no loss for almost 2 weeks, help please...

[achopp 0]

Hi all,

I'm in tears right now because the scale hasn't moved an ounce since April 12th, thirteen days! I'm at a loss because I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I track all my food on myfitnesspal.com and I've been averaging 450-550 calories, 60-70 grams of Protein, and I'm keeping my carbs at 30 or under. Pretty much all I'm eating is zero carb Isopure powder mixed with low carb soy milk, tuna and chicken salad, and somedays the occasional yogurt or Soup. I really haven't been exercising because I'm so damn tired, but I figure that I've been eating so little that there should be some movement on the scale even without exercise.

I started on this journey with the pre-op diet on March 16th at 295lbs. On surgery day, March 30th, I was down 15 pounds at 280. On April 12th I weighed myself for the first time post op and was 261, for a total of 34 pounds lost... and that's it. Not an ounce since.

For the last week every time I weigh myself I've been trying to keep a positive attitude even though the scale didn't move, but tonight seeing 261 again made me lose it. Is this it? Am I going to be 261 forever? I'm not expecting another huge loss, but 2 or 3 pounds at least?? I had my stomach cut out for god's sake, is a couple pounds a week too much to ask for?

So now I don't know what to do. Should I go back to full liquids for a while? I don't see my nutritionist until the last week of May, so it's a while before I can ask her what to do...

Has anyone else had this happen? I'm so depressed and anxious about this, I really believed the sleeve would help me finally be thin and now I'm afraid it's just another failure. :sad0:

Edited April 25, 2010 by achopp

[kymmi12 0]

omg please help US find a answer. I had surgery on 4/14/10 and since then I ve lost 24 lbs and it has not moved down. i just think we need to be a little patient and relax, Keep doing what is right. Your body must be in shock and trying to figure it out. Some people takes weeks / months to loose 34 lbs and you will loose weight but when its time . I feel your pain.

[Debbie031010 0]

I feel you. Its been almost two weeks and I have not lost a pound either. My husband just had the sleeve on April 21 and has lost 10lbs. in 3 days. It looks like I loss 3 to 4 pounds every 2 weeks. My doctor said I can eat regular food, but I stay away from breads and keep my cal. intake to no more than 1500 a day. Let's hang in there, the sleeve is bound to work!

[kymmi12 0]

I just got back from weighing myself . It said I lost a pound. But I am very emotional today . I keep crying and i am afraid to eat. but i know I have to . I keep thinking i may have damaged the pouch by eating soft foods early than told,. It may be the guilt that i'm experiencing or just plain CRAZY. There is no turning back so I must keep my head up and keep going. Maybe I will walk today with my dog .

[Debbie031010 0]

I just came back from walking my dog....I skipped mushie foods and started soft food earlier than I was suppose too and I did not loss for two weeks. I told the doctor, and he told me to stay on soft for three weeks instead of 2 weeks. I think our bodies have to adjusted. Please don't cry, it will get better before it gets worse. Just keep eating what you are suppose to eat and drinking as we are suppose to do and believe me, its coming. In a few weeks from now you will post, I lost more weight... Be encouraged!!!! Keep your head up, go to the mall and try on some big girl clothes and see how much weight you have lost. I do that sometimes and it makes me feel good. I am still in big girl clothes but it went from size 22/24 to 18. I don't buy alot but I enjoy dancing in the dressing room mirror....lol

[spydersong 0]

Stalling is normal, we've put our bodies though major stuff. Mix it up a bit. Get more Protein in for a few days, jump to 80-100 g. Get out and walk, even if it's just 5 minutes. The sleeve is a tool, not a miracle bullet.

Seriously, go read a ton of other posts and you'll see what you're dealing with is normal and expected.

I know for the moment it sucks, but hang in there, this too shall pass.

[LyndaRN 0]

I have had 2 stalls in 6 weeks. Today I finally lost a pound and the last stall was 11 days. The only thing I can say is to try and not let it rattle you. It is hard, but just keep doing the right things and it will come off. Our bodies are used to gaining weight not loosing. SO I think that it kinda freaks our body out. I know that the low 180's seems to be a comfortable weight for my body. IT likes to be there, even though I don't. So I am just going to keep making good choices and it will go down. But I will be SOOOO glad when I am at 179 and out of the 180's! :sad0:

[Keys Pirate 70]

Eat more. You're body is holding on to each and every last ounce that it can because of your low cal intake. Eventually you'll lose weight eating like this but stalls are gonna happen. That said, a major stall is not uncommon at this stage - 2-3 weeks out. You're doing GREAT on the carbs, keep that up but work in more calories - cream Soups (made w Water, watch carbs), flavored philly, melted velveeta with a little Rotel juice, ricotta flavored up, more yogurt, whatever. I definitely would NOT cut any more calories!! Counterintuitive, of course, but you need more. Add more Protein too that and the calories will give you more energy. I shoot for close to 100 g's per day. I was having shakes in the morning and night at full liquids and it seemed to work. You must get some exercise in - this will give you more energy too - I know, easy for me to say, I do understand fatigue but it really will help, get that heart rate up along with the calories. Most importantly, get your spirits up!! Yeah, stalls suck but you've already lost 34 pounds in a month!!! That's amazing!! Good luck, you're gonna be just fine.

C

[BJean 16]

Yaaay Key's Pirate!!! I was reading this thread and that was exactly what I was thinking!!

I don't know about the rest of you but I've been on diets for the greater part of my adult life. My obese body has been put through all that and the band. Now it has become one efficient calorie saving machine. It never knows when I'm going to try to starve it again so it just hangs on to every thing I give it. When I dieted some of those real low calorie diets, I too thought the thing I was going to have to do was to cut even more calories to start losing again when I was stalled. Well I learned that if I ate MORE instead of less when I stalled, the pounds started falling off again. After a few days of that, I could cut back again and see a significant weight loss.

Until I read this thread I had forgotten all about that. I probably would have done exactly the same thing as most of you and cried a lot and wondered how in the world I was going to be able to exist on even less! You need to not only eat more Protein but at this point you probably should get in a little fat too. The cheeses are good for that. And who doesn't like cheese!

I agree that all this is counter intuitive, but it is absolutely true and if if trying it for a couple of days doesn't jump start your losses again, then all you have to do is begin again with what you were doing when you were losing quickly.

Best of continued success for all of you and I hope that when I get to this stage, I won't forget the remedy. If I do forget, please remind me. When we're depressed and not losing and eating very little, it is easy to get foggy brained and kinda out of it. You're doing well - you've lost a good amount of weight so far - and you should be very proud of your progress and happy that you're well on the road to a healthier, slimmer you!!

[Tiffykins 673]

Your bodies need more calories to burn fat, and work properly. It's just how it works, and the dreaded 3 week stalls happens to probably 98% of sleevesters.

If you are still on shakes/protein supplements, drink an extra shake. Try adding 100-200 calories a day through a Protein snack/meal for 2-3 days, then get back to 600 calories for a day.

Our bodies have been through a traumatic event. We went from consuming 3000 calories a day to a mere 450-500 calories. Least to say, it's not happy about it, and isn't going to let itself starve. It's going to hold onto everything you're giving it. shake things up, try to not stress, some people put away their scales because it's too stressful.

Honestly, when in your life have you ever lost 34lbs in 6 weeks? How amazing is that really? How on God's green Earth could that be a failure? I think that is quite amazing to be honest. I know it would have taken me a solid 4 months of hard core dieting and excessive working out to drop 34 pounds pre-op. Relax, and look at the big picture, we didn't get fat overnight, we can't expect to get skinny overnight.

[achopp 0]

Thank you all for responding and giving me some great ideas. Reading my original post now makes me feel kind of silly, I really wasn't looking at the big picture of all the weight I've already lost. I'm still in a fight with my insurance company about paying for the sleeve. Long story short, I was denied coverage on 2 appeals so I borrowed the $12000 for the surgery and had it done as a self pay with the possibility of reimbursement if my appeal was approved. I just found out my third appeal was denied, but the denials are all based on out of date studies and an out of date statement by the ASMBS so I actually think I'm going to use my last option and go to court to fight it. My father-in-law is an attorney and he thinks I have a shot. I was just so stressed out thinking that I paid all that money and my weight loss had stopped... which I realize now is irrational.

I took some of all your advice and relaxed, started exercising, and added some calories and fat. I was down 2 pounds today, and while not a lot, the scale has started moving again! Yea!

Thanks again for the help!

[wannalise 16]

Don't feel silly. There was a small and irrational part of me that felt like after I felt so crappy post op, I should get to arrive home thin! One thing I think I need to do and that may help you see results is taking your measurements. Then the other thing I need to do that may be of comfort to you is have a set time/day of week that you weigh, then nothing else. Create goals for yourself that have NOTHING to do with weight, but that might be, this week I will be able to counter every negative thought with three positive, or this week I will park my car as far from every store as possible.

As for the actual loss, I would certainly add more calories, most of the guidelines I can find this early are about 600-800 calories, and that if you think about it is really not much. This is still your fuel, and if your body isn't fueled it won't be able to help you in all the ways you need it to. Have you ever heard about shocking your body into weight loss? This can be through things like calorie variances, or doing something physically that your body has no muscle memory to do. Mix it up! You can do this. I posted elsewhere that my weight does this weird hover thing every week where it will dance around about a three pound area and then BAM one day it is down, to a number I haven't seen in a while and I get to do a happy dance, but if I let all those hovers get to me I would be at the drive thru at burger king daily! It really will happen for you.

[stcyt 15]

ARRRRRGGGGGG

I am exactly one week post op today. I weighed this morning and I have lost .4 lbs. ARE YOU FREAKIN SERIOUS!!!!! I'm trying not to freak out. Even if I did it wouldn't help anything. My belly is still sore and a bit swollen and distended. I guesse I can blame it on that.... but I really wanted a big loss at least the 1st week.

I can relate to you wannalise.... theres a weird part of my brain that believes I should have come home from the hospital thin.

We'll be fine? :lol0:

[MINI-Me 196]

My weight loss has slowed as well. For the last 2 weeks, I've dropped only 2 pounds & I watch the scale go up and down every few days. My head knows that this too shall pass, but it's hard to feel motivated when you've been used to the scale going down week after week.

Because I hate exercising, that little voice inside my head keeps saying - the weightloss stopped when you started exercising. Irrational, I know, but that little voice is terribly loud sometimes.

I think I'm going to add 100 or so calories of Protein in for the next few days and see what that does. Good luck everyone - this new tummy takes some getting used to!

[ryansgirl 1]

key is totally right i had a three week stall. guess what i'm eating 2000 calories a daY!!!!!!! and i'm losing weight so that is soooooooooooooooo true. (oh course i lift weights and i exercise seven days a week. what? you thought i lost 130 pounds just from the sleeve it self??)