I got on the scale today and it said: 179.8.

I'm making this announcement because I want people to know that so far, my year-long experiment with sleeve eating has not been a failure. If you've ever read my posts before, you know that I am not dieting with the sleeve. I am not lowcarbing. My calories are not at starvation level and they have not been since I got my surgery last April. My actually surgery was March 29, but I mostly count it as April 1 just to round everything out.

Okay so the thing is, there is research out there that says that people typically lose sixty percent of their weight in the first year and that's all you get. There is research that says that you will "stretch" your sleeve after six months or so, lose your "honeymoon" with your sleeve, stop losing and get stuck. There are surgeons who say you *have to* be on a lowcarb diet of 800 calories for the rest of your life or you won't lose the weight, and they say that you need to exercise like a demon *while* you're eating that 800 and you have to stay like that forever or you'll get fat again.

I want to tell you that in my experience this is not true.

What I want to tell you is that I got the sleeve because I was 46 and SO FAT -- I weighed 289 -- and I was at the end of my rope. I had dieted before and gotten the weight off only to regain it and the way I did that is pretty much to follow all the instructions above. Eating 800 lowcarb calories a day will get you to goal weight, there is no doubt,but in my opinion that's just no way to live and it's impossible to sustain. It also creates such intense anxiety about eating and your body and your food that it creates a horrible unending complex about fat, and feeding yourself, that the cure is worse than the disease.

I got my surgery in March. I was *severely* depressed and the reason I was depressed primarily was because I WAS SO FAT. I really hated myself. But I decided that the fat was emotional mostly and so what I was going to do was this. I was going to lose weight without dieting by having a surgeon remove eighty five percent of my stomach. And knowing that was taken care of and I had done the most *extreme* thing I could possibly do to solve my weight problem, I was going to let it come off naturally, eat normally and not push myself or punish myself because obsessing over my weight has basically been my career since I was 13 years old.

I had this thought once when I was watching Oprah Winfrey. All that woman ever talked about was her weight. All she ever did was look at the scale. Every time she lost fifty pounds it made the freakin national news and when she gained the weight back she made this weird confession and apology to everyone in the world. So obviously she was obsessed but what I really thought was holy crap, really? Imagine what Oprah could have accomplished with her life if she was not spending seventy five percent of her time obsessing over her pants size. Imagine what *I* could do if this was NO LONGER A PROBLEM for me and when I say NO LONGER A PROBLEM I mean I NEVER HAVE TO THINK OR WORRY ABOUT IT AGAIN.

So really....I was looking for more than weight loss. I wanted to be healed. Completely.

So the weight has come off really slow. In August of last year, I weighed 237. In November, I weighed 222. In January, 209. On April 1, my surgiversary, I weighed about 190. I've gone on vacation, I've drunk numerous glasses of wine, I've eaten cake and Pasta and carbs, I've avoided cardio really for the most part -- but my calories are *naturally* way under what I would need to sustain these weights and so....slowly....it's coming off. And it's still coming off and it has now been *over* a year.

I think I'm going to hit goal eventually. This will be without dieting, without worrying about the "honeymoon period", and without forcing myself to do ninety hours of cardio a week. And when I get there there's not going to be some freakout/rebound where I now have to figure out what "maintenance" is and be on the verge of shooting myself in the head because I had a piece of birthday cake or a piece of gum with sugar in it.

So this is what I want to say:

If you're just starting this project ( I refuse to say journey -- UGH) then realize that patience is required. Plan on a year *or more*. Even if you believe the honeymoon thing you're not going to drop all your weight *inside* your "honeymoon" so think about it...what are you going to do when it's over? Because you're still going to have to lose a lot of weight and you're going to have to sustain whatever you're doing for the rest of your life. It's frustrating that such an extreme solution is not instantaneous, but it is NOT, so prepare yourself. You're going to be working on this for at least a year. A year is a long time and you can't just not be alive for a year while you get thin. I didn't have that year to waste and you don't either.

If you're just starting this project, consider what you want your life to be as a thin person. Not a "formerly fat" person. Not a constantly dieting, obsessed person. This is what you'll be free of when it's done, so prepare by starting now and living your life.

And finally: Prepare for the idea that you may not lose all your weight in the first year. But remember this post by me and realize that you *will* very likely get exactly where you are going by the end of the second one and forget all that stuff about first years and honeymoons. This is not magic, it's science. It's mechanics. The mechanism that uses energy that is your body will continuously be operating at a deficit *even after* the honeymoon, *even after* the first year, and that means you *will* get there. You *have to*.

This requires patience, and then more patience. That's really the *only* think you need going into this. The rest, I really promise you -- will take care of itself.

This is exactly what i needed to read right now. Im a slow looser compared to most and yesterday i was just moaning to my husband that im.4 months into the honeymoon period and not loosing like everyone else. Thank you you just gave me hope

I really don't think there is such a thing as a honeymoon. What I do think is that in the first months you've had serious, major surgery and had your stomach cut out and if you're not an alien this is going to cause you to eat quite a bit less than you did before.

After your stomach heals, you're going to want more food. You'll be able to eat more food, naturally, since the scars have healed. After that period though -- in my experience -- the weight still comes off even at a much higher caloric load because your body really uses all those calories. When you get to a point that you're eating exactly what you burn -- you stop losing.

I'm not sure if I'm there yet. The scale is still going down. Lowest I've seen it is 165; but it bounces up to 171 on occasion and every once in a while if I've eaten late at night a couple nights in a row.

I look at it this way. I had the surgery because I wanted a permanent solution. Permanent is permanent -- there is no "honeymoon" small stomach and then it balloons and suddenly turns into my old stomach that could easily digest an entire pizza in one sitting. It just aint gonna happen. I have figured out a way to overeat, though, and that is to eat too many calorie dense minimeals too often.

The problem is, though -- basically in order to do that I have to eat *all the time*. Eating over 2000 is so rare simply because all I'm doing in that case is finding stuff to eat and eating it. I just don't see the potential here to get four thousand calories inside me the way I used to be able to -- ever again.

This was major surgery. It cost me twenty thousand dollars. It's permanent. I literally can not reasonably do more than that.

Yup...it's a permanent lifer. No more B/S ing ourselves. It's soo exciting in the beginning for us newbie's. Then as you go on and don't get the atta boys so often, it probably gets like a job. I'm trying to mentally get myself ready for the long haul. I've never long hauled anything ( I'm talking about other things in life). This is for me, my diabetes, my health. Last week I was taken off the last of the 13 medications I was on for my diabetes and high blood pressure, cholesterol. I'm going to be 12 weeks out this monday. I've lost since my surgery 43 lbs and overall 80 lbs down. I've done better then some, and maybe not as good as others...but I don't care. I'm off my meds, it's working, and I'm really getting really into me.

Crosswind, you have it exactly. There are always ways around even a small stomach. If u continually eat high sugar, calorie junk food (and you can because most junk food are sliders) you will eventually gain weight. Will u eat like before? Nope. You DO get hungry and you CAN gain. But p, let's face it, we did this not for a magic bullet, but to get healthy. We all have to learn to eat NORMAL. Which in most cases, for most people, is portion controlled, NORMAL eating. Including Snacks, occasion treats and LIFE, lol. Get my drift? Normal. We weren't normal eaters or we wouldn't have needed VSG. I can remember telling a friend of mine pre-surgery, "I just want to be normal!". Well, now I am, and I don't mean normal in the sense obese people are unnormal. I mean, look around, at people who seem to just EAT normally and go about life in the same way. My head has to catch up to that fact.

Did anybody watch the first Rikki Lake Show? She covered this topic talked about the very things we are discussing. I am 5'8" 164-169 right now and that is 10 pounds up from a year ago at goal. Too many mini- meals, Crosswind, of high caloric content so again I am rethinking my choices and logging everything that goes in and making better choices in order to lose that 10. Still happy where I am and am at a healthy, livable place for my body if I don't. No meds, normal levels all around and that is what counts!

Best to all. Thanks for keeping me inspired!

So glad to read this thread and see more people like me. I had my sleeve surgery June 6 and have lost 60lbs thus far. I'm really cautious about what I eat and workout 3-4 times a day however have been really discouraged by not losing anything in the last 3 weeks. I guess I just have to hope it will pick back up again soon and I just have to keep working at it!

Well, that's true, NannieG. I've had a couple similar things happen to me over the past eighteen months. You *can* make the scale start to climb. I can remember two instances where I thought...hmmmm...I seem to be a little puffy. This had more to do with how I felt than what I weighed. I did check on the scale -- four or five pounds up one day. Could be Water weight, could be...not.

So that's just a question of cutting back a little. The thing is, the issues just aren't as extreme as they were. I gain four pounds instead of twenty before I even notice. It's not a huge sacrifice to cut my calories back.

. I imagine that's how normal people do it.

I got on the scale today and it said: 179.8.

I'm making this announcement because I want people to know that so far' date=' my year-long experiment with sleeve eating has not been a failure. If you've ever read my posts before, you know that I am not dieting with the sleeve. I am not lowcarbing. My calories are not at starvation level and they have not been since I got my surgery last April. My actually surgery was March 29, but I mostly count it as April 1 just to round everything out.

Okay so the thing is, there is research out there that says that people typically lose sixty percent of their weight in the first year and that's all you get. There is research that says that you will "stretch" your sleeve after six months or so, lose your "honeymoon" with your sleeve, stop losing and get stuck. There are surgeons who say you *have to* be on a lowcarb diet of 800 calories for the rest of your life or you won't lose the weight, and they say that you need to exercise like a demon *while* you're eating that 800 and you have to stay like that forever or you'll get fat again.

I want to tell you that in my experience this is not true.

What I want to tell you is that I got the sleeve because I was 46 and SO FAT -- I weighed 289 -- and I was at the end of my rope. I had dieted before and gotten the weight off only to regain it and the way I did that is pretty much to follow all the instructions above. Eating 800 lowcarb calories a day will get you to goal weight, there is no doubt,but in my opinion that's just no way to live and it's impossible to sustain. It also creates such intense anxiety about eating and your body and your food that it creates a horrible unending complex about fat, and feeding yourself, that the cure is worse than the disease.

I got my surgery in March. I was *severely* depressed and the reason I was depressed primarily was because I WAS SO FAT. I really hated myself. But I decided that the fat was emotional mostly and so what I was going to do was this. I was going to lose weight without dieting by having a surgeon remove eighty five percent of my stomach. And knowing that was taken care of and I had done the most *extreme* thing I could possibly do to solve my weight problem, I was going to let it come off naturally, eat normally and not push myself or punish myself because obsessing over my weight has basically been my career since I was 13 years old.

I had this thought once when I was watching Oprah Winfrey. All that woman ever talked about was her weight. All she ever did was look at the scale. Every time she lost fifty pounds it made the freakin national news and when she gained the weight back she made this weird confession and apology to everyone in the world. So obviously she was obsessed but what I really thought was holy crap, really? Imagine what Oprah could have accomplished with her life if she was not spending seventy five percent of her time obsessing over her pants size. Imagine what *I* could do if this was NO LONGER A PROBLEM for me and when I say NO LONGER A PROBLEM I mean I NEVER HAVE TO THINK OR WORRY ABOUT IT AGAIN.

So really....I was looking for more than weight loss. I wanted to be healed. Completely.

So the weight has come off really slow. In August of last year, I weighed 237. In November, I weighed 222. In January, 209. On April 1, my surgiversary, I weighed about 190. I've gone on vacation, I've drunk numerous glasses of wine, I've eaten cake and Pasta and carbs, I've avoided cardio really for the most part -- but my calories are *naturally* way under what I would need to sustain these weights and so....slowly....it's coming off. And it's still coming off and it has now been *over* a year.

I think I'm going to hit goal eventually. This will be without dieting, without worrying about the "honeymoon period", and without forcing myself to do ninety hours of cardio a week. And when I get there there's not going to be some freakout/rebound where I now have to figure out what "maintenance" is and be on the verge of shooting myself in the head because I had a piece of birthday cake or a piece of gum with sugar in it.

So this is what I want to say:

If you're just starting this project ( I refuse to say journey -- UGH) then realize that patience is required. Plan on a year *or more*. Even if you believe the honeymoon thing you're not going to drop all your weight *inside* your "honeymoon" so think about it...what are you going to do when it's over? Because you're still going to have to lose a lot of weight and you're going to have to sustain whatever you're doing for the rest of your life. It's frustrating that such an extreme solution is not instantaneous, but it is NOT, so prepare yourself. You're going to be working on this for at least a year. A year is a long time and you can't just not be alive for a year while you get thin. I didn't have that year to waste and you don't either.

If you're just starting this project, consider what you want your life to be as a thin person. Not a "formerly fat" person. Not a constantly dieting, obsessed person. This is what you'll be free of when it's done, so prepare by starting now and living your life.

And finally: Prepare for the idea that you may not lose all your weight in the first year. But remember this post by me and realize that you *will* very likely get exactly where you are going by the end of the second one and forget all that stuff about first years and honeymoons. This is not magic, it's science. It's mechanics. The mechanism that uses energy that is your body will continuously be operating at a deficit *even after* the honeymoon, *even after* the first year, and that means you *will* get there. You *have to*.

This requires patience, and then more patience. That's really the *only* think you need going into this. The rest, I really promise you -- will take care of itself.[/quote']

I really needed to read this!!!!

So glad to read this thread and see more people like me. I had my sleeve surgery June 6 and have lost 60lbs thus far. I'm really cautious about what I eat and workout 3-4 times a day however have been really discouraged by not losing anything in the last 3 weeks. I guess I just have to hope it will pick back up again soon and I just have to keep working at it!

You work out 3-4 times a DAY?? How long are your workouts? I'm no expert....but isn't that a bit too much? Hopefully someone who knows will chime in here, but I think you could be putting your body in a caloric deficit and your body is holding on to what it's got for dear life.

I think..i could be wrong! :-)

As lightnfluffy so eloquently put it, this is a time to take measure of your new life. You are not the same person as before this new phase began. There is no need to rush or feel like you are not losing fast enough. If you are relaxed, sleep enough and do the basics, you will succeed. There is no question about that. Take the time to reflect on what possibilities lie ahead of you, enjoy the process and just take one day at a time. Your body will thank you and every day will be a new gift to you. Good luck.

I got on the scale today and it said: 179.8.

I'm making this announcement because I want people to know that so far' date=' my year-long experiment with sleeve eating has not been a failure. If you've ever read my posts before, you know that I am not dieting with the sleeve. I am not lowcarbing. My calories are not at starvation level and they have not been since I got my surgery last April. My actually surgery was March 29, but I mostly count it as April 1 just to round everything out.

Okay so the thing is, there is research out there that says that people typically lose sixty percent of their weight in the first year and that's all you get. There is research that says that you will "stretch" your sleeve after six months or so, lose your "honeymoon" with your sleeve, stop losing and get stuck. There are surgeons who say you *have to* be on a lowcarb diet of 800 calories for the rest of your life or you won't lose the weight, and they say that you need to exercise like a demon *while* you're eating that 800 and you have to stay like that forever or you'll get fat again.

I want to tell you that in my experience this is not true.

What I want to tell you is that I got the sleeve because I was 46 and SO FAT -- I weighed 289 -- and I was at the end of my rope. I had dieted before and gotten the weight off only to regain it and the way I did that is pretty much to follow all the instructions above. Eating 800 lowcarb calories a day will get you to goal weight, there is no doubt,but in my opinion that's just no way to live and it's impossible to sustain. It also creates such intense anxiety about eating and your body and your food that it creates a horrible unending complex about fat, and feeding yourself, that the cure is worse than the disease.

I got my surgery in March. I was *severely* depressed and the reason I was depressed primarily was because I WAS SO FAT. I really hated myself. But I decided that the fat was emotional mostly and so what I was going to do was this. I was going to lose weight without dieting by having a surgeon remove eighty five percent of my stomach. And knowing that was taken care of and I had done the most *extreme* thing I could possibly do to solve my weight problem, I was going to let it come off naturally, eat normally and not push myself or punish myself because obsessing over my weight has basically been my career since I was 13 years old.

I had this thought once when I was watching Oprah Winfrey. All that woman ever talked about was her weight. All she ever did was look at the scale. Every time she lost fifty pounds it made the freakin national news and when she gained the weight back she made this weird confession and apology to everyone in the world. So obviously she was obsessed but what I really thought was holy crap, really? Imagine what Oprah could have accomplished with her life if she was not spending seventy five percent of her time obsessing over her pants size. Imagine what *I* could do if this was NO LONGER A PROBLEM for me and when I say NO LONGER A PROBLEM I mean I NEVER HAVE TO THINK OR WORRY ABOUT IT AGAIN.

So really....I was looking for more than weight loss. I wanted to be healed. Completely.

So the weight has come off really slow. In August of last year, I weighed 237. In November, I weighed 222. In January, 209. On April 1, my surgiversary, I weighed about 190. I've gone on vacation, I've drunk numerous glasses of wine, I've eaten cake and Pasta and carbs, I've avoided cardio really for the most part -- but my calories are *naturally* way under what I would need to sustain these weights and so....slowly....it's coming off. And it's still coming off and it has now been *over* a year.

I think I'm going to hit goal eventually. This will be without dieting, without worrying about the "honeymoon period", and without forcing myself to do ninety hours of cardio a week. And when I get there there's not going to be some freakout/rebound where I now have to figure out what "maintenance" is and be on the verge of shooting myself in the head because I had a piece of birthday cake or a piece of gum with sugar in it.

So this is what I want to say:

If you're just starting this project ( I refuse to say journey -- UGH) then realize that patience is required. Plan on a year *or more*. Even if you believe the honeymoon thing you're not going to drop all your weight *inside* your "honeymoon" so think about it...what are you going to do when it's over? Because you're still going to have to lose a lot of weight and you're going to have to sustain whatever you're doing for the rest of your life. It's frustrating that such an extreme solution is not instantaneous, but it is NOT, so prepare yourself. You're going to be working on this for at least a year. A year is a long time and you can't just not be alive for a year while you get thin. I didn't have that year to waste and you don't either.

If you're just starting this project, consider what you want your life to be as a thin person. Not a "formerly fat" person. Not a constantly dieting, obsessed person. This is what you'll be free of when it's done, so prepare by starting now and living your life.

And finally: Prepare for the idea that you may not lose all your weight in the first year. But remember this post by me and realize that you *will* very likely get exactly where you are going by the end of the second one and forget all that stuff about first years and honeymoons. This is not magic, it's science. It's mechanics. The mechanism that uses energy that is your body will continuously be operating at a deficit *even after* the honeymoon, *even after* the first year, and that means you *will* get there. You *have to*.

This requires patience, and then more patience. That's really the *only* think you need going into this. The rest, I really promise you -- will take care of itself.[/quote']

Thank u for sharing your storie. I need to hear this as well as others it was so helpful.

That was a fabulous story. I too started exactly at 289. I am now 171. But lost alot recently due to being sick from gallstones. My one year anniversary is approaching 10/10. And I don't loose as much as the beginning but am still loosing approximately 1-2 pounds a week. I don't exercise much but I do watch what I eat and eat what I want to in moderation. I am very happy with my decision. I live this post. Thank u

You work out 3-4 times a DAY?? How long are your workouts? I'm no expert....but isn't that a bit too much? Hopefully someone who knows will chime in here' date=' but I think you could be putting your body in a caloric deficit and your body is holding on to what it's got for dear life.

I think..i could be wrong! :-)[/quote']

So sorry I mistyped and meant 3-4 times a week!!

I luv this thread! Thanks for sharing your story....im at 9 months out. You are my inspiration

So sorry I mistyped and meant 3-4 times a week!! <img src='http://www.bariatricpal.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

Whew!! I was hoping it was a typo!!! Lol. I was going to send the exercise police after you! Lol.

This last year has been very difficult for me to keep my weight off. I can eat so much more than I could at one year or even 2 years. It's so easy to eat with friends, and over eat, by not being conscience of my portions sizes.

It takes a lot more will power more than it did before, not to snack, and not to have dessert, when everyone else is snacking and having dessert. There are so many functions where food is being served and everyone is eating.

I wish it were like it was in the the beginning, where one chip made me feel like I ate the whole bag or one spoonful of food and I was stuffed for the night.