A Sleeve4me

Hi Everyone,
I'm new and will be having surgery 06/24. I just finished this whole thread, whew! I have been hanging out in the veteran forum too because I want to have real expectations. I have always thought losing weight was a head game or I should say for the last 10 or so years. And boy it is and as I have found out by reading this forum it still is even after surgery.
The stories have not discouraged me at all. I am a bit scared but if it can help me lose some weight then I am ready. All of you who are fighting every day to stay in the fight all I can say is I really hope I have the will and determination that you all have!!! I want to be like you when I get to where you are on the journey.
All of you that are hanging in there day after day after day are so inspiring and I want to thank each one of you for sharing your stories with us!!! It gives us a much better idea of what to expect after the surgery. So thank you and I wish each of you luck and success on your journey.

I am about 2 and a half years out and just had my first gain. Like many, I lost under goal to have a bounce range and stayed within that range for over a year so gaining felt like a shock. Technically I am only 2 lbs over goal but I am 7 lbs away from my lowest and now have a few outfits that are too tight to wear. I am currently trying to lose at least 4 lbs to be back in my "range" but the scale doesn't seem to want to move. I am trying to focus more on Protein and keep my hands out of the candy dishes on everyone's desk at work.

Hi all! It has been quite a while since I've posted. I'll give a quick recap of where I've been and where I am now.
2010-Highest weight was 282
Oct/9/2010- Sleeve in Mexicalli by Aceves
6/14/2013- LBL/BL/Arm lift in New Jersey by Dr Cappella (141 lbs)
11/13 Separated from my husband
1/14 - Lowest weight reached 123 lbs
Current 150 lbs
So my original goal was 155, I went below that with ease but I was quite active then. I got down to 141 and had 7lbs of excess skin removed and as a result of the surgery and being more active lost even more. Now my work has slowed as has my activity and I'm up to 150. My goal weight, where I felt the best is at 135 so I have 15 to get off. I am currently a size 6/7 and have a little bit of a booty (not a bad thing) but I cannot fit into all the clothes I want and also want to keep my results of my plastics looking good so I've got to get it off. I'm on day two of low carb, it always falls right back off after I buckle down. I'm still having great restriction when I stick to low carb and no sugary drinks.
My downfalls are carbs, sweets, alcohol, not weighing every day and sitting on my butt.
So almost 5 years out and it is still the best thing I've ever done. I'm down 132lbs...wow! My life is amazing (other than love life but I don't care about that..... today at least
It's great to see some old folks on here! Btw my ex had the VSG also on 3/14 and is down 100lbs. He feels so much better and is in love again (we are still best friends).
I've found that the last couple of relationships I've been in, I don't even mention that I've had the VSG, they don't ask since they have only known me as a regular sized person. What about y'all?

Here is the video on the 5:2 But the easiest thing to know is that you pick two days a week (mine is Monday and Thursday) and you eat 500 calories that day. It's really easier than you think. Helps you keep your restriction and it's only one day! Sometimes if my life is hectic (a lot!) I will at least always do a "no wine, no cookie" day two days a week and just try to eat much lighter.
For th 5 day Pouch Test, go here.... Again, I'm no star (but I have been at goal for 3.5 years) so sometimes I just do 2 or 3 days.....Good luck!

Your most important step was putting it out there with us, your community of normal people who are right here with you. We understand and support your honesty. Stay true to who you are and trust that you have people who will ALWAYS SUPPORT YOU!

I have to stay 900 calories or under or I gain. Doesn't matter that it's good healthy food that we are supposed to eat - if I go over 900 (I'm talking like 1100 or 1200) - I gain weight and it comes back very quickly. I've decided that I've messed up my metabolism so bad it doesn't know what the heck is going on. But if I gain a few lbs - I go back on 2 Protein shakes and 1 meal a day until it disappears. I never did reach goal - lost really well for 8 months and then it stopped - totally. I track everything on my fitness pal and doctor and nutritionist say that this is just the way it is for some people. Very discouraging sometimes but at least I know what to do now!! I'm almost 2 years out.

I love this post! So how I feel!!!

I am two years post op and I feel a lot of shame when it comes to my weight gain since surgery. I feel like I have failed and that once again food is winning and my waist line is losing. After weight loss surgery gaining weight is quite terrifying. I feel like I am slipping down a rabbit whole and the other side is all too familiar. There isn’t a single person that has weight loss surgery that doesn’t promise themselves that this will NEVER happen again, and for some of us it does happen. I suppose for me the first thing I need to do is stop punishing myself because that has never helped me gain control of my eating, the second thing is to take stock of why it has happened. For me that is very simple, I didn’t work on my head, I only worked on my body, I didn’t unfriend my toxic friend food! We are still in a dysfunctional relationship. The surgery limited my food intake, but it didn’t equip me with new coping mechanisms and unfortunately food still plays an important role in helping me relax, sooths me when I’m down, occupies me when I’m bored and helps me hide from the world when I don’t want to be seen.
I have gained 15lbs since my surgery 2 years ago and some may even say that’s normal, but I know my eating is out of control.
I have gained 10 lbs. in the last two months. For those of you that have been post –surgery for a long time, and have successfully maintained, how did you fix your head and your relationship with food?

I will be 3 years post op in September of this year. I have gained 30 lbs which most is from snacking too much in between meals, I'm working hard to get it off. Every calorie counts. I cut out sugar and I'm also doing low to no carb as much as possible. I'm glad u posted this for those that think the weight won't come back. It can if we don't follow a healthy diet. Wish me luck, any ideas will be greatly appreciated. I Started out at 345 pounds got down to 220 and now at 255 lbs. I also started drinking my 64 ounces of Water a day..

Question: Has your Fluid intake decreased? While recommitting to your program, make sure to keep yourself full of fluids. Hunger is often thirst in disguise. Congratulations on getting back on the horse! You can do this!!!

I'm guilty myself, almost 3 months here and still eat too fast and take big bites. I haven't thrown up but I can feel it at the top of my chest.

I look at this thread and I reminded of all the people who post
I lost __Fill in the blank___lbs Gone Forever!
It used to make me so sad because I was one of the first people to join this board, revising from a band and I knew I had made the right decision. I lost weight right away because I got revised quickly when I started to have band problems.
All of a sudden, between year 2 and 3, I could not lose the little gain I had over the weekend. I was good all week long, ate all Protein drank my Water and the scale did not budge. Pretty soon it was time for the next weekend, and I gained 2 more lbs. Then the holidays came around and I was completely depressed.
I lost all my regain with the 5:2 plan rather easily. I didn't have a bf or husband, so I could plan all my meals the way I wanted.
All that changed when I got another bf. popcorn at the movies, him bringing home ice cream and donuts constantly etc and I am right back to where I was. I had back surgery in early Nov. and I have had complications from that, so I can't even exercise.
I am determined though. It's either take off some weight or go and buy new clothes. I refuse to give all my really cute and stylish expensive clothes to a thrift shop. I just have to gather all my willpower and stop snacking in the evenings.
I hate to say I'm glad other people are now gaining weight back, but i have to say it was so depressing to keep reading how everyone was getting full from 4 bites of food, and they have lost all desire for sweets. We can do this, and we don't have to do it alone!

Sleeve for me...did u do any exercises? Add that to the regimine. It makes the lbs drop faster.

I am finding it a challenge to get back to my lowest. I keep eating Snacks out of habit and the other day I cleaned the refrigerator out of all crap foods. What do I do, I take a friend of mine out to Breakfast and order this delicious Apple pancake the size of a pie. I split it with my friend and ate the bacon first. I ate 1/2 of 1/2 of the high carb dessert type pancake. Then my friend wanted me to stop at Whole foods. I go in and impulsively buy 2 bags of licorice and some candy. Talk about being out of control. That's me right now. After reading this, the licorice is going in the trash and I already gave the candy away. I am reminding myself that I can not eat over 1200 calories or I will gain weight. I need to stop eating when I'm not hungry and not give myself the excuse that I'm stressed and it's emotional eating. Damn this is hard. I have gained about 10 lbs and it doesn't come off as easy as it use too. I need to remind myself that I need this support group.......period.. Thank all you guys for being totally honest. Now back to the drawing board and getting rid of the crap. BTW after going shopping shopping and looking at the cost of food, I will be greatly reducing what I buy to save money......I don't know how people can afford to eat healthy when fast food is so much more cheaper. Frustrating to say the least......Urggg so for the rant...

I will be 3 years post op in September of this year. I have gained 30 lbs which most is from snacking too much in between meals, I'm working hard to get it off. Every calorie counts. I cut out sugar and I'm also doing low to no carb as much as possible. I'm glad u posted this for those that think the weight won't come back. It can if we don't follow a healthy diet. Wish me luck, any ideas will be greatly appreciated. I Started out at 345 pounds got down to 220 and now at 255 lbs. I also started drinking my 64 ounces of Water a day..

That's for sure! We are all in this together. It's getting to a point where i am afraid to get on the scale.
My back surgery has made it impossible to work out as hard as I was. I am up 10 lbs and I am just hoping it stops there. I haven't been eating a bunch of junk and it's so depressing to see the scale moving upward anyway.

So, in June it will be 4years this June that I had my surgery. Overall, I would probably say I've been successful, although I have had my fair share of challenges. I reached my goal of 120# and stayed there a few months but had lots of comments from people who said they thought I looked too thin. At times, I wondered the motives from some of the people who said it because I think some people feel threatened when all of a sudden they might be the "fat" ones, even if they are only 20 or 30# overweight. I guess I gave in and "allowed" a 10# gain which I regret because I had always decided that I wanted a 10# bounce zone for those times of stress that I know happen. Well, that has now put me at 155# that I am struggling to get off.
I am going to work hard to get back to my 120# range and stay there if I can. I have people who tell me now, "oh, but you look fine". Ok, maybe I do look "fine", but I felt fantastic in the 120#, or even the 130#, but I am not going to let others dictate how I should look. I wasn't at an unhealthy weight. I have had a lot of job stress the past couple of years and it continues even now, but I started a couple of weeks ago to clear out all the bad carbs and get back to the basics. I've been successful in doing so and am seeing movement on the scale. I know everyone has their preference about getting whether it be daily/ weekly, etc. For me, if I weigh daily, it makes me LOOK at the # and face reality. I know that when I avoid the scale, I'm ignoring my addiction to food and giving myself "permission" to not pay attention to what I'm eating. I have gone weeks w/out getting on the scale and then when I get back on, I get nervous for the damage I have done. Yes, my clothes tell me, but for me I need to SEE that #.
I am back to weighing daily and I am going to get back on track. It's going to be a litle more difficult not just because I'm further out from surgery, but also because I have a fair amoun of hip pain. I have learned through a number of dr. appoinments that I am going to need hip replacement soon. I'm only 43, but I have been able to trace it back to being born with hip displacia as a child. My PCP had always said it was bursitis and so I have put up with the pain all these years until it started getting worse earlier this year. And, then the MRI's and Bone Scans told the story. I'm not going to let this deter me, I just am going to have to be extra careful with what I eat.
Anyways, all the best for those of you struggling on the same journey. We didn't come this far to fail!

Excellent advice. That's just the way it is. I am also struggling with passover carbs and this year,for the first time, gave into it. Am up five lbs. On the down side now.

Hey there friends, It has been a long time since I have been on this site. I feel bad for walking away but I just got really comfortable in my new lifestyle and I didn't need as much support but I forgot that others needed mine. I had my surgery September 11, 2012. I was almost 240 pounds when I had the surgery and lost down to 121 pounds but everyone especially my husband said I was too skinny (what a great problem to have) so I purposefully gained back a few pounds and now fluctuate between 128-132. Over the holidays and a 6 month long trip I gained a couple of pounds but have never gone over 136. I do weigh myself every day because I have to make sure I keep on top of every ounce. It IS possible to gain all the weight back. The sleeve is not a magic fix but it certainly is a wonderful tool! I have to be super careful with carbs, I will just admit that I am still addicted. I had stayed away so long because of my after surgery diet and thought I had kicked the habit but I still struggle with it (Just bought a few bags of single serving chips this morning) Old habits die hard or maybe they never truly die! I'm an addict. I can eat my weight in chips, crackers, Cookies etc so I have to be super careful. If you are just now beginning to eat carbs on your diet then please think extra extra careful about what you put into your mouth and introduce into your diet. You think that because you have had this surgery and because you haven't had any carbs for so long that you can handle it, but it is difficult! Still 2 1/2 years after surgery it is a constant battle to stay within my comfort zone of weight.
You also HAVE to exercise! Just do SOMETHING! Don't rely on the surgery to do it all for you. You have to tone up the areas that still jiggle....yes, over a 110 pounds later and 2 1/2 years later I still have several areas that jiggle and I don't like. I challenge you to take 30 minutes a day and just do something whether it is hard core sweaty gym exercise, or if it is just 30 minutes of walking, just DO SOMETHING!!!!!!!
Also know that the scale isn't going to move every day! And some days it will go up and you will be so discouraged. Go into the surgery (if you haven't had it yet) knowing this fact. I personally weighed myself every day and kept a journal, for some people this isn't a good idea, for me it was, I could see the progress and realize that I was just at a plateau and that eventually if I kept up doing what I was suppose to do (no cheating) that my body would do what it was supposed to do and the scale would reflect it.
I also took pics before my surgery and measurements and every month for the whole first year I took after pics and new measurements. this is a great way to encourage yourself and see your progress along the way!
I am a success story for sure. Although it is a constant concern and I am still working on it every day! I can share clothes with my daughter and I am now an inspiration to others. You can do it!
So to answer your question....weigh gained since surgery, yes but on purpose because I had lost too much, a good problem to have. I do know it is possible to gain my weight back but I am going to fight for what I want and I want to keep this weight off forever!!!

I am so disgusted with myself. I've been so depressed since I had an emergency surgery and found out my bones had an infection from my back surgery in Nov.
I finally weighed myself today, and decided it's time to get back to business. I've gained back 9 lbs and none of my clothes fit me.
I really hate that if I eat anything extra, I gain weight. The sleeve does make it easier, but I wish it helped more with the bad stuff that is so easy to eat.

I had my surgery on March 11, 2015. I have lost 61 pounds to date, but I stopped losing for several days at the 3-4 week stage. After resuming my weight loss, over the past few days I have actually put on 2 pounds. I am a little nervous, so I am getting back to basics and starting to weigh my Protein to see if I can jump-start the process again.

My surgery was December 2013 - And i am still always cold. I have a heater under my desk, wear sweaters, and love it when it is 80 to 85 degrees outside. I love my new life, so it is okay for me to always be cold.

Ever since surgery I have been really cold. I used to sweat at night, not anymore. Its really weird.

I'm in too. Did a "fast day" yesterday. That went well. Had 900 calories today. Gonna take this one day at a time

I am so with you on this struggle. I am now 20 pounds up from my lowest weight since surgery in March of 2013. I have kept up and even upped my exercise throughout this whole period but I have started with snacking and eating the wrong things. It is so easy to out -eat your exercise. Lets try to get the extra pounds off by summer. A tip I am trying is instead of putting on stretchy cloths I am putting on my tight uncomfortable size 8s which were quite comfortable 20 pounds ago. The tight uncomfortable feeling is reminding me to not snack.< /p>