Use Your First Six Months Wisely

[Catracks 865]

This post and the majority of self righteous responses are the exact reason this forum has become a joke. If I wanted catty behavior and snark, I'd go to church.

You are overly defensive. I was just saying that based on my own experience and that of other sleeved people I know, there is no limit to the weight you can lose. Many are still losing over a year out. What needs to happen in the first six montsh is a complete overhaul and change from old bad habits so you can be fit for the rest of your life.

Think about someone at the six month and one year time frame. People have just told them basically "game over" and it's not true at all.

I think you are projecting the catty and snarky. The church comment is in incredibly bad taste.

[kathrynb10 11]

I'm not defensive at all and I'm speaking to larger point that this entire forum has lost value because of the know- it-alls who feel the need to attack (not inform) at every post. As a newbie, this is the LAST place I would feel like I could come and find support or voice my fears, apprehensions, failures or successes because the claws come out EVERYWHERE for EVERY topic. I'll be unsubscribing from this entire forum.

And maybe you go to a different church than me but I'm not going to apologize because you get so easily offended when that is the reality for many, many of us former church goers. Thank you for proving my point.

[LifetimeLoser 208]

You have a lot to lose. Good luck! Some people get it, some people don't. The people that don't remind me of the girl on the biggest loser right now. The one with the excuses who never breaks a sweat and thinks they are doing something. When you get to 1.5 years out with 30 left to lose honey the only way you are getting that last 30 off is by working out for 4 hours a day and eating maybe at that point 800 Calories which is going to be impossible because if you could have done that you would have not had the surgery. You go back to normal. I was eating pretty normal and every month I could see that i could eat just a bit more. But for me I ate nothing the first six months whereas people on here are eating way too many calories. I am over this subject. I lost 130 pounds and got down to 160. I am up now from baby weight, but when I pop that baby out I will be working out for 4 hours and eating 800 calories (I HOPE!) to get to 150. 160 was ok, but i could be 150. I hope the sleeve works for me, but if not I am actually going to have to try to work for myself. I ate a whole sandwich today. Like a big one! I have never been able to eat a whole sandwich.

I never said your tactics wouldn't work. I said it didn't sound healthy or like a LIFESTYLE change.

I don't disagree that working out 4 hours a day and eating "nothing" as you put it will get those last 30 pounds off, but I don't agree with the method. Once you get there, then what? Are you going to continue to workout 4 hours a day and eat 800 calories? It sounds a bit obsessive to me which is far from what I want to be. I did this to have permanent, consistent weight loss that would stay off. I've been through the 3 hours a day, 6 days a week regime and blah blah blah. And it did work for me, but that was when I wasn't married and didn't have a child. Those were in my days when I had absolutely nothing else to focus on but myself. I could wear out myself and not worry about anything else. Those 150lbs went bye bye. Now is a different time for me. I realize that working out that much and eating "nothing" is not a life style change for me. It is not something that I can do for the rest of my life. I believe in utilizing my sleeve to the best of my ability, but I want my body to get its fair nutrition also. As far as the last 30 lbs a year and a half later, I will jump that hurdle when I get there...but that is a very long time from now and I will be taking advantage of my sleeve until then.

[Banned member 320]

Once again this thread makes me want to vomit (not literally). I can't stand the self righteous behavior either, or the "my way or the highway" or "if you don't do it this way, you will fail". Threads like this reminds me of why I try to stay away from this website.

[leeann71 539]

:-\

[Native 17]

I get the part about taking advantage of the gift of the sleeve and having some passion about all of it when we can and being afraid of that food monster within taking over again at some point!! YES. I am so GLAD I have had the sleeve!! Thanks so much for those of you who are posting that you are still losing after a year!! I hope that happens for me. I cannot each much at one time still at 4 months out. The other day I did get to eat two small tacos and I felt like that was a MASSIVE amount of food, its rare that I can get that much down. I am really working on getting enough Protein and Water down each day, it really seems to help the weight loss. Thanks everyone for your posts!!

[sarahzamudio1091 185]

We all are fat right. That is why we had or are having the surgery. It has been impossible for us to lose it on our own. Sure if we could all take a year off from life and go on the biggest loser we would be able to' date=' but who really has that luxury. So we get the surgery. Yay for us! I am so glad I got the freaking surgery.

So when you get to one year out and can eat like a semi-normal person you will not be able to lose it on your own - If you can't do it now, you won't be able to do it in a year from now. Eventually you will be able to consume enough calories and stop losing and it will be a struggle to lose the rest...IF YOU EVER DO.

So you have this window of opportunity. For me it was a good year, but for a lot of people it might only be six months and some of the lucky ones will have it forever. BUT YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR "FOOD" LIFE WILL BE LIKE IN SIX MONTHS, A YEAR OR FOREVER, but you do know you have the six months! That is six months to basically allow your body to survive off of all of your stored goodness, fatty cells. You basically could just drink Water and eat very little and be fine. So do that! I really ate 500 calories the first six months, and I didn't eat much on the weekends. I wasn't hungry, and I didn't like food because it made me feel all yucky.

My good fortune lasted me a year and two months, but I am done losing now.

I am really sad when I hear people say that they are struggling to get the weight off after a year. They still have 60 more to lose. That window is closed and the only way they will lose weight is through diet and working out and a lot of it. To get that weight off they might have to work out 3 hours a day and do all the impossible things that were a struggle to do in the first place which is why we had surgery.

Use the first six months wisely...make them count. If you are stalling then eat nothing. I am serious. Drink water and cut your calories in 1/2. Work out for like 4 hours. You don't know how much time you will have. So for the first six months push yourself harder than you ever have. It is just six months and you have this excellent tool to help you.[/quote']

Wow ... Eat nothing? And workout 4 hours a day. That's called anorexia. We want to lose weight in a healthy way. No offense

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

I really question the nutrition counsel but it is true you lose faster earlier. I am 14 months out, lost 150 and am at goal. I worked at it via healthy means... "rocking that sleeve ". I could keep losing if i wanted to ....

[Native 17]

Hey SleeveMaster, you are the idea I have about how I want my weight to come off!! Please share with me/us how you rocked your sleeve and kept the weight coming off, please girl? Give me some specific practices you believe work for you. THANKS SO MUCH!!

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

The number one advice is to keep portions small. Once you start eating more, you will eat more..it is like a cycle. Don't think in terms of eating to get full, eat to "not hungry".

Follow the rules-protein first green veggies next don't waste room on carb junk. Drink lots but not with food. Take vitamins...The basics work!!!!

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

Oh and exercise makes you look and feel great. It helps you maintain too. I love working out now!!!

[Butterthebean 8,146]

That pretty much sums up the whole process Jane. Nicely done. It's no real secret, it's just a matter of doing those few right things.

[Khloé 89]

You have a lot to lose. Good luck! Some people get it, some people don't. The people that don't remind me of the girl on the biggest loser right now. The one with the excuses who never breaks a sweat and thinks they are doing something. When you get to 1.5 years out with 30 left to lose honey the only way you are getting that last 30 off is by working out for 4 hours a day and eating maybe at that point 800 Calories which is going to be impossible because if you could have done that you would have not had the surgery. You go back to normal. I was eating pretty normal and every month I could see that i could eat just a bit more. But for me I ate nothing the first six months whereas people on here are eating way too many calories. I am over this subject. I lost 130 pounds and got down to 160. I am up now from baby weight, but when I pop that baby out I will be working out for 4 hours and eating 800 calories (I HOPE!) to get to 150. 160 was ok, but i could be 150. I hope the sleeve works for me, but if not I am actually going to have to try to work for myself. I ate a whole sandwich today. Like a big one! I have never been able to eat a whole sandwich.

Good luck working out 4 hrs a day with a newborn, especially if you plan on breastfeeding!

[SMO 193]

I agree with you that the advice to "eat nothing" and to drink only Water made me wince. Addicts live lives of extremes and many of us are addicts when it comes to carbs, fat or food in general. While I agree that it makes total sense to use the early days of non-hunger to lose as much as possible, I cannot see where a plan to eat nothing will foster a healthy, balanced relationship with food. Moreover, it is not a sustainable plan. A person eventually will have to eat. I also get the sense that the op's main goal is to get as thin as possible. If that is also someone else's goal, this plan might work. But I your plan is to maximize your health, get rid of co-morbidities and getting skinny is just a bonus, another plan might be better. I think to a certain extent, we all have to make our own way.

Ok, your overall point is correct - use the first 6-12 months as wisely as possible to maximize your success. I am totally with you. But it is irresponsible to give advice to people telling them to eat nothing, cut their calories in half (which if they are eating as you did would be down to 250 cal), or work out for four hours. While these things may be "stall busters" - at what cost?

What physician would recommend not eating whatsoever or even just 250 calories - I know this is a short term suggestion - but how exactly are you meeting your Protein requirements? Why would your stall not break due to muscle loss given that you are starving yourself in that way, and if that is the case why is it so all important to you? Exercise can be very healthy, and help with weight loss - but encouraging four hour workouts sounds like a recipe for injury or a path to exercise bulimia. In fact, this whole method described sounds very much like reasoning on the cusp of an eating disorder rather than someone with a plan to pursue health and wellness.

I am not saying that the OP has an eating disorder - but the advice does not sound healthy. We are in fact at risk of developing eating disorders according to my doctor, so perhaps I am a little more sensitive about this.

Meeting goal is only part of my plan - while it is extremely important to me I also want to get there in the healthiest way possible. I am taking advantage of the honeymoon but hopefully not at my own peril.

[Banned member 320]

I am up now from baby weight, but when I pop that baby out I will be working out for 4 hours and eating 800 calories (I HOPE!) to get to 150. 160 was ok, but i could be 150. I hope the sleeve works for me, but if not I am actually going to have to try to work for myself. I ate a whole sandwich today. Like a big one! I have never been able to eat a whole sandwich.

LOL obviously you have it ALLLLLL figured out smh. Trust me when you have a baby the last thing on your mind will be spending endless hours in the gym working out. sleep and caring for the baby will be your MAIN priority. I don't get why you're shocked that you're able to eat a whole sandwich considering you are pregnant. I can eat a little more than people who were sleeved around the same time as me because I breastfeed and exercise regularly. I metabolize my food quickly because my body requires more calories, same with pregnancy. You will also find yourself hungry more often. You basically did a crash diet to get yourself to goal quickly and now you're freaking out because you actually have to eat food like a normal person? That's another reason why it's not good to starve yourself to make it to goal, you haven't learned anything about fueling your body or proper nutrition. Your negativity towards those who haven't made it to goal after a year of being sleeved, is also uncalled for. You even admitted yourself that you weren't happy at 160, so technically you're not/weren't at goal either. I wish you the best with your pregnancy and future exercise goals but I'm sure after you give birth you will realize what a lot of us moms realized which is, things are definitely not the way you expect for them to be.