MrsSugarbabe

Today is the first time I've logged on in several months. Not sure what happened, probably just got too busy during the day (since I am usually online during my work day) and got away from it.
November will be 4 years for me. My weight has been holding fairly steady for about 2 years now, but have yet to get to goal; still about 50 lbs. left to lose to get there. I have not given up on trying to get to goal. Having trouble getting kick started again though which is a bummer. Still exercising and am still healthy. Even made it through 2 surgeries last year without gain weight - gall bladder removal and shoulder surgery (not full rotator cuff, but close).
Every day that I don't give up is a successful day.

Today is the first time I've logged on in several months. Not sure what happened, probably just got too busy during the day (since I am usually online during my work day) and got away from it.
November will be 4 years for me. My weight has been holding fairly steady for about 2 years now, but have yet to get to goal; still about 50 lbs. left to lose to get there. I have not given up on trying to get to goal. Having trouble getting kick started again though which is a bummer. Still exercising and am still healthy. Even made it through 2 surgeries last year without gain weight - gall bladder removal and shoulder surgery (not full rotator cuff, but close).
Every day that I don't give up is a successful day.

I’m here to tell ya, stretching your sleeve is not a thing. I gained and ate like a crazy women when I was pregnant. The Dr did an upper GI on me last week. You guessed it! The sleeve is the same size it was 3 months after surgery....however, I did manager to develop a nice size hiatal hernia from eating so poorly.
I’m getting my life together now, nutritionists is a big help. I’m 4.5 years out.

I liked his video, The title is deceptive *laughing*
He says exactly what we have been talking about. Patients are misusing the term "stretched sleeve" to describe the normal progression of the ability to eat more food as the years pass. 5 to 10 years a full plate of food.
It's the same bariatric basics we have been told over and over. You have to eat healthy and exercise long term. Maintaining is just as much work as weight loss.



https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1365716/?page=6
The study above is on gastric stretch receptors and the satiation of hunger and thirst.

I've written a lot about this over the years. I believe the "stretch" is more a function of a person's ability to "eat around" the sleeve. When eating by the guidelines given us at the beginning, my restriction is the same as it was a year out. But if I am eating slider foods, sure, I can eat a larger quantity. If I am sipping Water with my meal, sure, I can eat a larger quantity. If I graze throughout the day, sure, I can eat a larger quantity.
Rather than blame myself and my need to fill my soul with food, I can just blame it on the sleeve "stretching". Now, I'm sure this does not cover 100% of the folks out there. I am sure there were surgeons who left too much fundus and their stomachs are able to distend larger than the "average" sleever, but I am guessing they are in the minority. But one this I am confident about is if they go back to the original guidelines, they will lose anything they have gained.
I am confident about this as it has been true for me.
I have slipped into old habits of using food as a crutch and ate around my sleeve. I gained 20 pounds over a couple years. I'm not not cured of my food issues. But I simply returned to the old guidelines and 6 months later, I had dropped that 20 pounds.
This only works if you work it. We cannot forget nor ignore this, lest we suffer the consequences.

You are right. That's why i cannot grasp the comments I see from sleeve patients saying that their sleeve has stretched and they have no restriction. For me personally, not only does the sleeve not stretch but the opening to it does not give an inch either. I think the comment about grazing would be more accurate. It's simple - you gain weight because you eat too much. Period.

Help me understand. I am 5 yrs out from sleeve surgery. There has never been a time I was able to overeat to a large extent, I feel very near the same restriction as about 6 months after surgery. I can eat more sweets than real food but even so there is a limit I cannot cross.
I see people taking about feeling no restriction and saying their sleeve has stretched and they have gained a lot of weight - a lot being more than 20-30 lbs.
On occasion I have gained a few pounds. Most notably gaining 12 lbs this past summer due to my consumption of coffee milk shakes from Whataburger. The scales hit 12 lbs over what I was comfortable with, I said to myself ' stop this s#@t before it goes any further". I quit the shakes and switched to strawberry Protein smoothies from Starbucks and the pounds went away.
I do not understand 'my sleeve stretched'. Am I wrong in thinking that the only way this could happen is if someone stuffed it past capacity repeatedly? Over and over? And if that were the case then wouldn't the problem be that one has yet to conquer the mental demons that make us overeat in the first place?
Am I missing something?

i think the majority of people think the surgery is primarily successful because of restriction, which isn't the case. it is the hormonal balance and therefore the metabolic shift...this changes over time and appetite increases. This is why virtually ever surgeon has a recommended food plan/diet.
Clearly surgeons don't explain that people will be able to eat more over time and that it has nothing to do with pouch size because food doesn't stay in the stomach for very long it. Generally the pouch or sleeve empties in 30 seconds to a few minutes. That is what they see in xrays. It is stretch receptors in the stomach and intestines that send the "full" message.
Dr Matthew Weiner has a great video that indicates normal is a few bites at 1 month, 3 oz at 6 months, 1/2 plate at a year, 3/4 in 3 years and 1 plate at 5-10.
This is true for me. 18 months post op i can eat a salad bowl with 3 oz of Protein (soup size) or 3-4oz of protein and a side of veggies 1/2 to a cup depending on the day. Guess what though, if I'm sitting with friends at a restaurant, over the 90 minutes we are there i could quite easily eat a french fry every couple of minutes and end up having eaten a half a plate of fries after eating my dinner (I don't, but I know i could). that would be eating around my tool, it hasn't stretched I just let my stomach empty and then refilled it over and over again.
Dr Weiner says weight regain usually has almost nothing to do with anatomy. Yes there are cases where people will force feed themselves over an over again and stretch out their stomachs or in the case of RNY, the stoma, research says it is not usually the case.
Like most other people I have had some regain, most recently I went away on a vacation for 10 days with my closest friends. it was a week in a ski chalet with wine and lots of cheese, fondue one night, cheese and pate in the afternoons, eating out. I put on 7 pounds. then lost the 7 lbs over the 3 weeks following the trip when i was back home and back to my normal healthy eating.
I know I have to be very careful and vigilant with my food choices if I don't want to become a regain statistic.

I am almost 3 years out. My restriction is almost exactly the same as 1 year. I really think people play mind games with themselves. I can still only eat 4 ounces of dense Protein comfortably which is what I am supposed to be able to eat, that is a proper portion-ish.
I can however eat almost limitless amounts of mushy, moist or crumbly foods (sliders). The only reason why I would think that my sleeve had stretched would be that as time went on, I became more comfortable with my weight and my sleeve (I knew I was healed and it wouldn't bust open) and I incorporated different foods. My sleeve is still doing it's job as intended. What changed is how I utilize it.
People just have to be mindful of what they are eating and get real about their food.
I'm trying to hit some new personal goals and did a couple days of mostly liquids. My sleeve is still tight as a drum.
Overall people just have unrealistic expectations of how their surgery will work, set mostly by incompetent Drs and staff, or worse no expectations set by their team at all.

I had the same issue as @MichiganChic, super stressed out over life over the winter. Not watching what I ate, I just gave up. Gained weight. Just a couple weeks of eating right and it is flying off.
The rate that I gained weight didn't even make sense, so it had to be more stress than what I was eating.
Now that my life has calmed down and I am focused on my food, it is coming right off. My sleeve helps me still. I went from raging hunger, because I was stressed back to no appetite, and I have to force/remind myself to eat.

I will probably always identify as a WLS "patient" if for no other reason than when I go to restaurants to eat. Although I feel more like a "normal" person when making food choices, exercising, etc., because my sleeve holds so little, when dining out I always ask about ordering from the kid's menu, and if that's not an option, hubby and I frequently split restaurant meals, or I'll order what I want and take the leftovers home for another 1-2 meals. I know there are plenty of "normal"/non-WLS folks out there who do that also, but that was not part of my pre-WLS habits so these days it's a regular reminder. I don't go into detail with the servers about why I would like to order from the kid's menu (assuming there's something on it I would enjoy), I just tell them I don't eat much. Most of the time they are quite accommodating.

I haven't thrown up a single time since surgery.
However, there was one time that I wish I could have thrown up - about 4 months post-op and I had eaten too much of a good thing. I have learned that there is a very fine line between just enough and 1 or 2 bites too many. Some days I recognize that line before I cross it, and once in awhile, I don't and I'm miserable for about a hour.

It sounds like you are a convenience snacker. Make sure veggies and Protein options are the easiest things to grab. Try to get rid of chips out of the house, or at least behind a locked cabinet door.

Hello Everyone!
I wanted to check in and hold myself accountable. Yesterday was not the day for me because of the things we brought to the office for someone that's leaving the company. I got up and said today would be a new start for me; I did have good intentions.
For Breakfast I had a Premier Protein shake and added Almased Protein in it. I was not hungry, but had an apple for my morning snack. For lunch I had a plain grilled hamburger patty with grilled carrots. So good so far, right? And THEN...............
I had to have some M & Ms so I bought a pack and had only 5 and gave the rest away. It was my plans to have a shake for dinner. As I walked in the house this evening, I stopped and ate some strawberries that I cooked for strawberry shortcakes; they were so delicious. KNOWing that I messed up big time; did that stop me? "NO". I grabbed some Doritos about 7 chips and at that point satisfied.
I must take control of my bad habit. All morning my stomach hurt and I continued to eat. Since I stopped chewing gum, it seems as if I have to have something in my mouth at all times. I sit around people who eat whenever and whatever. It also does not help when I have someone sitting across from my office selling candy. I know that I can do this, because I went without sweets for so long. I have always had an issue with Chips. :-(.
I'm going to get up tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. and walk on my treadmill if it's only for 20 minutes. I was doing so good until I went natural; I found out my hair and sweat do not mix. lol.
I must continue to remind myself that I can do ALL things through Christ that strengthens me.
Please keep me in prayers as I will left us all up as a group.

I will probably always identify as a WLS "patient" if for no other reason than when I go to restaurants to eat. Although I feel more like a "normal" person when making food choices, exercising, etc., because my sleeve holds so little, when dining out I always ask about ordering from the kid's menu, and if that's not an option, hubby and I frequently split restaurant meals, or I'll order what I want and take the leftovers home for another 1-2 meals. I know there are plenty of "normal"/non-WLS folks out there who do that also, but that was not part of my pre-WLS habits so these days it's a regular reminder. I don't go into detail with the servers about why I would like to order from the kid's menu (assuming there's something on it I would enjoy), I just tell them I don't eat much. Most of the time they are quite accommodating.

That is great news!! Congratulations!
Wishing having done it sooner seems to be a common thought post-VSG.

Same for me, plus 4,000 D3 supplement. My surgeon never said I had to take bariatric Vitamins. Once I was back on solid foods, whatever I took prior to surgery in addition to these other supplements would be fine. Because my tummy gets full rather quickly, I do not take them all at once - spaced out over a few hours throughout the day.

That is great news!! Congratulations!
Wishing having done it sooner seems to be a common thought post-VSG.

When I was on my soft food phase I ate scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt, string cheese, baked salmon, chicken cooked in cream of chicken Soup (to keep it nice and soft and moist), low carb meatloaf, canned carrots, canned green Beans, mashed sweet potatoes.
I stayed away from pork and beef, because they are too heavy and not soft or easy to chew, with the exception of meatloaf.
I also got my Protein in first and would have only a few bites of the soft vegetables. I didn't fill up on carbs, so when I ate sweet potatoes, it would just be a few bites.

Well, I would certainly suggest reaching out to your NUT and/or surgeon as they may have specific things to eat and/or not eat during that phase based on your specific progress/situation, but there is a recipe section on this forum that is separated out by phase and there are some good recipes for the soft food phase. The ricotta bake saved me during this phase....
You should be able to find recipes for the phase you're on here --> http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/1052-recipe-sharing/

Ten long (very bloody long) years of weight management programme in Scotland and I have a date!
18th April at 7.30am.
*happy dance*
liquid diet for 15 days and also my grans funeral on the 7th and pre op assessment on 11th.
Trying to work out calories for a shot of tequila to toast her or she's getting toasted with a slimfast! [emoji41]

I honestly liked my figure the best at 220. I was super curvy with a small waist and I could wear plus and regular sizes.
However, knowing that people gain weight as they age and still being a relatively young person, I have decided to lose as low as possible. So I have some bounce room to still stay under 200. So even though physically I am not interested in being smaller. I am shooting for the top of normal BMI so I have some wigglexperience room in the future.

I am doing the same as MowryRocks suggested. I am going to confirm my goal when I get closer to it. If I feel comfortable at a higher weight I'll stop there. But I do plan to lose about 10 lbs more than goal to account for regain.

The surgery is done, what you do at this point is up to you. I agree with your first thought, get to where you want to be and then decide.

I had my appointment with my doctor today. So far I've lost 30 lbs since surgery date 2/22/17. I'm so excited, I wish I had done this sooner. [emoji4]

I had my surgery over six years ago and have never taken a single bariatric Vitamin. Just regular multi, Calcium, Iron, D3 and sublingual B12. I have annual bloodwork done and my levels have been nothing but perfect.