Seeking advise from all the VSG pro's

Hi Everyone, 

I am 6 weeks post op today. I feel like I may be in a bit of a stall, maybe it's normal.. So I thought I would seek out opinions and advice from all the weight loss pro's here. My high weight was 326, my surgical weight was 299.6 and today is 265.4, giving me a loss of 34.2 lbs since surgery and a total of 60.6lbs. The majority of my post op weight came off the first month (31lbs) and I have only lost 3 lbs the last two weeks. 

I am allowed to now add solids to my diet, though I have continued softs today. I am supposed to eat 3 meals and 2 snacks per day, which I sometimes struggle with. 

I try to eat 600-700 calories/day(usually on the low end), 70-90 grams of protein, carbs are never above 30, usually 25 or less. I drink 1 premier protein shake in the morning, the rest of my protein is from food. I eat no pasta, bread, rice or sugar. I drink 60+ oz of fluids/day, mainly water with an occasional unsweetened decaf ice tea.

I was only approved to start exercising about 2 weeks ago and it seems that since I am now swimming and using my exercise bike, I am not losing weight. Is this normal? Am I hitting my 3 week stall late? 

I don't want to stress over not losing weight rapidly, but I guess I need reassurance that I am on the right track and I will start losing again soon. Any and all advice and tips greatly appreciated. Thanks you all so much, the support on this site is incredible.

You're not in a stall if you're losing weight, no matter how much or how little. Even 3lb!

Massive weekly losses only happen right out of the gate, right after surgery. At 6 weeks and onward, a pound or two a week is standard and normal. Your food intake looks spot-on to me, so keep doing what you're doing and keep up the slow-and-steady.

Thanks. The fluid is still a work in progress. If I increase the water, I can't get in my protein. I have been trying to increase it a little at a time. 

Yeah, I remember I had a hard time with that at first as well! Carrying a water bottle with me everywhere helped a bit, especially if I could drink a bit first thing in the morning or right before bed.

There are some protein powders that mix up clear and in fruit flavors, they can count towards water AND protein. I drank a lot of the Isopure fruit punch, though it's kind of expensive, and the Syntrax Nectar is pretty good too. Might be worth checking out!

Thanks I will give them a try.

You sound completely on track to me. You could up your water intake to 80 oz or so per day. That helps, but at 6 weeks that can be hard to do.

Stay the path. Don't start messing around. It is my observation that people who stick with it and don't mess around with their food plans do best in the long run. Just keep up that 80+ grams of protein, fewer than 40 carbs per day and 600-800 calories per day and the weight will follow suit.

Not everyone loses at a steady clip. Many people are stair step losers. (Lose a lot, then nothing for a while, then a sudden drop again, repeat...).

You're doing great!

Thanks. I am still working on getting more water. I still struggle with getting water and proteins, if I increase water I eat less. I have been trying to add a little more each day. I have been following my plan to the letter, though my calories are usually lower than they recommend. They say I can advance to solids and my life diet now, with the exception of no steak til 6 months and no salads or raw veggies til 3 months, but I'm satisfied with soft foods for now. 

A great way to think about calories is how my surgeon explained it to me: 600-800 calories a day is your maximum daily intake. As long as I was getting the required protein in (which can be done in as little as 320 calories) and plenty of fluids he was happy. I was at 450 calories for quite some time as a new post op. I don't think I even reached 600 calories until 8 or 10 weeks out.

Hi! I'm almost 7 weeks post-op, and had the same problem as you about a week and a hal*****he weight loss stopped for about 4 days and then was really slow for then next 4. This week has been been much better, so I figured it was just the 6-week stall early. I never had a 3 week stall like people told me about. It's frustrating, but you're body's just changing. Do you take your measurements along with tracking weight?  I do that, and even though I wasn't losing weight I could see I was losing inches so didn't worry about it. I really hate scales, they can be misleading. I also agree with the other posters about increasing your water intake, I did this last week and it has helped a lot! I am still drinking about 2 premier protein shakes a day in order to get all the protein in I'm supposed. to. I just can't eat that much 'real' food at a time, and it keeps me full for much longer than the shakes, so I've found if I cut my shakes down to just one a day I'm not able to eat enough to get all the protein I need. Also it reduces the amount of calories i'm taking in. My calorie intake is usually 450-500/day and carbs are usually under 20. But my doctor hasn't let me start adding veggies or fruits yet, just protein, so carbs are naturally low. Good job exercising, I love the water aerobic class I go to! Great job with the loss, and keep up the good work! :-) 

Thanks. I never took measurements and I really wish I had. I have noticed my clothes just this week feeling looser, but the scale hasn't budged. I have a chronic kidney disease that makes me retain fluids a lot, so I am hoping some of it is fluid as well. I worked hard today to get in extra water. I still add a second shake some days, as sometimes it's hard to get enough protein. I haven't done any fruits, veggies or starches, I try to just eat proteins, so keeping carbs down is easy. Carbs have always been my downfall, so I just don't even want the temptation. Thanks for the advice, helps me realize things will work out. Congrats on your weight loss.