Fiddleman

From a pragmatic viewpoint, what is the difference between sitting with your feet on a squatty potty and sitting with your feet resting on a pile of books or something else that is the same height? Might as well save 35 dollars.

Here is what dropping 180 from 360 looks like from a couple months ago:


I am 5'11".
I have increased my lean muscle percentage since the after picture while maintaining about the same weight of 180 lb.
Good luck pre ops! All is possible.

Before
After

Here is what dropping 180 from 360 looks like from a couple months ago:


I am 5'11".
I have increased my lean muscle percentage since the after picture while maintaining about the same weight of 180 lb.
Good luck pre ops! All is possible.

Here are mine.
Down 180 lb.
I was sleeve 7-2-2012 and reached goal 2-28-2013.

I tend to think it is the Protein Shake with Water i have before going to bed. Also, my exercise is pretty minimal at this stage as to not stress my body out too much with it already trying to figure if it is starving on the low carbs i consume. I also take a lot of Vitamin C daily to help with Vitamin absorption. My calories are between 600 and 800. I have noticed i can eat more now, but don't. I eat about 100 calories worth of Protein every 3 hours, with the exception of Breakfast where there is about 200 in shake because of light soy. I drink as much as i can during the day, usually 100+ oz. I try and sleep enough, but sometimes fail at this because of work. Overall i try and keep stress at a minimum in order to create an optimal env for body to relax and efficiently burn calories. I may be hypothesizing on some of this, but it appears to be working for me. Oh, and i do hit stalls and on some days i will lose 3 or 4 lbs. I just go with the flow and not stress over what is happening or not happening on this journey.

Here are mine.
Down 180 lb.
I was sleeve 7-2-2012 and reached goal 2-28-2013.

Here are mine.
Down 180 lb.
I was sleeve 7-2-2012 and reached goal 2-28-2013.

Here are mine.
Down 180 lb.
I was sleeve 7-2-2012 and reached goal 2-28-2013.

Here are mine.
Down 180 lb.
I was sleeve 7-2-2012 and reached goal 2-28-2013.

I am not sure about guiding, but I can be anecdotal about it and tell you about how the progression from surgery to crossfit worked for me.
Before surgery, I did the typical cardio type exercises. You know - an hour on the ellyptical perhaps a few times a week. It was not helping me very much because my eating habits were so out of control. I did zero lifting mainly because it frustrated me and I would stop trying to figure it out.
After surgery, here is the progression:
Month 1-2 : built up from 5 min walks to 3 hour walks 2-3 x a day.
Month 3-4: inconsistent use of ellyptical. 2 x a week if lucky. Still walked a lot, but not as much.
Month 5-7: started running. First run was surprisingly a 28 minute 5 k. I thought this was really cool that I could run. I started out running 5 k for 3 x a week. I worked up to running 3 x a week, but different types of running: for time, HIIT and distance. My running distance averaged around 10 k in about 55 minutes. I did a few really long runs of 10-15 miles, but that is not as appealing to me as running fast.
I hit goal at this point, but lost so much muscle. That is when I decided to make a change from running to something else.
Month 8-14: I started cross fit as a brand new guy. Never really even heard of it before, but I wanted to build muscle and become more athletic. I worked with a trainer 2x a week during these 6 months, learning about the different exercises and different techniques. I also started getting into some Olympic lifting, but most of the sessions were based on metabolic conditioning. On 3 other days during the week, I did body weight workouts using a program called " you are your own gym". I thoroughly enjoyed doing this program.
Month 15-16: I could no longer really afford the personal training so switched to open gym format. I go to the box 5 x a week and try and RX the workout every day. I can do almost every exercise with the exception of double unders, muscle ups and hand stand push ups. I am still working on these for skill and when they show up in a workout, I need to modify and do something like singles, box hand stand pushups and floor muscle ups.
During these last couple months of open gym 5 days a week I have gotten really good at certain exercises and Olympic lifts:
Running: 4:45 minute mile (first in 3 mile set)
Push ups: 50 unbroken
Pull ups: 15 unbroken
Burpees: 50 unbroken
T2B: 25 unbroken
Box jumps (holding 20# ball)
Dead lifts: 350 lb max
Bench press: 295 lb max
Man makers: 30 unbroken with 25 #
Etc
I really like burpees. Not a lot of people like them.
I still cannot do an overhead squat or s n a t c h with weight ( use a PVC pipe). It is on my 6 month plan. I will get it eventually, once my lats and scapula learn how to operate properly. I am currently in physical therapy working on my lat muscles. They are way to tight, even in neutral position.
There is always something to improve athletically every single day. Keep in mind you are a work in progress. You look at all the really good cross fitters and it is a little frustrating to see how in the world you can do what they are doing. It is a bid chasm to cross.
My suggestion is to think of cross fit as a progression. It takes a lot of practice and a lot of dedication to get it to the point where you can do a prescribed workout and not question yourself afterwards because of the difficulty, pain, soreness, etc. It gets better over time.
Always remember to do the following every day:
1. 4-5 g fish oil
2. 8-9 hours of sleep (I struggled with this until recently)
3. 90 oz Water or more
4. Take 2 rest days a week (not doing this will break you eventually)
5. Journal and keep track of your daily progress( I used a site called beyond the whiteboard)
6. Try and eat paleo. Your workouts will be easier if you put good food into your body.
7. Consider some caffeine, creatine and beta-alanine before your workout to improve endurance. Beta-alanine takes a month to load, but will protect you from fatigue both during lifts and metabolic conditioning.
8. Always eat a post op bar or shake.
9. Consider a recovery shake that has BCAA in it. Glutamine is important.
10. Be consistent. Do not cherry pick your workouts. You want to get as wide exposure as you can so only stay home if it is a rest day or you are sick.
Good luck. Hopefully you got something out of my rambling.

I carried a lot of weight in my stomach area before getting sleeved. By eating a low carb diet for post op, I believe that losing the visceral fat around my stomach was much easier. I did not eat any carbs that were not already part of my high Protein diet except for carbs found in the light soy milk I drink. Everyone is certainly free to eat in the manner that suits them, but I have found eating between 20-30 carbs a day, perhaps less, has really helped. Keep in mind I eat a fairly restricted diet that might not be suitable for everyone.

You bet! VSG has been a game changer for me emotionally, physically and psychologically. I am a different person now, literally. I would never go back to the person I was for most of my adult life: Fat, depressed and angry at the world. food had me in a choke hold for so long. Now I am free to be who I want to be.

I just had a yummy beet chicken salad that my wide taught me how to make a couple weeks ago. And....I made it myself!! Joy joy.
3 oz chicken (I use canned chicken for convenience).
1 small beet sliced into cubes.
3 slices of cucumber cubes.
.5 ounce blue cheese crumbles
1 tbsp Tsatziki sauce (we made a vsg friendly version)
Throw in a bowl, mix and enjoy. The only thing that is missing is some farrow or quinoa to round out the nutrients. I failed to locate some to add.

Here are mine.
Down 180 lb.
I was sleeve 7-2-2012 and reached goal 2-28-2013.

Straws are problematic at the beginning because of the trapped air, but they are fine later on. The rules tend to be a bit draconian at the beginning for good reason. Patient is healing and doctor does not want to be sued.
Here is my short list of dirty little secrets
1. Take up to 800 mg of prescribed ibuprofen for inflammation. I have taken a lot of different NSAID to deal with it from naproxen to flexor patch to voltaren gel. Still alive.
2. Drink from straws occasionally. Not too often. Only happens if there happens to be a straw sitting in a cup and I am hella thirsty after working out or feeling dehydrated. Still alive.
3. Drink the occasional SF monster or Rockstar. I like the flavor and energy. While drinking, the fleeting thoughts of carbonation goes through my head in addition to battery acid. And then they disappear. Still alive.
I do not have any real eating dirty secrets (except for the occasional binge on energy squares). My diet has always been high Protein and low carb. I stuck to plan and followed doctors orders until month 7 when weight loss phase ended. The stress from micromanaging eating details is just not for me. I used to track Protein (80+ g), Water (90+ oz) and carbs (20-30 g or lower). in my head until month 7. Now I make sure to hit broad targets for those 3 items (150+ g protein, 120+ oz Water, 100+ g good carbs). I tend to eat more good carbs now to fuel working out hard. Eating what i am supposed to eat is pretty much like breathing. No struggle. I had my surgery July 2nd 2012 and weight on adage 175 today with between 13-15 body fat %.

Here are mine.
Down 180 lb.
I was sleeve 7-2-2012 and reached goal 2-28-2013.

Here are mine.
Down 180 lb.
I was sleeve 7-2-2012 and reached goal 2-28-2013.

It had a lot to do with your BMR suffering as a result of eating low calorie for so long. The body is trying to hold onto as many calories as possible because it is literally starving. Eating low calorie like a new post op is not sustainable for very long (not really sure of duration, but probably not longer then, say, 5 months). Eating low calorie (eg 600-900) is really helpful in that initial phase as a post op, but will harm your BMR long term if not careful. You may find having such a low BMR causes weight loss to plateau indefinitely and there becomes a point where there is nothing you can do to resolve it. Not cutting calories, not working out more, not anything.
A suggestion, if you are interested, is to get your caloric intake up to a reasonable spot to support your lifestyle and fitness. Focus on building your eating plan around the macro nutrient ratios. You can do this by slowly increasing good carbs and fats over many meals during the day ( eat every 2-3 hours). Because of the sleeve you will always be limited by quantity, so it is important to eat frequently throughout the day.
Once you achieve equilibrium of calories in versus out in your body according to 200-300 below TDEE, you will begin to experience that 5-7 lb a week loss that you have enjoyed with WW or with a vegan lifestyle. This is a happy place for the body to be and it gives you the freedom to let go of dieting rituals like tracking or being denied real food (as long as it is healthy).
Let me know what you think.

Here are mine.
Down 180 lb.
I was sleeve 7-2-2012 and reached goal 2-28-2013.

Hey Laura-
90 or 100 grams of Protein a day is a great place to be for moderate active lifestyle (say, 30 min exercise a day). You will find it easier and easier to eat more Protein as your exercise increases. You will just be hungry and your body will need more to support that BMR of yours. It is not necessary to try and rush progress. It will happen over time, one day at a time. One week at a time. One month at a time. Before you know it, you will be easily hitting 125 G protein to support your future ramped up exercise.
A person should be eating 6-7 x a day of 25-30 grams of protein per meal to sustain the numbers of an athlete (150+ g of protein a day). For you, your activity levels do not require so much protein. Instead, try 5-6 x a day at 15-20 grams of protein a meal. Use the Protein shakes to make it easier to hit the numbers for first and last meal. Start eating early in the morning when you wake. Finish eating when you goto bed. Eat at least every 3 hours and keep the meals small, but balanced. Last meal should be a long lasting protein that will engage your metabolism for 5-8 hours while you are sleeping. The gold standard casein protein works well for me and makes a huge difference over night. A fast acting whey protein is good for when you wake as your body does not want to wait around for the protein.
By following these guidelines, you will train your body to be burning fat and building (some) lean muscle 24 hours a day. You have to eat small protein based meals all day long to increase efficiency of the fat burning furnace in your body. It will get easier the more you do it, like breathing after a while. And your residual hunger you have now will vanish.

First, you are welcome of course to do what suits you. Everyone has a different body type that may react differently to my suggestion of eating TDEE number of daily calories. Eating TDEE works well because it will reset your BMR if has been set too low because of extended period of eating low calories. Low calorie is defined as under under 1000 calorie.
A lot of us, including myself, start out at eating 600 daily as a post op and am quite good at dropping the weight at 600-900. a day. This is good and the amount of calories the sleeve was designed for you to dramatically lose weight. However, eating low calorie has some drawbacks. It leaves you hungry and makes it easy, almost effortlessly, to gain weight. The reason for both is that low caloric intake drives your BMR (aka "the metabolism") way down and will make it quite easy for calories to be stored as fat. This is not "bad," but is simply your body saving energy for the future in case it has another case of famine. Sadly the post op diet of eating way less then TDEE - 300 is interpreted as famine by your body. The good news is that you can definitely retrain your body to understand that, yes, you need to eat more without storing it. This requires you to *slowly* increase your caloric intake to TDEE - 300 in order to eat, but still lose weight in terms of fat loss.
For example, my TDEE is 2154 and eating approximately 1800 calories a day has made it possible to eat mostly Protein all day long without gaining any weight and not being hungry. In fact, I still can lose weight by doing this even at healthy BMI weight. I eat healthy foods, of course, but am careful about eating Proteins first in order to try and hit 170 g a day ( .92 * BMI ideal weight of 180). Do be careful about adjusting your caloric intake upwards. You need to do it slowly in order to slowly convince your body that more is indeed better. For me, it took a few months of gradual increase to go from a daily amount of 900 to 1800.
Focus on driving up calories first by eating more protein per meal. Eat meals often during the day, like 6-7 times. next, make sure to add in healthy fats and carbs. a well balanced set of the macro nutrient ratios are key in order for the body to process protein effectively. I am also exercising daily, but do not know if this is necessary when increasing caloric towards TDEE. I assume the answer is no, it is not necessary. Eating a well balance set of macro nutrients is key to making this change and at least 80% of the answer to losing weight with this balanced approach. In other words, you need to get your diet balanced or exercise is not going to mean much and not help much. Sorry that is the simple truth. Eating Paleo (no dairy, sugar, breads, etc) has really helped me in finding the right balance of protein, fat and carb, but I am certain there are many other ways to do this successfully as a post op. You do not need to eat Paleo, just balanced. Others have been able to increase their calorie intake to TDEE with a balanced approach to diet and also with daily exercise according to posts here on VST. And they are maintaining or losing towards goal with success. Read enough posts and I am sure you will agree.
Again, do go slow as your body is quite comfortable on low caloric intake as a post op. Your body is pretty finicky in terms of caloric TDEE requirements. Forcing your body out of TDEE comfort zone too quickly will cause weight gain.
Good luck !!