Stalled weight loss for more than a week!

Hey guys! I'm losing faith here and need advice!!

I had my RNY done 10/22 (less than 3 weeks ago). At first, I lost 13 pounds in 11 days and then since Monday 11/2, I've been stalled at 250 lbs, going back and forth between one pound difference for 8 days now!! I've heard of the three week stall, but this seems pretty early to be stalled out and not losing...

On a possibly-related note, I've had my period for two weeks straight now (sorry, grossed-out men). Could that be part of it? Is it normal to have such a long period? I'm only 26 and I use the depo shot as protection, so my period has been very regular. I'm very frustrated!

Help!!!

Also, how do you guys make that signature with your weight loss goals? I can't figure it out.

Try not to get frustrated, and just stick to the doctors plan; this stall is very common at three weeks; I had it as well.  you will drop significantly in the next few weeks.. just keep up with your fluid and plan and you got this! :))  

It's normal no worries. Your body is in shock basically and adjusting to all the changes. Just stick with your plan and the scale will go down we promise!  This will probably not be your only stall either. The body needs time to change sometimes. 

I completely skipped my first period after surgery. I think it's pretty normal for periods to be screwed up in the beginning although 2 weeks is pretty long. You may want to contact your Gyne and let them know what's up. You don't want to add to anemia with blood loss. 

Hang in there it gets way better from here :)

OH and the ticker thing in the signatures is not working correctly right now. They are working on it. If you use myfitnesspal you can copy one from there and paste it into your signature. Also updates automatically which is sweet.

Big hugs to you.  The dreaded stall has arrived.  I posted almost this exact same thing in August.  

The stall will break.  Stay calm and follow plan. 

Think I need to make a t-shirt of that.  

do an OH search for three week stall. All the info you can stand will be there

Congratulations. You are exactly on schedule.

Take a deep breath, if you are following your surgeon's instructions, you will do fine.  (most people can't lose more than 1 pound per day forever)  So, in the 3 weeks since surgery, you are down 13 pounds.  That is progress - although not as much as we want...  That is not a stall - stalls are measured in weeks - you are seeing normal variability for shortly after surgery. 

I posted a handout about stalls a few days ago, I will post a link below.

Talk to your doctor about your hormone levels - I don't know how 'normal' your long period is - but you may need to get it checked before your iron levels are impacted.

I came across this in the on-line booklet for WLS patients. http://evans.amedd.army.mil/ncd/PDFs/Bariatric%20Booklet.pdf

It's from 2007, but I thought their explanation and advise for plateaus was reasonable.

What do some of you 'old timers' think?? Useful??

WEIGHT PLATEAUS
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 period of body
adjustment, where your body "catches up with itself". Patience is the key during weight
plateaus. After gastric bypass surgery, may individuals experience weight plateaus every
3-4 months during weight loss.

There are two types of plateaus.

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, 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. Here is an explanation: 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 that 1500 calories for maintenance now, rather than weight loss.
It's as simple as calories in = calories out.

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 for a long period of time or have they started to increase
due to increased portion sizes? 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 to adjust for your new
weight. Some individuals may need to try increasing calories or fat grams by a small
amount each 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.

There are many different ways to TRY and break a plateau. First start by keeping a food
and physical activity record. Try a few changes such as eating habits and physical
activity. It takes some experimenting to find out what will work for you, at this
particular time in your weight loss journey. 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 your new weight, and
congratulate yourself for the long, hard road you just traveled!

I am in the same boat! I had surgery on 10/26 and only lost 1 pound this week. And I haven't been really eating anything. I had some pain issues that they thought may have been pancreatic so they had me on clear liquid for 3 days. So almost no calories for 3 days...how could I not lose weight? Well I think that is the problem. So I started pureed food yesterday (sort of) and barely ate anything. Today I made a plan. I was going to eat more. I had egg salad for breakfast, refried beans and guac for lunch, cottage cheese for snack, pureed meat loaf and mashed potatoes for dinner and am having a protein shake for dessert. Now, it was not a lot of any food, but it was food, calories, protein, fat, and carbs. All things I think my body is freaked out not to have. I think the real good will help my body realize that there would be good again and out does not need to hold on to my current fat. I will let you know how it works.

Right? I can't believe that eating like 400 calories a day plus an hour of exercise and all my vitamins doesn't equal me losing weight. I'm hoping maybe it's water weight we're still holding on to and will start losing soon. I do only get about 40g protein per day, rather that 65-75 they recommended. I'm worried that might be part of it...

It's just discouraging to not see results after such hard work. Keep me posted.