karenb4729

How tall are you? I'm at 132 and feel good being within the 130 range but if I were down to 110 (which is what I weighed all through High School) then I would really feel too skinny and I would be hitting up Starbucks for a frappe or a milkshake. With a sleeve if you want to gain then drink those calories.

I also work out 6 days a week. Wednesdays are my rest day. Just like TAPSNAP I try to get in 132 grams of protein and make sure I stay hydrated. My workouts are usually 1 hour of cardio and 1/2 of weights. Love the people at my gym and it's my social network. I would rather do that then put a cupcake in my mouth.

I do an hour a day and switch it up from day to day because your body will get use to the same exercise.

I think the key is that you are worth it! I started out walking as my method of exercise until I was walking outside all last summer. When fall got here I joined a gym and started working with a trainer. Spending the money on myself is worth it because I'm worth it. My trainer is wonderful and he pushes me far more than I could ever push myself.

During my weight loss phase I was doing 600 calories a day, 20 or less carbs, 80 to 100 grams of protein and 100 oz of water. Now in maintenance I'm doing 800 to 900 calories a day, 30 or less carbs, 100 to 120 grams of protein and 100 oz of water. I also exercise 6 days a week for a minimum of an hour, weight lift 3 times a week with a trainer. Oh and I'm 55 years old.

At this early stage you can count your protein shakes towards your liquid. My Dr expected 32 oz of water during the first week and then slowly working your way to 64 oz. Any liquid protein counted towards that 64 oz goal.

I considered myself a slow loser but looking over My Fitness Pal I realized that I needed to change up my nutrition. I went to 600 calories a day, 100 grams of protein, 100 ounces of water, 20 or less carbs, and daily exercise. I got to goal this way losing 1.5 to 2 lbs a week. For me, 800 to 900 calories a day is maintenance and I don't lose a thing. Oh, lost the most weight when I made these changes in Month 6 and hit goal in Month 10 = have been maintaining now for 6 weeks and will hit my 1 year mark on June 4th.

I stayed with my calories between 600 to 800 but closer to 600 per day and my carbs under 20 until I hit my goal weight. I also exercised for an hour daily starting in month 7 (walking 5 miles a day before I started with the gym). I hit goal at by month 10. Starvation mode is a myth, when you have a lot of fat on your body you will convert that fat to energy. Starvation mode will happen when there is no more excess fat to use.

You can do this but you need to get rid of your trigger foods. I stayed on a very low calorie, low carb diet until I hit goal. I generally stayed at 700 or under on my calories per day, mostly around 550. Also, I work out daily at the gym and joined my gym's Biggest Loser program. Mostly I got rid of anything that triggers my grazing. Yes, I have a "sweet tooth" too but have learned to substitute . Every night I have a protein hot chocolate from Bariwise - 80 calories, 4 carbs and 15 grams of protein. That is my "treat". Once in a while I would have a piece of dark chocolate but boy, did that start the carving cycle again. In fact, I was at the grocery, purchase a bag of dark chocolate dove pieces. First day I had 1 piece, 2nd day I had 1 piece, 3rd day I had 3 pieces and realized that I was starting down a bad path so I took that bag and threw it away. I just can't do it, after all I didn't lose 137lbs to go back to my old lifestyle. Its a work in progress but you have to be vigilant. Most of us who opt for this surgery really understand what you are going through because we are there too, the difference is that we have found the strategies to get us through those cravings. How much do you want this? If so you want this then realize that you need to take care of yourself first and get focused on your goal!!

Slow or fast it goes down 1 lb at a time. I lost only 1 lb a week until I upped my game around month 7 and lowered my calories to 600 a day, carbs to under 20 and exercised and burned at least 400 calories a day. Only then did I lose 2 lbs a week. There are actually some stats that say those who revise from band to sleeve lose slower than those that have not had any surgery prior to sleeve.

I got a 40f bougie.

I hit mine at 10 months.

Oh believe me, after losing 137 lbs I have loose skin and its at its worst on my arms and thighs. I work out a lot and was lamenting the fact tonight that I finally have "guns" because my biceps are looking great but I can't show them off because of the underarm skin. Still, I'm going to give it a year before I investigate plastic surgery - from what I have researched it takes a good year before you know exactly how much your skin will shrink up.

I'm the same way, 11 months post op with some thinning but no more than usual. I didn't take anything either other than my multi vitamin and calcium. With the exception of the 1st month I have always gotten my minimum protein of 80 grams.

Its interesting to see the paths that everyone takes to weight loss with the sleeve. Frankly, I don't think this is a ""one size fits all" type deal. For me, I started out losing slow and then I really really wanted to get to goal so I did a couple of things. 1st off, I joined my gym's 90 day Biggest Loser competition that went for 90 days and involved weigh ins every other week along with boot camp. I also got a private trainer for 2x a week and then spent another 4 days a week doing elliptical and treadmill where I maintained a heart rate of at least 140 for a minimum of 45 minutes. Lastly my diet, I kept to under 600 calories, less than 20 carbs and minimum of 80 grams of protein. When I put in my exercise calories I would have only a positive amount of maybe 100 to 150. I got to goal and I have stayed there. I happen to be 55 years old and been in menopause since my early 30's. I knew that my base metabolism rate was under 1000 and so to lose weight I would have to work very hard at it. Again, you have to find what works for you.

Oh, if you have knee issues make sure you angle your feet out, take a wide stance and make sure you keep your knees over your feet.

I'm actually on Day 3 - I started this on Monday with a few friends. Frankly, I enjoy squats, it's Burpies and Push-ups that I can do without!

I just can't do crackers because they trigger all sorts of food cravings for me so its best for me to stay away.

It depends, are you planning on eating back those calories you burned? If so then you really want to use a heart rate monitor as it's much more accurate than my fitness pal. fitbit or a pedometer. If you aren't eating back any of your exercise calories than you can really track whatever you like to track because it doesn't really matter on the accuracy.

Try doing some resistance or weight training. The more muscle you build up the more calories you burn when not active. Also, if you have been working out your body gets use to the same workout day after day so make sure you are changing that up too. The lower I get in body weight the less calories burned doing the same workout. During my weight loss I usually burned the same amount of calories that I ate during the day - 600 calories eaten, 600 calories burned.

You are doing great! I think it's a misconception that you lose faster when you have had this surgery than without the surger. We lose fast that first month and afterwards it slows down depending on the amount you have to lose. Part of that is because the heavier you are the more calories you burn in just moving your body around. I could spend an hour on the elliptical at the gym and when I weighed 200 lbs I would burn 500+ calories in an hour, now that I'm at 134 lbs that exact same workout doesn't even hit 300 calories. I'm going to post my month to month weight loss so you can see. M 1 – 21 LBS M 2 – 3.2 LBS M 3 – 11.2 LBS M 4 – 6 LBS M 5 – 5.2 LBS M 6 – 2 LBS M 7 – 8.2 LBS M 8 – 9.4 LBS M 9 – 10.6 LBS M 10 – 7.2

I hated the chewables too and I think at about 6 months out I switched over to Nature's Made Mini vitamins.

So, for some of us we never lost the hunger. That being said, the hunger isn't quite as bad as before surgery. Since I went through surgery it has been my focus to reach goal and during that process my habits have really changed. Now, I'm exercising daily and have a strong network of friends at the gym, I also stay within my eating plan and stay away from my trigger foods. In fact, if I'm going to indulge say in a bit of ice cream then first I have to exercise and burn at least the amount of calories I'm going to eat - usually when I do that I realize that I don't want to waste that exercise in something like empty calories and instead opt to have something healthier for me. Anyway, that's my experience and I'm almost 11 months out.

Great Job!!! I actually remember when you had your surgery, I remember your posts as you were headed to Mexico. My surgery was 6/4/2012 so just about 2 months before yours.

Apple juice is loaded with sugar and carbs so no, you probably won't drop weight very fast if that's what you are drinking.