Longest stall? When to panic?

misa
on 9/22/09 3:54 pm
Okay, I am 5.5 months out and I have lost 51% of my excess weight, which I know (thanks to all of you) means I am on track, BUT I have been stalled for 5 weeks now and before that I went from one stall to the next.  I will lose a chunk and then stall then lose another chunk and then stall.  But this is the longest stretch.  Should I panic?  Should I go back to liquids?  Is this normal?  At what point is it worrisome?

Thanks :-)

  
                     
Marlee
on 9/22/09 7:16 pm
I feel your pain.  The same thing is happening to me.  I came off of a 4 week stall, lost a little, and went right back into another stall that lasted 2-3 weeks, lost a pound here and there but gained it back here and there as well.  Now I seem to be dropping like crazy, but know that another stall is inevitable as our bodies need to adjust and adapt.
I try to constantly re-evaluate my eating and water consumption and make adjustments in that department as needed.  Do you journal?  That helps me to make sure I'm not only being accountable for what goes into my mouth, but also to see that I'm getting everything I need on a daily basis.  I've noticed that if I slack off on my water or protein, so does the weight loss.
DEBI R.
on 9/22/09 7:30 pm - CORSICANA, TX

I stalled for 7 weeks before I started losing weight again and didn't change anything. It's been 5 months since I've lost any weight this time around, my goal weight was 150 so I only need to lose 2 lbs to reach that but doubt I'll ever get there. I'll be 2 yrs in November so this is probably it for me.

       



     ____debi__________200.jpg image by tunie_2006 item11.jpg image by tunie_2006      


minuature pinscher 

 

 

PuggyDawn S.
on 9/22/09 9:11 pm - San Antonio, TX
That's how I lost weight ~ in chuncks.  My longest stall was for 9 weeks. 

I lose most of my weight right before my period or right after my period...just seesms to work out that way..

Dawn

pugbunny2-small.jpg picture by PuggyDawn Happy Easter ~"bawk bawk"
check out my weight loss video
:
  http://tinyurl.com/aqbbq4

5100kiki
on 9/23/09 12:19 am

I've noticed that also.  I used to bloat and gain 5 or 10 lbs. and now I just lose weight around that time.

          
Sara C.
on 9/22/09 9:33 pm - Granville, NY
Misa,
    Make sure you are counting your measurements too.  I posted about a stall a couple of weeks ago.  I've only lost like 5lbs in the last 3 weeks, but I've gone down 2 dress sizes.  The really weird thing (for me) is that it took me 50lbs to lose the first dress size.
Your body is adjusting, give it time :)
       
5100kiki
on 9/23/09 12:20 am
Don't panic just keep at it and hang in there!
          
Pam T.
on 9/23/09 1:25 am - Saginaw, MI
Stalls and plateaus are completely normal.  No need to go back to all liquids, no need to panic, no need to worry.  You've lost a boatload of weight - give your body a minute to breathe. 

Are you sure it's even a plateau?  Have you been taking your measurements?  There will be times when the scale will stop, but the body will be dropping inches instead.  If you're losing inches, it's not really even a plateau. 

Here's a post on my blog about how to break a stall.

Breaking a Stall

 

Weight loss stalls and plateaus are very common after WLS -- or any type of weight loss program. We didn't gain weight steadily over the years and we will not lose weight every day or week when we're losing weight it's not going to melt off every day or week. It's frustrating, but it's all part of the process and we just have to be patient and work through these little bumps in the road.

But when the scale hasn't moved for a couple weeks or months - this is the perfect time to take a very close look at what we're doing and figure out if we need to make change. Have we allowed bad habits to creep back in or are there adjustments to routines that need to be made to jumpstart the weight loss again? Here's a list I typed up earlier:

 

  • Are you tracking your food intake in a food journal? Is it on track?
  • Are you tracking every single calorie that passed your lips? (flavored water, vitamins, gum, single pieces of candy) Even if you aren't keeping track of calories, your body is!
  • Are you eating too MANY calories?
  • Are you eating too FEW calories?
  • Are you taking in enough protein? 80-100g/day
  • Are the fats you're eating healthy (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated)
  • Are you eating too many simple carbs (bread, pasta, potatoes, sugar, pasta, rice)
  • Are you eating enough fruits and veggies?
  • Are you drinking enough water (water flushes fat toxins from our body)?
  • Are you grazing?
  • Are you eating the right quantity? Measuring and weighting foods?
  • Are you eating on a schedule?
  • Are you exercising hard enough? Long enough? Fast enough?
  • When's the last time you changed your exercise routine? (The body becomes efficient and doesn't burn as many calories after we've done the same thing for 4-6 weeks)
  • Have you added weight training to your workouts? (muscle burns more calories at rest)
  • Are you taking all your vitamins and supplements?
  • Have you started taking any new medications that might promote weight gain?
  • Have you taken your measurements (you might be losing inches even if the scale isn't moving)

Also, here's a great post by DxE that has a ton of information that might trigger ideas in some other areas to break a plateau.

Hope this helps...

~Pam

My Recipe Index is packed full of yumminess!
Visit my blog: Journey to a Healthier Me  ...or my Website

The scale can measure the weight of my body but never my worth as a woman. ~Lysa TerKeurst author of Made to Crave

 

cabin111
on 9/23/09 2:37 am
Below is a copy and paste from DX...very knowledgeable man.  It might help.  I love how he said after WLS...it is like decending stairs...

Still staying on-track calorie-wise? And the scale shows you stopping? Or Even Gaining?!?!? ----------------------------Re-Post Unsolicited advice/info… -------------------------------------- Pull back from your ‘daily’ charting, and look at a weekly or even monthly. There are up and down spikes each day, But if you ‘graph’ the highest to the lowest, I’d bet there is still A downward slope over the course of the month. There’s an 8 to 10lb. volume of "wiggle room" due to water alone. And it comes into play a lot. This has to do with our bodies using glycogen for short term energy storage. Glycogen is not very soluble, But it is stored in our muscles for quick energy – One pound of glycogen requires 4 lbs of water to keep it soluble, And the average glycogen storage capacity is about 2 lbs. So, when you are not getting in enough food, (Like when you drop down to your calorie intake) Your body turns first to stored glycogen, Which is easy to break down for energy. And when you use up 2 lbs of glycogen, You also lose 8 lbs of water that was used to store it Voila -- the "easy" 10 lbs that most people lose in the first week of any diet. As you stay in caloric deficit, however, Your body starts to ‘realize’ that this is not a short term problem. You start mobilizing fat from your adipose tissue And burning fat for energy. But your body also ‘realizes’---- (by way of your liver releasing hormones signaling low Cal intake) ---That fat can't be used for short bursts of energy – Like, to outrun a saber-tooth tiger. So, it starts converting some of the fat into glycogen, And rebuilding the glycogen stores. And as it puts back the 2 lbs of glycogen into the muscle, 8 lbs of water has to be stored with it to keep it soluble. So, even though you might still be LOSING energy content to your body, (Thus showing negative Calorie load overall) Your weight will not go down or you might even GAIN for a while As you retain water to dissolve the glycogen that is being reformed and stored. Yes? The whole ‘weight-loss’ process is not a straight "Slide" down the scale. More like "Stair-Steps," (Down then forward, then down, then forward, etc... As your body cycles fat out of "deep storage" and through the Liver Into the muscles as Glycogen. The muscles and Liver can hold about a 3 weeks supply. This is why many people find that their "Stall" or "Plateau" Breaks when adding a bit of exercise And upping their water intake, or in the case of an "extreme exerciser," The total Calorie or Protein Intake, To signal the liver to let go of more Glycogen. Fear not, many people who are now enjoying life at a normal BMI Once had a few weeks or so of thinking- "...my weight loss has been awfully slow, has it stopped..."? Hope this helps some. You are doing Great! Keep it Up! Best Wishes-Mike Wazowski Dx

susanrdal
on 9/25/09 6:20 am - mayfield heights, OH
Hi Misa,
I have a very similar situation to yours.  I am just 6 months out and havent lost anything for the past 5 weeks.  I know everyone says we need to be glad for what we have lost, but I cant help being nervous about this.  I also would stall for weeks at a time and then lose in chunks.
It feels to me like I have to fight to lose every pound, I never feel like it is just falling off like some people say.
Susan
 
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