when did you become a loser?

when did you really start losing? immediately after surgery? first fill? second fill? third-plus?

i'm just about five weeks out and i've just had my first fill (3 ccs in a 14cc band). the scale continues to flip-flop between the same couple of pounds. i'm meeting my daily protein goals (though still on soft foods), watching carbs, getting my water in. i still have another week before i'm cleared to do "real" exercise, so i'm limited to walking and a light jog.

just curious as to when everyone else really started to notice a difference.

It's a gradule process please don't expect high numbers to roll off you have to look at the big picture, 2-3 lbs a week is a better way to look at it.In my experiance a stall will happen around 5months out and then it picks back up even if you exercise like crazy this still happens,I wondered the samething when I started out .Inches will leave before the weight and you may never see it until you compare pictures or old clothes.Its a very slow process and this a good thing when your skin is involved.Good luck on your mission hope this helped.

I really started to lose when I could exercise when I started to do that I can drop anywhere from a pound to 3 pounds per week it all depends on how well I eat also.

I hit a stall around the last part of Feb and it lasted till almost the end of March didn't lose a pound but then it started to pick back up again and I'm losing around 2.5 pounds per week again.

But in that month of March when I was not losing I also dropped 5 inches off my hips so the scales dont say it all and I dropped a size in clothes.

I have not had a fill since my surgery so I dont know if fills makes a difference or not to be honest I'm losing without any fills.

I also had to play around with my calories for me if I eat anything less then 1100 calories per day I dont lose weight so I have to keep my calories up around 1200-1500 per day for me to lose due to the exercise I do .

Everyone is very different as you can see.

I seem to be one of the "lucky" ones, knock on wood.  Within 2 weeks of my surgery I lost about 16 lbs. From there on out it was pretty consistent.  I lost and average of 2 lbs a week for about 4 - 5 months. Even over the holidays, when I was indulging in small amounts of treats like desserts and alcohol, I managed to lose.

My losses slowed dramatically when I hit 6 months. This seems to be fairly normal, from what I have read here. Although I am still losing consistently, it has been VERRRRY SLOOOOOW. I weighed in at exactly 188 lbs for 4 straight weeks. Then I lost .2. Then gained .2. Then lost .4.

You get the idea.

However, I have had my band for 8 months and lost a total of 58 lbs. That's an average of 1.8 lbs a week. I am ecstatic about that! I have had a total of 5 fills, and I have 7.6 cc's in my 11cc band.

I know it will be harder to lose now that I have less to lose, and that's just fine with me.

I started to lose at about 8 weeks before my surgery (no pre-op diet, I just did it myself).

I lost consistently from that point ---- honestly, I had 1 weigh-in at Weigh****chers in 18 months that was 2 pounds 'up' --- all of the other weeks were 'lose' or 'maintain'  --- some weeks it was only 1/4 of a pound --- but there was a loss every week.

At the beginning, I was losing 10 - 15 pounds a month -- then, it slowed to 6 - 8 pounds a month.

Just keep pushing ahead -- protein first at your meals, lots of calorie-free liquids between meals.

I followed my doctors plan and only weighed when I went in for my office visits which were usually 4-6 weeks and I would lose good amounts of weight 7-12 pounds... (moderate exercise zumba a few days a week)

Because I didn't weigh myself daily or weekly it was nice to see big numbers at the doctors office... I would be thrilled whether it was 7 or 12 or 6 ... I liked seeing big chunks it wasn't necessary for me to see every pound come off.. I didn't need to weigh daily...

I focused my time more so on following my doctors plan because I had been on so many "diets" in my lifetime I want to do things right this time and change behaviors in me.. not just diet and weigh.. but thats just me :)

Good Luck

it's so hard to not focus on the scale!

all good advice. thanks ladies!