Question:
I am 3 weeks post op and have not lost any weight in the last week
I am very concerned I started at 260 and lost 20 in the first two weeks and now nothing I'm scared I hope I didn't go through this to lose just 20 pounds. Why do you think I have lost this week — kathy B. (posted on January 10, 2003)
January 10, 2003
I did the SAME THING! I'm 4 weeks post, and week 3 wasn't a losing week.
Week 4 I've lost 5 pounds. Your body just needed to adjust to this rapid
loss! Don't worry, things will start again soon!!!
— Diana L.
January 10, 2003
Don't worry, it will be okay. I only lose one week out of the month and
the rest of the month my weight stays the same. This has been going on
since surgery 6 months ago. You'll learn your body's pattern of weight
loss.
— Darlene P.
January 10, 2003
Welcome to the wonderful world of Plateaus! I think everyone gets them and
from what I understand they can happen at any time. It will start up
again. Hang in there.
— Laurel C.
January 10, 2003
Boy, did you tape record me 3 weeks out? LOL I said the EXACT SAME THING!
ROFL I didn't know I could plateau that early but I did. I didn't lose not
one pound from weeks 3-6. I was devastated and sure that I wouldn't lose
any more. When I did come off the plateau I went down 2 sizes overnight.
Obviously I was losing inches even if I wasn't losing pounds. Try staying
away from the scale for a couple of weeks. I know it's tough but a lot of
us go through this early plateau. If you want to track something, take your
measurements. While your body is figuring out if you are serious about this
whole starvation thing, your body will be shifting and changing whether the
scale shows it or not.<p>I'll make you a bet. I'll bet that in 6
months you will be able to look at this question and laugh. Because you
will have lost MUCH more than 20 pounds by then. You'll be well on your
way. Look at it this way: I started out with similar stats (230 pounds to
start and lost 20 then nothing for 3 weeks) and I still reached my top goal
in 7 months and my current weight in 10 1/2! (230 lbs/22W to 130 lbs/6P)
— ctyst
January 10, 2003
You have just hit the first of many plateaus. The first one usually hits
right around the 3-4 week post-op mark. Its just the body's way of trying
to play catch up with the weight loss. Just keep doing what your doing and
in no time at all it will pick up again (my first one lasted 11 days, I
believe..)
— Cindy R.
January 10, 2003
oh kathy...lol. i AM living proof that plateau's hit this early... monday
will be my six week mark... at the end of week 4 my scale slammed on it's
breaks and hasn't moved one pound since then. all i could think was a year
from now i'll say 'yes, i had WLS surgery, i've lost 30 lbs'... i went to
a support group meeting the other night, and tons (no puns intended) of
people told me to not worry about it. it's normal, it will happen, and
we're all so different there's no way to predict when they'll hit. but
welcome to the club!
— Karen D.
January 10, 2003
Hi Kathy..I think almost EVERYONE hits a plateau at 3 weeks post-op. I did!
I didn't lose ANYTHING for like 2-3 weeks. Now, 5 months later, I am down
100 pounds. Don't worry about it! :o)
— fropunka
January 10, 2003
Don't worry - I had a plateau at 3 weeks post op too. It lasted for 2 weeks
and I was down only 20lbs. Now, 7 weeks out, I'm down 38lbs and starting
to actually notice a difference in my clothes and people are starting to
compliment me. The way I see it, even though it's only 35lbs so far, I
couldn't do that myself in 7 weeks, so I'm looking forward to the next few
months!
— jengrz
January 10, 2003
See how normal you are!? Just be sure you are eating enough, especially
protein. Your body will go into starvation mode if you don't get enough to
maintain it. I also graph my weight every day. I can make notes about when
my period occurs, or if I had Chinese the night before, etc. so I can see
trends. (Hey, "trend" sounds better than "plateau",
right?) Go by how your clothes fit, too. The scale says I haven't lost
anything, but my jeans are feeling roomier!
— koogy
January 10, 2003
Just a comment...
I am SOOOOO GLAD you asked this question. I am incredibly frustrated and
tend to not ask questions when I am like this. I am just coming up on 3
weeks and the scale hasn't budged in a week. I started to think...
"Great, I went through this wls only to lose a few pounds." At
least now I don't feel alone... Thanks! We'll make it! :-)
— Angela D.
January 10, 2003
I started at the same weight, 3 months ago, hit a plateu at 4 weeks that
lasted 2 weeks, then started losing fast. now down 56 # and am so excited.
— **willow**
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