When is the honeymoon over?

I've heard people refer to the "honeymoon" period of their weight loss.  How long does that period typically last?  I'm almost 1 month post-op and down almost 30lbs since then.  Is the honeymoon over at month 2?  Month 3?  When did your honeymoon end and how did you know it was over?  

Still on my honeymoon at 5.5 months post-op. The honeymoon doesn't have to end if you undereat your sleeve..here's a post about that: 

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/vsg/4498068/Restriction-am p-Under-Eating-Your-Sleeve-2plus-Years-Out/

Colleen 

Thank you for sharing this link Colleen.

For me, the scale slowed down drastically in the 7th month. I totally agree with the post that Colleen shared about under eating the sleeve. Weight loss definitely does not STOP after the "honeymoon" by any means, but since capacity increases, things definitely become more difficult at that point. After the "honeymoon" period, keeping portions small becomes a conscious decision, rather than something that is ONLY dictated by your sleeve.

For me, I am 9.5 months out and am losing about a pound a week. I usually try to under eat my sleeve's capacity, but don't always do a good job of that. I'm still losing weight, but it is something that I have to be VERY conscious of.

Also, 30 pounds in the 1st month is AWESOME! But, do NOT expect this sort of loss every month. Your body will slow down and take some time to adjust along the way. Don't be surprised if you suddenly stop losing for a week or two. Your body just needs to catch up with everything that is going on in it. My monthly #s are in my signature to give you an idea :)

Yeah, too bad weight loss at this speed doesn't happen every month!   My doctor says "No one can fall off a cliff and survive, but if you take the stairs down you'll be fine."

During the first three months I lost a lot.  Four to six months a little less.  Seven to nine even less.  I am 16 months out and have been close to the same weight for the past 6 months.  I have lost 120-125lbs depending on the day.  You want to maximize your weight loss as much as possible by staying very compliant in the first months because it will be the easiet time to get the excess weight off.  Keep your protein levels high and try and only eat healthy carbs.  There has been quite a lot of discussion on how many carbs you should eat but a lot of  it depends on how your body reacts.  For me, carbs equal hunger so I keep mine pretty low but others do not have problems and can eat more without any issues.  During the honeymoon stage is where you also want to change your lifestyle to develop good eating habits and hopefully exercise habits that you can live with the rest of your life.  Just because you can only eat a small amount does not mean that your small amount should not be healthy.  If you only eat junk then you will eventually put all the weight back on and more because you did not learn to eat healthy when you were in your honeymoon stage which is when it easier to make those changes.  Congrats on your 30 lbs loss.

For most of us, the first six months to a year can be considered the "honeymoon period".  However, that does not mean that you stop losing after this time frame.  It just gets harder for most of us but you can lose as long as you eat fewer calories than you burn.  At some point, it starts to feel more like the dieting we are all used to doing.  

The common wisdom of these forums is that the first 12 months post-op is the "honeymoon" period.  And I would say it's actually more like the first 6-7 months, especially if you're a lightweight.   If you look at people's tickers you will see that weight loss gradually slows down each month.  It makes sense because the weight they are losing later on represents a larger percentage of their overall body mass as they get smaller.    

Of course you can and will still lose weight after 6 months and 12 months.  But it's during this honeymoon phase that you are feeling the most disconnected from food/cravings while maintaining a high level of motivation.  It just gets harder after that, both physically and psychologically.  

For me, I would say that diet fatigue hit me hard in month 7, and it's been a battle royale ever since.  But it's a battle I can fight a lot better now with the VSG! 

For me there was a major slowing of weight loss at 6 months.  I was losing about 15 pounds per month before then, and about 8 to 10 after the 6th month.  Its slowed even more as I approach 1 year, but I am also approaching my goal weight, so I guess that's ok. 

30 pounds in the first month is exceptional.  It'll probably fall off, but you can still lose a lot of weight at 10 pounds per month. 

best wishes,

Carol