No, you are not a failure.

"I lost 20lb last month and only 5 this month."

"I've only lost weight 2 days this week."

"I've lost only one pants size in the past 3 weeks."

Get rid of the word ONLY. The sooner the better.

There's a pretty clear pattern among new post-ops: MAJOR weight loss in the first several weeks. After that, it slows down to "only" a few pounds per month. Cue the freakout.

What's wrong? Why did I stop losing? Is my surgery a failure?

DON'T PANIC.

Surgery is not magic.

You will not lose weight every day.

You will not lose all of your weight in a few months.

Here are some observations from ~3 years on OH:

• Many people lose a LOT of weight in the first few weeks, usually because we're taking in very few calories on a liquid diet.
  
  
• This huge loss stops after a couple of weeks, and many people freak the hell out over the "three week stall." (Search for it, guaranteed you'll see at least one post per week on the topic.)
  
  
• Afterwards, a slow and steady loss of 1 - 2lb per week is normal, with things slowing down as BMI goes down.
  
  
• Many people take about a year to reach their goal, though this depends on starting BMI, surgery type, and compliance to post-op guidelines.

TRUST THE PROCESS.

This is not a quick fix, nor the "easy way out." Surgery still takes hard work and TIME to reach goal. 

If you obsess over unrealistic expectations, you will drive yourself mad.

Slow down. Take a deep breath. Look at your long-term weight trends rather than the past week (or less). Keep doing what you're doing.

You'll get there.

Thanks, Julie.  I am almost 11 months post op and I NEEDED this today.  I know I've done really well so far, and I'm fighting to keep on plan now because it really does get harder the farther out you go.  BUT I get so down on myself sometimes, and I get so afraid that I won't make it to goal and that I'll fail.

I haven't failed.

I AM still losing weight, even if it's slowly.

I CAN do this and I will not give up.

Heck yeah you can! You've totally got this, I have faith in you 

You can do this I know you can. Look at me I lost weight and I am almost three years out. Which I know I am not a vet. I am just glad my tool is working. 

I feel great. 

You can do this I know you can. Look at me I lost weight and I am almost three years out. Which I know I am not a vet. I am just glad my tool is working. 

I feel great. I think I feel better now than I ever did. 

You are an inspiration!  I am down to my lowest weight today, but this month has been slow in losing.  

I wouldn't say inspiration. It has been a rough few days. I did not drink however. 

Great post.  Definitely something I needed to hear after my last few months of stress and struggles. 

Thank you Julie

Whenever I can I search previous posts to find the information I need here, and it's really helped me! I don't go to a support group because I'm antisocial like that, so this is my favorite resource! I'm in my first "stall" period right now, but knowing the facts have made it much easier. It's amazing to me how many people think that WLS is the "easy" way out. It's not, it's a major mind **** from the beginning, (at least RNY is) and really has its obstacles. Great post!

Thank you so much for this post. Today I am 3 weeks post-op. I lost 12 pounds the first 2 weeks and nothing this week. I've been 100% compliant. It's posts like these that remind me I need to be patient. I've lost lots of weight in the past and sometimes fairly quickly but then gained it all back even faster. I'm really hoping this is the last time I'll need to lose a lot of weight. Encouraging posts like these are always appreciated.