My wieght loss stalled =(

I am 6 weeks post-op. I was losing like crazy for the first 3 wks. down 40lbs. but then I quit losing and have been stalled out for 3 weeks. I called the doc he said it most likely is a fluid shift. I am just now eating baked salmon, mashed potatoes n gravy and cheese. I am working out daily, so I am pretty much as far as I can see am doing everything right. I have heard stalls are very normal usually between 3-5 weeks post-op. But how long is to long to stall? How long have your stalls been? Im getting nervous continually felxuating between 4 lbs up and down. I think 3 wks is to long =(

Ok I did some research and I have answered my own questions. I feel alot better now. I'll post what I have found for others who might be having the same issue. Good luck and God Bless. The following is from the following web site on gastric bypass. I hope that you can find some useful information. http://www.gastricbypassfamily.com/BreakingTheWeightLossPlateau.html A Guide to Breaking the Weight Loss Plateau It's inevitable. Anyone who has lost a large amount of weight (more than 10-15 pounds) ha**** one or more weight loss plateaus. The weight loss plateau is a very annoying period of body adjustment, where your body "catches up with itself" so to speak. I hit 2 or 3 of them when I lost my 38 pounds, and I learned a lot from each of them. I mostly learned patience! There are two types of plateaus that occur. The first plateau is the short plateau, lasting 2 weeks to 4 weeks. The short plateau is the kind that all active "dieters" run into throughout their weight loss efforts. It is not necessary to make adjustments for this type of plateau, because your body is simply re-adjusting to your new weight. Over time (2-4 weeks) you will naturally start losing weight again, as long as you continue your healthy diet and exercise program. Patience is all you need to get past a short plateau. The second type of plateau is the long-term plateau, which lasts for longer than 4 weeks. If you go for more than 4 weeks without losing weight, AND you are continually following a nutritious diet and exercise program (in short, you are doing everything perfectly), then you need to make some changes. A plateau lasting for longer than 4 weeks is because you are no longer asking your body to go beyond its point of comfort. Let me explain this further: When you first start a new way of eating and a new exercise program, everything is a total shock to your body. All of a sudden you are filling the body with good healthy food full of nutrients, and you are pushing your body so that it responds to physical activity. You burn a high number of calories because it requires a ton of effort just to do simple exercise. Over time, you adjust and become more efficient at exercise, and it no longer requires the same amount of calories that it once did. If you do not change your activity, and continue to eat the same amount of food, you will eventually stop losing weight. The same principle applies to food. If you cut your calories down to 1500 per day, and lost 15 pounds this way, your new weight may use those 1500 calories for maintenance now, rather than weight loss. It's as simple as calories in = calories out. So how do you break out of this long-term plateau? There are several things you can try, but the most important thing to remember is CHANGE. Any change is worth a try to shake things up a bit. Let's start with food intake: Have you been taking in the same number of calories or fat grams since the beginning of your lifestyle change? If so, then you need to throw your body off, and there are a couple of ways to do this. You can cut your calories or fat grams by a bit more (not a lot) to adjust for your new weight. You can try going off your healthy eating plan completely for 3-4 days. You can actually try increasing your calories or fat grams a bit per day. You can switch from eating 3 square meals per day to 6 smaller meals throughout the day. You can eat your largest meal in the morning and smaller meals at lunch and dinner. You can increase your water intake. In the exercise department, you need to find ways to further challenge your body. You can try many different strategies: You can completely change your exercise method. If you only walked before, you can switch to cycling. You can introduce cross training into your program. If you only walked before, alternate with cycling or aerobics. You can exercise for 5-10 minutes longer each day. You can exercise harder during your normal session time. You can introduce interval training, where you alternate intensity levels throughout your workout. You can add another day of exercise to your week. You can switch the time of day you exercise. You can start lifting weights. You can vary which activity you do first. As you can see, there are many different ways to TRY and break a plateau. I recommend that you start by trying 2 or 3 all at the same time. If they don't work, then next week try some others. It takes some experimenting to find out what will work for you, at this particular time in your weight loss journey. The steps I took to break my first plateau didn't work to break my second, so be prepared to pull out something else from your arsenal. You can expect your new method will become effective within 2 weeks. If you are not seeing any other results, then you need to change your method again. If you are close to your goal weight (or ideal weight within reason) and none of these methods work, then you need to look at two factors: Have your body fat tested. It is very possible that you are already at your ideal body fat level, and your body is not going to allow any further losses. Accept you new weight, and congratulate yourself for the long, hard road you just traveled! Hope this helps Hang tight! & remember you are a loser!!!!!! haha

I'm 6 weeks out as of tomorrow and expeiencing my 2nd plateau. I too fluctuate up and down by 4 to 5 lbs. and that is by day. I'll be up 5 one day and down 5 the next. I feel like Star Jones and Al Roker just melted before my eyes and so far, I'm not melting!!!I l look at Randy Jackson on American Idol and I tell myself I will end up like him. He had the surgery and is still fat. I'm stuck at 41.5 lbs. + - 5lbs. Thanks for providing the info. Take care - B

I also think the body goes into "starvation mode" and thinks...Oh My God...we better hold onto everything we can. But, eventually weight loss will continue. I also have experienced a plateau at 3 weeks. But then again...losing 25#'s in one month is something, so even with a week or two of not losing, it is something that I can tolerate. I know it will pick up again. Also, even though I have not lost any in a week or so, I still can feel a difference in my clothing, so I do agree that there is "shifting" going on in there.

I am 6 wks out and I have stalled. I am only fluctuating 1lb, but I have been bouncing back and forth for over a week. My period is overdue as well and I feel like I am retaining water. I did a pregnecy test and it was negative (Thank God!). I am hoping that my period starts and that jump starts more weight loss. I also started a water aerobics class today, and boy was I exhausted when Igot home from it. It took alot out of me. Since I haven't started back to work yet, I am going to try to go to the gym every day the next 2 wks. I have also started to add veggie to my diet as of yesterday. I think that wil help when I feel like munching on something - - rather than cheese.

I have decided I am going to up my protien so that my body doesnt think it is starving. I read protien actually tricks your body into thinking you are eating regularly so it wont go into the "starvation" "shock" mode. and on top of that, lots of water!!!! I will let you know how it works. Also take note that the shorter stalls last approx. 2-4 weeks normally from what I have learned. Please let me know when you start losing again I am curious to see if there is a pattern with these stalls. Seems to me the first 3 weeks is very common for a stall. Hang Tight and Good luck -

I had surgery on 2/5/07. I weighed 330 lbs. I weighed 309 at my 2 week check up. That's -21. I stalled for a week, then lost 2 more. I stalled for 16 days, lost 7 more, and then I haven't lost a pound since. I've been at 300-302 pounds for the entire month of March so far. I've only lost 30 pounds since my surgery on 2/06/07. With my presurgery loss of 22, that makes my total 52 pounds lost since 12/15/ 06 when my surgeon put me on the pre-op diet. I'm not really complaining, but I'd sure like this 3+ week stall to be over.

I know I'm replying to myself, but I wanted to share that I'm going into week 4 of a stall, but my personal trainer re-did the body fat percent test on me again today and I've lost 3% body fat DURING this stall. I went from 51% fat to 48% fat. This is the first time my body has been less than half fat in the last 5 years. So, I'm not losing weight, but I am losing fat... I must be shrinking and gaining muscle. I can't complain about that, right? It'll eventually start again.

Everybody!!! Cheer up and hang in there! The stall does end. I went through it, too. Be strong and think back to the last time you ever lost this amount of weight......but did NOT put it back on after a month! The stall will pass!

More great encouraging info I have learned. Stalls arent so bad :P Look forward to your stalls and watch your sizes change during that stall. Your stalls will be the time when your shape catches up to your weight. I am not much of an expert, but I lost my weight and kept it off over the past 17 months since surgery. I feel great - REALLY great! I look good. I feel good. Read every label. Treat sugar like it's poison. If there's more than 5 grams of sugar in a serving - DON'T EAT IT! if you are able to successfully split something in half to make it 5 grams or less of sugar, cut it, eat it and then forget the other half until tomorrow. Every stall I had, I lost a size. Totally! The 3 weeks of my first stall was exactly when every person in the world started noticing that I lost weight. It's really kind of eerie. Tell me your experience with this. Next best piece of information and stick to it!!! MAKE ONE DAY TO WEIGH. Only 1 day a week. Saturday morning after peeing, before showering - once a week ONLY. If you are compulsive, get someone to keep your scale for you. I promise you will feel mentally better and won't be a "scale-ho" like I was. The scale will make you nuts. Even when the scale doesn't move, your body readjusts. YAY!!!!! I love this!