Discouraged, not losing!

[for_me 2]

I was sleeved on 3/27/15, I lost 20 lbs by the end of week 2. I am in the middle of week 5 and have only lost 6-7 pounds since then. Today is one of those days when I'm not sure this is something that I should have done, as I've lost weight faster in the past, pre-surgery.

I started at 251, 5 weeks, days and weigh 224.8. Oh ans the tape measure is not moving either. I am very discouraged at this point.

[LipstickLady 25,682]

So....... 27 pounds in five weeks isn't a great result? That's "not losing"?

Are you tracking your foods? Moving your body? Following your dietary plan? If so, you are doing everything just right. Relax. This isn't going to be the miracle cure where all the weight you've gained over the years magically falls off.

You are losing at an average of 5+ pounds a week. Relax and do your thing. Stressing about it certainly isn't going to help you. If you do your part, surgery works. Seriously.

[for_me 2]

My point was 7 lbs in 3 weeks...

And yes, I track my food/water. I also walk 3-5 miles a day or work out at the gym 5-6 days a week.

Edited May 5, 2015 by for_me

[tlemieux220 138]

I was sleeved on 3/27/15, I lost 20 lbs by the end of week 2. I am in the middle of week 5 and have only lost 6-7 pounds since then. Today is one of those days when I'm not sure this is something that I should have done, as I've lost weight faster in the past, pre-surgery.

I started at 251, 5 weeks, days and weigh 224.8. Oh ans the tape measure is not moving either. I am very discouraged at this point.

We all stalled at this time and we have to let our bodies figure out what is right for each of us. when I started this whole process I was 240 lbs, lost 5 before surgery so my surgeon only goes off 235, when I left the hospital I was at 233, and I am now in week 7 as of tomorrow, I weigh 209 lbs and I have lost 31 lbs as of today by my records of course. I lost 19 by week 3 and then stalled and only lost another 2 at my 6 week check up and my Nut told me that people on Weight Watchers lose more then I did in 3 weeks, that made me mad, because I know how much I tried, so she told me to up my calories because working out on low amount of calories tells our bodies to go into starvation mode, so try that, I hope it works for you like it did for me.

[LipstickLady 25,682]

My point was 7 lbs in 3 weeks... I also didn't ask for a snarky response.

And yes, I track my food/water. I also walk 3-5 miles a day or work out at the gym 5-6 days a week.

Thank s a bunch for being so unhelpful!

Good thing my intention was not to give you a snarky response then.

As for being unhelpful? It's YOUR choice to read my words in whatever tone you choose. It's a shame you are choosing to see them as negative.

Oh! And to answer your "point"? Seven pounds in 3 weeks is still over the average expected weight loss of 1-2 pounds a week, so yes, you ARE losing at a healthy rate.

Good luck to you! I won't make the mistake of giving you honest feedback again.

[hillgirly 228]

Sounds like the dreaded 3-week stall which you can find on the boards with a search. Sounds like you're doing great. Just stick to your plan & the weight will come off.

[TEXASLADY52 264]

I feel like I am the Queen of stalls. My weight loss has been "slow"....in my perspective. I never had the "honeymoon stage".....and loss a tremndous amount in the first six months, but I did lose inches when I wasn't dropping the pounds. Just follow the plan and it will come off! You cannot compare yourself to anyone else. At first, I read the threads and it drove me crazy to see how other people were dropping weight fast. My body is going to do what it wants to do.....but I feel so much better and evetually I will get there.....and you will too! Relax and enjoy this wonderful journey!

[une nouvelle vie 327]

My point was 7 lbs in 3 weeks... I also didn't ask for a snarky response.

And yes, I track my food/water. I also walk 3-5 miles a day or work out at the gym 5-6 days a week.

Thank s a bunch for being so unhelpful!

Wow, I think you're being overly snippy with Lipsticklady but I'm going to chalk that up to frustration and hope that's all it is.

Your loss of 20 pounds in 2 weeks after surgery isn't going to be your normal at all. In all likelihood, not even close. A lot of what you lost was Fluid they pumped you full of during surgery. Even after weight loss surgery most people don't see a 10 pound a week loss. I'm not a doctor but I'm going to guess that would be highly unhealthy for your body to lose at that rate from start to finish.

You started at almost exactly 100 pounds over your goal weight. At that weight you're much more likely to fall into the 2 pounds a week expectation and even then you're going to have stalls. Your body is constantly adjusting and readjusting after surgery and as it settles into your new way of eating and digestion. There's a whole subforum here devoted to stalls so you can see that nearly everyone has them.

Keep on doing what you're doing because it sounds like you're doing all the right things. The only thing you need to change is, in my opinion, your expectation of weight loss. Celebrate the 2 pounds a week you do lose and bid it good riddance.

Good luck to you!

[jess9395 5,449]

7lbs in three weeks seems pretty darn good to me!

As others have said, the 3 week mark often brings a slow down (search 3 week stall) and that will end. BUT it's also unrealistic to expect to continue to lose at the rate you did your first two weeks--10lbs a week is not sustainable--10lbs a month is more common. You often lose the most weight the first two weeks of any diet.

[borg/assimilated 576]

Last month I only lost 6.6 pounds. I just saw my dietician today for my three month check-up and she was not unhappy about that paltry amount at all. I, of course, was feeling slightly depressed about it. I think you will find our bodies all seem to lose at their own rate and you just need to have faith that if you are following the program you will lose it eventually.

Lipstick lady is correct in that we all wish the weight would come off quickly, it's not a miracle cure and we just need to be patient with ourselves.

[for_me 2]

I understand that the 20 lb in 2 weeks is not what will continue to happen. I am familiar with Water weight and glycogen storage.

Mathematically speaking, considering I barely net any calories a day after exercise. I should be close to a half a lb a day loss. It's frustrating, because it just doesn't make any sense.

Fyi, there is no way possible for me to increase calorie intake.

[Rogofulm 2,440]

Congratulations! You have reached The Dreaded Week-3 Stall. It's perfectly normal, and just about all of us have suffered through it. You're not crazy, and your doctor didn't screw up. In fact, you might not lose any weight for two weeks or even longer. But don't worry – after that, the pounds will start falling off if you stick to your program. And, the inches will continue to come off even while the scale isn't budging. Here's a good article that explains why it happens and why we all have to go through it. Hang in there. Pretty soon it'll be in the rear-view mirror and you'll be dropping weight again!

(Apologies to BP regulars who have seen this repeatedly, but it's a big deal to those who are going through it!)

[Babbs 14,681]

@@for_me

You started with a lower BMI than most. As a rule, the lower the BMI, the slower the weight loss (although yours isn't even "slow") If you're losing, you're doing great!

Drink your Water, get your Protein, stay away from carbs except for green veggies, and move a little and the weight will keep coming off. As time goes by, some tweaking may be needed to keep things moving along, but you will figure it out.

Feeling defeated and discouraged does you no good. It hinders things. Believe me, I know. It took me months to just accept the fact that as long as I keep doing what I need to do, the weight will come off at my body's own pace, and there isn't a damn thing I can do about it otherwise. Now I am less than 20lbs from goal. It's not a race to the finish line. Enjoy the journey. You will get there.

[une nouvelle vie 327]

I understand that the 20 lb in 2 weeks is not what will continue to happen. I am familiar with Water weight and glycogen storage.

Mathematically speaking, considering I barely net any calories a day after exercise. I should be close to a half a lb a day loss. It's frustrating, because it just doesn't make any sense.

Fyi, there is no way possible for me to increase calorie intake.

When you're exercising so much that you're barely netting any calories a day you're most likely not doing your organs any favors. It can also cause your body to burn more muscle than fat which in the long term hurts.

Since you still seem concerned about it after so many comments here, you may want to contact your surgeon's office to see what they say. I have to say your "mathematically speaking" hits close to home because I spoke that exact phrase to my surgeon and nutritionist during a stall. I laid out every calorie I'd consumed and gave them every minute of exercise I'd done along with my results from my resting metabolic rate test and told them that mathematically speaking it was impossible I wasn't losing more. My surgeon, who has thousands of surgeries under his belt, sort of chuckled and informed me that all bodies are different and that some lose slower than others and it seemed I was believing the calories in/calories out fallacy as absolute truth. Maybe your doctor can look at your unique situation and come up with other answers for you.

[ShellMilliner 233]

@for_me In addition to everything that was mentioned here you need to retrain your brain. You are NOT on a diet. You completely re-wired your body now you need to re-wire your brain. You will have many stalls throughout your weight loss. I stalled for 3 solid weeks, the scale just started moving again yesterday. Remember, following WLS you will have an initial plunge in weigh BUT after that MOST people lose 1-2 lbs/week. WLS is not a magicwand that will make it all fall off overnight or even in a month or two. Most of the higher losses you hear of people that have lost 100 lbs in 6-8 months were much heavier than you at the start.

As long as you are getting the your nutritional requirements outlined by your doctor's practice it will work. Is a stall frustrating? Absofreakinglutely! Will your weightloss restart again? Absofreakinglutely, you just need to keep going.

Edited May 4, 2015 by ShellMilliner