[DocSanae]

Hi everyone!
So how's your eating today, and how's the scale moving?
Well, I'm being asked, "I'm in a stall, what do you think I should do, doc?" in chat quite often. Since chat talk often become 3 way, 4 way talks, and gets a bit confusing with who's talking about what, I'm posting a few things here.

First off, Craig has up in the main pages of this site, a good article on this. He's been there, done that, remember? (I mean, that's the reason he started this site.) Check out "Help, I Have Plateaued and I Can't Get Down!"
If you haven't checked out any of the other articles, I suggest you check them out as well, you may be able to find some insight into something that's bugging you right now.

Now, when your scale is not moving, what about your clothes size? Are you shrinking there? If you are, then I wouldn't worry about the stale scale. What your body is doing is, giving your brain the time to adjust to your new size.
Before your surgery, your brain was used to your eating a lot. Sure, you have a new small pouch that gets full fast, but while your brain registers that, it also registers that you aren't getting the amount of calories you used to. It will remain calm for a while. For the duration that your brain figures is the capacity you have for weight loss. What do I mean? The human body is geared to try to survive in times of famine. So, when you lose more weight (read this fatty tissue, which is your bank account for extra energy during famine) than your brain thinks is safe for survival, it goes into a, "OK, stop, STOP, I'm tellin' ya!! You're loosin' too much, not gettin' 'nuff to store up!!"
I can just see these li'l ol' brain cells that look like starbursts sparking all over like fireworks, trying to figure out what to do.

Well, your brain needs time to figure out, it's quite OK to lose some more weight. As a matter of fact, you still need to lose some more. Tell your brain, you're doing OK. Check your eating, go back to the basics, keep the pattern of regular eating, even if the portion is small. Eat good food, avoid junk like death--junk, esp if it's what you used to eat, is going to confuse your brains!! Don't make your brain think you need junk, teach your brain that you need good food, real nutritious food. Food that's balanced.
And, give your system a little kick. Up your exercise even if it's just a little bit. Your brain probably is waiting for that little nudge that you are fine, you're strong enough to take up just a little bit more.

Oh, yeah, right now, it's winter and quite coooold out there. Maybe your system's just hybernatin', waiting for that soft spring breeze, and the delicious scent of the first soft greens of grass and the flowers. In that case, relax, keep up what's good for you, and let nature take care of the rest!

That's it for now, folks!
Any questions? Track me down in the chat room!!
See y'all there, even if you don't have any questions.
Just getting to know you all makes a wonderful day for me.

[fr1endly2]

And i have seen this on plataus and it makes much sense too:

Consider how difficult it is for you to run up ten flights of stairs
all in
one shot. Can you do it? I'm betting NOT unless you are a
top-notch-conditioned Olympian, right? Now, of course, you could
EVENTUALLY
get up those ten flights of stairs if you rested on the landings
periodically to catch your breath and pause for a moment before your
heart
explodes. you'd get up those stairs - but only if you rested on the
landings
or PLATEAUS.

Well, running up ten flights of stairs in one shot is what we are
asking our
body to do after WLS in the way we want the body to lose a massive
amount of
weight. As our body loses weight so rapidly, it occasionally has to
"rest
on the landings" to catch its breath, get its bearings, take a
breather.
Then once it feels rested, it takes another shot at dropping the pounds
again. It's remarkable that the body can drop so much weight so quickly
anyway after surgery. but it can't do it all in one long shot like
running
up ten flights of stairs in one long shot. It has to rest on the
landings
or PLATEAUS.

Keep this analogy in mind when you hit those plateaus. PLURAL.
PLATEAUS. No
such thing as ONE. you'll have many along your journey. When those
plateaus
hit, you still must do what you need to do. DON'T stop the good
nutrition,
the vitamins, the exercise. keep those routines going. And once your
body
is done "resting" in between the flights of stairs, it will kick in
gear
again for the next flight or two. And the more pounds that are dropped,
the
slower the pounds will drop too. so you will not lose rapidly during
that
last stretch of 25-30 pounds. it's like an athlete who gives his all
during
the race, sees the finish line in sight, and does all he/she can to
finish.
the muscles ache, the heart is about to burst. but the athlete DOES
finish
the marathon. some athletes "walk" across the finish line. but the
point is
they FINISHED.

Understanding plateaus will help you relax a bit and keep you from
self-doubt, which is something you don't need right now along your
journey.

[DocSanae]

Since we have a lot of newly out post-ops, I'm bumping this thread up. Some of you are already worrying that your weight is stalling only a few weeks out. No need to panic, your body is only trying to heal first, it needs to heal first, before it can go travelling down the weight loss avenue.
How many pounds/kilograms have you lost so far? How many do you have to lose, and in how long a time? Generally, if you reach goal somewhere around 18-24 months--your honeymoon-- you are doing wonderously fine. So, lets do a little arithmetic here. Do you need to lose 120lb? 150lb? Say, 120 in 18 months. That averages out to just under 7lbs per month--or, just over 3kg per month. If it's 150, then just over 8lb per month. Of course, generally, as the body slows down, you lose half of what you need to lose in the first 6 months, then half of the remainder in the next 6 month, and half of the remaining quarter in another 6 months, then a bit more slowly till goal at around 2 years out. Some will lose faster, other sluggishly. Where you belong, you won't know until you are on your way some, so, even if you seem to be going slow, don't fret, as long as you stick to your dr and his supporting staffs' instructions, you will one day find yourself there.

One more note. In the medical world, what is considered success with WLS? The NIH papers have it that with this surgery, the majority of patients maintain a weight loss of 60-70% or more of their excess weight for over 10 years. So, there it is. If you can lose 70 or so percent of your excess weight--if you have 100lb excess weight, then if you have lost 70lb of it--and keep it off, your surgery is considered a success.
Remember, this surgery is not for cosmetic reasons, it's for health reasons, it's an option you have taken to save your life, to get a new lease on healthy life. Looking better for losing weight is a boon, not the primary objective.

Stick to your dr/staff's instructions, don't fret with the ups and downs you have, it's all the normal route of your journey, and you'll do fine.

(((((((((HUGS))))))))) May your journey go well!!

[FemmeMode]

For bumping this Thread up....
I really needed to hear it....
It seems that all of us who have had our surgery in April are having problems with staying off the scale.
I guess that is one of the first major thinks we go thru...we are used to judging everything we do by what the pitiful scales says about us!

Well...I took your advise...I didn't 'throw it out'...but I did have my hubby hide it...with know that I was Only going to weigh on specified days!

I'm glad...I need to stop focusing on the pounds!
thanks again...

[skinnydip]

Too bad. I'm not in a stall. I'm in a I've been at goal a couple of years or more and I haven't been exercising. I no longer will go down in size, I hope. But I remember those two horrendou 6+ mos. plateaus. And yes, that is when I lost most of my size.

The body is smarted than we are sometimes. It takes a break to rearrange itself before it drops more.

Fascinates me how the body actually shrinks and rearranges our actual cells. It's working HARD even we think nothing's happening.

Vicki

[Pillows]

Thanks for posting that Vicki. I have a hard time with not getting discouraged by the numbers thing. It is good to hear that you went through it. I still freak out about not succeeding overall, but try to keep the panic to a minimum.
Janae

[ryesmommy]

Thanks for posting this!!

[Pillows]

I needed to reread this because I have been frustrated over the fact that I have only lost five lbs in the past three weeks....I guess I just need to hang in there and try to increase activity...hopefully the B-12 levels will get back up for me with the shots and I can have energy again.
Janae

[Robbin]

I have been going through the posts to get myself updated on ones I have missed and I definatley am glad I found this one.
I have been so worried about this stall, every so many weeks I go through it.
My surgeon asks me what am I cheating on????? Next time he askes me that I might just bust out bawling....LOL.

It makes alot of sense how our brains relate to what goes on down below...hehehe.
Thanks so much for keeping me informed.....

ROBBIN

[Pillows]

Oh Robbin, I am so sorry your surgeon is not being understanding. I hope that you don't give him the satisfaction of upsetting you and making you feel like you are failing...you are doing beautifully...just keep it up and you will be amazed at how much you really have accomplished.
Janae