Speed or slow and steady?

Hi all...

I just finish reading a post about a "slow" weight lost and it has me wondering...since there seems to be 2 school of thoughts on the subject.  On the one hand I hear "You have 6 to 9 months where losing weight is easy "honeymoon"...lose as much and as fast as possible" and on the other.."slow and steady wins the race".  I'm confused...at first I was thinking that my goal after the surgery once I'm onto solid food would be to eat in a way that I can live with forever.  Therefore more than 600 calories...because my body tends to hold on to calories after being deprived of food for a while I figured this was the way to go but I read on so many posts that people try to stay at 600- 800 for months and months...My question is...does that not make maintenance even more difficult?

What are your thoughts on this?

Your plan will be just that your "plan"... Things change once your post op, honeymoon period, and maintenance.

I followed plan to the T, first two months I was barely making 350-500 calories, I made goal by 6 months...

My energy level took a dive for quite a long time.  I still haven't tested myself too much becuase I'm nervous.  But food intake I physically can't eat more than 2 oz protien and a half cup veggies at one sitting.  With that, I cannot meet a 1000+ goal without eating carbs.  Some on here so no to low carbs, I did eat fruit and still do.

Now that I've rambled, you can have the best laid plan in the world, but really you will have to deviate from it as time goes on!

Good luck

Simple fact is that it's hard to get in 800 calories in the first 6 months.  So you are very calorie restricted, you're recovering from a major trauma (surgery), and it's when you have the most weight to lose, and you're at your highest focus.  So, in that sense, it's the easiest time to lose weight. 

But weight loss doesn't magically stop at 6 months, or 12, or 18, or 24.  There is no finish line. 

I'm in neither camp.  I think you need to do what works for you.  If higher calories gives you peace and helps you make a permanent lifestyle change, then that's what's best for you.  If you need to get to goal fast to make it work, and your body will cooperate with you, then the lower cal plan is the way to go.

 I had no problem getting 800 calories in by 2 months out at all.   Here are my opinions:

1.  6 month honeymoon is a myth.  Statistically, sure- people tend to level out then.  But if you work your plan you lose weight.  I dropped a good chunk after the honeymoon period, and could continue at the same rate I believe if I continued with the program I was following.
2.  It is not a race, but neithr is it time to eat whatever you want and expect to lose weight.
3.  I ate higher calories all the way through, but I also had higher than normal levels of exercise.  Find your balance.

There is no need to stay at 600 calories.  Increase them if it feels better, make nutritionally sound choices, and add in some exercise.  Just my thoughts though.  You should really run this by your team of docs and nuts- tap into that system you paid a gajillion dollars for!

I think in many languages and cultures there is a saying that reflects the "the slower you go the farther you will get" image. Ultimately its not how fast you get to goal but how long you stay there. Hopefully a very long, slow time! I don't know yet what kind of a loser I am going to be but as long as I lose, make wise healthy choices and eat lean and green, I don't mind if I am not at goal in six months. I do hope I get there in a year or a year and a half but even if it takes longer, if this surgery put me on the path to healthful living, eating mindfully and exercising, then it will have been a success no matter which weight I end up at.

I think if you lose fast that's great...if you lose slow that's great.  Loss is loss no matter how long it takes.  For someone who was super morbidly obese I knew my weight loss would take longer.  I have/had so much to lose.  I think it doesn't matter because you can't control how fast you lose.  All you can do is stick to the plan your given and make the right choices.  If you do the protein first than your automatically going to be low carb.  There isn't room for them after the protein.  I have done 600-800 calories for months now and some longer.  It's not as impossible as you might think.  It's actually pretty easy if you make the right choices.  People in general lose faster at first because they are bigger (burning calories faster) and can't eat as much.  Is it true for everyone?  Not so much.  What matters is you never give up no matter which one you are! I think everyone agrees you need to fallow your plan and that's all that you can control.

 
Consistency, Commitment, Compliance......

Don't Over think or get caught up in Wig Wagging........Chasing your own tail....

I would always recommend faster than slower if your body can do it...... get to goal than revise, cause that's where the work really starts.......

Slow and steady works for some.......Slow and steady is much closer to your balance point of caloric deficit which means your much closer to not losing weight.......

frisco

I have no advice on maintenance because I am just under 6 months out. For me I wanted to be skinny yesterday. I want to keep my motivation and let me just tell ya' losing weight quickly keeps me motivated. I follow the 600 calorie plan. Honestly it isnt a diet to me at all. If I had to eat this way for the rest of my life I could and I would not feel deprived. Could I eat more... Sure... But why would I? Im not hungry, I have loads of energy, and I starting to look pretty damn good! . I had wls at over 300 lbs. I have lost 125 so far. My honeymoon phase isnt over it just begining! I have pounds left to get rid of. Im going to continue to eat the same way I have been and my body will either continue at this pace or it may slow down...either way I'm sticking to it. Im a mexico sleever and didnt have a nut to consult so I wasnt sure what path to follow.. the everything in modoration or the low cal/low carb. With the results I have had and how I feel today I know that I really did choose the right path for me. Good luck with your decision!

 Hi

The reason why people talk about the 6-8 month honeymoon is it is for many people much easier to really tightly follow their diet plan initially.  For most the first few months you have the most restriction and least amount of hunger so it is very easy to follow a very restrictive plan.  The sleeve is also a "new toy" so you are very focused on making it work.  Many are afraid initially to try many foods because you are not sure how your body will react to it.  For me in the first few months it was like Christmas every morning with running to the scale to see the new lower number.  As time goes on, your ability to eat often increases.  You also start adding more foods, some which may not be the best for you.  You also figure out which foods go down real easy and how easy it is to eat around your sleeve if you want to.  That was one concept I didn't fully grasp prior to surgery.  It is very very easy to eat carbs / processed foods for many and since they are tasty and readily available it is easy to let them creep into your life.

Also as time goes on you can become less focused on your diet, eat out more and let life get in the way.  So that is why people say make the most of those first easy weightless months.  You will have plenty of time to deal with eating more at a later date.  I wish I could go back to the days in which it
was easy for me to jus teat 400-500 calories a day.  I am now almost seven months out and every day I have t make a real conscious effort to keep my calories under 800 and my carbs low.  I am able to do it but it takes reall work.  My first f months were so so easy.  I now fight for every pound I lose and have about 30 more pounds to go

I had rapid weight loss the first couple of months.  After that my weight loss was very consistent for the entire first year after surgery.  There were some months past the 6 month mark where I lost more weight than I did in my first 6 months.  This is a lot of trauma and shock to your body.  You need to follow your drs plan, even though there will be people here who think they know more than your dr. 

There is no one way to get to goal.  My weight loss had maintained for a couple of months from 10-12 months post op.  The all of a sudden, one week out of nowhere, I lost 8 lbs.  That loss has been maintained since then with not fluctuation so it wasn't just a blip on the scale.  I was already at the high end of my goal and very happy where I was.  Now I'm well into the middle of my goal, and that's without removal of all the excess skin which would be several lbs at a minimum.  My dr estimated 8-10 lbs.  If that's the case, then my weight is at the very bottom of my goal. 

You follow your drs plan, don't listen to everyone here (because we all have strong opinions about this), and do what you feel comfortable with.  You can get to goal either way.  For me and my surgeon, there was no need to feel pressured to lose 120 lbs in 6 months.