Honeymoon period

[Njgurl]

So I am 7 months post op and new to this form and was curious what everyone's interpretation of the honeymoon phase????

[mellowjoy]

I don't fully agree with the whole honeymoon phase, however I do know there is a certain period where the weight seems to magically fall off with minimum effort. To believe that after the honemoon phase you can't lose weight is what I can't/don't buy into.

I was a slow loser. It took me 16 months to lose 103 pounds. If I had given up when the honeymoon period ended I would be 50 pounds heavier. I truly believe there is success with losing weight if you use the tool correctly and don't give up after a few stalls, gains, etc. Just like a new baby learninng to walk you'll have to find a balance between exercise and food intake.

[Ann2]

The "honeymoon phase" (by which people usually mean that period when weight falls off without any effort, when food cravings aren't in force, when you feel like you'll never be hungry again).

The number I hear mentioned most often for that phase is six months. Doesn't mean it can't go longer for some. But that's probably about right.

For the record, I also was not a fast loser. You can see my weight loss results in my signature block below. It took me 18 months to lose 100 pounds. But the good news is I didn't give a rat's ass how long it took me to lose it. All I cared about was keeping it all off forever, once it was gone.

And for those who know me here, even though I haven't posted my fourth surgiversary thread (I've been traveling a lot lately) yet here's a spoiler for you: In late August at my fourth annual follow-up appointment with my surgeon's team I weighed in at 134 pounds (NOT naked), which was one pound less than last year. My blood work all came out gorgeous!

Two days ago I had my lean body mass measured by my surgeon's bariatric exercise counselor, and I came out at 23% body fat, which is beyond "ideal" and in the "lean" zone for someone my age. The counselor said she doesn't ever see bariatric patients my age with that kind of lean body mass. I didn't think it was that great, but she was very excited. So I got a little excited, too.

[Njgurl]

can i ask, how tall are you?

[KiwiGal]

I've never heard of the Honeymoon phase in relation to sleeve surgery.
My mindset is that I have this tool. I am going to make it work for me the best way I can.
I had an initial goal weight which I have now surpassed by 5kg and am still losing and happy to do so. Obviously the weight loss is much slower than at the beginning. I am just on the cusp of the higher range of a normal BMI so happy to keep going.....plus I just love buying such small clothes now :-). This is my new life. I assume that at some stage my body will find where it wants to be and my weight will stabilize.
I have my 1 year appointment next week with my surgeons bariatric nurse and will be very interested in my blood work. At 6 months it was all normal and I don't anticipate it will be any different this time. We will no doubt talk about how much more I should lose and then I will move into the maintenance phase.

[Ann2]

can i ask, how tall are you?

If you were asking me ??? I'm 5'5". And I'm almost 73 years old.

[Ann2]

P.P.S Kiwigirl, you're doing great. I love your attitude ... and New Zealand. I've been there 3 times. I'd live to meet you when I'm next there.

Love your attitude!

[MsLisa71]

I'm at 4.5 mos post op and while I believe I am in the honeymoon period, I've always heard 6-9 mos where you lose quickly, I do still get hungry. I also have cravings, but now they are more for protein-filled items as my tastes have changed. I have 'tested' out trying a few things like a scone, an oreo cookie, a bakery muffin...but the difference now is I eat one, or a bite and that is enough for me. I'm an "above-average loser", that phrase just cracks me up! I'm down 72 lbs since surgery and 108 from highest weight. I manage my cravings and choose to eat healthy 1. to maximize my weightloss during this time and 2. because I really see this needs to be a lifestyle change and not just another diet. I've learned through a lifetime of being overweight that diets are not sustainable. I need to eat healthy to keep feeling as great as I do and that makes a difference in how I see things.
I believe that this journey is as much in the brain as anything. The surgery may have changed my stomach, but it didn't change my habits, relationship with food or attitude towards health.....that is something I have to be disciplined about if I want these changes to be sustainable. And I do!

[Christie13]

I definitely think there is a period of time where you lose easier with no effort. In the beginning months it is definitely effortless for most. Eventually you will lose slower and have to learn to understand your body and how what you are doing effects your weight loss. Very few people can just do what they want, without any regard to what they eat and their exercise habits, and just continuously lose until they hit goal. Not saying they don't exist, just saying that is not the norm.

[KiwiGal]

There's nothing I'd like more than to meet you Ann.
Please make sure that you let me know next time you are down this way.

[Sandra3]

P.P.S Kiwigirl, you're doing great. I love your attitude ... and New Zealand. I've been there 3 times. I'd live to meet you when I'm next there.

Love your attitude!

I do agree 100%!!
NZ is my favorite country (for my husband it's Mexico, go figure..) we lived there for 4 years. My youngest call herself a "kiwi" because she was born there.
I actually gave her a Maori middle name as a "souvenir" of that special time...funny thing is the new PM had the same idea for her baby's name...my daughter said it was funny to share a name with someone famous

We have not been back yet, but promised the kid we will take her there since she was 2 years old when we left, she doesn't remember much.

Her siblings do remember many of the Maori songs they did learn at school...I'm just sad they lost their kiwi accent (after our long stay in the US now they have a strong American accent) but this is such a small world : when we helped our 16 years old move to college in August, one of the older student welcoming them was a kiwi!! (the only one in the school!) I recognize instantly the accent and we started to chat! Mama bear made a friend for her baby bear

My youngest said I was such an embarrassment (ha ha) but my favorite part of our stay in NZ was meeting so many lovely people, because it's not just the magnificent land, it's also the beautiful people...

[Dutchie]

Visiting NZ is still on my bucket list, but that is a very long list.

For me, the honeymoon phase is real.
I was a not so fast looser, but I was not hungry, had no real cravings, and have no desire to sabotage my new way of healthy eating.
I really have to "force" myself into eating something not healthy, telling myself that it's okay.
It seems that I have adopted and embraced this new lifestyle so much, that it has become a habit.
I am still loosing, not much and not fast, but nevertheless loosing.
I have to remind myself to eat at proper times, because I am still not hungry.
Maybe that is in my head, but it makes it easier to maintain, I am sure.
So for me it feels, like I am still in the zone... so to speak.
I have no idea why that is, because I was never one for self control or portion control.
Just no discipline...
But now... just the opposite.

[Ann2]

I do agree 100%!!
NZ is my favorite country (for my husband it's Mexico, go figure..) we lived there for 4 years. My youngest call herself a "kiwi" because she was born there.
I actually gave her a Maori middle name as a "souvenir" of that special time...funny thing is the new PM had the same idea for her baby's name...my daughter said it was funny to share a name with someone famous

We have not been back yet, but promised the kid we will take her there since she was 2 years old when we left, she doesn't remember much.

Her siblings do remember many of the Maori songs they did learn at school...I'm just sad they lost their kiwi accent (after our long stay in the US now they have a strong American accent) but this is such a small world : when we helped our 16 years old move to college in August, one of the older student welcoming them was a kiwi!! (the only one in the school!) I recognize instantly the accent and we started to chat! Mama bear made a friend for her baby bear

My youngest said I was such an embarrassment (ha ha) but my favorite part of our stay in NZ was meeting so many lovely people, because it's not just the magnificent land, it's also the beautiful people...

Cool beans, Sandra! I had forgotten you lived in NZ that long. And great stories about your kids and their NZ roots.

You are definitely a citizen of the world with all your many different postings to Europe, Asia, and North America. And maybe more places?!

[Stacey03]

Oh NZ just gets better and better doesn't it?! I used to live there too, I fondly call it one of my home countries :-)
Honeymoon phase: I think it's just normal, if you suddenly lose 80% of your stomach then you will lose weight quite rapidly. I guess then as it heals and what not you are able to eat a bit more food. My view on this is that if you eat real food then you cannot gain weight. If you eat crap then you will because chemicals and shamoz or something! But I'm only 10 months out so what do I know! Probs overeating is bad too. Just follow all the people who have been around on this board for a long time, that's what I do. I eat real food (lots of seafood), have an odd square of the darkest organic chocolate and half a martini about every month! I seem to do okay and I don't overeat cos Tinman says you will spontaneously combust or something. Sometimes I even plug a day into my fitness pal and give Ann a nod. There are people here with lots of life experience with the sleeve so I listen to them :-)

[Sandra3]

Cool beans, Sandra! I had forgotten you lived in NZ that long. And great stories about your kids and their NZ roots.

You are definitely a citizen of the world with all your many different postings to Europe, Asia, and North America. And maybe more places?!

Funny thing is sometimes we do feel like foreigners in our own country!! After so many years abroad, it's normal I guess...but at the same time we do feel at home everywhere...

I actually grew up for a few years in the West Indies, which is why I still understand Creole...can't speak much, it too long ago (it's also where I got several tropical diseases..), that was after a few years next to Germany (same with German, a few bits left but it's too far away) and my husband had also parents who loved to travel and he grew up between North Africa and India. His parents actually met and got engaged in Africa!
When my husband and I met in HS, it was like it was meant to be! we both had the virus for travel..

Also only one of my grand-parents is French, two of them were Spanish and one Swiss/German...my kids say we are "only French by passport"

Yet, I was born and mostly raised in France, for my husband and our kids it's the opposite, they spent the majority of their years overseas. I just hope it will always help the kids to be open minded. Being the foreigner in a a country where you don't speak fluently the language, like our last posting in Asia, was really challenging sometimes. It did teach us a lot on many levels...