto where we are right now. I am 12 years out. I had a wonderful Birthday week - and then some celebrations .... and a trip to Disneyland and ate meals out. I literally gained 5 pounds in a week. Shrug. I went back to what I do.. high protein, low to no processed carbs, lots of fruit and veggies, yogurt, cheese, nuts.... and for the first week and a half....nothing. the 5 lb weight just sat there. I ignored it. Two weeks, nothing, three weeks.... finally this week... it all came off. I did NOTHING different. It just happens that way (for me, at least) sometimes. It WILL come off. Give your body time. Losing weight quickly as we do in the first year is traumatic to our bodies. If your body shuts down, there may be a reason. I always figure my body is telling me that food is limited and we are having a famine ..... I explain to myself that this is not pre-history. I have a freezer and a stove and food. Eventually it will Happen.

This sounds about right. There’s something doctors and others call a “3 week stall” where your body is recovering water lost and rebuilding the stores it expended during the first week or so of very low calorie/healing. The stall can happen earlier for some (it happened at the 10 day mark for me), or a week or two later. Regardless of when it happens, it usually lasts 1-3 weeks (mine lasted a week) and breaks as long as you stick with your guidelines. YouTube has some great info videos on this stall, worth checking out!