Weight loss... Weigh in with your opinions.

[devine.adon 49]

I am reading lots of stories about weigh loss after the sleeve and I'm starting to feel discouraged.. Mine is scheduled for July, I had only spoke to a few (8) people about this over the last year and they were all extremely successful, for example one lady was 382 lbs the day of surgery and in 6 months she was down 160 lbs and in a year she was down another 75 lbs I was amazed at her transformation. She now (3 years out) weighs only 116 lbs!!! The others all lost well over 100 lbs in less than 6 months, now your wondering why I'm feeling discouraged... Well since I joined this page I have gone through and read several stories, one is 47 lbs in 6 months, 100 lbs in 14 months, 20 lbs in 3 months, this is not the weight loss I was expecting, these are very minimal amounts to me.. I have researched this for over a year and I'm just now stumbling onto this... Do I have extremely high expectations drawn from the 8 people I came in touch with? I'm over 300 lbs and have every hope to be under 200 lbs in a year or less... I'm starting to worry I don't want my mother to be right, she keeps telling me this will never work and I will just be throwing money away (I'm self pay) I need some input.. I am a mom of three my youngest is 4 years old I need this to work, I need to get healthy for my kids and myself. I'm 5' 8" 340 lbs I have no medical issues. However, I am to a point that its hard to walk very far without sitting down and I am very exhausted by the end of the day to the point I doze off unknowingly but as far as HBP, Diabetes, high C I am in the clear... Just looking for some encouragement...TIA

[Sweetcarol238 181]

Don't be discouraged. Everyone is different and each doctors plan is different. I lost 120 pounds in 7 months...10 more to goal, so you will be fine.

[mokee 588]

Your age, the exercise you are willing to do and wether you stay on the eating plan will be how successful you will be. Some lose more than others in a short time. It is still only a tool and the real work is up to you.

[kulita 243]

it depends on how well you follow your Dr & NUT's guidelines. Some people cheat on slider foods, and others don't. Each person is different.

[Sweetcarol238 181]

What are slider foods??

[kulita 243]

Here ya go.... find out...

http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/blog/2407/entry-6079-what-is-a-slider-food/

[devine.adon 49]

Yes what are slider foods, do you mean like ice cream and chocolate (things that melt)? I am not sure if I will have a nutritionist on call or at all, I am having my sleeve done by Dr Alvarez in Mexico. I haven't received any information packets yet. With all the research I've done over the past year I do realize this is not a miracle surgery that is going to just let you set back and relax while you loose weight while you do nothing at all and change nothing at all but it is supposed to kind of "jumpstart" your weight loss, speed things up and keep you from over eating. I guess I am expecting a miracle of sorts, but with my help...

[newat52 1,613]

My question would be what are your expectations? In all the examples you cited, they are all on average over 7 pounds per month! That is not minimal by any means.

The sleeve works, if you work. If you fall back into your old eating habits, it will not work. If you just follow the very few rules of eating, it will work and work well. If you go into some of the threads where people are complaining that their sleeve is not working, when all is uncovered, they are not following the simple rules and probably not exercising.

Don't be discouraged, change is hard and yes, I'm sure everyone was thinking prior to surgery will this work for me? I know I did. It's a big, life changing decision but if you work for it, it will be the best thing you can do for your health. I am 11 weeks out and I already know this with every Fiber of my being.

Good luck, you will know what is right for you.

[brandy88 151]

Don't let others change your mind. If you follow the plan you will loose weight. Not everyone will drop 100 pounds in few months , after all you didn't gain over night. I feel like I'm a slow loser and feel down that when I look in mirror I still see a fat girl but I'm 2 mo out and down 43lbs.

[Jenny12 361]

You should go into this with very real expectations. All of those weight losses are not unusual, but also neither is getting to goal in a fairly short amount of time. The sleeve helps you, but it's really up to you how much you lose!

[Kami63 215]

Yes what are slider foods, do you mean like ice cream and chocolate (things that melt)? I am not sure if I will have a nutritionist on call or at all, I am having my sleeve done by Dr Alvarez in Mexico. I haven't received any information packets yet. With all the research I've done over the past year I do realize this is not a miracle surgery that is going to just let you set back and relax while you loose weight while you do nothing at all and change nothing at all but it is supposed to kind of "jumpstart" your weight loss, speed things up and keep you from over eating. I guess I am expecting a miracle of sorts, but with my help...

Maybe you should find a nutritionist in your are that specializes in baritric patients. Accountability is usually a good motivator and with your surgeon in Mexico you may not see them as often as you would if you had one stateside. The one I went to was reasonable. $40 per visit without insurance and I will have one visit 2 wks post op and one visit 1 month post op then every 3 months after that I think. I look forward to having someone to answer questions and report weight loss to. Good luck!

[devine.adon 49]

I have to be honest 7 lbs a month seems very minimal to me, back 10 years ago I could loose 20-30 lbs in a month, of course I had only had one child and now I have three and I was younger and not well fat like I am now.. I guess I was so encouraged by these few I had talked to I just never looked for other answers, I have been told by my family dr that this will be wonderful and I will loose weight at a very fast pace, maybe he to has only looked at what is right in front of him. When I started seeing post of being 6 months out and loosing 30-40 lbs I panicked because I have already paid my deposit and I am having this, part of me can still close my eyes and see the me I will be this time next year but yes I am still discouraged after coming to the realization that I may not be one of the 100 lbs gone in 6 months or less and it does really put a damper on my outlook I had... Maybe with ad much willpower as I think I have I won't have a problem at all loosing it quickly.. I feel like if I can get 80-100 lbs off really fast then the rest will fly off, simply because ill be able to walk, jog, run without having to sit down every few minutes! I have had test run bc I was worried something was wrong with me medically but they found nothing, besides a little arthritis starting to show in my knees.. I was a volleyball player from school to YMCA at 22 years old, I want that again, badly!!! I guess I need to put my BIG girl panties on and pull them nice and high and get my head out of the black clouds of discouragement!! It happens especially when your family is negative like mine!! Thank you all for your words..

[mysleevemylife 158]

I am reading lots of stories about weigh loss after the sleeve and I'm starting to feel discouraged.. Mine is scheduled for July, I had only spoke to a few (8) people about this over the last year and they were all extremely successful, for example one lady was 382 lbs the day of surgery and in 6 months she was down 160 lbs and in a year she was down another 75 lbs I was amazed at her transformation. She now (3 years out) weighs only 116 lbs!!! The others all lost well over 100 lbs in less than 6 months, now your wondering why I'm feeling discouraged... Well since I joined this page I have gone through and read several stories, one is 47 lbs in 6 months, 100 lbs in 14 months, 20 lbs in 3 months, this is not the weight loss I was expecting, these are very minimal amounts to me.. I have researched this for over a year and I'm just now stumbling onto this... Do I have extremely high expectations drawn from the 8 people I came in touch with? I'm over 300 lbs and have every hope to be under 200 lbs in a year or less... I'm starting to worry I don't want my mother to be right, she keeps telling me this will never work and I will just be throwing money away (I'm self pay) I need some input.. I am a mom of three my youngest is 4 years old I need this to work, I need to get healthy for my kids and myself. I'm 5' 8" 340 lbs I have no medical issues. However, I am to a point that its hard to walk very far without sitting down and I am very exhausted by the end of the day to the point I doze off unknowingly but as far as HBP, Diabetes, high C I am in the clear... Just looking for some encouragement...TIA

First of all, I understand how you are feeling. You know what? Some of my best motivation & thereafter successes came from others doubting me or a decision that I'd made. Use it as your fuel. As long as you prepare yourself well, mentally, spiritually, "the whole nine", as much as you can & refuse to EVER give up &....also BE PATIENT WITH YOUR BODY DURING YOUR JOURNEY, I don't see how you could lose. My thoughts & best wishes are with you. You got this! We're all here to cheer you on!!

[mysleevemylife 158]

I guess I was typing my comment as you were making your last one, but hopefully it's still helpful! lol

[enigmachik 403]

I know that you want to lose the weight really quickly, but the truth is that success is not about how quickly you lose it. Success is about getting the weight off and then keeping it off. You said in the past you could drop 20-30 lbs in a month. My question is how many months in a row did you sustain losses like that? If you were losing that much you probably only lost that much for one or two months. Most of what you lost was probably Water weight and muscle. And how long were you able to keep off the weight you lost? I'm guessing you gained it back or you wouldn't be looking at doing WLS in the first place. With the sleeve you may lose slower than what you did in the past, but if you follow doctor's orders you will be losing mostly fat and you will keep it off. Isn't keeping it off much more important than losing it quickly?