Observations about "Stalls"-WARNING it is a little long.

This is just a rant that I have been thinking about for a little while and I wanted to share and see if anyone agrees.

When I started this journey, at 258 lbs and wearing a size 22/24, I logged my weight loss daily.  I watched my weight go down about 5lbs a week.  Some weeks were more some were less but I was always down.   Around 6 months it slowed down to about 3lbs a week.  Then I hit the dreaded "stall" at about 9 months. I got frustrated and stopped logging the weight.  I kept on plan watched my protein,water and exercise. But since I was wearing a size 10 and happy with how I felt and the size so I was fine if I did not loose any more. 

A week ago I was packing for a 3 week business trip to California. Since the weather in California is so different than it is in Massachusetts so I had to search my closet for the proper clothes.   As I was trying on all of my size 10's  everything was baggy so off to the store I go.    I tried on size 8's....too big. So I got a size 6!!!  They fit !!!  OMG. Size 6.   

Well since had dropped  sizes I figured I would weight myself and guess what I had dropped 13lbs!!!    13 pounds in 2 and a half months.   Now if you compare this to the weight loss in the beginning it is not impressive but in real life it is not bad.  If I was following a "diet" it would be considered  successful.    

Something dawned on me.   In the beginning I was seeing difference almost daily and I kind of got addicted to that.  Once things slowed down I got discouraged. I think that is may some may think that WLS is the easy way out.  The results come so quickly and seeming effortlessly (from the outside looking in). 

Moral of this story........Stay on the plan of your program and results will happen,  Don't obsess over stalls,  They may not be stalls at all  just your body catching up with itself.

Thanks for listening

Well said!!! I too have stopped obsessing over the scale and stick to my plan. The weight loss has slowed down and at times I've felt it has stopped all together but my 10's are also getting baggy so I know I'm doing something right. Don't get discouraged, stick to your food plan and live your life. You will be happier and have fun in the meantime.

Great post!!!  Thank you!!

GREAT post! I so agree with you & I only weigh once a month (have done that since 1st month from post op. keeps me from obsessing. :-)

Awesome post. I am only 7 months post op and the weight loss is slow going. I have been telling myself to stop weighting myself so I don't get discouraged.

THANK YOU! I wish everyone could see this post, and heed your words of wisdom. It makes me so sad to see folks with unrealistic expectations, some of them misled by their own surgeons, getting despondent when the weight doesn't drop as quickly as they thought. It is so easy to lose sight of the real results of WLS, and get fixated on that stupid number on the scale - especially in the beginning stages of the journey. It can be very scary - the past history of diet failure haunts these folks to the point of actually believing they will be the only person in history to not lose weight with RNY.  Congratulations on your success - keep up the great attitude!

Great post!!  Thanks for sharing!!  

Great post.  I have been going a bit up one week (.8) then down the next (-1.2) plus I am eating more foods vs just protein shakes. But over all the past month I have lost about 5 pounds.  However, we I took my measurement because my favorite size 10 jeans were feeling loose. I lost a bunch of inches!  

Yes.  It is VERY easy to get used to seeing the rate of loss early out and expect that to continue until all the weight is gone, but it just doesn't work that way.  Even without any stalls at all, as you get smaller, it takes fewer calories to maintain your body weight so your daily caloric deficit goes down and the weight loss slows.  Then, when you add the body overcoming the caloric malabsorption as time passes (and you are absorbing more of the calories you are eating), there is no way for the loss NOT to slow down!

My stall at 9 months out was 9 weeks long, and even when I did start losing again, it was more slowly than before the stall and then about a month later, right about a year out, the loss slowed to a crawl.

Lora