Finally! Whew!

Hiya Everyone!

So, for the past 2 weeks...well actually, I lost count, but I think it was about 2 weeks...

I have been stalled. Totally stuck. I have noticed in the past that if I don't get all my protein or all my water, I can see my loss start to slow, so I made sure to log my food each day. Honestly, I was getting all my protein and all my water. So, I figured I needed to do more exercising. I went to the gym 3 days in a row and evendid one whole hour on the elliptical! YaY me! Now, Iknow that exercising one day does NOT mean the next day you will hop on the scale and automatically see it go down, but I just thought it might put me over whatever hump I was facing. But....NOTHING!

I was seriously starting to get scared. I mean, I don't remember ever NOT being fat. I think I am at the lowest weight I can remember--well, lowest adult weight, I guess. So, I don't know what it is to be thin. I thought maybe at 103 pounds, my body was just done. Maybe I wasn't going to lose any more weight. I was terrified. I mean, don't get me wrong. I don't need to be "skinny" or wear a bikini. I know that I may never really be thin by the world's standards. But, I just want my health to be better. I want the doctors to tell me I could have a baby and have that baby be healthy.

So...I was really hoping that I would go to the scale one morning and see a 7 pound loss or something like that. I have heard many of you talk about times like that, when a stall produces a big drop. So, a few days ago, I step on the scale and it's gone down 6 tenths of a pound. Yup. 6 tenths.
I was just getting so discouraged and even depressed. I could feel like I just wasn't myself. I had a fight with my best friend and just wasn't into doing anything, not on purpose, it was just how I felt.

Well, ::drumroll:: I am happy to inform you that the scale has started moving! Oh, wait! ::knock on wood:: There. Just in case! So, In the past few days, I have now lost like 5 pounds total. I am so relieved, you just have no idea. Well, actually, I bet you do! So, I am still going to pay attention and not slack. I am going to continue to try and get my butt to the gym. Some people just LOVE the gym. I like when I am finished at the gym. LOL I just never FEEL like going there. I really try to have it together with my eating, drinking, vitamins, choices I make, but that gym..is my downfall. I guess we all have one in our journey--One thing that is our biggest challenge.

Well, I'll stop babbling now! I just wanted to share...because I am happy and relieved! But also, so that if some people are dealing with a complete halt, they can know that others go through it, too. And, we know what you're going through!

Have a great Tuesday!!!!

Hugs, Heather =)

2 weeks is NOT a stall.  It's a pause.

In those 2 weeks, you should have seen a loss in inches...

Think of it like a see-saw...weight loss, then balance out, then inches lost, then balance, then weight....

A stall is 3+ MONTHS of no movement....

Well, I guess maybe it was not a stall by definition. My point was that I was scared. I have had small pauses before, but not like this. So, it really frightened me. Failing at this and not improving my health is my biggest fear.

Sorry if I seemed dramatic, but...it was hard for me...

You are not going to fail! I have never seen anyone work harder at this than you! Congratulations on the scale moving again in the right direction!

Thank you, Mom! That really means alot to me! ::kisses:: =)

I agree with your mom....Don't lose faith You will not fail.

Thanks, John =)

I'll try...

What I hear you saying is your focus is heavily on the scale still; defining success or failure by a number. I hear emotions tied to outcomes of the scale as well (fear). Common of course given our past histories, typical and expected...all of this confirms you are normal and your experience is typical of a bariatric patient!!! Perhaps not reassuring int he least but facts none the less!

I offer a different spin than many, it is based on who I am, my philosophy and v views, as well as my personal journey in the bariatric world....I offer folks this mainly to ask what is your goal? Are your expectations realistic? How are you viewing the stall/plateau? As a barrier, challenge or learning opportunity? Halts can be seen as good or bad if we have to label them or just a stall w. no judgment attached and an opportunity to learn something perhaps...


I have been there, felt this, heard it a million times, my reply now is quite different than years ago (when I made a million recommendations how to bust a plateau which were really just a way to distract one from the issue at hand that there is something to gain here and not fear at all and to actually perhaps trust which is time, patience and acceptance or imperfection I think! the loss of control over outcomes too)..

Here is my usual reply, it comes with love...

The focus many of us miss with bariatric surgery is it is about LIFE CHANGING not WEIGHT CHANGING. This refocus or shift in thinking is imperative for many reasons.

First there are many things we can do to influence our wt, but the body is in ultimate control. Sometimes we do everything we can and our body does as it wishes, dropping at its desired pace, not what we expect, wish or want..I now jokingly reply to folks who ask what can I do, I say if you truly want to lose a few pounds one ways i cut offf a limb.yes sarcastic perhaps but in essence if all one wants is the scale to move there are some ways to do it or just accept the stupid scale or perhaps not get on it for a month...learning to find other ways to measure ssuccess!).Secondly, this can be maddening if we do not refocus on the true goal which is taking this opportunity to change our habits, both what we choose to eat and how we exercise daily and how we work on handling our emotional selves.

Once we are able to grasp this difference the plateaus that happen randomly, *some folks get them every other week starting yes at 2 weeks out or sooner and may last through 1-2 yrs, others do not ever get them, some get them monthly etc* re NORMAL, EXPECTED and part of the journey... There is no normal on this road, only YOUR experience and as they say there is typical but YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY! (YMMV)....We can either struggle with them or embrace them as learning opportunities for distress tolerance, patience and allowing our body its natural course in adjustments...We will not wake up everyday or week to a loss and if we expect that we set ourselves up for disappointment chronically and eventually wt loss slows significantly by 6 mo for many, when we get used to it flying off and then that slows it is scary but need not be if we realize the normalcy of it all and refocus on what we are doing with our life to maintain the losses. if we do not the regain is more likely to be a reality as we failed to ESCAPE THE PRISON OF BEHAVIORS THAT CAUSED MORBID OBESITY during the opportunity rich honeymoon period. THE BURDEN TO SUCCEED IS ON OURSELVES.....


The fear so many of us have that this won't work for us, that we are doing something wrong or we will be the ONLY one WLS does not work for is common. It is not helpful, but common.

"The single most important factor is to realize the surgery IS NOT A CURE for obesity. It's a very POWERFUL TOOL used in the fight against obesity. It needs to be considered as part of A PROCESS & A LIFELONG COMMITMENT to follow up with your bariatric team, engage in a regular exercise program, manage emotions and healthy eating. It is not a quick FIX."

Now many of us have set RIGID, UNREALISTIC WEIGHT LOSS GOALS for ourselves that are BOTH UNATTAINABLE and CHRONICALLY DISAPPOINTING and lead to DEVASTATION & the slippery slope of self-sabotage all of our lives. The reframing here after WLS that this is not another diet we will fail, this is not even about the scale and perhaps getting it our of our homes, or weighing MONTHLY no more to avoid the scale mentality and instead focus on what you are doing to take care of your needs in a healthy manner over time. The scale will do as it wishes we can learn to listen to our bodies physically and emotionally (the goal) to live a present focused life...


So these 4 things are my recommended focus for all postop WLSers:BE WILLING TO MAKE LIFESTYLE CHANGES NECESSARY FOR LONG-TERM WEIGHT LOSS SUCCESS/HEALTH:
1 REGULAR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
2 GOOD NUTRITION AND APPROPRIATE VITAMIN/MINERAL SUPPLEMENTATION
3 ASSISTANCE IN IMPROVING EMOTIONAL STATUS
4 CONTINUED INVOLVEMENT IN A BARIATRIC SUPPORT GROUP AND IN YOUR CLINICAL PROGRAM


Yes the scale moved yeah,,,, your success I bet can be measured 100's of other ways, if all the scales broke tomorrow what would we do? I'd rejoice hahah, I sure not everyonewould..It takes time to find other ways to live w/o the scale it is possible though!

Hey, Jamie!

You are right....you really are! I do put too much emphasis on the number on the scale. And, I know that. And, I know that the number is NOT why I did this! I have already been rewarded in so many much more wonderfully rewarding ways! But, I still would like to see the scale continue going down. It's not neccessarily the NUMBER, but what that number reflects. I feel like the movement of the scale shows me that ZI am doing the right thing. I mean, my brain knows I am doing the right thing, but the scale moving confirms it and serves to be a physical show of why I am doing this. My ultimate goal is to be healthy but along with that comes weighing less.

I don't know. I am torn. I know what the more important thing in life is...but still want the scale to move anyway. LOL My ongoing internal struggle. LOL

Thank you for your words---you are so sweet!

Hugs, Heather =)