Probably neurotic but

[MzCoffee 23]

So I was sleeved on 4/18. My surgeon did not require pre-op weight loss, only that I stay on a clear liquid diet two days prior to surgery. I was in the hospital for 3 nights, came through with mostly flying colors until the end when I had some serious nausea, hence the 3rd night.

Came home on full liquids, allowed to start purees on Day 7post-op. Minimal pain, some sharp hunger pangs eased by antacids, very little nausea, fair amount of fatigue but it decreases every day. Have been pretty diligent about my two daily Protein Shakes, getting enough liquids and following the pureed plan, until this immediate past weekend when I went off pureed plan and had a soft food for approximately 3 meals over the course of a work retreat weekend ( not an excuse but I think I did so in part b/c I hadn't told people there about the surgery and I hadn't made a real plan for dealing with non-stop food eating and work meals). For good or for ill, I didn't experience any unpleasant physical consequences due to eating unauthorized foods.

By Sunday night I was back on pureed foods, and have been ever since and it is now Wednesday afternoon. However for the past five days my weight loss has stalled at around 16 pounds. I don't mind slow weight loss but it had been so rapid until this that I am worried that I messed up my progress by starting soft foods too early. I know this is completely neurotic, since all the amounts of even the not-yet-OK foods were tiny, but then again so is my new stomach! Have others had this experience? Is it even in the realm of possibility to stretch your stomach at this point, two weeks out?

And yes, I know, I know I should have listened to my nutritionist and doctor etc. about sequence of food texture and will do so going forward.

Thanks for any insights!

[360lyMe 40]

My 1st stall was at 2 1/2 weeks and lasted almost two weeks, and I followed my plan to the letter. It's great that you got right back on track. Stalls are going to happen from time to time no matter what you do.

[Introversion 1,876]

Look up the "three week stall." It is a very real phenomenon that happens to the majority of bariatric surgery patients sometime between the second and fourth post-op week. Since it usually takes place during week three, it is called the three week stall.

For now, it would be wise to stay off the scale. The stall will break. You didn't become obese overnight and you will not become a normal-weight person overnight, either. Patience is king. Weight loss after the sleeve is your personal marathon, not some sprint in which we compare our progress to other sleevers.

You lost 16 pounds in less than three weeks. You are doing wonderfully. With my sleeve I lost an average of 3 to 6 pounds per month, so I was the definition of a slow loser, yet I made it to goal.

Keep in mind that the weight loss phase is unimportant in the bigger picture. Instead, your ability to maintain the weight loss for life is what really matters since the majority of bariatric surgery patients regain some or all of their weight.

Good luck to you!

[MzCoffee 23]

2 hours ago, 360lyMe said:

My 1st stall was at 2 1/2 weeks and lasted almost two weeks, and I followed my plan to the letter. It's great that you got right back on track. Stalls are going to happen from time to time no matter what you do.

Thank you - that is reassuring (and kind!).

[MzCoffee 23]

1 hour ago, Introversion said:

Look up the "three week stall." It is a very real phenomenon that happens to the majority of bariatric surgery patients sometime between the second and fourth post-op week. Since it usually takes place during week three, it is called the three week stall.

For now, it would be wise to stay off the scale. The stall will break. You didn't become obese overnight and you will not become a normal-weight person overnight, either. Patience is king. Weight loss after the sleeve is your personal marathon, not some sprint in which we compare our progress to other sleevers.

You lost 16 pounds in less than three weeks. You are doing wonderfully. With my sleeve I lost an average of 3 to 6 pounds per month, so I was the definition of a slow loser, yet I made it to goal.

Keep in mind that the weight loss phase is unimportant in the bigger picture. Instead, your ability to maintain the weight loss for life is what really matters since the majority of bariatric surgery patients regain some or all of their weight.

Good luck to you!

Thank you! This is really helpful information and advice! I think like a lot of fat people once the scale started going down so fast it became a daily boost, but I understand that it will vary and that I have to focus on the long-term goal, not the immediate approval boost! Thanks also for sharing your own journey - your stats are really impressive & inspiring!

[LittleLizzieLilliput 919]

My surgery was 10/10/16, I've had more stalls than active weight loss weeks. Yet here I am in a size 14 about to move to a size 12. They aren't stalls, I call them Pauses. Nothing's stopped, your body is still working, you have done so much to it, it needs a little time. The first 6-12 weeks are about recovery and healing. You will lose weight but your body is also in shock, it will retain Water, be swollen, sore and need time.

But then it will happen again and you won't have a good reason. You will be following all the protocols and you will be walking and drinking your water and hitting your Protein goals and yet you will hit another Pause. You need to be mentally prepared for that. It's not all a down slope.

So to prepare you need to do a few things:

• Measure yourself, your head (yes, you lose weight there) your neck - super satisfying to watch it shrink, your biceps, your forearms, your writs, hell - measure your fingers too and your palm, your breast, under your breasts, your waist, your hips, your thighs, etc. All the way to your toes.
  • Then do that about once every few weeks or so.
  • And then when you hit another plateau you pull out that sheet and measure yourself again and see that your body is still changing and evolving. The scale does not tell the whole story.
• When I get discouraged I like to take a few moments and feel the changes in my body. I run my hands along my feet and ankles, my calves and knees. I feel the bones and muscle revealing themselves. I wrap my fingers around my wrist and feel how much smaller they are now. I run my hands along my forearms on the outside and feel my bones up to my elbow. I run my hands along my collar bones, revel in the fact I have them now! I continue on up my neck, circling it with my hands to feel how small it is now and then along my jaw bone, a bone I haven't seen in decades. I take these moments and remind myself how great this is and how great I'm doing even if I don't believe it in that moment.
• I move. When I'm discouraged I now move. I used to eat. Now I want to remind myself how much easier it is to move. So I go for a very vigorous walk, I put on the happiest, bounciest, fasted rhythmed music I have and get to steppin! Blast that brain with some oxygen, sun, music and endorphins.

There are going to be MANY pauses and stalls and plateaus. It's our job to prepare your coping tools and mechanisms so that you can self-sooth and re-motivate without need for food or a serious mental adjustment. Before I let myself get that far I use these methods. They work for me, you will find what works for you hopefully. Good luck and congratulations!!!

[MzCoffee 23]

2 hours ago, LittleLizzieLilliput said:

My surgery was 10/10/16, I've had more stalls than active weight loss weeks. Yet here I am in a size 14 about to move to a size 12. They aren't stalls, I call them Pauses. Nothing's stopped, your body is still working, you have done so much to it, it needs a little time. The first 6-12 weeks are about recovery and healing. You will lose weight but your body is also in shock, it will retain Water, be swollen, sore and need time.

But then it will happen again and you won't have a good reason. You will be following all the protocols and you will be walking and drinking your Water and hitting your Protein goals and yet you will hit another Pause. You need to be mentally prepared for that. It's not all a down slope.

So to prepare you need to do a few things:

• Measure yourself, your head (yes, you lose weight there) your neck - super satisfying to watch it shrink, your biceps, your forearms, your writs, hell - measure your fingers too and your palm, your breast, under your breasts, your waist, your hips, your thighs, etc. All the way to your toes.
  • Then do that about once every few weeks or so.
  • And then when you hit another plateau you pull out that sheet and measure yourself again and see that your body is still changing and evolving. The scale does not tell the whole story.
• When I get discouraged I like to take a few moments and feel the changes in my body. I run my hands along my feet and ankles, my calves and knees. I feel the bones and muscle revealing themselves. I wrap my fingers around my wrist and feel how much smaller they are now. I run my hands along my forearms on the outside and feel my bones up to my elbow. I run my hands along my collar bones, revel in the fact I have them now! I continue on up my neck, circling it with my hands to feel how small it is now and then along my jaw bone, a bone I haven't seen in decades. I take these moments and remind myself how great this is and how great I'm doing even if I don't believe it in that moment.
• I move. When I'm discouraged I now move. I used to eat. Now I want to remind myself how much easier it is to move. So I go for a very vigorous walk, I put on the happiest, bounciest, fasted rhythmed music I have and get to steppin! Blast that brain with some oxygen, sun, music and endorphins.

There are going to be MANY pauses and stalls and plateaus. It's our job to prepare your coping tools and mechanisms so that you can self-sooth and re-motivate without need for food or a serious mental adjustment. Before I let myself get that far I use these methods. They work for me, you will find what works for you hopefully. Good luck and congratulations!!!

WOW. LittleLizzieLilliput, thank you. What kind, pragmatic and smart advice. I just read most of your post aloud to my friend who has been really supporting me through this journey and she kept say saying wow, wow, wow: what an awesome, intelligent person and how incredible that she took the time to write all of that out! Agreed!

The strategies that you use and suggest sound like they will really work for me as well, but most of all thank you for pointing out that I need to prepare my own individual strategies to copes with pauses and other challenges related to this new life and process. Intellectually I understand that I need a holistic approach but I am starting to realize that emotionally I keep approaching weight loss - even now - as a series of one-offs and I need to develop new habits and different coping strategies. This journey is becoming a very unexpected one for me - I really thought I had anticipated much of what it would be like, and I am discovering that the real challenge is much more emotional and mental than physical. I understand that that is a bariatric surgery truism, but for me it is still a very novel idea.

And first thing tomorrow I will go measure myself! Thanks again for your very thoughtful response - it is so helpful and comforting.

[LittleLizzieLilliput 919]

Awe, thank you MzCoffee, I'm so glad I was able to help!!!