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Hold on, I'm about to use SCIENCE! Your body has a set number of calories it burns even if you are completely inert (sleeping, G-d forbid in a coma, etc.). It's called your basal metabolic rate (BMR). It fluctuates with your weight and with how fast your metabolism is. For, say, a 40-year-old, 5'4" woman who weighs 250 lbs (not unusual for a bariatric patient), BMR is around 1800. Now add on any kind of daily living to that, which required calories, and you end up with a number called total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). If you're the same woman above and you're sedentary, your TDEE might be 2200; if you are one of those nutters like me who goes to CrossFit and goes running and works a physical job, your TDEE might be as much as 3000 calories. Now. You've had your surgery. You are not physically capable of eating anywhere near that amount. Let's say you're at 800 calories a day. Simply by eating those 800 calories and existing, your body will naturally be in a 1000 calorie a day deficit. Add in sedentary lifestyle, and you're in a 1400 calorie a day deficit. Generally speaking, about 3500 calories is a pound lost (this is not always true and can be overcome by fluid retention, fluid balance, hormonal changes, menstruation, eating really salty foods, vitamin deficiencies, etc.). Now let's say you're "overeating" and you're doing 1200 calories a day; you're still 600 calories short of your caloric needs just to exist, and 1000 calories short of what you need for a sedentary lifestyle. You are going to lose weight. You are not going to 'ruin' anything. What is happening to you is your body is rebalancing its fluids. That is why the "three-week stall" happens. Every body is subject to the rules of CICO (calories in calories out), and eventually CICO will take over from your body's rebalancing and the numbers will drop again. And do measure yourself once a week! Bust/chest, waist, abdomen, hips, thighs, calves, biceps, neck. This week I didn't lose a ton of weight BUT I lost a half inch off my waist, and I can tell because my trousers keep slipping and I had to put a new hole in my belt. One suggestion: don't weigh every day. And if you can't help it—some people just have to, I'm one of them—keep a running tally and then pick a day, let's say Tuesday, and average your weight over the last seven days. Then use the average weight to gauge progress, not the number on the scale that day. Where the thick smoothies and things come in is that your stomach is still healing from the trauma of surgery. But here's the thing—your body will TELL you when it doesn't like something you eat. It will clam up your stomach. Or make you nauseated. Or have unstoppable hiccups until your stomach empties. Or give you the sniffles (which is SUPER AWESOME during a respiratory pandemic, let me tell you). I ate a bite of an egg roll yesterday and got punished for it. So... tl;dr... don't worry too much about it, especially at first. Feed your body the protein and liquid it needs, and then move on to other foods.

You are doing fine. Some folks gain weight from the IV in surgery. I gained 10 pounds during the first two days. It will come off. There is also a three week stall that is soooo disappointing... get ready for that too... and you do not feel real restriction until you get to dense protein at 4-6 weeks, so do not freak out. Just hang in there, the body is just trying to figure out what the heck you have done to it... You will start losing soon. Just make sure you drink your water, stay away from a lot of salt and walk walk walk. Good luck!

I have been actively trying to up my calories every day. Yesterday, I got over 700 calories and over 80 grams of Protein (and half of the protein was from "real" food). I was in the middle of the "three week stall," and I have finally shown a 1 pound plus loss each of the last two days. I think that the extra calories helped me here. Being able to add scrambled eggs this week really helped. And I can add fish on Sunday. That will hopefully make a difference, too!

I am four weeks out. I made my husband hide my scale because it didnt move in four days and I freaked out. I googled and it seems lots of people talk about a three week stall. Did any else experience this? I am going to the gym 5 times a week and trying to get all my protien in. I am just not sure what to do?

I agree with the above poster - many people don't loose weight for a week or so because you can gain up to 9-10 lbs from the fluids they fill you with during surgery. Or, you may be in the "three week stall" which can happen early and last for a few weeks. Make sure you're getting all your water and protein, and hang in there!

my surgeon said going back to the pre-op diet (Protein shakes plus clear liquids) for a couple of days will sometimes get things going again. Haven't tried it since my only stall thus far has been the "three week stall". Since I'm over seven months out, he probably figured I was long overdue for one...

More Water, less walking time. You definitely need to get in your Protein, water and some calories, but you're having a couple of issues. One, you're in the classic three week stall. Search for it here, you'll see that almost everyone has this issue. Two, muscle weighs more than fat and walking 2 miles a day definitely builds muscle. So, you're actually doing a good thing with the walking. It also will boost your metabolism and help prevent sagging skin down the road. Patience is the number one thing we all have to learn. Don't weigh yourself every day and enjoy the journey! That last one I'm learning from other posters here, like FavoredOne. It's a great lesson to aspire to learn.

three-week stall for sure. Happens to probably 90% of us. Just stick to your program and stay off the scale for a few days. It'll eventually break (usually takes 1-3 weeks) and you'll be on your merry way again...

No - do not go back to a liquid diet. Stick to your plan. You are in the infamous "three-week stall" that probably over 90% of us experience. Stick to your plan and stay off your scale if you have to. It WILL break. Always does. You will have other stalls along your journey - just stick to your guns. Don't get back into "diet mentality" by trying to starve it away. Just stick to your plan. P.S. Stalls typically last 1-3 weeks. You are just fine.

Hi there Be patient my friend - the “three-week-stall” can happen any time from day 3 to month 3! Three weeks is common, but 10 days is as well. Stick to your programme and suddenly, you’ll see the weight drop away. Even better advice - start measuring.make careful note of WHERE exactly you measure (take photos, side on, of where the tape lies!) - often in a stall, that is when I drop a pants size or shirt size, so being able to measure other than with a scale is useful! X

I have been in a three week stall and wondering about it myself. I do, however, think that I am losing waist line, so I'm keeping a tape measure in the bedroom to check. I feel much stronger now that I'm walking and working more. I am over the post-op weakness that plagued me earlier. I am comfortable with my diet - 12 to 16 oz. of high protein foods and a protein shake a day. I feel that I should drink more water to kick the weight loss elves into production. We will see.

There is a point where many may: have more capacity to eat more food/stomach relaxes get their hunger back weight loss slows or stops start gaining weight reach goal and navigate maintenance are past the "honeymoon" usually past a year or more may be earlier find themselves in a new "stage" different from the beginning stages after WLS finding the old methods used to take off weight may or may not work are finding a way to stay the same weight after gaining or losing too much the issues are no usually longer about what Protein drink to buy, the three week stall, the funny taste of food, gas pain, eating in public, hair loss, insurance approval..... come to the conclusion that the process NEVER ends, it is a lifetime of learning and doing and sharing and counting and moving... and that is the new normal. Realizing what is meant by "the sleeve is a tool" and it is only part of the process, you can gain all your weight back if you don't start forming a new life and just resting from the work and eating "normally" after getting to goal will result in weight gain for many. These are some of the issues I see arising for "vets" and distinguishes them from "newbies"... which we all were once... You can't know how the sleeve and the rest of the body and mind will be until you experience it for yourself over time. 1-2-3-5 years later, things change. We don't know about 10 years because there just aren't many out there with current style sleeves to talk to. But some at 6 months are getting some of this experience, I think after a year or two you really see the Vet issues even clearer. Some don't come back here, so hopefully they are doing great, are living life and not gaining or losing too much.... the ones of us that are still here are experiencing the stuff listed above... some are having NO problems at all. I love my sleeve and my life, and at this time (2 1/2 years out) I am still not at goal, but very close and believe I will make it to goal pretty soon, and have some plans on how to maintain I think I can follow. Taking the long view has been very helpful for me....If I took the view that if I didn't lose all my weight by 6 months without pulling all my hair out or I was a failure if I didn't lose 30 pounds in the first month, then this experience would have been hell. I have some good support friends here that have been here for years... we chug along together, and check in often, share research, worries and challenges, and we will share the pleasure of accomplishment as well. I plan on staying in contact during maintenance when I get there. Maintenance may well be the most difficult part of this journey. Keeping the weight off is the trick. Someone here said it best... reaching goal at 3 years feels just as good at reaching goal at 6 months. Who cares as long as you get there!

OK, so officially I have been on a plateau between 224-226 lbs for 20 days. I am almost 6 weeks out, so this is the dreaded three week stall... started at three weeks, and lasted for three weeks too! I probably weigh myself too often, but even if I weigh once a week, I would still stay the same for three weigh ins. I'm pretty sure I am doing everything I should. The body is just saying NO right now. I get to start going to the gym again in a few days... so Im hoping that will boost the loss. Wah Wah Wah! Thanks for letting me cry a little!

I was told to up my calories as close as I could get to 1000 and more Protein after I did that my three week stall broke ! Sent from my iPad using VST

I was sleeved June 15th. Started at 324 got down to 291 day of surgery now at 274... Feels like I should have lost more? Following diet, exercising daily. Plus was on a three week stall...just broke it.. See other posts where people have lost a lot more within first month. Am I being to hard on myself?

Totally the three-week stall. It lasted a bit over a week for me and then WHOOOOOOOOSH the weight came flying off. I'm averaging a bit over 4 lbs. a week now (hooray for the honeymoon period!) and 59 lbs. from goal. I know it'll slow down as I get closer to equilibrium, but for right now I love it. No te rajes!!

There are several thousand posts about something called the 'three week stall'. It happens usually within the first month post op to the majority of people who have the surgery. Your body is simply taking time to adjust itself. Most of the time there really isn't anything you can do, but to ride it out. Stalls happen. Often times, you can change the way you eat to try and start it back up or add in exercise and nothing will change. They, on average last 1-3 weeks. It'll end when it ends. Just stick to your plan and you'll be fine. I've had multiple stalls throughout my journey, including several (3) that went into the 40-odd day range. They are incredibly frustrating and disheartening, especially when you're no where near your goal weight. You don't get used to them, even if you're like me and get them a LOT. In fact, I just got out of my longest stall yet! I thought, 'this is it, I'm in maintenance' and yet after being in a stall for 46 days I lost a pound. Then 4 days later I lost another pound. So my body just wants to lose at it's own pace. You're still in the beginning of your journey and your weight loss WILL pick up again as this stall is extremely common! Just keep to your plan and it'll break eventually!

I can tell a difference for sure. Keep up the good work! I am on a three week stall. I just keep telling myself that it will pass but it's getting frustrating. I never eat above 750 calories. I am almost two months out and have only lost 26 pounds. Maybe I expect too much too soon but I feel like during this stall that my clothes are getting loser. You're pictures are encouraging because I can definitely tell a difference. Are these ictures taken during your stall period?

I just broke a three week stall. I know it frustrating but everyone says it normal. I have lost 3 lbs in four days. I hope it continues for a while. I was sleeved on 9/18.. I lost 10 lbs before surgery and 23 lbs after. I started at 243. 210 this morning. I am still fighting fatigue.

It has been 43 days since my surgery (Dec. 16, 2019) and I have only lost 22 lbs. Had the three week stall and since then I have only lost 2 lbs. It is driving me nuts. Keeping my calories around 600-700 and started working out twice a week. No change in clothes fitting either. My start weight was 96 kg and I am now at 86 kg. first week was when I lost the most weight. I hope it starts to move soon, been reading all these forums and I haven't seen anyone in my situation.

Hey! I had the sleeve done 1/7/20. I’m official down 60 pounds! I did just come off a three week stall which was so frustrating, but then I lost 7 pounds in 4 days 😂 crazy how this works. I don’t get all my fluid, but I try to get close. Only food I’ve had a problem with are the greasy meats. Sausage, bacon, brats, etc. other than that things have been great!

don't increase your calories unless you're already sure you are not eating enough. Stick to your program and the weight loss WILL start up again. You are in the infamous "three-week stall", that's all. (it doesn't always happen the third week post-op - but sometime within the first month or so after surgery, almost all of us hit our first major stall. It can last anywhere from a few days up to three (or more..) weeks). Just hang in there and remain 100% compliant. Your weight *will* start dropping again. When my first stall broke after two long weeks of nothing, I dropped like 6-8 lbs within a couple of days....

I don't know if I have hit a stall yet. I got so worried about the dreaded three week stall and the frustration and anxiety that could come it that I stopped weighing at my three week mark. I will weigh in again this weekend or at my 5 week point. I'm four weeks out today and feeling great. I can notice a difference in my energy level no matter if I get enough sleep or not. I am very happy with my sleeve!

@MelanatedQueen It's totally the three-week stall. Your body is rebalancing its fluid levels and stuff. While there's some variation (hello, hormones...), generally the rule is CICO (calories in calories out). If you're eating 500 cal a day, there is no way you're not going to lose weight. Even if you're very petite, your body requires a certain number of calories just to exist, and 500 is below that number. If you get through another three weeks without moving, talk to your surgeon, but nearly everyone breaks that stall in a week or two.

Up date.. my opinion on raw natural honey. I was at a three week stall. I figured I needed to up my protein and water intake. So im drinking protein shakes, and 1 pint water with 1/4 cup of honey Daily. To my surprise woke up this morning to see a 4 lbs weightloss for the week. Finding that raw organic honey is not bad. In my opinion. Im going to continue to drink honey water when I want something different then just plain water. I'll keep this updated.