Hang in there!

I am 12 years post op and Covid was what did it to me as well! Lots of eating and drinking and NO exercise. I started at 300 lbs lost 160 in the first year and kept it off for about 5 years with great restriction (could not even eat a full piece of pizza or plate of pasta) but gained back about 50lbs after Covid. Also with 2 bad knees needing replacement, was unable to walk or do much exercise and gained another 30 making it an 80lb regain! I have decided at my age (turned 60 this year), I will be very happy to just lose 50 lbs.

I too was worried about not having restriction but what worked for me was intermittent fasting (my version). Nothing difficult, I just don't eat after 8pm and never before noon (even if I am not following the plan and am overeating or eating too many carbs/sweets, it just seems to keep me from gaining too quickly). I also started working out on a recumbent bike four times a week for about 45 minutes (had to work up to that much time, starting with 15 minutes).

The MOST important trick is that I make sure I do the workout in my fasting window (BEFORE I eat my first meal at noon).

What that does, is force your body to burn the excess fat from your fat stores because you have not eaten for 16 hours and are exercising so your body has to get fuel from somewhere. What that did for me is really help my hunger and restriction. I am really not that hungry when I do eat and when I am being super diligent with my plan, I stay away from carbs, but I had to give up carbs to lose the original 160 lbs, my body just stores them so I can't eat them if I want to lose weight

So in about 6 months I have lost 30 lbs, so I have another 20 to go but I have to tell you, my restriction is a lot better! I can still eat more pizza and pasta then during my first years post op, but the restriction is pretty good. And when I exercise and fast, I don't really want to eat much. I also try not to eat snacks in between lunch and dinner (except for tea). The very best part about the intermittent fasting is that you really see the fat come off around your mid section, it's like it melts off your belly!

Lots of people are leery when they hear the word "fasting" but all i am doing really is skipping breakfast and fooling my body into burning its stored fat by exercising on an empty stomach. I feel great and am not being super strict, I have days that I eat more or don't go to the gym, but I aim to do the best i can, and I was super relieved to find the restriction return, at least to a level that keeps me from overeating. I am sure I could lose more and maybe faster if I was more diligent but this easy gentle approach is good enough for me.

This is not the solution for everyone and may not appeal to you but I wanted to let you know my story in case it's something you want to try. I wish you the best of luck in your journey! :)

I would choose 2 and agree with the previous posters that 1 is not the way to go if you want to keep your restriction.  The only issue I have with frequency is that I learned over the holidays that I have to be really careful about grazing.  Eating small meals often for me leads to me eating way too much so I have to be diligent about adding every bite to My Fitness Pal and really being conscious of how much I eat.

I am struggling with the last 8 lbs despite never increasing my calories above 750 nor my carbs over 30 since the beginning (except for adding about 100-200 extra calories on a few of the days over the holidays but I'm human lol) but I'm starting to think I might have to rethink my goal weight as i think I probably have 12 lbs of excess skin on me :(

Great post Frisco, i think it's great for people to know the strategies ahead of time so they can figure out what works for them!

Congrats!!  You must be so proud of yourself...celebrate every victory..you've earned them!! :)

Jenn, I always find your posts to be so inspiring...you share your wisdom and what you've learned and never shy away from letting us know your struggles which helps people more than you could ever realize!  It keeps things real for me anyway and makes me realize just how fragile this whole process really is and how much work it takes. Thank you!!

People, you really need to listen to Frisco and Jenn (and of course, Elena!) these vets know what of they speak! :)

It is so great to see your post, Ryan!  You were one of the first people I followed on here b/c I wanted to  be successful like you!  You still inspire me and I am so very happy for you!!  Congrats on all your success!

If it helps, I had the exact same thing early post-op and what was interesting...I had it again after my hernia surgery 9 months later.  I figure it's either a reaction to anesthetic or it's due to dehydration or reaction to pain killers.  My skin peeled off both hands just like i was a snake.  It wasn't as freaky to me when it happened the second time but interesting I've only had that happen post surgery.

Keep drinking your water and use a good hand cream like Aveeno or something gentle.  Good luck! :)

You seriously made my day calling ME an inspiration!  I remember like it was yesterday talking to you about me being a slow loser and questioning if my sleeve was too big....you did nothing but support me and give me the best advice to make it work and I am so thankful and blessed to have had the opportunity to know you!!

Thank you so much Elina!!  Hugs,

thanks Kym!

Thank you for your kind words!  And don't worry too much about what you read about weight slow downs and honeymoon periods, everyone is different and your mileage may vary.

It's funny b/c I started out crying to Elina that I was sure I was going to be a slow loser!  Early out I didn't lose that fast.  I was only on Optifast as a pre-0p diet for 9 days so only lost 11 lbs pre surgery.  Then I was worried I had a bigger sleeve and it always seemed others were losing faster.

I just followed the advice of Frisco and Elina and others and stuck to a solid plan.  I have been able to keep my calories down.  Still at a year out I eat no more than 750 calories per day, 75-85 g of protein, I stay around 25 g carbs but some days it goes higher but never past 40 and I still struggle with my water but I do know that I lose better when I drink more water.  I have had maybe 2 days this whole year where i ate a bit off plan up to about 1000 calories and my carbs went up to 58, but i don't think 2 days out of 365 is too shabby! lol

I didn't exercise as hard until around 9 months and I never noticed that I could eat alot more at 6 months.  I still will get very full at around 3.5 oz of dense protein.  I haven't added fruit or any grain type carbs to my diet b/c I am determined to get to goal before i play around with that. 

When I look back at my weight loss I usually lost around 11-15 lbs per month at the beginning.  I met my goals of 100 lbs lost at 6 months and 150 lbs lost by one year so I didn't worry too much.  I do notice that since about 9 months post op the weight loss has slowed considerably. I never had a real stall the whole way but I my weight loss has slowed to around 5 lbs per month.  I am happy as long as I am going in the right direction.

Don't worry about how fast you get there as long as you get there and don't give up!  You will do awesome!

Thanks, Jenn!  Your kind words mean so much!!

I totally agree with you!  I went for my follow up at my centre and the dietician said i was way above average for their patients.  They told me 1% of their patients get to a normal BMI and they are happy with 30% EWL.....i know i would never be happy with that!

I feel so fortunate to have found this forum and the support and wisdom of the people on here or I am confident I would not have done as well as I have.

Congrats on your success so far!

the cookie dough and raspberry white chocolate are soft but the lemon, cinnamon roll and sometimes the Chocolate brownie can be hard as  rock lol...the brownie ones are yummy in the microwave tho!

THe hard ones feel like they could break your teeth but at least you can't eat them too fast! lol

Your body is probably working the way it's supposed to now that you're so much healthier and fit!  I'm sure you will have no problem with the excess weight, Congrats!!