How do you know when you've stopped losing? How do I know if it's a stall or I'm where i'm supposed to be? I'm only 5 months post op. Is it possible already?

You stop losing when you consume as many calories as you burn in a day.

1 hour ago, Phinley said:

You stop losing when you consume as many calories as you burn in a day.

I only giggled because you seemed so direct and obvious, your right lol but sometimes stalls happen for no reason and then suddenly start things up again with not much change lol but think we need more info from the op on her eating habits if anything has changed her weight to start and now etc.

How long have you been at the same weight? How much do you weigh and how much have you lost? These are important to know before providing a suggestion.

For instance, you might have lost 100 pounds in 5 months, and now you have been in a stall for the last week or so. You might have lost 40 pounds in 3 months, and now you have stalled for the past 2 months.

Each of the scenarios above would probably bring different advice from the community. It would also help to know whether or not your eating habits have changed over the last month or two.

On 10/5/2017 at 4:19 AM, Phinley said:

You stop losing when you consume as many calories as you burn in a day.

This isn't particularly true.. stalls happen simply to allow your body to reshuffle.. When you lose fat, your fat cells fill up with water to sort of hold their place.. it takes a few weeks for your body to release that fluid. Which is why sometimes you'll stall a few weeks and then drop 5 lbs in a few days. I stalled for 24 days and then lost 9 lbs in a week.. It's all a process.. just give your body time. Look at your food intake, watch your carbs, and drink plenty of water.. stay active.

7 minutes ago, Sara Bronson said:

This isn't particularly true.. stalls happen simply to allow your body to reshuffle.. When you lose fat, your fat cells fill up with Water to sort of hold their place.. it takes a few weeks for your body to release that Fluid. Which is why sometimes you'll stall a few weeks and then drop 5 lbs in a few days. I stalled for 24 days and then lost 9 lbs in a week.. It's all a process.. just give your body time. Look at your food intake, watch your carbs, and drink plenty of water.. stay active.

I'd never heard that before...interesting...

I don't know that is a good question. More info needed
I am 14 months out- down 63 and think I am done . I am in the 140s and think it is where I am supposed to be.

It's a great question, and I'm wondering the same thing, especially about the pace of loss. My surgery was about 4.5 months ago and I've lost 61-62 pounds (from bmi of 38 to 28). I feel great and feel good about my weight loss, but it does feel like the pace of weight loss is slowing down. Obviously the weight loss was most dramatic in the early weeks when my caloric intake was super low. I am exercising and doing weight training/strengthening per my surgeon's recommendations. I believe my caloric intake is approx. 900-1000 cal per day.

For those of you out 6 months to one year, what was your general pattern of weight loss? Was there a point at which you stopped losing and began maintenance?

I am still losing, albeit at a snail pace. My doctor (not my WLS surgeon, but Dr. Westman the obesity specialist) told me that at my current intake (~1000 calories, <20g. of carbs), I will continue losing until my body naturally figures out its healthy weight and then I will know I've landed at the right place.