Tracyringo

It’s one of the reasons we’re advised to eat slowly. It takes time for the message you’ve had enough to get through. You don’t ever want to reach that I’m stuffed stage of being full. Just I’ve had enough & don’t need any more.
I still take ages to eat 30 - 60+ minutes depending on what I’m eating. When I was losing & eating small meals I ate over 20 minutes. Sometimes I distract myself between bites by watching tv or reading when eating. I know some say you should focus on your eating but I find it works for me to be distracted. I don’t shovel in the spoonfuls then.
Put your cutlery down. Sit back from the table. Wait a couple of minutes before you have the next bite. I used to ask myself if I really needed that next bite or did I just want it. Still do sometimes. There is a huge difference between needing that bite & wanting it. It’s not unusual for me to pick up my fork & then put it back down again because I realise I don’t need that bite.
Much like discovering what real hunger feels like for you versus head hunger, you have to discover what enough means for you. That is what the physical, mental or other signals are for you. I don’t get that running nose thing either so I’m very conscious of the portion size I’m eating & don’t overfill my plate beyond what my portion size should be. I get like a heaviness in my chest. This is followed by a slight tightness before my restriction really kicks in though sometimes it does very quickly with no warning.
Good luck with your revision surgery.

Experience. Your experience.

My sister has always been overweight...I have been overweight for the last 15 years (or so). She is on a diet (Dr. Livinggood) and told me that she had told a friend NOT to get the surgery because it would change her relationship with food FOREVER. I told her "That's kind of the point...even with the program YOU are on". But I will say this, I do not regret it at all! (I DO however, regret the Reeses' Peanut Butter Egg that I just ate...but only to the extent I would have regretted it BEFORE surgery! LOL) I echo those that said wait until you are sure...but I wish I had thought about doing this 10 years ago!

I think everyone has regret the first week after surgery, it sucks in the beginning. It gets better fast. I wish I had done it sooner, best decision I ever made. It is not easy, it is a tool, its a journey, its hard ass work.
In my situation, in my head, in my life it was and is worth it, you need to determine whats right for you

I dump. It has taught me to careful with sugar and fats.
I still have significant restriction. It has taught me to pay attention to how I eat.
Malabsorption, check. So I monitor blood work and medication effectiveness.
I eat to plan. It is my normal, so don't give it much thought.
I'm a deliriously happy camper. There are folks in the exact same place that are miserable.
Be sure of your choice and commit to dealing with whatever comes.

I would not do the band. In fact, hardly any surgeons place the band anymore - there have been way too many problems with them, and many people have had them replaced with sleeve or bypass.
Sleeve is a good option as long as you don't have GERD.
honestly, complications with either bypass or sleeve aren't that common and are usually minor. For some reason there's the opinion out there that these are really risky surgeries and you're bound to have a lot of problems, but it just isn't true. Yes you'll always find people who've had a ton of problems with weight loss surgeries (both sleeve and bypass), but for the vast majority of us, we sail through them just fine and have no issues. The only thing different about my life now (other than being 200 lbs lighter) is that I now have to take Vitamins every day (and of course, I eat less that before)

I never had any regrets when I had my lap band put in 11+ years ago, despite getting horrible GERD and that the band likely causing my hiatal hernia.
And I really don't think I will regret my revision to a VSG two weeks ago either. Not to go to "a dark place" in this thread but honestly, the point that my bariatric surgeon brought up in the seminar when I was considering the lap band years ago was "Why is it that you never see anyone who is old and obese? Because if you're obese you generally don't make it to old age." That has just stayed with me ever since.
Wishing you all the best on your journey!!

Does anyone here regret having had gastric bypass surgery?
** nope. Not for a minute. I'd do it every year if I had to. Best decision I've ever made!!
I keep hearing about the downsides: adhesions, forever being careful of what to eat, dumping, stricture, malabsorption, etc.
** first, the downside of remaining obese - high risk of diabetes, heart issues, early death.
As far as gastric bypass downsides that you mentioned:
Adhesions - very rare
Forever being careful of what to eat: you'd have to do this if you lost weight the old-fashioned way, too, if you wanted to maintain your loss.
Dumping: 30% of us dump. I never have -- and I know lots of others who never have, either. If you turn out to be a dumper, it's controlled by avoiding or limiting sugar (or fats - some people dump on fats). These are things we should be doing anyway.
Stricture: happens to 5% of us. Minor issue and very easy fix.
Malabsorption: 1) calorie malabsorption is what gives us a leg up on weight loss. It lasts a year or two. 2) nutrient malabsorption - rare as long as you keep on top of your vitamins
I think a lot of us once had the same concerns. I did too - which is why it took me ten years to take the plunge. And now my only regret is that I waited so long to do it.
If you don't feel you're mentally ready for it, then maybe now isn't the time to do it. It takes some serious dedication and I think you really have to be in the right mindset to be successful. But seriously, it really is the best decision I've ever made. Should have done it years ago.

I was 65 when I had bypass surgery. I lost 135 pounds in a year. I started at 249 pounds. All I did was follow what I was told to do with eating directions and my hardest exercise was a treadmill. You have the power to make this work. Go into it with positive thoughts and enjoy the ride. Do your best and let your body do the rest. Good luck.

I had surgery when I was 55 and post-menopausal (I went through menopause at age 51). I lost all of my excess weight. I was a slow loser, but it was consistent.
P.S. age IS one factor in your rate of weight loss - so is gender, activity level, metabolic rate, starting BMI, and how closely you stick to your program.

Your rate of loss is very personal. Some older women lose quickly, others more slowly. Just as some younger women lose slowly & others rapidly. You may have fewer or more stalls on the way.
I do remember people used to say it was harder to lose weight as you get older. Not bariatric surgery related. Just one of those things people said. Old wives’ tale or fact I don’t know.
In saying that, I was 2 months shy of 54 & menopausal when I had surgery. I reached my goal at 6 months (31kgs/68lbs) at a pretty average rate. I then lost more in the year after - just over an additional 11kgs/25lbs. A good friend, a year older & also menopausal was slower, about 9 months to lose a similar amount to reach her goal & she’s way more active than me.
Good luck. You’ll get there in your time.

I was 54 at surgery but not menopausal and I lost all my excess weight. Not sure if there's a correlation between age, menopause and amount lost. Interesting question.

I was 58 when I had my surgery. Already way past menopause. I weighed just under 300 ( cant't remember but in in my stats I think) pounds a week from surgery.
I hit my goal of 150.0 pounds in July or August 2019. (The stats are on my ticket I think) I thought that was a pretty steady weight loss.
Good luck with everything.
Di

I understand your concerns, but you should follow your nutritionist's advice (and possibly also see a therapist). I think you need to focus on fuel and energy, not empty calories. So if you need to add 200 calories to your diet, add some fruit to your Breakfast or add some complex carbs like oatmeal or brown rice to your meals. Don't eat something that you know might trigger you, like Cookies or ice cream.
Take care and good luck!

Absolutely listen to your team’s advice (they have seen it all) but ultimately the choice is yours. I understand the knee jerk reaction anyone can have from gaining especially after working long and hard to lose. But IMHO the goal is healthy, whatever that looks like for you ❤️

You may naturally gain a little anyway If you are more that 2 yrs from surgery (or when maintenance begins) Weight loss should slow down eventually if you are not actively trying to lose. Congratulations on making it to goal.

I am 2 months out from revision from VSG to RNY and I am happy with the results so far. I lost around 180lbs but I never got down to my goal weight the first time and then had some Gerd that never went away. 7 years and a baby later I gained little less than half back and still had GERD and acid reflux... So I had it done for both reasons. I am down about 33lbs since surgery

I am near 2 months out from Bypass to bypass revision. Weight loss is slower this time around, but I'm actually glad of it. It is consistent and manageable- I feel good. My Vitamin levels have been stable - a million times better than after my original bypass. I have a long way to go yet, but so far, worth it.

So I did have revision surgery sleeve to bypass. I’ll be honest and say straight up I did have it to help with my GERD. (Which I no longer have symptoms of) however also for weight loss! My highest weight (before sleeve) was 120kg. I got down to 90kg lowest however regained back up to 110kg. I am now 6 months post revision surgery and I am now down to my lowest ever of 80kg! I am so happy with my revision surgery and am happy with my results so far. Although my loss is a little slower this time around, I am sticking to my plan and weight is consistently moving downwards. No regrets.
All the best to you :)

As the title says!

Letting go of addictions is hard.
I'm a food addict. Meaning, I will use food for purposes other than what it is meant for...to the detriment of my quality of life. I medicate myself with it when I'm stressed, bored, sad, want to Celebrate, when I'm angry, when i'm facing a huge decision, when i'm excited....there is always a self-justified reason to eat. And eat again. And again. (and have a little snack) And eat again.
What does using food this way do to my body? A self injurer told me that my use of food was almost exactly like his use of cutting himself. It gave him relief, but it leaves ugly scars. My stretch marks used to look like a bear used me as a clawing post. Big ugly purple lines. Using food this way deteriorates my health and can cause serious illness that can threaten my life. Someone I loved died young of Covid because they used food like I used to. It could have been me.
Sex starts and ends with food, right? A romantic dinner, an aftercare snack. Honey, go get me ice cream.
A bath should have a cup of something and a little something sweet to eat with it. Might as well live it up, I deserve this home spa treatment.
Woke up in the middle of the night? Better have a litttle snack to settle back down so your stomach doesn't keep you up.
Got done doing the shopping...the crowds were awul, I still have to drive home, haul stuff in and put everything away. Who wants to cook? Easier to bring home KFC, and you know what goes great with that? A lemon cake and some Coke and look at the 60% off holiday candy! That's a great deal...lets buy 8 bags for the pantry! Kids will eat it! (they didn't need it either, so I would eat it to spare them)
Speaking of holidays, lets make Grandma's favorite holiday treats...it's to remember Grandma! (not feed my addiction shamlessly)
We're going on a 100 mile two hour car trip? Lets stop twice for fast food, and bring a box of Snacks, too.
Going to the movies? Lets stop at the dollar store and pack our pockets with snacks for $5...instead of paying $20! See how smart that is? We're clever!
Lets have McDonalds for Breakfast, Cracker Barrel for lunch and Chinese for dinner. it's healthy, it has vegetables.
I get on the scale and if I've gained..... I go on a shame spiral and eat
I get on the scale and if I've lost a pound I think....yippee! I bought myself some room in my diet, Let's eat!
Let's be healthy and go apple picking....turns into....let's pick apples for a beautiful artisan homemade pie from the recipe book I found in their gift shop. And while we're at it, lets get cinnamon fried donuts and hot cider. We need to stop on the way home to buy ice cream for the pie.
To hell with it, I bet I can eat an entire bowl of Halloween candy before the kids wake up.
Make bargains that don't make sense. This homemade fresh bread has chia seeds in it. Clearly it is now healthfood. Four servings of healthfood is fine.

When you are addicted, you have this complex pattern of behavior triggered by a million different things. You constantly need to evaluate if you are using food to medicate, cope, escape....or are you using it to build and maintain a healthy body. Am I eating for the right reasons? Am I eating the right foods? In the right amounts?
And the worst part? You can't quit food. If you do, that's another deadly disorder.
You have to make peace with it, get painfully honest about it, and forgive yourself a lot for your screw ups.
You work on breaking the patterns every day. For a long, long time. Maybe forever.
You have to wake up the next day and make the choice to get back on the horse and be accountable. If things start to get out of control, you get to the therapist before it gets worse. You don't obsess about your pride, and you don't beat yourself up over your screw up. You just go to therapy and get back on track.
And you just keep doing that.
If you're lucky, you eventually see all this crap clear enough to get ahead of it most of the time and make better choices. If you work hard, you can beat it. But it's not easy, it's not easy, it's not easy.
Fixing your stomach does NOT fix your head.
But it makes it just a little easier to get to where your head eventually needs to go.
If any of this sounds familiar, I'm rooting for you in your daily fight. I hope you're rooting for me, too. We got this.

I developed GERD with my sleeve. Had the sleeve for just over 3 years before having revision to bypass in dec 2020 and Couldn’t be happier now. Since the bypass, no more symptoms of GERD at all :) and weight loss has been so much more consistent for me this time so far
Good luck on your journey :)

No Gerd or hernia. I had no problems.

Otherwise known as "Skinny People's Disease" or SPD. Never been overweight a minute in their life and have zero frame of reference. Because it's easy for them to stay fit, it therefore is easy for everyone to stay fit, so the obvious answer (to them) is that you're just not trying hard enough.
An alternative GP would be my recommendation; their not being "in your corner" moving forward could prove troublesome for the original poster down the line.

First, there are people that have regretted having surgery. Generally they aren't on sites like this.
Second, all those bad things that you've read about in the past are still out there. Put them in perspective right next to all the negative effects of not doing anything. Choose wisely.
Third, saying goodbye to your favorite foods forever largely depends on your surgery type. Even then, none of the foods you mention are goodbye forever foods in reality.
In the last month I've eaten McD's. Red meat is in my normal rotation, you can pry my hamburger out of my greasy, dead hands. I've had Peanut Butter cups, though not much and not often as I've had RNY and I dump on sugar. In point of fact there is no food or drink that I cannot eat if I choose. I generally stick to my plan, so the worse the food/drink is health-wise the less often I eat/drink a little of it. All things in moderation, including moderation.
Your Doctors work for you. If your Doc is not doing what you need, then you need a new Doc.
You can succeed at this with the proper mind set. It is a big change for most of us. For the better, generally.
Good luck,
Tek

Regain is a legitimate fear. I stay careful but (not fixated) on what I eat and so far so good but obviously everyone’s experience will be different.

I still can get the tight chest VSG restriction if I eat drier Protein. Mostly I experience lower abdomen I’m bored with eating discomfort with RNY. With both I got the lump in my throat full feeling (does this happen to anyone else? IDK)