Anyone get to goal in 6 months? If so, any tips, hints or suggestions?

Shanny,

We have very similiar start and target weights. Any strategies you would like to share? Did you lose a consistent 20 lbs each month or did it fluctuate? I lost 20 lbs in 14 days but haven't lost any weight in 3 days. I hope that's ok. A little nervous because I can't go to the gym for another two weeks. I don't want to have a stall and stop losing! 6 months to goal is my goal. I hope I can do it.

Efamcan

Efamcan, I didn't lose weight constantly, like 20 pounds per month. Some months it was like 35 pounds, some it was like 10. My advise, eat PROTEIN!!!!! I didn't eat anything but Protein. Even if I had room for veggies, I just ate the protein. Drink plenty of Water. No carbs. And no sugar. Those Wyler's drink mixes that you put in water, that are 5 calories and sugar free...I lived off those things. Protein shakes - have 1 everyday for Breakfast, still. Track your food intake. I use myfitnesspal.com. I do it so that I don't go over my allotted calories - 900 (although I never make it 900; I'm usually around 850), and fats. I do tend to go over on carbs, but everything has carbs in it - even milk for the protein shakes.

My best advice: EXERCISE!!! I walk 10 miles, 2 times a week. I Zumba 2 times a week and water aerobics and/or dance aerobics, and lift weights once a week. I have to. I'm telling you that walking! The pounds just fell off!!!

It's not easy and some days I fall way off the wagon. I ususally end up making myself sick when I do. But, I'm a work in progress.

Don't worry about the stall. They happen and then one day, maybe in a few weeks, it'll stop, by itself. Even if you're not losing pounds, you may still be losing inches. Try measuring yourself with a tape measure. It's not all about the scale!

Contact me anytime with any questions.

Good luck!

I was within a pound of my original goal at six months, which was to be down about 92lb before I lowered it another 10lb to better match where by body composition was going, but I wasn't focusing on any particular time target. I can't offer any particular tips as this is just how it worked for me and I did all the wrong things (except exercise - that was a constant) according to the no-carb evangelists. The best way to get to goal quickly is to start closer to it and according to popular perception, have a Y chromosome (guys seem to lose quicker than gals, though I suspect that has more to do with higher average "should be" weights driving higher ending metabolic rates.) The exercise is a major part of it, and seems to be common in most who have been successful long term - I suspect that building/maintaining a higher metabolic rate thru the exercise, particularly strength/resistance training to build/maintain muscle mass, is more valuable than a very low caloric intake, and certainly is long term for weight maintenance according to the consensus of studies on the topic.

You shouldn't expect to lose weight consistently, as the loss gets harder as time goes on - your caloric deficit shrinks as your metabolic rate drops some with the loss, and most particularly, your exercise burns less as you are moving less weight around. Typically, you would expect to see declining loss numbers as you proceed, and some will be more or less consistent on this depending upon stalls and the like. I lost at a fairly smoothly declining rate - 33 the first month (when we all typically have our largest drop due to the adjustments our bodies are making) followed by a couple months at 14-15 down, then three months at 10 down and the seventh into the goal range was down 9. This past month since then I've only lost a couple of pounds, but more importantly to me is that my body composition has continued to move in the right direction, dropping around another 3% in body fat down into the mid teens (mid-normal range for men). I never had any stalls of note (only one week in the middle where I didn't lose anything) which I suspect may be from not going too far into starvation mode from being ultra low cal/carb.

Philosophically, I would rather lose what I need to lose over 18 months rather than 6 months, if there were some way of being assured that I would actually lose it all - rapid weight loss isn't the healthiest condition for our bodies, but it's something that we put up with to make sure we lose it this time. Post-op, I quickly settled into a 900-1000 calorie per day routine as something that was comfortable that satisfied and provided requisite Protein along with enough for some additional essential nutrition - some fruits and veg in there, and some complex carb added later to help fuel some workouts as intensity increased. Seeing that my loss rate was reasonable, I made no effort to drop my intake to the 6-800 cal levels that some docs advise, but did let it rise slowly over time into the 1000-1100 range as I worked to add nutrition. I generally have focused more on proper diet leading toward long term weight maintenance habits, but consistent with continuing the loss to goal, than in speeding toward that goal - for many, if not most, of us VSGers, long term weight maintenance will be a bigger challenge than the loss itself.

I'm 5 lbs from goal and my 6 month surgiversary will be on the 27th of this month so I'm pretty sure I'll make it.

Had a little bump in the road and had to get my gallbladder out yesterday, I'm hoping that doesn't mess up my momentum.

I agree with RickM. It's not a race. I'd much rather maintain my weight than lose it all in a hurry. It's murder on your body. You're cold all the time. I used to get random pain in my muscles because of lack of nutrients. I wish I could get up to 1200 calories, like normal people, but I still can't eat that much. Up until 3 months post op I was only eating 3-4 tbsp at a time. Anything more and it was coming back up. Now, at almost a year out if I eat 1 bite over 1/2 cup of food I'm in so much pain because I'm too full. I try not to eat high caloric foods, mainly because that's my weakness. They are the ones that taste the best. But, they're usually the heaviest, too, so I only can eat a couple of bites, and then I don't get enough Protein. When I don't get enough protein I get deep tissue pain, and my hair starts to shed. So, for me, I have to do what the doc says. Although, he been suggested that I increase my calories from 600 to 800. I make 850, if I eat 1/4 cup of lowfat ice cream.

I also notice that the more I exercise the less I eat. I work up an appetite, but I'm way more satisfied when I do eat then when I don't exercise. I went on vacation and didn't work out. I tried stuffing everything under the sun in my mouth because I was searching for something and nothing would satisfy it. One day I decided to go the gym and that crazy hunger I was trying to fill, went away.

I don't know much about metabolisms or anything, but I know that exercise makes me feel better. Especially in the beginning. I had so much energy it was crazy. I felt like I was going to jump out of my skin if I didn't do something. Working out did it for me. Now, I work out, not because I love to exercise, but because I want to maintain what I've started and my muscles start to ache if I don't work out after a few days. I have discovered though, that caffeine and Zumba is the best high in the world! I never drank coffee before, but I recently started. The rush of coffee, topped with a great cardio workout... I finally know what that endorphin rush feels like!

I indulge, when I have a craving. chocolate has been my enemy for about a month now. I never liked the stuff before, but I have these cravings. I'm on a Reece's Peanutbutter Cup kick. I have to have 1 a day or it's not pretty. A few months ago, it was salt. I couldn't have enough Doritos. I think your body tells you when you're missing something. The key is to do it in moderation. This week, I can't shake Butter Toffee Crunch ice cream. I just need like a few spoonfuls and I'm good.

I like the way I look now, even though the chart says I'm overweight for my height. Another 5-10 pounds would okay to lose, but I don't want to be 109 pounds like the chart says I'm supposed to be. I think one of my leg bones weighs that much alone!

Im on track to reach goal by 4 months. I lose at a very predictable rate and barring an unforseen stall I will get there very early. I attribute my quick losing to the GYM. I hit the gym hard 5 days a week and burn more calories than I take in a day through food. Excercise is the adreniline shot for sleeve surgery.

That is so true. I didn't believe my sis when she kept saying to exercise. Sure enough, I've found that unlike before surgery, working out has more impact on my weight than what I eat! I can eat 400 cals and lose nothing, but I can eat 1200 calories with 20 minutes of jogging and I lose weight. It's crazy and a little confusing!

Although I consider myself to be a slow loser compared to others, I'm on track to hit goal by 6 months--my goal was to lose at least 11 pounds a month and so far I've lost 38 pounds in 3 months. I feel like I may need to buckle down, put the scale away, continue working out but put more emphasis on diet. We'll see. Good luck!

I hit goal at 6 1/2 months post op of losing 90 lbs. The important thing to remember is you cannot force your body to lose at a certain rate. You will likely hit stalls or have times where the weight loss is just really, really slow. Do not get discouraged and do not get stuck on HAVING to hit goal by a certain amount of time, you are just setting yourself up for disappointment if it doesn't happen.

Also since it's so you can get pregnant, is your doctor ok with that at 6 months post op? Drs here want us to wait 1-2 years post op depending on the situation.

I was like you with never thinking I could get so small. My initial goal was 150. I'm at 126 now without trying to get here. Granted, I have had some medical issues that led to it but I never imagined fitting into a size 2!!!

As for me, I am the anti-WLS patient haha. I have never counted calories, carbs, Protein. I rarely exercise. I just eat protein first and I eat every few hours. I just had to do what I had to do and let my sleeve work for me. I don't deprive myself but I also do not overindulge in treats either. Everyones body is different so you can't really go off anyone elses experience.

I agree that exercise is important. I am excited to begin in two weeks when I am allowed. I appreciate the commentaries on not rushing. I've been struggling with infertility and I am fearful of waiting to long. There are a lot of issues surrounding my desire to lose the weight in six months. Put simply 6 months to weight loss + 6 months of maintenance =Dr.'s clearance to start trying sooner rather than later. However, I see your point and will keep praying about it. Besides, I can't make myself get pregnant regardless of the weight loss (whether the surgery cured my pcos or not will be determined after the 6 month point...like I said a lot of factors) but I do need to lose weight in order to be healthy and have a healthy pregnancy.

I'm encouraged that its possible and I will try for it but if it doesn't happen, I hope to be as close to goal as possible.

Sasicas - Thanks for telling me about the weight goal. My family tells me that I have a small frame but I don't see it. I'll see where the sleeve journey takes me.

one other thing to remember, the quicker u loose weight the less time your body has time to react which is why a lot of people worry about the loose skin thing. your body is resillient but it also needs time.

everyone here is giving u good aadvice and u will help your skin out too by working out and buliding lean muscle which will in turn burn more fat.

good luck on ur journey!

This is really encouraging. You have all done such an amazing job! Any tips or suggestions. I need to get to goal in six months . I need to get out of ketosis as soon as possible so that my husband and I can start trying for a baby - not getting any younger!!!

I am hoping that I can do this by my 30th birthday. June 28th! That's exactly one week past my 6 month surgiversary. My doctor's goal for me is 135 but my personal goal is 150. Perhaps I should reset my goal? I set it a little heavier because I don't want to be too thin. That will negatively affect my fertility as well. Honestly, its also because I can't imagine myself that small - it sounds impossible! Anyone feel that way about there goal weight? If so, did that feeling change when you got there?

Thanks for posting!

I think it is VERY possible for you to hit your goal in 6 months. I hit all my goals, my first one being hit in 6.5 months. It was then I decided to readjust for lower goals. Anyhow, I did do it in just over 6 months.

My suggestion to you would be to make sure you're also getting in some workouts about 5 days per week. By what you've said it seems you prefer the low carb diet. I really didn't do that per se. I did keep my carbs to a minimum but I wouldn't say they were considered low at all. I was around 60g total for the day. Most stay around 30g.

I also made it a point to drink plenty of Water. I was drinking about a gallon a day in my later months when I could fit it in. In the early months I would work hard to get in the 64 oz minimum.

Best to you! One last thing, stay positive!! Whatever you do, do that. Forgive yourself immediately if you have a slip up. Nothing will prolong you staying off the wagon than self defeat. xoxo

The water tip is a good point. It's been very hard to get down! I hear that staying hydrated is good for your skin.

all great advice thank you all...I was depressed about loosing 22 bls since November 5th but now I feel better...I am back in the gym 2 to 3 maybe I need to up this to five days..