Question for sleeve people :)

Thanks so much! Sorry, it was the end of school and we got out of town for a well deserved break so I just got back home. You can certainly be successful with the sleeve you just might have to work at it a little harder and be super compliant at the beginning. I really hung tight to the 700 calories under 40 g of carbs, 80 grams of protein and 30 g of fat for the first 10 months and the weight really came off quite easily. The last 20 pounds have been more challenging but I have upped my carbs once in awhile and certainly upped my calories.

I have been around on OH but I mostly stay on the VSG main board and the RnR board as when I started out there weren't too many VSGers on the Ontario board. Now that there are more I will certainly check it out more regularly.

Please feel free to message me if you have any other particular questions. I am off now for the summer so I imagine I will be online a lot more.

Good luck with your journey!

It will be great to see you around! I haven't done much on the VSG board. I may have to start! 

Can I ask where you got your 700/40/80/30 ratio? At TWH they only want you to measure your protein, but I use MyFitnessPal and know what else I am doing. I have to say I was thrown by your numbers. At this point I would find it very hard to get by on 700 cals and 40g of carbs, thought my protein and fat is in line. I mentioned to my dietician that I do about 900 cals and she seemed ok with that. I still lose weight... do you do much exercise? I don't want to plateau and stop losing. Eek!

I got my diet plan from my surgeon. He has a podcast every Monday night called Obesity Chat with Dr. Alvarez. I think he's a rock star...seriously...I just did what he told me. To be honest, the more carbs I eat...the more difficulty I have keeping my hunger at bay. For the first 10 months or so I didn't find the 700 cals that difficult.

I was vigilant on MFP since before my surgery up until 1 year. I logged daily...everything I put in my mouth. Now...I'm busy, I feel I am in control now so I have slacked off a bit. But..should the scale start rising I'll get right back on there daily again.

I think exercise has helped me maintain my muscle mass and certainly build it up but I don't think the exercise has much at all to do with my weight loss. My overall general health is improved by the exercise but I don't think it makes me "lose weight"...keeping my cals down and cutting the carbs did that I think.

I love to exercise and started about 2 months out going to the gym lifting weights and doing the treadmill. Then about 3 months out I really got into classes. I try to make it to 1 pilates class, 2 cardio/muscle mix classes and 1 step class a week. Around months 5-1year mark I would say I hit classes at least 4-5 times a week. Now I vary things up and do a lot more walking, biking, gardening but still hit 2 or 3 classes a week.

I hit many plateaus along the way, it's just part of the journey. I eat 900-1000 calories now over 1 year out. You can lose weight at that...but if you can go lower at the start I think it's your best chance to maximize the weight loss. Once you get under 200 lbs...the weight is much harder to lose. The first 100 pounds seemed pretty quick...the last 50 pounds I've lost was A LOT slower.

Thanks so much for the info! I didn't realize you went through Mexico. If I had only been given the option of RNY in Ontario, I might have done the same! But I had a previous condition that meant RNY wasn't even considered, so I was able to get the Sleeve through "the system". Yay!

You know, that is a good tip about carbs and I think I will be taking a much closer look at my carb intake now. You are probably very right about it adding to hunger! It's a slippery slope that I don't want to slide down. Honestly, I would prefer that they give more guidance like you have had for VSG patients, because unlike RNY I really do think we have less mechanical difficulty getting food down. Anyway, I so appreciate it, thanks again!

Thanks so much for the reply teachren!! I agree with reliana!! It is great to see a success story as there are not many sleeves out there :) 

Another reason for not drinking anything 1/2 hour AFTER eating is because the fluid will make the food leave your tummy faster and you will not feel full as long as you would otherwise.  I learned this by being banded and I can only assume it would work the same for the sleeve.