Question for the Men...

[JerseyJules 862]

I have a question for the men who have gotten Gastric sleeve surgery.. After recovering and getting to your goal weight, did you loose your strength and muscles? Im afraid of getting too weak and losing all of my muscle mass. I understand I will loose some muscle but dont want to be sickly looking or get malnourished. I work out a lot and lift weights, and my size and strength has always been part of me but i could never loose weight and be a healthy size. Im 305 right now and will be thrilled getting to 220 and maintaining that for life.

[CowgirlJane 14,260]

I KNOW you are asking for dudes input, but this pic of me from this summer... a couple years post sleeve.... my deltoids are exactly what I wanted, not bad for a girl

You will lose muscle mass from fast weight loss, but you can mitigate the situation by eating high protien/moderate to low carb and working out. It is really worth it.... you can become buff and whatever you want after the excess weight is GONE!

[JerseyJules 862]

I KNOW you are asking for dudes input, but this pic of me from this summer... a couple years post sleeve.... my deltoids are exactly what I wanted, not bad for a girl

You will lose muscle mass from fast weight loss, but you can mitigate the situation by eating high protien/moderate to low carb and working out. It is really worth it.... you can become buff and whatever you want after the excess weight is GONE!Mia Aug 17 2014 Mann Road Sky River.jpg

Did you notice a significant strength loss?

[CowgirlJane 14,260]

No... I got strong working out and eating healthy! Now it was kind of strange getting used to having less mass. There was a while when big heavy doors put up quite a fight... I guess I used to use my weight to toss em around...haha

[Rogofulm 2,440]

I'd have to say that I feel a little weaker than before in my upper body. I try to get to the gym once a week, but our family schedule often gets in the way. I do walk regularly, though, and my lower body fees strong. Guess I'd better get my butt back to the gym for some lifting!

[amazon 579]

I KNOW you are asking for dudes input, but this pic of me from this summer... a couple years post sleeve.... my deltoids are exactly what I wanted, not bad for a girl

You will lose muscle mass from fast weight loss, but you can mitigate the situation by eating high protien/moderate to low carb and working out. It is really worth it.... you can become buff and whatever you want after the excess weight is GONE!Mia Aug 17 2014 Mann Road Sky River.jpg

@@CowgirlJane I know this is off topic - sorry - but whenever I see your pics, I really miss my horse!!!

[JerseyJules 862]

Reason i am asking is, this is me at 275lbs a few years back. Right now I am at 305, I put on some weight with my shoulder surgery and not working out. But to even be 275 I had to eat ridiculously, all Protein and zero carbohydrates. I couldnt stick to it. But my point being is as you can see I am a large frame guy that would probably not get below 200lbs no matter what I did. I would like to keep some of my muscle structure in tact the way it is, but dont want to struggle in the gym anymore just to not hit 305 lbs. I want to get to comfortable 220-215 lbs and live a normal life, no longer a slave to food and living in the gym as a result.

[BitterSweet* 835]

Whatever muscle mass you lose, you can regain through working out and lifting. You'll do great. Any loss of strength will only be temporary. Good luck to you!

@@Cowgirl Jane, nice deltoids!

[BSU 61]

It is a unique question. How many committed weight lifters have this surgery? Has to be a small minority.

[JerseyJules 862]

It is a unique question. How many committed weight lifters have this surgery? Has to be a small minority.

Im not a committed weight lifter by any means, i just kinda work with what god gave me. I have been big my whole life, extremely obese as a child, 250lbs in grammar school. I work out with weights, boxing, martial arts, mountain biking, ect..But i have to work out like a mad man to maintain 280-290 lbs with 33-36% body fat and Im tired of it.

The older I get the harder it is to move and my weight is becoming a big factor at 305 right now. I dont expect to be 250lbs of solid muscle by any means after the surgery, but I dont want to get to a sickly looking 175lbs. I want to just maintain a manly looking athletic body. I dont want to get weak or sick and be miserable, I just want to be a normal, healthy guy..Im tired of being huge and squeezing in my sports car or theater seats..

BTW those pictures was the best I looked in the past 12 years, I look horrible now with 30-40lbs added since that. I actually look slightly fatter than this picture from LAST Christmas..

Edited December 21, 2014 by JerseyJules

[crashkaers 7]

I have been sleeved for 1 year and have went from my largest weight of 375 to 225, and boy did I lose muscle mass. I really noticed it when I tried bow hunting this year and couldn't even close to pull the 80lbs draw weight. I had to really lower that just to pull it back. Since then I have stopped running and have started to focus on building muscle. I started with the insanity program and in 4 weeks can notice a big change in looks as well as strength. I still run occasionally as a filler or if I'm too sore to lift. So to answer your question, yes you will likely lose muscle, but in my experience it hasn't been that hard to build back up. Remember though that you won't need as much muscle to be able to still do way more then you used to. We carried lots of weight naturally helping us build muscles in legs ans back etc, now that weight is gone so we have to work at building. Good luck and stay calm.

[JerseyJules 862]

I have been sleeved for 1 year and have went from my largest weight of 375 to 225, and boy did I lose muscle mass. I really noticed it when I tried bow hunting this year and couldn't even close to pull the 80lbs draw weight. I had to really lower that just to pull it back. Since then I have stopped running and have started to focus on building muscle. I started with the insanity program and in 4 weeks can notice a big change in looks as well as strength. I still run occasionally as a filler or if I'm too sore to lift. So to answer your question, yes you will likely lose muscle, but in my experience it hasn't been that hard to build back up. Remember though that you won't need as much muscle to be able to still do way more then you used to. We carried lots of weight naturally helping us build muscles in legs ans back etc, now that weight is gone so we have to work at building. Good luck and stay calm.

Thanks..I just dont want to LOOK sickly and want to achieve an athletic build and continue lifting and martial arts. Im 300 lbs and can move pretty good, cant wait to see how I can move at 210-200... How long did it take for you to start loosing weight?

[crashkaers 7]

I started losing 2 weeks before surgery as they had me on the Optifast liquid shakes, that was honestly the hardest part of all this for me. I gagged every time I had a chocolate one lol. It's been a pretty steady decline since day one. I have had a few 3 week stalls but it started to fall off without changing anything. I have been steady now for a few months but would have lost more if I weren't gained muscle back. I'm happy with 220-230 and am concentrating on strength training. I suspect ill trade some fat for muscle over the next year. I have my eating habits down to second nature, and this working out thing is becoming habit forming as well. I found that losing became expected after a while and stalls would take the wind out of my sail, but the stalls are I now believe a healthily way of our bodies resetting and getting use to the changes, kind of a recouping period.

[JerseyJules 862]

I started losing 2 weeks before surgery as they had me on the Optifast liquid shakes, that was honestly the hardest part of all this for me. I gagged every time I had a chocolate one lol. It's been a pretty steady decline since day one. I have had a few 3 week stalls but it started to fall off without changing anything. I have been steady now for a few months but would have lost more if I weren't gained muscle back. I'm happy with 220-230 and am concentrating on strength training. I suspect ill trade some fat for muscle over the next year. I have my eating habits down to second nature, and this working out thing is becoming habit forming as well. I found that losing became expected after a while and stalls would take the wind out of my sail, but the stalls are I now believe a healthily way of our bodies resetting and getting use to the changes, kind of a recouping period.

Just curious as to your portions when eating? What fills you up and how does it feel exactly??? Do you still want to eat and just cant physically? I am 2 weeks out from my surgery and are really nervous. I hope I will not regret the way I look and feel.. I would like to see portion size and the types of foods you can still tolerate..Please tell me you can still eat pizza occasionally..

[crashkaers 7]

My portions are different depending on what the food is. Breads and pastas I can eat very little. Fruits and veggies with a good Protein like chicken I can eat about a handful of veggies and 4-6 oz of meat. If I go to a fancy restaurant with those tiny serving that used to piss me off I can almost eat the full meal, with enough leftover to have a small snack later lol. I do feel hunger, but when I have had enough I no longer want to eat more. Lettuce salads. Can eat more then I think I should be able too but add some chicken and its a normal meal. Basically after a year no one notices I eat less then a normal person, but they also don't see me over eat.