Why do stalls happen?

[beautyqueen 1]

I've been reading all the posts here and on OH about VSG and I'm a little dismayed by all the stalls everyone seems to have. I remember hitting them in my WW days and it was maddening when I would calculate my calories in/calories out. It made no sense that I wouldn't be losing weight and yet there would be weeks where nothing would happen.

Stalls with the sleeve seem even more nonsensical because I know if I'll be eating 800-900 calories a day it's about a third of what I'm probably eating now where I'm maintaining. How on earth does that not translate to weight loss?

For those who have had surgery, have your docs or NUTS ever given you a scientific reason why these stalls happen?

I have to be honest. I'm nervous about this. It seems like it all works out in the end but hitting a stall would be a major kick in the teeth after having gone through surgery.

Thanks for your replies!

[Tiffykins 673]

I'm 3.5 months post-op and have yet to hit a true stall. A stall is 2 weeks consistent with no weight loss. I had 1 week where I only lost 1 pound. The following week I lost 7lbs.

I would have to say (all the research, threads by others, and what my band surgeon told me) that it's the body adjusting to instant, rapid weight loss immediately following surgery. It's truly shock/trauma to your body, and your body wants to hold onto the pounds. Many people say once the stall breaks, they lose several pounds.

[Bob_350lbs 105]

I also wondered how in the world could I stall when I am taking in less than 800 cals per day?? Well, it could be a combination of a the body going into starvation mode and/or that I am not weighing my food properly and not counting all the licks, bites, and taste I may be doing through out the day, and maybe Constipation? I don't get it, but it will come off. I am determined to be more accountable. But, I can tell you that I have never lost 25 lbs in two months before. Usually, I would give up and quit. And, I feel so much better, emotionally, physically, mentally. My CFS is almost completely gone. I have the energy to exercise every night after work, when usually I just crashed on the couch. And, I actually feel happier and more hopeful about the future, and that is priceless. Being 2 sizes smaller helps too :-)

Edited September 22, 2009 by Steph_123

[MacMadame 81]

Well, I never stalled... there are more of us, but mostly we don't say anything when people who do stall talk about stalls as if they are inevitable. It feels too much like rubbing it in.

I see a number of causes:

1) People declare they are stalled anytime they weigh and scale isn't less than the last time. But not losing every day or every couple of days is not a stall. A stall is not losing for at least 2 weeks, maybe 3-4. So, stalling happens less often than people talking about stalling happens. :001_tongue:

2) scales give your absolute weight and not just how may pounds of fat you've lost. So they will also include any BMs you haven't got rid of, Water weight you are retaining for a number of reasons, undigested food, etc.

From what I've seen, a primary cause of stalls for people who really are in a calorie deficit is retaining Water. This is particularly true in the early days when people have trouble getting in all their water. The less you drink, the more you retain water. If you eat a lot of prepared foods, you get a lot of sodium and retain water. If it's that time of the month, you retain water. If you start exercising, your muscles break down and release water, but then your body puts the glycogen back into them and that requires water. So starting an exercise program can cause you to retain water too. (But, over time, you usually get to steady state and this becomes less of an issue.)

The best way to deal with this is to drink a LOT of Fluid and watch your salt intake. It will help even out what you see on the scale. So you won't see 0 one week and 7 the next, but 2-4 both weeks. For some people, that's less frustrating.

3) Some people don't track what they are eating (or don't track accurately) and/or how much they are exercising and so they are eating way more than they think they are and/or moving their bodies way less. This tends to be the cause of stalls later out when people can eat a lot more and are mentally out of the honeymoon period.

If this is you, then you aren't stalled so much as you've really stopped losing weight because your calorie deficit has disappeared and you need to make some changes to get your weight loss started again. Adding in more exercise and tracking your food help a lot.

4) Not having enough energy can cause your body to conserve energy and often times this is subconscious so you don't even realize it. Maybe you are sleeping a little more, sitting down more, walking less. Your body will also slow down your heart rate and other bodily functions in a bid to conserve energy. You can combat this by eating a lot of Protein and by exercising, but not everyone does that, especially in the early days when we're still recovering from surgery and may have exercise restrictions and/or are using all our energy for healing.

Sometimes adding in more Protein helps with this as it provides a steady stream of energy rather than the quick spike that carbs provide. So can adding in more exercise as it helps the metabolism and it helps increase the calorie deficit.

I think a large part of why I didn't have a stall is that I did track everything religiously. Then, when my weight loss slowed down, I could look for causes. Inevitably, I'd notice I was slacking off on my exercise and I'd pick it back up and the weight loss would pick back up too. But sometimes the problem was my water or protein consumption. Or too much sodium. Whatever it was, I'd fix it before I got to the stall stage.

I still lost in a stair step pattern -- large losses one week, small the next -- Now that I'm maintaining, I can see that I definitely retain water when I ovulate and when I get my period. If I hadn't been so strict with my calories and my protein & water consumption, I bet I would have had a lot more weeks with zero loss. And that would have driven me crazy!! :thumbdown:

Tracking everything and being pro-active worked better for my personality.:thumbup1: