I wish no one would ever used the term "stall" again

[BabyGirl817]

Omg this is a very good post!!!Awesome and informative, very honest thinking i am impressed ladies...

[JulieJ]

People have to remember this is not LIPOSUCTION! You WILL NOT come out from surgery and automatically be smaller/lighter. People do have the INSTANT gratification mentality. I WANT IT AND I WANT IT NOW! To me, what Jos1yn is trying to say is...stalls happen. While NO ONE likes them, they happen. Some are a week, some can be months at a time. If you are still doing everything you should, the scales should start moving for you again. DON'T PANIC, RESEARCH why they happen so that you know every does through them. Even going back to the instant gratification, not everyone wants to take the time to read about stalls or plateaus. They want an answer NOW, and want it fixed NOW. Well guess what! EVERY BODY IS DIFFERENT! Someone may lose 30-40 a month, and someone else may lose 5-7. There is too many underlying issues that determine an individual's weightloss to make it a "one size fits all."

We all go into this surgery with expectations. Some are realistic, some are not. I went into this knowing I am a slow loser, and I'm OK with that. I'm also not super strict with my carbs and I have yet to start an exercise routine, but I have been fairly steady after that first month. I lose 2-3# a week, could be more if I didn't do carbs or if I would exercise every day, but I'm doing something I can live with for a lifetime.

Jos1yn wasn't trying to be critical of anyone. Infact, just the opposite. She's trying to tell us to give ourselves a break, not to expect 30-40# a month, and that we are all different and will lose at different rates. This is a life-long journey so sit back and enjoy the ride!

Right on! I stall, and I go on because I knew it was going to happen! That is why this forum ROCKS! If you do your due-diligence you will know that at 3 weeks you probably ARE going to stall, and you just need to deal with it and go on. No panic...just breath...and keep on keepin' on!
Thank Goodness for all you sleeve sisters who have gone before and documented in this forum so that we can all learn, and hopefully accept. It's all good.

[Trustin Sleever]

I COULDN'T AGREE MORE!
I see so many posts where people complain about stalling, and when I open the thread it will say something like 'I'm 3 wks out and have only lost 62 lbs and I've had 3 long stalls I'm so frustrated please help' and I just think to myself "???" and back out of the post. I don't even know how to respond because it makes no sense to me!
Thank you for this topic.

[Jos1yn]

You're welcome, Angel. Keep us posted on your progress.

Cindola: That's what I don't like: the implication the word "stall" conjures up, and then the negative, self hating comments that follow are heartbreaking.

[JuliaLou]

I think that after many years of the diet yo yo merry go round, and finally getting the sleeve, when a 'pause' (stall) happens, the tendency to worry that this time is the same as others and is failing can make a person panic. I too have had weeks worrying that I won't lose the weight, even though my clothes are falling off me and I KNOW that the weight will NEVER be back. The scale can be a great tool to encourage or a great weapon of discouragement. I come and read all I can on this site when I am feeling unsure and without this place to express and see how others are feeling I would be trapped in old patterns of expectation and fail. We all feel a little defensive (I know I am, it comes with being the 'big, chubby, fat' one) and sometimes words written don't truly read as intended. I agree we need to retrain ourselves to be patient and accept that what took years to occur may also take years to reverse. Keep up the positive vibes and give yourselves the break you need to be the persons you want to be, whatever and whoever that is. So lets call the 'stall' simply a pause to catch our breaths, ready for the next step. Love to all (and I mean that, sisters and brothers)

[Jos1yn]

Pause. I like that. Sounds soothing.

[Dee Leshuz]

I've been dieting a long time and am used to reading the word as "fluctuation" which makes more sense. I also wish people would take a deep breath and do some research on this site, which has a wealth of info, before freaking out. If you do that prior to getting a sleeve (hell, weight loss of any kind, the sleeve is not unique in this aspect) you'd understand that fluctuations, when they happen, are very normal and part of the process. Dr. Alverez's book is especially helpful on this subject, but even if you don't have his book you can search (there's that research thing again!) for his Utube videos.

[Jos1yn]

OMG, too funny Trustin, because that's exactly how the posts are worded! It's like really? So, let me get this straight: you are obviously obese like the rest of us, because you have to be to even qualify for the surgery. But now, since you have the sleeve, losing like 75 lbs in 3 months or less than a year-that isn't fast enough? Not good enough for you? WTH? You aren't jumping for joy and celebrating your success? I don't get that perspective and outlook at all.

[Jos1yn]

Dee, 'fluctuation" is a perfect description, without the negative connotation.

[pack89]

I will say that my last semi-successful weight-loss program I did, about 11 years ago, called them plateaus. HOWEVER!! They never gave me a reason as to WHY they happened!! They always just said to change things up or that I was doing something wrong. They never once told me that this is when the body catches up to the weight-loss and that I'd lose INCHES instead!! I mean they did measure us once a month, but it was so disappointing when I'd weigh and they'd look at me like I failed. I am SOOOO GLAD that I now KNOW that a stall/plateau/pause/fluctuation is perfectly normal. That they can last for extended periods of time, AND that IN FACT your weight-loss will resume!!

THANK GOD I LEARNED ALL OF THIS BEFORE MY SURGERY so when it happened to me I didn't freak out and just say screw it, I'm eating ice cream. Thank you all on this wonderful, INFORMATIVE forum!!

[Dee Leshuz]

I've heard the term plateau as well, but explained as your body trying its damndest to hold on to what fat stores it has left. It's the caveman brain talking. I didn't read any of this as the person in question's fault, just to wait them out, they would break eventually.

BUT

There is a big difference between the ordinary joe trying to do this on their own and those of us w/ the sleeve...we are very lucky. The average Joe has more hormones saying feed me feed me feed me than we do and more room to do damage. Again, we are lucky.