A note to pre-op's and early post-ops...

Since we have so many that have recently had surgery and so many that are soon to have it, I wanted to make this post to all of you.

I can't tell you all how many times I have encountered early post-ops panicing because 2 or 3 or 4 weeks out, they suddenly hit a plateau. They start to get scared that this surgery is going to fail them or wonder what they are doing wrong.

PLEASE know, it is absolutely a normal occurance for us to hit plateaus, even early out from surgery. And most of us will hit plateaus several times along the way. Please don't allow this to discourage you when it happens. It may last 1 to 3 weeks, but you will start losing again.

If you do hit a plateau, one thing you can do to help yourself, is to make sure you are getting in enough protein, water and getting in some movement. Also, you may need to increase your intake just a bit, maybe by adding in a protein shake. this will increase your intake and protein and help get your body to move out of that starvation mode. If you are getting plenty of the above.. try shaking up your exercise routine a bit.

But just know, that plateaus are normal, and our bodies need this time to adjust to all of the rapid changes that are going on with it. It will pass! And know you can always come here to vent your frustrations when this does occur. Even tho i know plateaus are normal, I can still get frustrated with em after a while.

Just wanted to give you all a heads up, so hopefully, you will not panic when you find you are on that first plateau. I wish someone had told me to expect it. Boy I was so upset I was telling my husband I was going to make my surgeon either do it again right, or give me a refund of the portion i had to pay.. lol.

Thanks for posting this Patrece! I think it's important to know this infomation at the start. I've seen a lot of posts from people who are really upset , especially about early plateaus. I pretty much do this with any weight loss effort. My body seems to lose and then stall 2-3 weeks before starting up again. Is that frustrating? YES!  Do I like the idea? NO! But realistically, it's totally likely and even understandable that my body will need time to adjust. When on diet programs, this has sometimes contributed to my giving up, but with WLS, I know that I will lose the weight if I can just be a little patient. Thanks for helping all us newbies be prepared for what will happen for many of us so we don't get too discouraged!

Hugs,
Rhonda

You are so welcome Rhonda! And what you wrote about how these plateau's feel and can disourage us and make us want to give up at times...your are right on, and thats why i thought I should post this. I remember how I felt and I know it will still be frustrating, but had I known to expect it, I wouldn't have felt that feeling of "it failed me" and hopelessness. I see so many posts about this, and get many PM's as well because so many just don't realize it happens with wls until much later, and I want to try to ease minds about this.

: )