Coming up on 2 years post op and life has never been better. The gastric sleeve opened up a world to me that i thought would never exist. Ive learned so much about health, nutrition and exercise, that i wouldnt have if i didnt take the first step with the sleeve. I have a healthy relationship with foods now. I try to keep myself to the 80/20 rule. But i probably am closer to 90/10. Make good choices 80% of the time, and enjoy some of my favorite things the other times. Its funny tho, a lot of my favorites have no become healthy choices. So that makes life easier. I started this journey first just focusing on losing the weight. So for the first year i ran a lot and set a goal to run a half marathon. i completed that last may and then began to switch my focus to putting on muscle. This was hard because it meant i had to up my calories which for anyone in our situation, is a scary thing. So i bought a WHOOP strap and really dialed in how many calories i was burning and spoke with my nutritionist about a plan to get where i wanted to go. (whoop strap is apparently the most accurate fitness tracker out right now and ive found that my apple watch says i burn 800 more calories then the whoop says. just a heads up. IT wasnt easy but ive been doing it and got on a great routine. My lowest weight was 208. i now hover between 225-230. i weigh every few weeks but dont get too obsessed with the scale anymore. i know that if i stay within my calories that im fine. Its been a process and i had to learn a lot. it wasnt all easy but 110% worth it. This surgery opened a whole new life for me. I am extremely greatful.

Wow! Amazing transformation!

Hard work paid off. You look great!

Congratulations

Wow!! Amazing!!

Loads of muscle definition WOW! Very inspiring:)

Another year has gone by and im still going strong. Ran an official half marathon this year and put up some PR lifting numbers as well. Ive hovered at the same weight now for the last 18months. 225-235 range depending on what im focusing on. I will be running my first ultra marathon in November. 33 mile trail run. Should be fun. Other then that, I continue to try to put good things in my body. I still have restriction and i still refuse to eat until im overly full.

Got engaged this year and bought a house. Two things i dont really think would have happened if i never went through with this journey. Overall i am happy and healthy. Any questions feel free to ask!! Cheers to another year.

You are amazing! I also took up running post sleeve (not nearly to the level you have, I’m more of a 5k runner) but I’m so grateful to this surgery for letting me discover that exercise doesn’t have to be a punishment.

Amazingggggg - Truly.

I posted something similar today having lost 100+ lbs and it's truly liberating a feeling. Like you said, these surgeries truly open a whole new realm for us. Things that seemed impossible to achieve seem right around the corner to grab.

I still have a long way to go. And I would want to lose a little more before I go the route of upping calories and building definition. I know once you start working hard core your weight loss stalls for the obvious reasons. So I just mentally want to be at a certain numbers before I let lose and incorporate heavy duty strength workout.

Once again congrats and keep at it bruh.

40 minutes ago, JAKE H said:

Another year has gone by and im still going strong. Ran an official half marathon this year and put up some PR lifting numbers as well. Ive hovered at the same weight now for the last 18months. 225-235 range depending on what im focusing on. I will be running my first ultra marathon in November. 33 mile trail run. Should be fun. Other then that, I continue to try to put good things in my body. I still have restriction and i still refuse to eat until im overly full.

Got engaged this year and bought a house. Two things i dont really think would have happened if i never went through with this journey. Overall i am happy and healthy. Any questions feel free to ask!! Cheers to another year.

Congratulations!

17 minutes ago, DaisyAndSunshine said:

Amazingggggg - Truly.

I posted something similar today having lost 100+ lbs and it's truly liberating a feeling. Like you said, these surgeries truly open a whole new realm for us. Things that seemed impossible to achieve seem right around the corner to grab.

I still have a long way to go. And I would want to lose a little more before I go the route of upping calories and building definition. I know once you start working hard core your weight loss stalls for the obvious reasons. So I just mentally want to be at a certain numbers before I let lose and incorporate heavy duty strength workout.

Once again congrats and keep at it bruh.

You weight loss won't stall from working out intensely. In fact, you will burn more calories if you build muscle because it's the muscle in our bodies that burn the fat. While muscle is denser than fat it is incredibly hard to GAIN muscle weight, especially for women, and especially once you get past 40. While you might increase your muscle mass by a few pounds, this should be more than offset but the calorie burning effects of muscle. And building strength is important because we lose muscle mass when we lose weight quickly, and that is not good. Definitely incorporate strength training as soon as you are cleared by your surgeon - about 4-6 weeks out for most people.

28 minutes ago, lizonaplane said:

You weight loss won't stall from working out intensely. In fact, you will burn more calories if you build muscle because it's the muscle in our bodies that burn the fat. While muscle is denser than fat it is incredibly hard to GAIN muscle weight, especially for women, and especially once you get past 40. While you might increase your muscle mass by a few pounds, this should be more than offset but the calorie burning effects of muscle. And building strength is important because we lose muscle mass when we lose weight quickly, and that is not good. Definitely incorporate strength training as soon as you are cleared by your surgeon - about 4-6 weeks out for most people.

Yeh I understand the mechanics behind it. It's just when I did incorporate strength training, my weight loss stalled. It could be a matter of fact a temporary thing or that stall and weight training coinciding but I yeh I did stall. And frankly it started affecting me mentally how I won't reach the goal etc etc etc. Plus schedule for hectic and couldn't get into the routine. I think once I lose another 12lbs and i am hovering around 25 BMI, I'll feel more mentally equipped to kick start a more enhanced routine. For now I stick to my daily 45 mins to an hour long walks.

1 hour ago, DaisyAndSunshine said:

Amazingggggg - Truly.

I posted something similar today having lost 100+ lbs and it's truly liberating a feeling. Like you said, these surgeries truly open a whole new realm for us. Things that seemed impossible to achieve seem right around the corner to grab.

I still have a long way to go. And I would want to lose a little more before I go the route of upping calories and building definition. I know once you start working hard core your weight loss stalls for the obvious reasons. So I just mentally want to be at a certain numbers before I let lose and incorporate heavy duty strength workout.

Once again congrats and keep at it bruh.

Definitely go at your pace! For me i started crossfit a few weeks after surgery and its definitely been my most consistent form of exercise over the past 3 years. and 100% the reason i look the way i do. And when you do decide to up your caloric intake, just remember to stick to healthy choices, and give yourself time to figure out your calorie range. There is no perfect formula. Everyone is different.

i also completely understand the mental side of all of this. upping my calories was harder mentally then any of my runs lol. it is scary. but one thing i am sure of, if you exercise an hour a day 5-6 times a week, it will be hard to gain weight back. find something you love and stick to it. i highly recommend crossfit to anyone regardless of age, weight, size and so on!!.

congrats on your loss so far and keep crushing it!

Great work! My journey is similar. I am a year and a half post op and ran my first half marathon (also a trail run) back in April. I want to start doing triathlons as my next challenge. I’m too on a mission to put on some muscle. My trainer also wants me to up calories and I’m easing into that but I agree, it’s scary! Anyway, thanks for sharing and keep fighting the good fight!

Sorry you don’t know me. But I am trying to get back on track and it is really hard.

Congratulation man! That is awesome. A true inspiration indeed. I have one question - did you have loose skin? How did you deal with it?