Hi everyone I'm new to the site, my surgery is scheduled for May. I've seen a lot of your before and after pictures and most of you have lost a lot of weight. I just wanted some advice on how to lose a lot and keep it off. Thank you!

This question is very broad and I bet if you asked 10 people, you'd get at least 11 answers.

That said, my advice is to understand what you're about to do is not a diet. It's not something you do for a while and then stop. It's a lifestyle change. To be successful, understand - and welcome - that what you're doing is permanent.

Good luck and be sure to check in here often. That's what makes this community so valuable.

For me? Follow the protocols. After they remove your stomach those first 3 months are first a healing nightmare and then quickly becomes so fun with losing so fast. Then our tummies really heal and people's bad habbits can come back.

For me I avoid it by just focusing on my protein and water goals. But I do it by making really awesome, delicous dishes at home. I currently make (and these are all low carb, high protein meals):

Chilli

Tandoori chicken

Butter chicken

Chicken Teriyaki

Maryland Crab Cakes

I took the time to practice and try stuff out. If I didn't like something or it didn't go down well, I brought it into work and gave it away. I spent a good month sourcing recipes, trying them out and now I have delicious protein meals that are SOO much better than anything I'd buy on the fly. I don't even CRAVE the stuff I'm not suppose to have cause i"m just excited to eat the awesome gourmet food I made.

That and walking 15 minutes at 10:00 and 3:00 as well as a half hour at lunch. Those are my absolutes. Doesn't matter where I am or what I'm doing, unless I'm on jury duty or something. I walk briskly at those time. Not a stroll, I'm out to MOVE.

Finally, Stairs. I run up any flight of stairs I can. At work we have a flight of 16 steps. I do sets of UP & Down at least 3 times a day. Usually I come back from my brisk walks and end it with a set of 3 on the stairs.

It doesn't really take that long. I invested the time on the front end for the recipes and now I have them down pat, can buy the ingredients with ease and throw together my meals for a whole week in a few hours. I make sure I walk 3 times a day and take advantage of the opportunities to move when they are presented.

I've been fairly successful so far, I'm dropping inches consistently and then lbs are a little less predictable but our metabolism doesn't like to lose weight at this rate and will fight us from time to time. Overall this whole process is simple, but not easy. The way to make it easier on ourselves is to commit to the post surgical protocols.

Good luck! I'll say this, the 1st 8 weeks were a nightmare for me, I had the VGS, Hiatal hernia repair and gallbladder removal. I hit a massive regret and depression wave around week 4 or 5. I cried my self-pitying eyes out and let myself feel all those emotions. Then I picked myself up again and haven't looked back. Nobody is gonna have a EASY time, but it will be faster and more fun if you follow the diet instructions and watch your body reveal itself to you. I am now happier than I have been in years but it wasn't a cakewalk getting here. So try to keep your head up, eyes on the prize and remember to allow yourself to feel all of your emotions and deal with the psychological stuff that comes up so you can enjoy this new life you are birthing for yourself.