Stall at 1.5 weeks post op???????

I am feeling rather frustrated. I started my preop liquid diet on March 15th, had surgery on March 21st, then was on full liquids until March 28th. I saw my doc on March 27th, and I had lost 20 pounds already! Woohoo! I was so excited! Then my doc told me start soft food for 3 weeks. So I did, and I swear I am doing everything I am supposed to do and nothing that I am not supposed to. I am getting in at least 60g of protein and 64oz. of water every day, taking all of my supplements, walking at least 1 mile per day. I am tracking everyting I eat and do on fitday.com. I feel like I should be losing like crazy at this point, but I'm not. I haven't lost one single ounce since I starting eating soft foods 4 days ago. When I weighed this morning and saw that the scale had not moved yet I wanted to throw it out the window! Has anyone else had this experience? Can anyone explain this to me, please? I am wondering if I should have even had the surgery if all I am going to lose is 20 pounds. Thanks ya'll, Robin

You just need to give your body time and make sure your calorie intake is low enough to cause a weight change. Are you tracking all of your intake? I know that we are only allowed 300 calories per day during the soft food stage of my post-op program. You did not mention your intake, but you have to burn 3500 more calories than you consume in order to lose 1 pound. In addition, consider that you might also be overdoing it with the exercise if you are building muscle weight with your walking instead of just doing 30 minutes a day to burn calories. I guess it depends on how much you did prior to your surgery and whether a mile per day of walking is something that you have done for awhile or is something new that is building muscle weight instead of just burning fat. You'll have to look into that. I had surgery the day before you, and my weight loss has been slow since about 4-5 days after my surgery. I have only lost half as much as you, but I know that I have to stick with it and it will melt off in time. This slow loss in the beginning sometimes happens with people as the body fights the change and tries to hold onto the fat instead of letting it go. At least I believe that is what is happening with me as that has happened to others I know as well. 20lbs is a lot in a short period of time, and most people only lose 20-30 lbs per month in the first 3-4 months after surgery. You still have 2.5 weeks until your first month is up, and being down 20 lbs already is fantastic. I know it's frustrating, but it will take time and you just have to stick with the program and be patient with the changes. Keep your chin up!! Sherry

Hi Sherry, Thanks for the advice and support. My surgeon said that my caloric intake should be about 600 calories, and I am keeping mine between 500 and 600 calories per day. Like I said, I am doing everything right. I guess I just lost a lot of water weight really fast and so I was expecting to keep losing at a steady rate. When I look at the graphs of my caloric intake vs. my calories burned on fitday.com, it looks like I should have burned enough additional calories to have lost at least 2-3 more pounds. Maybe it's because I have been a little constipated since starting on the soft food where with the liquids I was going constantly. I am going to stick with the program, and hopefully I will be posting soon that I dropped a number of pounds. Thanks again! Robin

Hello Robin no 20lbs want be all that you lose but the body has just been shocked and needs to adjust keep doing everything you need to do and the weight will come off in no time it is not uncommon for a stall right now....I just had a revision and lost 15lbs in one week but my first surgery i lost 23lbs in one month and nothing the second month and i do mean nothing but after awhile that weight just dropped off me...So stay encouraged Tema

Hi Tema, Thank you so much for sharing part of your story with me and for your words of encouragement. I'm sorry that you went through this same frustration but glad to hear that I am not the only one who is experiencing this. Keep up the good work on your end! Thanks Again! , Robin

Hi Robin, Congrats on the 20 pounds. My dr told me that surgery is a trauma to your body and you lose stuff you shouldn't in the first week or so, muscle, body proteins, etc. He said that I should expect not to lose or only a pound or two for a couple weeks so that the body can regain the things it needs. I have lost 19 so far, so we will see. Good luck, Wanda

Hi Wanda, Sounds like you are doing very well. Thanks for that info; that makes me feel a whole lot better! I hope you have continued success! Good luck! Thanks Again, Robin

I'm having the same problem. Lost 45 pounds in 2 1/2 weeks and have only lost 1 since. Very depressing. It is your body's starvation mechanism kicking in and taking charge. I have only three suggestions to help. 1. Up the water. 2. Up your calories 20-30%. Make sure those calories are from protien though. 3. And the one nobody wants to hear, pick up the exercise. Your metabolism is slowing down and the only way to bust that is to burn more calories. A few days of increased activity, along with the protein and water, will kickstart the metabolism and should get you moving in the right direction. I'm still in neutral at the moment, but I am confident that the scale will begin to move very soon. And if it doesn't, I'll be throwing more than that scale through a window.

Hey There, Thanks for the great advice. I did lose 1 pound yesterday - hopefully that's a sign that things will start moving again. I am not even 2 weeks post op - so I am afraid to up the exercise muchbecause my doc told me not to do anything too strenuous for 6 weeks. I can't wait to start lifting weights and doing more, but I've got to wait out the 6 weeks. I can't believe that you lost 45 pounds in 2.5 weeks - that's totally amazing! I am so happy for you! I hope things pick up for you again real soon! Good Luck, Robin

I'm in the same boat about strenuous exercise. So I'm upping the walking. 2 times a day for 20-30 minutes each. I've got my own weight machine and I've been staring at it a lot lately, but I've been following directions so far. I can wait another 2 weeks before I hit the weights.