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

SleeveGirl-TX

Your a true inspiration to never give up. Thanks for posting your story.

So' date=' I just thought I'd update my status on this thread. I reached goal yesterday. It took 2 years and 23 days, but I finally hit 225 pounds lost. I started at 375 and now weigh 150. Slow? I guess that depends on how you look at it. I didn't lose it all in a year and I didn't stop when it got hard, but I did it.

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Candy reached goal weight by CandyTX, on Flickr

u look amazing

So, I just thought I'd update my status on this thread. I reached goal yesterday. It took 2 years and 23 days, but I finally hit 225 pounds lost. I started at 375 and now weigh 150. Slow? I guess that depends on how you look at it. I didn't lose it all in a year and I didn't stop when it got hard, but I did it.

And wow! You have lost a tremendous amount of weight and look great! Congrats on finally reaching goal. What an inspiration to people that get frustrated when they aren't at goal within a year, and also to the folks the have more than 100 pounds to lose. Simply amazing work - congrats!!

~Cheri

The thread was moved into a group. It's certainly not any attempt to exclude anyone - I think we just wanted to carry on with conversations that were a little more private.

~Cheri

We've been excluded lol..

Can we join the group? How?

We've been excluded lol..

There were a lot of concerns of people newly out of surgery or less than year out trying this method instead of following their surgeons guidelines as well.

You can join the group, but they have put some rules in place. You need to be a year out from surgery and have committed to trying the 5:2 method to see if you like it. You can request to join and one of the moderators has to approve you.

My newest pic from today @ 147 pounds ...I am thinking 22 lbs more to go but I would still be happy with 12 more lbs

My newest pic from today @ 147 pounds ...I am thinking 22 lbs more to go but I would still be happy with 12 more lbs

You look fabulous!!

I am pretty new, I was sleeved on June 5th. So far I have lost 22 lbs at the 6 week mark. I seem to be losing about 2 lbs a week now. I am thrilled with this rate of loss.

Keep this thread going! I want to see as many stories as possible that reflect the moderate and downright slow pace some of us experience.

I'm three years out. I lost slowly. In fact, I'm sloooowly shedding the last couple pounds of baby weight. It's just as aggravatingly slow and painful as it was to lose the first time.

But is the woman in these pictures any less a success for taking longer? NO.

I want this thread full of good stories so that I can spam every freakout post about stalls or slow loss I see with a link to it, to say "See?! It happens, relax!"

I do not want this to be a Yay Cheri thread - I want to see OTHER stories here, too! Contribute, please!

~Cheri

Cheri - you look amazing!!! I love all of your posts - you have the calm voice in the sometimes chaotic chatter.

I lost pretty quickly at the very beginning of the process, but have been a 'slow loser' for 4 months now and I am OK with that.

I have committed to this way of eating and exercising for the rest of my life - and like anything in life, I know there will be ups & downs.

I'm 9 pounds from goal - at 8 months out from surgery. Losing .2 or .4 and holding for a week or two at a time. My WLS team says I might go down a little bit from that by 1 year out then gain a bit back and stabilize.

I'd like to be stable at 140, and firm up my abs a bit. I don't think I'll have any plastics on my stomach or legs, but have a consult scheduled in 2 weeks for info on a breast reduction/lift. Want to have several months to sock away the $$ for the surgery. Maybe down the road, 2 years out I'll have my arms done, but right now I am Ok with them.

Your baby is beautiful and she looks so happy.

thank you sooo much for sharing this! Yes I get discouraged, I admit it. but I will not give up! at 6 months out i am down 52 pounds. I weigh 180 and need to lose between 35-45 more pounds.

surgery success

Date. Weight Lost. TTL Lost

jan 21- wt 232 day of surgery

feb 21- wt 217. -15 pds

mar 21- 206. -11 pds (26 total)

apr 21- 202. -4 pds (30 total)

may 21- 191. -11 pds (41 total)

june 21-185. -6 pds (47 total)

July 21-180. -5 pds (52 total)

Aug 21 -

Thank you for this thread!!! I started at 248 and now at 197lbs, 51 pounds in five months was sleeved 1/28/13 and so much happier and healthier once I started going to the gym my body loved it and the pounds where flying off now it seems like its taking a break and that's ok with me because I started at a size 18 and now a size 12 so my body is still losing inches even if I don't move on the scale, just keep eating clean and working out, being healthy does not have an expiration date or a goal weight that you can stop being healthy. Stay strong it's hard I know, but remember its hard to be fat too and I rather fight to be healthy. On bad days I try on clothes that never fit before and tell myself to just push through it.....

You are all amazing. I think I want to try the 5:2 plan tosay is my first fasting day how are all the past a year sleevers doing? What things have you guys tried to help with those last pounds (in my case like 35 pounds)