So I am 15 months post-op.....

Just thought I would share my experiences and what life is like for me as a sleever in maintenance. I made my weight loss goal ( a very modest goal in fact...) at about 8 months out. So I have maintained my weight loss with ease for the last 7 months. I chose a higher goal than many sleevers for several reasons....

1.) easier to maintain

2.) no lose skin. That's right people, I have no lose skin, my butt is still round and the girls are still perky!

3.) I am normal, curvy healthy and average. That's all I ever wanted!

4.) I wear normal sizes. I am in a 12 and as a nurse I wear medium scrub tops and large bottoms. I LOVE BEING NORMAL. (preop I was in 2x and 24s)

I don't really care that my BMI is not "normal" it never will be, I am happy and healthy. My surgeon and primary agree I am in a great spot.

So what do I eat? a typical day is about 2000 calories. I was eating 1400 a day for weight loss.... I got up to 1000 cals as soon as I could post op so I wouldn't tank my metabolism. I don't eat low fat anything, I don't drink diet anything, no sugar free toxic crap. I eat small and healthy amounts everything. I have a vanilla latte everyday.I eat cheese at least twice a day. I eat lots of fruit and veggies and of course Protein. I go out to eat, have dessert a few times per week. I eat like a healthy, normal person.

I still have started a real workout routine at the gym... I have a fairly physical job as a nurse and I take the dog for walks all the time, I plan to workout at the gym this winter for health purposes.

All in all my point is.... I am so happy I was sleeved!!

below is a before and after.....:-)

That is so AWESOME and EXACTLY my goal, I just want to be healthy and eat normal, I'm still early in my journey, (almost 6 weeks out) and this is exactly what I told my husband, I want to eat healthy and normal, no artificial anything. I was surprised to find that all of the artificial sweeteners and additives can do more harm than good. I think this is also important because we are raising little girls, and I want them to know how to eat and live active and healthy lives as well. Thanks for sharing!! You are beautiful!

Awesome post!!! You could've taken this out of my brain. I refuse to let food lord over me anymore. I'M in control now!

I want to feel better and live a long time. I'm not looking to don a bikini or pose for nudes! I just want to eat and play line a normal person and stop thinking about food and my weight all the time.

Wow! Thanks so much for sharing your wisdom. You really give me hope....

Thank you for your post. I honestly believe that the people that happily and easily maintain are those that adopt healthier, lifelong eating habits as opposed to those that use the sleeve like a diet. We lose weight a little more slowly in most cases but once we get to goal we seem to maintain far more easily, and without a lot of the "food baggage" that so many forget to shed on their journey!

You've done a wonderful job and look fantastic. Great work.

I would point out though, as a slower loser that did experience loose skin that a lot of this is genetic so I hope that all newbies don't assume that a slower loss means they'll escape skin issues. Some of us are just destined to have them and some folks win the genetic lottery in this respect.

Congrats again, you've done wonderfully and look beautiful!

~Cheri

Thank you for your post. I honestly believe that the people that happily and easily maintain are those that adopt healthier, lifelong eating habits as opposed to those that use the sleeve like a diet. We lose weight a little more slowly in most cases but once we get to goal we seem to maintain far more easily, and without a lot of the "food baggage" that so many forget to shed on their journey!

You've done a wonderful job and look fantastic. Great work.

I would point out though, as a slower loser that did experience loose skin that a lot of this is genetic so I hope that all newbies don't assume that a slower loss means they'll escape skin issues. Some of us are just destined to have them and some folks win the genetic lottery in this respect.

Congrats again, you've done wonderfully and look beautiful!

~Cheri

Thanks Cheri!

I always love reading your posts, you were an inspiration for me in my losing phase, congrats on the pregnancy!

So I am 15 months post-op.....

Just thought I would share my experiences and what life is like for me as a sleever in maintenance. I made my weight loss goal ( a very modest goal in fact...) at about 8 months out. So I have maintained my weight loss with ease for the last 7 months. I chose a higher goal than many sleevers for several reasons....

1.) easier to maintain

2.) no lose skin. That's right people' date=' I have no lose skin, my butt is still round and the girls are still perky!

3.) I am normal, curvy healthy and average. That's all I ever wanted!

4.) I wear normal sizes. I am in a 12 and as a nurse I wear medium scrub tops and large bottoms. I LOVE BEING NORMAL. (preop I was in 2x and 24s)

I don't really care that my BMI is not "normal" it never will be, I am happy and healthy. My surgeon and primary agree I am in a great spot.

So what do I eat? a typical day is about 2000 calories. I was eating 1400 a day for weight loss.... I got up to 1000 cals as soon as I could post op so I wouldn't tank my metabolism. I don't eat low fat anything, I don't drink diet anything, no sugar free toxic crap. I eat small and healthy amounts everything. I have a vanilla latte everyday.I eat cheese at least twice a day. I eat lots of fruit and veggies and of course Protein. I go out to eat, have dessert a few times per week. I eat like a healthy, normal person.

I still have started a real workout routine at the gym... I have a fairly physical job as a nurse and I take the dog for walks all the time, I plan to workout at the gym this winter for health purposes.

All in all my point is.... I am so happy I was sleeved!!

below is a before and after.....:-)[/quote']

Thanks for this post. You have just made up my mind for me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

Thanks all for the kind words !

Marilyn Monroe wore a size 14

Marilyn Monroe wore a size 14

This made me really curious since I know sizes then are not comparable to sizes today.

http://www.snopes.com/movies/actors/mmdress.asp

I know I'm probably being a stick in the mud, but I like digging for facts.

Thanks you so much for sharing your experience, I pray that I am able to stabilize at a healthy weight and be able to eat normal too. I'm almost 3 weeks out so right now im still fighting to get anything with the texture down.

Sleeved 10/24/12 Sent from my iPad using VST

You look great and it sounds to me like your weight and size is just right for you!

I ate pretty low calorie in the early months, but certainly eat way more then 500 a day now. I don't think I could have the active lifestyle I enjoy on such low calories.

My target weight puts me still in the overweight catagory, and my thinking is similiar to yours. I am currently a size 14, and while I would still love to be smaller and in fact want to lose another 25-30#, I feel good and look good even now. My sister told me she thought I looked like a size 10...hahaha... but the point is I look normal. If I never lose another pound, I am still awesome where I am at! I want to maintain a good healthy weight over the long haul, so like you I am not getting to ambitious with getting down to a low BMI.

Sleeve of Steel are you on My Fitness Pal? You are so inspiring!!!

Great Job. I love to hear these experiences because I know I can't survive on 500 cals a day. I'm 4 mnths out and I'm above that and I'm happy with my weightloss so far. I'm like you, taking my time and doing it right for me. Thanks for the post.

Gosh, I love this post so much I came back to read it again today. I am *this* close to onederland and have done it eating 1200 calories a day (give or take 200 either direction) with increased physical exertion. I struggle to call it exercise since the gym has been hit or miss, but I'm definitely more active.

I found a direct correlation to finding my happy place with realistic food intake and my weight loss and overall happiness. It's all simple math for me. The calories burned in a day minus the calories consumed will equate to weight loss. I don't need to ear 500 calories and be miserable to lose weight (and for the record - I was seriously miserable). It felt like another crash diet. What I'm doing now I can maintain as a lifestyle change forever!

My surgeon told me that my body will find the weight it wants and that I will never be a skinny person unless I become a fitness fanatic. I'll always, according to my surgeon, be a bit chubby. And that' s fine with me. As long as I have good health, being a bit chubby is just fine. I have class 1 obesity and am hoping to get a a target weight somewhere close to guidelines - but losing enough to get off blood pressure/cholesterol medication and eliminate the risk of diabetes would be sufficient for me. I'm not an athlete, never will be. I don't need to look like a fashion model to be happy in life.