I always hear this expression but not sure what are they talking about??

can someone explain

-what is this "honeymoon period"??

-When??

-is it for sleevers or other bariatric surgery??

-and how to take "advantage" of that period??

(I always hear people "regret" not to take advantage of it!!)

There seems to be a common belief that people magically lose faster in the first 9-12 months after surgery and if you don't lose the bulk of your weight by then, you will struggle.

I personally don't believe in it at all. Your metabolism doesn't arbitrarily switch off right at the 12 month mark. What I think happens is that you get back into real life. Your surgery is no longer THE thing on your mind. You aren't as mindful of every bite you take. You aren't as strict about putting Protein first. You might let your eating schedule slip a bit. You might go for more convenience-type foods as you get swept up in your daily activities. You likely don't have the same sensitivity to certain foods that you did early on. Your stomach is fully healed and you reach the new max capacity of your sleeve/pouch. So all of those things add up to make it harder to continue to lose weight quickly.

I do believe it is important to really use the early months post-op to establish new, healthy habits. Find foods that you know work for you and you can keep eating long term. Get into a routine with your exercise. All of those things are easier for you to do in the early months when your surgery is still "top of mind". If you get to where you do a lot of those things without thinking about it, then when real life creeps back in, they will be more automatic.

But to say it's impossible to lose weight 12+ months out is ridiculous. It just requires focus and effort.

@@JamieLogical Is totally correct.

Now people with bypass, have malabsorption, which work the best early on. The further from surgery they get, their body adjusts and it lessens.

The honeymoon people talk about is really the time when the tool is doing most of the work and you are forced into eating decent because you are healing and adjusting. It is really just the time you are healing and should be labeled as such. while people have this really strong support of their tool to keep them on track, they should establish good habits while they still have their safety net to catch them.

I'm 9 months out. My experience has been the first 6 months I was still healing, so my portions were limited and my tolerance to foods was sensitive. At the 6 month mark, like my Dr told, I was fully healed and it was like a switch flipped with my sleeve. I could eat more, I could tolerate more. If I hadn't established healthy lifestyle habits that I liked and enjoyed, it would have been really easy to slip back into old habits.

I think the biggest mistake people make during the healing phase is adding slider foods into their diet because they are easier to digest and you don't have to watch your portions to prevent feeling full (which is really not pleasant). If you add them in during the healing phase, when you are fulling healed, you will be able to binge on them at the same level as a person that hasn't been sleeved.

It's the period right after surgery where the weight just drops off fast and naturally. You cold eat crap and would still lose weight. It's not permanent. You will eventually hit stalls and your weight loss with slow and then stop. When it ends you will have to work to lose the remaining weight.

It was more like the first six months for me. The honeymoon is over and when it is you really have to face feeling your feelings without stuffing them down with food. Do the work and take care of yourself.

From another post on here.....

"The phrase Honeymoon Period is an often quoted and vague concept to some (sort of like saying ‘Gold Standard’ when referring to RNY surgery – what does that really mean?) Marriage is rough in the long run – but when we first get married, we live in that fog of bliss for a brief moment called a Honeymoon, where all is good and the reality of money, housecleaning, laundry, kids, money and personal habits have not had a chance to drive us mad.

Ditto for bariatric surgery. When we are first turned into surgically altered freaks we have no idea that we are not actually steering the car. Or better yet, we do not realize that we have absolutely nothing to do with our massive seven month weight drop. Some folks are already off the path at this point, snickering all the way ‘I am eating all my favorite stuff, nothing is making me sick and I am still losing weight, hehehee.’ or my all-time favorite justification for early Krispy Kreme eating, ‘I have lost 55 pounds in four months, I must be doing something right.’ Nope, during the Honeymoon Phase – we could have been washing down Fluffernutters with McDonald’s shakes and still have lost that first 85 pounds."

So the honeymoon period is basically when weight loss and a lot of the psychological issues surrounding WLS are relatively "easy". Eventually, the mental struggles become harder and harder and a lot more effort has to go into losing and/or not regaining. That's when your "WLS marriage" becomes real and you've really got to fight to make it work.

A friend of my friend was sleeved 3 years ago, she said the honeymoon period is your life after surgery, she said she didnt loose a lot the first year because she didn't want to loose her hair and have saggy skin so she took it slow, she said it has been three years and still loosing slowly and steadily, she said she didnt follow any diet because her surgeon said she shouldn't, he told he he dosent want her body to be stubborn???? so she said she eats almost everything she likes but in a very small quantities, she said the only rule she followed is not to eat and drink without as least an hour apart.

Thats why I asked you guys because what I heard from her is deferent than what I am hearing from here and there ????

Even thought I am far from having my own experience about it but I have to agree with Jemie logical because I felt it makes sense to me.

And, I agreed with that surgeon that we shouldn't follow a diet ever because that was the purpose of having the surgery from the first place, right!!

I might be wrong but I think people who think the opposite way and stress themselves with diet and weight are the ones who put some weight back after all.

Good Luck all ????

You really do need to follow a healthy plan of eating though even if not a "diet". Initially you will have liquid and protein goals. Meeting your protein goals, getting in all your liquids and taking your vitamins is very important for long term success as well. Also eating healthy "real food" vs processed junk is important because you really need all the good nutrients that you can get. It's also important to remember that if you do not follow your Drs plan of eating then you can put the weight back on (like if you eat ice cream all day instead of a healthy diet). That being said I am 8 months out now and I have about 1 serving of cake and/or ice cream a month (and I never ever bring more than that one serving into my house because I know that I can't be trusted to eat just one serving if I have access to more).

While life post-WLS isn't a "diet", there are still guidelines you should stick to. Protein first being the most important. And of course limiting carbs, not eating and drinking at the same time, not drinking you calories, avoiding slider foods and not grazing.