In my 2nd Stall!

[JessRose 9]

Hello,

I had surgery Jan 30th and I'm in the middle of my 2nd stall. I'm pretty pissed off about it. I had my first stall when Aunt Flow was here. The scale said I gained 4 lbs but after a week it came off and I lost 10 more lbs. Now, it says I've gained 6lbs!! I'm infuriated. I'm drinking Water, exercising, taking Vitamins and eating 5-600 cals. Yes my old pairs of jeans are fitting but I want to see numbers move on the scale.If nothing else, I could use some words of encouragement.

[McButterpants 2,846]

Hi there.

I'm coming off a one month stall - the entire month of February. Ugh. My first stall was between weeks 3 and 4 for 10 days. It sucks.

Here's my suggestion for you - stop weighing. It's difficult, but weighing every day or multiple times during the week is counterproductive. Your body is constantly adjusting - maybe it wants to hold on to some Fluid because it thinks your muscles need it, that can cause you to gain 3 or 4 pounds. It doesn't mean you gained 3-4 pounds of fat! I had to go so far as to have my husband hide the scale from me and bring it out once per week. I want to weigh every day, but it's not good for my soul.

Another thing - take your measurements. That's a more true representation of what you're losing - inches.

We get in this mindset that we want to lose all the weight NOW - I'm guilty of this as well - I didn't get to 256 pounds overnight. It took a lot of work over the course of 25 years to get that fat. I'm not going to lose it in the 3.5 months since surgery.

[JerseyGirl68 1,172]

I compltely agree with McButterpants.

What we perceive as a stall could be many things. We all want the scale to move down every day. It doesn't always happen. I weigh every day, but I don't streess on the numbers. I have gone up and down the same three pounds for almost 3 months, This week, the scale finally moved down a few. But also in that time, I went down a size in pants. The scale will become your worst enemy if you let it. If you are doing all you are supposed to, trust that you will lose. I lost the weight differently this time than any other, and there are placed on me that are holding onto the fat for dear life.

In addition to measurements, take pictures.. the same poses throughout your loss.

I wish I did, I tend to only see the progress in pictures.

You're doing great, best of luck!!

[gmanbat 5,889]

Many things cause weight fluctuations on the way down. In my case, exercising caused gain because my pumped up muscles took in Water during the recovering time. When they recovered they dropped the Water and my weight went back down,...only now I have bigger muscles and more fat burning potential. Muscle takes up less space than fat pound for pound...that's why you shrink when your weight stays the same or gains.

Eventually I hit goal and went beyond. Your body knows what it's doing even if your brain doesn't get it.

[Madam Reverie 2,958]

If it makes you feel any better, I have gone through 3 significant 'stalls'. 3 weeks, 3 months and now, although not technically a 'stall' month 5-6.

I, like everyone else, has obsessed about it. Even got myself on MyFitnessPal in the belief I was caning the calories.

However and as of yesterday, I measured my body and took my weight. Although imperceptible to my tiny brain, I had in fact lost some weight; 4lbs in 7 weeks (which is a bit slow). However and more significantly, I'd lost 7 inches on my body. That's quite a lot when I only have 20 odd pounds left to go...

Hold tight. Keep doing what you're doing and all will be well..

We all hope!

[amayzme 15]

Hello,

I had surgery Jan 30th and I'm in the middle of my 2nd stall. I'm pretty pissed off about it. I had my first stall when Aunt Flow was here. The scale said I gained 4 lbs but after a week it came off and I lost 10 more lbs. Now, it says I've gained 6lbs!! I'm infuriated. I'm drinking Water, exercising, taking Vitamins and eating 5-600 cals. Yes my old pairs of jeans are fitting but I want to see numbers move on the scale.If nothing else, I could use some words of encouragement.

I believe our stalls are just the bodies way of the outside catching up with the inside.

Ie; if you have 100 stair steps to climb.. you will probably take a few rest stops the first time you climb them....dont you think the body needs to do the same with its sudden weight loss?

Sounds silly i guess...but it helps me to not lose out on a perfectly wonderful day simply because i step on my scale and it doesn't meet my expectations .

Relax and enjoy how far we have come...not how far we have to go..or you'll miss out on some amazing moments.

[gmanbat 5,889]

Look at it this way.

Say you were getting just enough calories to maintain a weight. Then you decided to add one Twinkie a day to your diet. You would not see the weight gain immediately but over the course of time it would show up. This is easy to believe.

Why is it harder for us to believe the opposite? If you maintain a calorie deficit over time your body will lose to fit that reality. It may hold on for awhile but eventually it will give way.

I realized this early on. I weighed out of curiosity of how my body was doing it, it was fascinating. Up, down, stall, up, down, down, etc. I should have kept a chart for fun. I had no doubt that goal would be met.

My body had a lower goal in mind than the arbitrary one my mind picked as you can see by my signature.

[McButterpants 2,846]

Right on as always, gmanbat!!!!

A pound of fat is about 3500 calories...I don't know about you guys, but I'm not consuming 3500 calories a day..or even three days! It doesn't make sense when you look at it rationally - You are eating so little food right now, probably less than 1000 calories. You're burning fat, I guarantee you are.

Be patient - you're body's job is to make sure it functions properly. The only things you can control are what you put in your mouth and how much you exercise. Your body will take care of the rest...on it's time schedule.

[Schmincke 118]

It was good to read this thread. I am in a stall too. It's probably because I started working out harder. Thanks for the encouragement, everyone. JessRose, I hope your stall is short!!

[mmae66 3]

I have had to only weigh myself once a week, as I too felt like I was in a stall. But, the slower the weight loss, the less chance of saggy skin and hair loss/thinning! My clothes are baggy and falling off my hips, and my face looks thinner. That is the true measurement. The scale is too dependent on Water gain and hormones to really have me dwell on it. Looking at this forum really helps, and shows that I am actually about average for people who were sleeved mid-January like me!

[BellaHugz 331]

This is a great thread to read. I agree stalls are very frustrating I expected the 3 week stall from months of research on these forum. What i didnt expect is a 7 week stall, Yep I said it 7 weeks stall. However during that time I stayed the course on my Water intake and watch my Protein intake as well. I also kept going to the gym and now I have seen the scale move downwards and My endurance level is much higher.

It helps to take measurements and also to have a scale that measures your water weight, and muscle mass so if the scale showing weight doesnt move, the others will!! So keep up your good work and have faith the sleeve will work for you!

Edited March 17, 2014 by BellaHugz