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happens to about 90% of us. If you do a search on this site for the "three week stall" (yes, it's so common it even has a name), you will find over 17,000 posts on it. And no, I am NOT kidding. just stick to your plan and stay off the scale for a few days - and know that it will eventually break and you'll be on your way again. It usually lasts 1-3 weeks.

@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.

sounds like the infamous three-week stall...

I also had the three week stall. As well as a couple others along the way so don’t be discouraged if this isn’t the only one. I am almost 8 months out now and while the loss has slowed I am still losing. Just stick to your plan and the weight will just start dropping again.

My "three week stall" has gone on for a month. I've lost 5 pounds in the last four weeks, averaging 650 calories per day, walking 4 to six miles per day. I haven't the energy to run, jog or swim. Meeting with nutritionist today with a lot of questions.

The three-week stall sucks. Especially after how fast the weight seemed to fall off those first two weeks. I've had two stalls so far, and each lasted maybe 6-8 days? Not fun, but just stay the course and the weight will start falling again in no time.

It is quite common and physiologically normal - it would be abnormal for one to lose more in the second or later months than in the first month. What is happening is that when we go on to a serious caloric deficit, we that deficit is made up mostly from our short term energy reserves of glycogen (basically stored carbohydrates), which burns quite rapidly (around 2000 calories per pound lost.) Once the glycogen is depleted, the body needs to replenish that supply to a functional level and we frequently stall or pause for a short time - the "three week stall" that we often read about here. Once the glycogen stores are back up some and our body gets the idea that this caloric deficit thing that you are doing to it is a serious thing, it starts drawing from our longer term energy stores of fat - which is what we are really here for. However (there's always a "however"!) fat burns more slowly than glycogen (around 3500 calories per pound lost) so the weight comes off more slowly now, but we are doing what we came here to do - burn fat. Note that this has nothing at all to do with "ketogenic" diets or miracle "fat burning" potions - it's strictly the result of being in a prolonged caloric deficit. As a side note, I lost 32 lb the first month and 15 each of the next two months. with roughly the same caloric intake, so right on profile.

Don't have a lot of information about you, it would be helpful if you filled in your profile...hightest weight, surgery day weight, current weight, height...all this gives context to your post and helps us to tailor a response to you. So if I understand correctly its been about four days since you have lost scale weight, but in the 10 days before that you've lost 13lb??? That's great and above average for the stage you are at. There will be weight loss stalls along the way, one of the major ones is the three week stall (though for some this can happen before three weeks and for others well after). Please take the time to fill in your details.

almost everyone has stalls along the way. The first one is typically within the first month or so after surgery. We call it the "three week stall" because it's usually the third week post-op, but not always. Mine was weeks 2 & 3. During week 4, my weight loss started up again, and I lost something like 6-8 lbs within a couple of days. you don't need to change anything up at this point because this is just the typical three week stall when people are eating very few calories. It'll break. If you need to stay off the scale for a few days, do it - but your weight loss WILL start up again.

Just curious about everyone’s experience. I’ve heard there’s a week 3 stall that nearly everyone experiences. I’m just finishing our week 3 and my loss has stalled. Even gained a pound. I assume it’s because of soft foods being introduced.

Taking time away from the site. I have nothing new to report and to be honest. I'm a whats now going on a three week stall. In fact I even gain 7lbs. I don't have a clue how and I thought it was water weight but I've been flushing my system with water enough to know it is not. I just need to go back to basics and do a pouch test. So when I break my stall I'll be back!

^^^ I can't believe I didn't catch that! I just re-read the OP's message and ...yep!...right on time for the infamous three-week stall!

I am now 7 weeks 2 days postop. Before surgery I had a mini goal in mind: I wanted to lose the weight of my granddaughter. At the time she weighed 45 pounds (she's 6). I did not give myself a time limit because,, frankly, I was not sure how fast or slow the weight would come off this time. After the dreaded "three week stall," which, appropriately, lasted almost 3 weeks, I was not sure I would EVER reach this goal. I was wrong. I am now 45 pounds down. WOOT! Unfortunately, my granddaughter hit a growth spurt these past few months and she now weighs 49 pounds. Still, MY goal has been reached. I expect to lose another 4 pounds in the next week or 2 so then I will feel another small victory. Next actual mini goal: I want to weigh less than my husband, who is 220 pounds. I am within 5 pounds of what I weighed when we got married 10 years ago, so YAY! All these NSVs are what is keeping me motivated right now, and that is a wonderful feeling. Success is not always measured by the scale but for those times that it is, I am a happy loser!

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?

I totally agree with this. Don't stress too much about how much you have lost and if you look different or not. Focus your energy on healing and following the post-op diet. People lose weight differently. For me, I lost most of the weight on my thighs and lower body at first and for the first few months my face almost looked the same. 3 weeks is too early to see any noticeable changes to be honest and your body is still healing. That is also when most of us got the infamous three-weeks stall. At least that was the case for me. Good luck

My surgery was Dec 19th. I was down 32 pounds from surgery diet, but I hit the dreaded three week stall the end of last week. Not only am I in a stall, but I am GAINING weight. This is so frustrating to me! I think it is probably water weight as I'm sure I was dehydrated before, but it really is discouraging. Did anyone else gain a few pounds in their stall?

What suzthebrit said. Just about everyone's experience is normal. I had a three week stall that started at week three. Just keep following your doctor's food plan and the weight WILL come off. I know that, for me, it was hard to comprehend just how "easy" losing weight this way really is. Easy? Well, once you know what you can eat, it really isn't hard - at least compared to dieting alone.

My 'three week stall' started at day 10 after surgery. My diet is supposed to consists of 3 protein shakes/2 yogurts for 4 weeks post op. I'm not breaking 500 calories a day. I lost more the 2 weeks before surgery than I have after the 2 weeks after. I really hope this stall ends soon. I've very discouraged.

I am two weeks out tomorrow and am down exactly 20lbs! I NEVER had this much success with the band. I am very happy with my decision and just wonder if the weight loss will remain this steady... Hoping to avoid the dreaded "three week stall"

you've probably hit the infamous "three week stall" (most people have this early stall. It's usually the third week after surgery, hence the name, but it can happen any time within the first six weeks or so). Mine was weeks 2 and 3. Just stick to your plan, stay off the scale, and know that it'll break and you'll be on your way again. No need to do anything different.

none at all or just this week? If the latter, you're having the dreaded "three week stall" that most of us have...

I'm 3 weeks out and haven't lost any weight since after the first week. I knew of the three week stall, but wasn't expecting it after one week. Trying to stay upbeat and positive. Doc wasn't concerned at two week checkup. I have this fear of losing no more because my metabolism sucked prior to surgery. Common fear, I'm sure. We will all get through these stalls. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

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.

I am right there with you!! My surgery was 9/10 and I weigh every Sunday! Last week I was down 26, and this week...... Exactly still 26 . It's the three week stall. I am just going to focus on fluids and Protein this week and not go near the scale until next week. I was also told that our bodies have a "memory" too, and I can't help but notice that I was stuck at 238 for about a year, which is exactly where I am now. So smile and embrace it, some of us are arm in arm with ya right now Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Ummm... This needs to be pinned! Like a, "come here when you hit the three week stall" post! Great explanation Babbs! This question is posted almost daily. I bet there are hundreds of threads on this very topic on this site, but a large number of people never read them, or must not think it applies to them. You will learn a lot if you read through this site. You can also use the search function to find posts related to specific issues.