Lately I've seen a TON of posts about lucky sleevers that drop 100 pounds in six months.

Congrats to them and to their loss. And I would never, ever begrudge anyone the right to crow about a fantastic success. It's part of why we're all here, to share the ups and downs of this surgery!

But frequently, these posts are followed by folks that feel frustrated because they aren't losing at the same pace. All too often, we forget that everyone loses at a different pace. It's easy to lose sight of the real goal (long term maintenance) in the face of the scale goals we set for ourselves. And it's also easy to forget that this isn't a race and that there's no special prize waiting at the end for reaching goal more quickly.

I would like to contribute my loss pattern so that people can see that there is more than one way to achieve a goal. Being successful is about reaching your personal goals, overcoming your personal food demons and maintaining your weight loss for life. It's not about hitting goal in nine months.

I encourage everyone else with a slow loss story to contribute their successes here as well. It's hard to research this surgery and find only the stories about extremes - people completely thrilled with surgery or people that regret every minute of life post op. The same goes for loss. When people search out stories on this, it's too easy to only find rapid loss or stall posts but nothing showing the more realistic and moderate journey many of us take. The sleeve is a permanent tool that does not have a special window of easy weight loss. There is no reason to feel discouraged when you haven't reached goal at one year out, or even two. There is nothing preventing you (short of your own body's natural stopping point) from achieving or re-achieving goal at any point post op.

I lost 60 pounds in the first five months after my surgery.

And I slowly lost 32 pounds over the next seven months.

It took me another five months to shed the final 15 pounds to my goal.

I lost 107 pounds over the course of 17 months. I stalled twice for nine weeks each time. I had months where I only lost one pound. I regularly experienced a gain of three pounds around my cycle, and often only lost weight in the last week to ten days of the month, after sitting at the same weight for nearly three weeks.

I am a success, and at 2.5 years out (and currently pregnant) I still have good, healthy eating habits and maintained my weight loss quite easily. Even 30 weeks pregnant, I am still wearing a size 6/small (in maternity clothes, of course) regardless of how I feel about my expanding body!

I learned what was important on this journey and am in better health today (not just physically, but mentally and emotionally), than I have ever experienced as an adult.

Good luck to those currently on their journey, and I encourage everyone to share their stories here so that newly sleeved folks can see that slow vs. fast loss doesn't really matter in the end.

~Cheri

In reply to Cheri's request re stalls, here is my prev post and below that are the significant stalls.

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I think i posted here before but will update, and hope to inspire those feeling like "slow losers"! My VSG was 10/25/12.

My Dr has been very happy with my loss at each appt, saying 7-10 lbs a month for VSG is very good. Started at sz 22/24 and now, sz 16's are LOOSE! Go figure! Being heavy my ENTIRE life i cannot believe my clothing sizes are going down like this! I wish I was one of the "100 lbs in 4 months" girls but it just isn't happening. Hey, at least we're LOSING slowly but surely. One day we'll step on the scale and be at GOAL!! Best wishes to all as we continue our journey.

VSG 10/25/12

SW 300

CW 220

F/51

5''10"

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M4- lost 7 lbs

M5- lost 1 lb

M6- lost 3 lbs

M7- lost 6 lbs

M8- lost 6 lbs

M9- lost 3 lbs

Month 9 anniv was 7/25. Since then, i've floated between 220 and 223. We'll see where i'm at on M10!! not expecting much because 8/25 is right around the corner. was glad to read abt the lady that took 18 mos to goal, i dont feel like the "only" one! I've been freaking out a little...hoped to get to 190's by 1 yr mark but starting to think I may not make it. Honestly i'd be thrilled to be 199!!! I remember school weigh in, 6th grade (shoot me NOW)- i weighed 208. Never below that again, and i'm now 51. Oh BTW...The freak outs just make me eat more! Welcome to cRazY ToWn!!!!

Month 9 anniv was 7/25. Since then, i've floated between 220 and 223. We'll see where i'm at on M10!! not expecting much because 8/25 is right around the corner. was glad to read abt the lady that took 18 mos to goal, i dont feel like the "only" one! I've been freaking out a little...hoped to get to 190's by 1 yr mark but starting to think I may not make it. Honestly i'd be thrilled to be 199!!! I remember school weigh in, 6th grade (shoot me NOW)- i weighed 208. Never below that again, and i'm now 51. Oh BTW...The freak outs just make me eat more! Welcome to cRazY ToWn!!!!

Thanks for the update! Some of us take longer to get to goal. Some people consider themselves slow losers but really aren't - there is a group of us on the vets forum more than two years out and still trying to shed a few, so please don't feel discouraged by the slower pace your body has set.

Additionally, my body has those happy weights - you know, those weights were you've been stuck before (and quit whatever diet you were on) because your body just loves to hang there and the scale won't budge no matter what you do? Don't be surprised if breaking out of the 200s is a fight. I was always stalled out for weeks on end at my previous happy weights but once the stalls broke I was treated to a nice big loss on the scale (for me, anyway, because four pounds in a month is big time for me!) so hang in there and know going in that it's likely going to be a challenge to get below a weight you haven't seen in a while.

Best of luck, and keep on going! It doesn't mean anything if it takes you longer than a year, or eighteen months to reach goal. I know we all want it faster than that, but the truth is that getting there and staying there really is what matters and your sleeve will work just as well farther out as it did new. It's not just a trite phrase to reassure you - it's the honest truth.

~Cheri

Thank you Cheri! I got to 199 for one day then back up to 200 for two weeks! Finally down to 197 from 240 on May 16. So 43 pounds down. Not exactly where I hoped to be at my there month mark but I'll take it.

Thank you Cheri! I got to 199 for one day then back up to 200 for two weeks! Finally down to 197 from 240 on May 16. So 43 pounds down. Not exactly where I hoped to be at my there month mark but I'll take it.

That By any standard is not slow. That is very good weight loss.

That By any standard is not slow. That is very good weight loss.

Thanks ArtSong. Love that name by the way. I do feel like it is good weight loss and I am happy to be heading in the right direction. But, most of my fellow May sleevers are moving along at a much quicker pace

I stall a lot! Will lose 2-3 lbs then stall for 10 days or so, then lose another 2-3. I am down 44 since surgery 3/6. 220 SW now 176. But hey I am losing. I know I will hit goal of 135 by a year or before. I am good with that. Plus everyone notices and that feels great!

Thanks ArtSong. Love that name by the way. I do feel like it is good weight loss and I am happy to be heading in the right direction. But' date=' most of my fellow May sleevers are moving along at a much quicker pace

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Hi Fixer - I am a May sleever also, and you & I are at about the same pace (actually, you are 1 lb ahead of me!!). I've been thinking all this time that it was slow, but actually we're doing pretty good! I think our fellow May sleevers either started at higher weights or have yet to hit their stalls. But we're hanging in there!!

I am so with you sista. I did find out today that my parathyroid is out of whack so I am hoping that if this is sorted out, the weight will get going again.

I'm a September 2012 and I only have lost 35 lbs 2.8 lbs a month. I workout and eat well, but it won't move any faster them that. I have a tummy tuck to get done in September the Doc thinks it will do me good. We all loss how the body wants to do it we just have to deal with it lol.

In 8 months before Dec. 2012 surgery, I lost 35 lbs. Since Dec. 2012, 8 months too, I have lost 31 lbs. I am more active now than I have been in decades, and I feel better too. I just really wish I would lose a little more in a shorter period of time. It would make the process so much more rewarding for the short term for me.

Once I accepted that I wasn't going to lose 120 pounds in 5 months, I actually started feeling much better! Remember..it is just a number, take pleasure in the other little things that the 1 to 2 pound a month or a week or whatever it is loss allows you. Such as..fitting on a ride, crossing your legs, shopping in a regular size store.

For me..I just got my bloodwork back for my 6 month anniversary and for the first time in at least 10 years..my Lipid panel is completely normal!!! I was so pumped..no drugs, no lecture from the doctor lol, just plain exercise and diet. I have reduced my risk of heart disease and a whole host of future complications. I revel in that despite the fact that I didn't lose a pound in July. It is all perspective and we all know I am not a fan of being a slave to the scale! Now if my scale looked like Hugh Jackman, that might a different story

Once I accepted that I wasn't going to lose 120 pounds in 5 months, I actually started feeling much better! Remember..it is just a number, take pleasure in the other little things that the 1 to 2 pound a month or a week or whatever it is loss allows you. Such as..fitting on a ride, crossing your legs, shopping in a regular size store.

For me..I just got my bloodwork back for my 6 month anniversary and for the first time in at least 10 years..my Lipid panel is completely normal!!! I was so pumped..no drugs, no lecture from the doctor lol, just plain exercise and diet. I have reduced my risk of heart disease and a whole host of future complications. I revel in that despite the fact that I didn't lose a pound in July. It is all perspective and we all know I am not a fan of being a slave to the scale! Now if my scale looked like Hugh Jackman, that might a different story

So true! There are so many vets, even, that spend their time beating themselves up over just a few pounds left to goal, too. We get this number goal in our head and we set no other criteria for ourselves so we only consider ourselves successful once we reach that point. There are so many overwhelming benefits to the weight I've lost, even if I'm incredibly annoyed that I can't seem to get back to goal weight. I'm so guilty of this - being hung up on the number, on the daily losses - and completely overlooking the huge changes in my body and lifestyle.

It's far more important that I'm no longer diabetic and that I don't have high blood pressure than it is that I can't seem to shake the last 7-8 pounds I'd like to lose. Perspective matters.

I needed this reminder today, so thanks for sharing.

~Cheri

I was sleeved on April 4th 2013. Sw 270 weight today 220.4. I am 5'2" so I'm down almost 50# in 4 1/2 months. I have a hard time exercising due to my stupid knees. Which I hope will get better as I drop more weight. I know 50 lbs is really a lot of weight I just feel a little jipped that you can't really tell I see people I haven't seen for a while and it's not noticeable that I'm smaller. I can tell that my clothes r a bit looser but I'm still in mostly the same clothes. * sigh*. Anyway. I plan to keep doin what I'm doin and increasing the exercise little by little. It's good to know that not EVERYONE drops 100# the first four months. Was encouraged by all these posts. Wishing you all the best!

Also. My cholesterol is actually HIGHER at my three month blood work up... Then higher still three weeks later.... I barely eat red meat only minimal dairy and usually low fat at that .. Don't use butters. Olive oil occasionally. Even had been eating oatmeal daily for a week prior to last blood work..... Anyone else experience this?? I was pretty bummed

I have been one of those people who are not happy with loss. When I use the scale everyday, yes I know that is not the way to do it, and no I won't stop doing it, I get frustrated seeing the same weight or within the same whole number for a LONG time. I started a spreadsheet though and I am hoping that changes my brain about how to look at this. My first month after surgery I lost 20lbs, the next month only lost 9.2, BUT if I can lose between 9-10 lbs per month, I will reach my goal in about 6 months. Being heavy my whole life, losing tons only to gain back a ton and a half, I looked at this surgery as a way to get my life in order. It took me years to gain it, and while I can sit and complaint that it's not fair, I did have surgery after all, I should lose it quicker, at this point it is what it is and if I can get to my goal (which is a lot more loss than my docs goal for me) within 6-8 months, that will be awesome.

Here is another question. As one other poster said, it's hard to get a lot of calories in when you get full so fast. At the beginning I was doing a lot of shakes to make my protein marks, but quite frankly I am tired of them so I only do 1 for breakfast with an extra scoop of unflavored protein in it. Now, i am eating more regular food so I am not getting calories or protein in. AND I am just not that interested in food anymore (never thought I would say that out loud) I am exercising 6x a week, cardio and weights, so now I think I am not eating enough calories because of the exercise. I am so confused as to what is right. My NUT has not returned my email, which is a whole other story. I asked my MIL who had bypass done about 17 years ago what she ate afterwards. Her words to me, we didn't bother with all the low cal stuff because we couldn't eat that much anyway so we just ate normally, just less of it. She lost 130lbs in about 9 months! i just wish I had the guy from Extreme Weight Loss living with me so he can tell me what I should eat and how much to work out.