Dear Abby you wont believe this

Dear Abby's
 I have been on a recent plateau with my first fifty pounds. I figured this would happen but now I am awaiting the next little demise of some fat and for some reason it is just wagging it's tail so to speak and not showing up on the scales. Its been right on the same area for about ten days. Im not all mad about it just curious as to if others get into this same sort of thing two months out. My wife says its all in my head and the weight will fall off again. I figured I better get some more distinguished opinions from some of you folks that are in the know. Being stuck out here in the boonies has its drawbacks when it comes to riding over to someone's house and chewing words about WLS. 

Signed, 

Not so pleasantly shrinking at the moment. 

 Dear "Not so Pleasantly,"

What you are describing with your weight loss is very normal... although hard to comprehend when you KNOW you're expending more energy than you're consuming.  This "plateau" process is simply a way for your body to catch up with all of the changes.  

When I reach those plateaus, I try to focus on the fact that I'm doing everything right and there is nothing to feel guilty about.  As you know, this is a new mental recording that has to replace negatives ones I have been perfecting for years.

Keep up the great work,

Abby's Stand-In

Your stall is completely normal.  No, it's not all in your head.  But your wife is right when she says the weight WILL fall off again.  I hit my first stall around 3 weeks and then many more along the way.  Your body is going through a drastic change.  It's initial response was to drop weight.  Now it's just trying to re-adjust.  This is the point in the past where a diet would fail.  That's not so much an option for you now, so you'll keep following the plan and your body will have no other choice but to start losing again. 

Have you done measurements?  This is the point where the measurements come in handy, because when the scale doesn't go down, the inches usually do.

Hang in there...

As Deb said, this is very common. As Deb experienced, I had my first 'stall' at about 3 weeks. I was sure that I was doing something wrong. When I met with my surgeon at Duke, he said that instead of 'sliding' down the scale, we actually 'stairstep' because it's part of our body's preservation mechanism. Our bodies are built to perserve our 'precious' reserves during famine and we are inducing famine. The good news is that with the help of our surgery, we have the upper hand here and soon you'll be experiencing the 'drop' of the next step in your journey.

If you haven't been keep track of your measurements, you might want to try doing that. Often you will see movement in the tape measure when the scale is being stingy.

Wishing you continued success,

Barb

Dear Not so Pleasantly~
Your fears and your stall is TOTALLY normal, first of all CONGRATULATIONS on your fifty lb weight loss!! that is fantastic!! can you honestly look back and say you have ever lost that much in so little time? Try to stay OFF the scales, I am 13 months out and you WILL have stalls, it is totally normal, listen to your wife.... shes never been wrong before now has she?

Chin up and move forward,

Abby Von Baby Veins

 Yall Abbys are the greatest. Ill put the worries to the rear and get down off that plateau fence for a while. It is so nice to find folks that can poke a bit of fun at me as well. That sort of banter is almost as good as WLS. Thanks for all the assistance and I will be asking Dear Abby about other things as they appear. 

A plateau is when you do not lose pounds or inches for FOUR weeks or longer - not losing weight for 10 tens is 'normal'... my first suggestion is to check your inches, a lot of times when the scale stops the tape measure will move. My second suggestion is to be patient - you have lost 50lbs in a relatively short amount of time... just like you need to rest, your body needs to rest now and then as well... oh and your scale may be needing a rest too :-) Move your focus to your protein, nutrition, vitamins, exercise and all that good stuff and the weight loss will follow. Work on developing the good habits you will need for life - they will take you so much further than keeping your focus on that frustrating scale.

 Horseplay that was way too funny. According to my measuring belt im in about twelve inches from where it started at. I can at least see my feet without falling over on my head which is a better alternative. If I gulped enough air could I get on the scales and float up a little? My luck it would just be a big ol burp then my wife going "Push I know that had to be the dog cause you would not do that sort of thing".. Thats when I bark.. it seems to work ok behind closed doors anyway. My poor dog never gets a free ride.