I know what some of you are going to say, but I'm nearly a month out and I'm down about 6 pounds since surgery. Some days I'm up and some days I'm down a bit more. I have to watch what I eat because not everything goes down well. I'm going to start my TaeBo videos back up this evening...tell me this will help. Thanks for your time!

That is great you are going to excersise. It has been the key to my succes. When I have stalled, I uped the intensity of the workout and started loosing again. I am at goal- lost 103 pounds in 10 months. You can do it!

You'll have different weights different days. For example, (this is gross and possibly TMI) I decided I would do an experiment. I weighed myself before I had a bowel movement, and then weighed myself after. Guess what? I lost a pound! I try to weigh myself once a week with my personal trainer. I record that weight. I do weigh myself other days, but for entertainment purposes only.

Your weight will different mostly because of Water. So don't stress yourself. Try only to weigh once a week.

The scale does fluctuate from day to day--it's just one of those things. Female bodies, in particular, bounce around a bit. As long as you're seeing a downward trend, that's what matters.

A lot of people will tell you that the postop period, before you achieve restriction, isn't the time to worry about weight loss. I disagree. I think it's exactly the time to build new habits--ones that will serve you well when you do have restriction. If you're not measuring or weighing your portions, it's not a bad idea--at least for a while, so you get a realistic idea of amounts. I journal what I eat on Fitday.com. I know that some people find journaling to be an onerous task; for me, it's not--it's just part of my routine, takes a couple of minutes a day, and helps me make sure I get enough Protein (which I would not, if I didn't keep track).

That said, it sounds as though you're losing at quite a nice pace. You can expect that to pick up as you add exercise. Be sure your doctor is okay with Tae Bo at your stage postop; I got clearance for walking immediately, but was asked not to do other exercises until after my 4-week check (after which I was cleared to exercise with no restriction).

I think that exercise is every bit as critical as changing the way you eat---maybe even more so. I can't emphasize enough how important it is, for me, to exercise daily (at least once; I prefer twice). It's important for loss, it's important for health, it's important for stress reduction---it's just essential. You don't have to choose something punishing--pick something you like well enough to stick with, then try new things every now and then. You may be surprised to find new things you love--or you may find that it's just something you tolerate. Either way, DO IT!

What kind of eating plan does your doctor recommend? Mine was pretty liberal about reintroducing solids (pureed protein at 3 days postop, for example), but very, very conservative when it comes to what his patients eat.

The plan I follow is restrictive, but is very effective; I'm down 80 since mid-January, and am just now in my first real plateau (I've had a couple of one-week spans without loss, but am now coming up on 2...so I think my body is finally saying, "hey! you're not feeding me as much!" My entire relationship with food has changed, but I still enjoy every bite I take, and make sure that the foods I choose are ones I love, and prepare well.)

If you're interested, my eating plan is in my visitor messages in my profile.

You are not alone! I was a slow loser for the first 3 months as well! I just had my fourth fill and have 7 cc's in a 14 cc band and now am feeling great!! My weight loss has definitely started to speed up and I am feeling full for longer periods of time! Hang in there!!

Find out what how many calories you need to maintain your current weight. A pound is equal to 3500 calories, 3500 x number of pounds you want to lose in a week will be the number of calories you have to cut to lose the weight you want. So for me, 2000 a day to maintain, I want to lose 2 lbs per week. 2000x7=14000 calories for the week. 3500(one pound) x 2 = 7000. 14000-7000=7000 calories for the week. I would have to eat 1000 calories a day to lose two pounds each week. Of course, you can also burn calories with exercise to speed up weightloss.