Stalling

I'm 5 weeks out and I've stalled this week. Have others experienced this? I'm hanging around the 221 range. I did my 2 mile walk last night and NOTHING today. I'm worried that I'm done losing weight... Lord I hope not. How long have others stalled? And this close to surgery?

I am in the same boat.... give your time to adjust to the weight loss is what I always hear. The scale  will drop eventually. But it's so frustrating to wait....

Honey, honey, honey... you are FIVE WEEKS OUT.  Do yourself a HUGE favor, and put that scale somewhere horribly inconvenient - LEAVE IT ALONE FOR A LONG TIME!!!  You are NOT going to see a drop every day!  In fact, your weight can fluctuate several POUNDS over the course of a single day!  If you become obsessed, you'll spend more time anxious - when you should be focused on doing the right things, paying attention to how your clothes are getting baggier, all that GOOD stuff!

WLS is NOT about the number on the scale as much as it is about you re-establishing a new relationship with food, getting healther, and enjoying the freedoms that weighing less brings you!  Besides - if you only weigh when you see your doc, or just once a month, you'll be GIDDY to see big drops!  Rather than stressed over watching the micro day-to-day progress.

And remember, your body NEEDS time to adjust to all this!  It's been said a zillion times - when you aren't losing pounds, you are losing inches.  You bod needs time to snug up and rearrange!

Take a deep breath.  Just Say NO to the scale.  You're gonna be FINE!!!

Yeah I think I'll stay away from the scale for awhile. It was just so addicting to see myself lose 35 pounds in a month.... I'll hide the scale for a bit or I will drive myself nuts.

Thanks for the advice!

You would have to be trying really, really hard be done lose weight at this point in time.  You are fine, stalls are normal.  Ever since my first month post-op, my body settled into a routine where I would suddenly drop 5-10 pounds in 3-5 days, then slowly drop 0-1lb over the next 3 weeks or so.  This is when I am shrinking.  So, you are probably having your first major shrinking episode! Many find that it is helpful to stay away from the scale for longer periods of time.  Actually, I have found that my weight loss week is timed to fit into a certain rhythm with my cycle.  Says a lot about the power of hormones, eh.  You will be fine, keep up the good work!

My weight loss happens the same way Christi described!  

In addition to the great replies, be sure to take measurements regularly.  When the scale won't budge, the inches reveal positive changes.  Patience is a virtue I don't have either!  Keep up the great work, and you WILL see results soon!  Lots of love and hugs galore, Patti

I agree with the scale thing. One thing that has worked for me is I decided no more scale except for at my doc visits. It has really helped me stay focused on the eating/exercise/change habits part of the journey. It is amazing how the scale can dictate how I feel about myself. I won't avoid the scale forever but for now, for me anyway, it has worked. You are doing great!

Where's Farrah? She's got a good explanation of a stall...I don't think this is a stall, just an adjustment period if you will! Be patient, you're nowhere near done girl!

I'm 1-2 weeks ahead of you and I have experienced pretty much the same thing.  I lost 12 pounds the week after surgery and then NOTHING (well, ok, maybe 1-2 lbs. for the next 3 weeks).  Now in the past 3 weeks I'm starting to see some weight loss again.  Since surgery I'm down about 25 pounds (in 7 weeks).  Somedays I get so frustrated with it and think that I'm not going to lose the weight and the surgery was a failure and then other days I'll drop a couple of pounds (like other posters described) and I will be all giddy again.  I agree with Darla - the scale needs to be hidden.  I made a commitment to myself that it goes into hiding the minute I go under 400 lbs (have about 3-5 more pounds to lose depending on what time of day I weigh myself).  I am so embarrassed that I weigh over 400 and I just want to know when I break that milestone and then the scale can go away.  It will take me months to get out of the 300s so then I will care a lot less about the number on the scale.

You're doing great - I'm so proud of your exercise - it's something that I need to really work harder on so that I can maximize my results right now.  The weight will come off - just do the math.  You're expending more calories than you're taking in.