3-5 week post op platuea

How long does this last? Also is there anything I need to do to make it stop other than following the diet? This is a very frustrating time right now. I am three weeks and two days post op. 

Well, many people don't consider it a real plateau unless it lasts at least a month, but it rarely lasts that long this early out (although it can).  It will probably last a week or two.  And no, you don't need to do anything other than stick to your plan.  If it's very frustrating for you, it might help to stay off the scale for a few weeks.

I hit my plateau at just under 3 weeks and it lasted almost 3 weeks. It was VERY frustrating but it passes. Luckily it's the only plateau I have had so far - I just quit weighing myself so I wouldn't get so crazy. Hang in there.

So do we lose inches or what during this time?  Seems like we should be loosing something.

 

You are still losing fat, you are just gaining water. It will pass. Inches are necessarily slower to come off than pounds.

I hit a 3-week stall around the 3-week mark and when I was getting frustrated, I said to my husband, "Let's break out the measuring tape and see if something... ANYTHING... is moving here!" We did. And we found that in those three weeks, I lost just over 10". So my body was changing and catching up. The scale wasn't showing anything, but lots was obviously going on!

I only measure myself once a month. Likely your body is adjusting to the trauma of surgery and trying to settle in.

My advice is not going to be very popular, but you need to get off the scale. This surgery helps you lose weight, but that's not actually the important part right now. You have only the "honeymoon" period to establish healthy sustainable habits that will help you keep weight off for a lifetime. 

Focus on always getting your recommended grams of protein, enough liquids, learn how to schedule your vitamins. Scour the internet for soft food recipes to try during the mushy phase. Teach yourself how to eat food slowly and put your fork down between bites. Make these things become habits that you can follow easily. There's a lot to obsess over, but the number on the scale isn't one. I know the instinct and have to limit the amount I get on the scale because it was an unhealthy obsession. 

If you were on liquids to begin with, a lot of the weight loss came from your intestines being empty. If you started eating soft food recently, your intestines begin to fill up again. That's good and normal, but can make the scale stall. It doesn't mean that you're not losing fat. You will gain water weight from finally being able to eat foods with salt and other electrolytes. Again, normal and healthy. Your body is healing and adjusting to normal. 

 

I would definitely not not measure inches more than once a month because that takes a very long time to change. The attitude "I should be losing something" is not helping right now, though I know it's completely natural. Just focus on taking care of your body and doing the right things. If you do, the weight loss WILL follow, but it does so in an unpredictable, sometimes frustrating way. Just bear with it. 

Very good advice and more popular than you think. That is what I needed to hear. I had my wife hide the scale last night so I have officially gone 24 hours without weighing myself. I have pucked up the exercise and have began the c25k app tonight. 

Thanks for the well said response. 

Since this just happened to me, I thought it would be worth knowing. The scale stubbornly stayed at almost the exact same weight for 2.5 weeks. Then, I lost almost 10 pounds in 24 hours. It's clear I was losing weight during that time, but it's like my body was picking up ballast to balance it out. Then, I lost that compensatory water weight. (I actually have no clue why it does this, but it does). My weight loss goes like this a lot. It's why I don't weigh myself every day and I don't dwell too much on the number. I just know that I AM losing weight, and that eventually the scale will reflect that.