For the guys - ThinnerTimes - Gastric Bypass Forum, Lap Band Forum, and Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Forum

2Bhealthy · 02-19-2008, 11:28 AM

Hi guys!
DH is about to have surgery and it made me wonder. You guys can lose so much faster than us girls, but some don't.
I am sure it has something to do with your muscle mass. So can you tell me...Did you lose fast? Did you consider yourself pre-op: very muscular, kinda muscular, average or not muscular at all. And how much exercize you did post-op.
EX:
lost 90 lbs. in 3 mo,
kinda muscular
worked out 3 days a week

I am very interested, hope you can help me out guys.

Squishy · 02-19-2008, 11:39 AM

Hi!
I lost very fast at first, then it slowed down after the first four months. I think I lost about 80 pounds in that time. I am over six months now and have lost about 94 pounds, so it slowed down a lot.

Pre-op, I considered myself averagely muscular. After I lost weight, I either lost some muscle or I was not as muscular as I thought. I think I used my weight for leverage before. Weight is power, but not necessarily strength.

I was exercising four days a week for an hour at a time doing step aerobics, calisthenics, and core exercises. I had been doing it for a couple years prior to my surgery and I continue the same workout afterwards.

I hope that helps! Best wishes to your husband!!
-Mike-

TheJOE · 02-19-2008, 01:05 PM

Hi Jen,

I concidered myself average muscle wise and lost about 59 lbs in the first 9 weeks after surgery. Currently I change the excersies I do everyday to keep from getting board but the following is a list of the things I do 5-6 times a week:

Walk for 30 to 60 minutes
Swim (Until I am just pooped)
Eleptical machine for 30 minutes (at about 55-60 RPM)
Hike for 20 minutes

During the first two weeks I lost the most and my Dr. Explained this as mainly muscle mass. According to him, after surgery, our bodies go into a sort of stress mode in which they canibalize the muscles until the fourth week at which point the weight loss stabilizes and focuses more on burning fat rather than muscle and hence the reason why men loose more weight than women...basically men typically have more muscle to burn than women. Which leads to the conclusion that the more muscle a person has before surgery the more weight they will loose at the begining until they reach the stable point of burning fat which then burns faster the more muscle one has left.

Hope this helps.

Good luck to your husband and yourself in supporting him as well.

Joe

thedonnybrasco · 02-19-2008, 01:41 PM

I Have Lost 125 Lbs Since Nov 5th (3 1/2 Months). I Contribute This To My Good Health Before My Surgery. And I Have Really Stuck With The Program.
Excersise Is Key. At Least Just Get Out And Walk As Soon As Possible.
I Was Also Almost 400 Lbs At The Time Of My Surgery And When Your That Big It Comes Off Quick.
Good Luck To Your Dh!

porshh951 · 02-19-2008, 11:14 PM

The more you have to loose the more drastic in the beginning your weight loss will be. That go's without saying.

The typical reason why men loose easier than women is due to muscle mass. The men who you are reffering too who sometimes don't lose quite as fast as other men either don't have the same amount of muscle mass or have lost a great deal of it during their weight loss process. Many factors contribute to this but, i'll give you the two biggest factors. Lack of consistent serious workouts that go for solid distances of time and build lean muscle mass tagged with proper eating(protein). The second is testosterone levels.

These are the big factors when it comes to men and how they loose weight and maintain/gain muscle tissue. The key to your hubby loosing serious amounts of weight will not be very much different from anyone on this board. Eat extremely consistent without fail and workout everyday for as long as possible.

Tell him not to be scared of a 2.5hr workout. They are his friend.

Omaha Jim · 02-24-2008, 11:38 AM

Energy Balance. We typically start at a much higher weight. Therefore have a higher baseline calorie intake that will keep us at the same weight. As large me, the acts of getting out of bed burns calories. Breathing, etc. Based upon our resting metabolic rates, we can take in X number of calories a day and stay the same. For some of the real big boys - it might be 3500 cal per day.

We know (again due to science that one pound of fat = 3500 calories of energy. If you reduced your energy in below your metabolic rate calories, by 3500 calories for the week, (500per day) you will loose 1 pound per week. It is just math.

With a larger calorie differential, and all of us trying to consume 800-1000 calories per day. men just start faster. Energy and Physics. Simple. But we all hopefully end up near the same place 80% of our excess weight. That is the success goal we are all looking for.

sliesnake · 02-24-2008, 05:40 PM

I thought I lost weight fast, but now I am slowing down.
I am eating much more, though mostly good food 2/1 ratio of protein to carbs.

I am also exercising much more, though I am not sure if I am gaining muscle and losing fat, which is my goal!

2Bhealthy · 02-24-2008, 08:46 PM

Thanks for all the input guys. I know it will happen however it happens, I just can't wait for him to feel better and be active!

PepsiGuru · 02-26-2008, 01:00 AM

I don't know what to consider my loss. Fast, slow or normal ?

I started at 273 lbs and I'm down to 146 lbs in 10 months. One thing you have to take in mind is the fact that I run everyday. If a day goes by that I don't do my little running thing I feel guilty and actually need it. It rained for a couple of days straight a couple of weeks ago and I went 3 days without running. (I run outside, no treadmill here) and by the third day I was feeling kind of bad and my body was asking for it.

I still can't believe my fat ass is a runner now-a-days.

I think it all depends on the effort you put into it.

Well, that's my .02 cents