Stacy160

At 8 years out, I still rarely feel real, true physical hunger, although I can tell when I need something. It's the head hunger and sugar addiction that's been my demon.
My brother, on the other hand..... swore he was starving beginning a couple of weeks after surgery, started eating things too early, things he shouldn't have been, and basically ignoring the rules. It never did him any physical harm, but he's always maintained more of a "maintenance" kind of diet, rather than following the weight loss rules, and that's why now, two years out, I don't think he's lost half of the weight he should have.
Tell yourself you're getting phantom hunger pangs from the nerves healing up, or just feeling that sensation because the stomach acid is sitting so much higher (both of which could be true).... but don't give in. When you start even mushy foods and can't finish a quarter cup of refried Beans or cottage cheese, and stay stuffed for hours, it'll be a different story!

Offhand I don't remember the exact number, but my BMI was just barely under 40 the day of surgery. The first month I lost 15 lbs, and another 10 the second, for a total of 25 the first two months.

If you're comparing, you have to look at percentages, not number of pounds... someone starting at 250 and drops 50 lbs has a 20% loss, but someone starting at 400 and drops 80 lbs still has a 20% loss.

Never, ever. EVER.

8 years out, I still have my dent. The scar tissue that forms from the tunnel the surgical instruments to through causes that...gravity makes it more obvious when it pulls the tissue around it downward. If you end up with skin removal afterwards, that adhesion will be removed and you'll be smooth as glass.

Never, ever. EVER.

I've been preaching about sugar addiction...if you think you have a "sweet tooth", there's a good change you're a full-on sugar addict. Do some research...it's as physically addictive as cocaine, and imaging shows that it lights up the same areas of the brain as cocaine addiction does. I always thought I just had a sweet tooth.... it wasn't until years after surgery (and 55 lbs of regain) that I learned about this. Understanding that it's just as real as an alcohol or drug addiction, and recognizing it in myself, has made all the difference in the world in my ability to get off and stay off the stuff. Please research it and understand it. It's the one and only thing that I wish I'd known about ahead of time.

YAY girls!! I'll let you know he's in an older building, not a fancy office, but that's because he'd rather keep his costs down....he cares more about his patients than having a flashy image. It's a great practice...I worked with Cari a little years ago, and I would LOVE to work there!

Good Lord! The difference for me in limiting carbs to low glycemic veggies and some low glycemic berries is night and day. I'm VERY carb sensitive. So if I start eating that sh*t, I will start craving crunchy, salty, snacky food--or Pasta, rice, potatoes, etc. I would eat them preferentially over anything else!
As the others have advised, clear all crap from your home or give your hub a locked cabinet to store his crap in with instructions not to eat it in front of you!!!
Then I'd honestly just use Atkins Diet to start stepping down and cold turkey your diet to a low carb one. Once you've been on Atkins and are feeling better, you "may" have some leeway to introduce low carb equivalents of the things you crave EVERY ONCE IN A BLUE MOON. If you do them every day? Your monkey will be back on your shoulders riding you. I've seen it too many times in almost 20 years as low carb.
Once you've adapted to a low carb life then you can tailor your diet to meet your specific needs. BTW, Atkins isn't high Protein and doesn't have to be high fat. You can use only enough fat to make stuff cook right. You can follow your doc's prescription for how much protein per day, serving sizes, veggies etc. Chiefly it's just a plan to limit carbs to 20g a day while giving you adequate protein for your individual needs.

I've been preaching about sugar addiction...if you think you have a "sweet tooth", there's a good change you're a full-on sugar addict. Do some research...it's as physically addictive as cocaine, and imaging shows that it lights up the same areas of the brain as cocaine addiction does. I always thought I just had a sweet tooth.... it wasn't until years after surgery (and 55 lbs of regain) that I learned about this. Understanding that it's just as real as an alcohol or drug addiction, and recognizing it in myself, has made all the difference in the world in my ability to get off and stay off the stuff. Please research it and understand it. It's the one and only thing that I wish I'd known about ahead of time.

You said it's like your body is craving a drug...because IT IS. To your body, sugar is crack. Heroin. Meth. That's why I advised you to research it, so that you understand what's happening when you can't stop and why a little always makes you want more, more, and more. Bear in mind too, that excess carbs of any kind can trigger that, so I'd start by laying off candy, soda, and "treats" for a few days, but then also let go of breads, pastas, most fruits (on a regular basis anyway), etc. When you know and understand ahead of time what "just one bite," is going to do to you, not just mentally but physically, you'll have a much better chance of succeeding at this.

I just posted this in another thread 5 minutes ago, so I'm just gonna copy and paste.
I've been preaching about sugar addiction...if you think you have a "sweet tooth", there's a good change you're a full-on sugar addict. Do some research...it's as physically addictive as cocaine, and imaging shows that it lights up the same areas of the brain as cocaine addiction does. I always thought I just had a sweet tooth.... it wasn't until years after surgery (and 55 lbs of regain) that I learned about this. Understanding that it's just as real as an alcohol or drug addiction, and recognizing it in myself, has made all the difference in the world in my ability to get off and stay off the stuff. Please research it and understand it. It's the one and only thing that I wish I'd known about ahead of time.

I've been preaching about sugar addiction...if you think you have a "sweet tooth", there's a good change you're a full-on sugar addict. Do some research...it's as physically addictive as cocaine, and imaging shows that it lights up the same areas of the brain as cocaine addiction does. I always thought I just had a sweet tooth.... it wasn't until years after surgery (and 55 lbs of regain) that I learned about this. Understanding that it's just as real as an alcohol or drug addiction, and recognizing it in myself, has made all the difference in the world in my ability to get off and stay off the stuff. Please research it and understand it. It's the one and only thing that I wish I'd known about ahead of time.

I had terrible GERD before surgery and my surgeon said he would prefer to do bypass because that pretty much cures GERD. However, my insurance wouldn’t cover bypass initially. It covered VSG and then if I still had bad GERD it would cover bypass. So, my Dr said he would do the sleeve as long as I understood that I may still need a revision to bypass if the GERD was worse. Thankfully, I am 4 months out and no GERD!!

Absolutely!! Many, many, MANY people go into surgery with GERD (me, I had it BAD for years), and come out of surgery never to see it again (yay!! That alone was worth doing it!). It's the people who never had it before who sometimes develop it afterward.

You only have a week or so left on liquids, you can make it. I'd suggest trying Syntrax Nectar fruit flavors because they're more like drinking Crystal Lite, but it sounds like you've got enough Protein to last a lifetime already LOL... so in the meantime, maybe try mixing it into sugar-free pudding or Jello, or mix the unflavored into your cream Soups.

Many people have, including me. Seems like if you didn't have it beforehand, you're more likely to develop it afterward, but if you did have it beforehand, it tends to disappear. Many of us (I would venture to guess a majority) have undiagnosed hiatal hernias that are discovered and repaired during surgery. I had horrible nighttime GERD for years before surgery, and if I didn't take a double dose of Pepcid before bed, I'd wake up choking on stomach acid. That disappeared immediately after surgery. 8 years later, I might feel a slight bit of mild heartburn a couple times a year, and that's generally the evening of a holiday where I've been munching on extra bad stuff (desserts...carbs always, always made the GERD worse) throughout the day.

Many people have, including me. Seems like if you didn't have it beforehand, you're more likely to develop it afterward, but if you did have it beforehand, it tends to disappear. Many of us (I would venture to guess a majority) have undiagnosed hiatal hernias that are discovered and repaired during surgery. I had horrible nighttime GERD for years before surgery, and if I didn't take a double dose of Pepcid before bed, I'd wake up choking on stomach acid. That disappeared immediately after surgery. 8 years later, I might feel a slight bit of mild heartburn a couple times a year, and that's generally the evening of a holiday where I've been munching on extra bad stuff (desserts...carbs always, always made the GERD worse) throughout the day.

Avoid GENEPRO, it is crap and was successfully sued for false claims of "medical grade protein" and the claimed 30 grams of Protein. It is actually been proven in court that it is only 11 grams.
https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/19892822/SI03,_Inc_v_Musclegen_Research,_Inc

True story! Smh.. I looking around for someone else. Could be that he’s not that good of a surgeon 🤷🏽‍♀️


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Regaining weight is very easy, if you allow yourself to go back to your old habits and graze constantly on crappy food! You'll want to follow the rules until you get to goal. Most people find that eating "on-plan" 80-90% of the time allows them to maintain nicely. The trick is, when you do allow yourself a little treat with the kids, or pizza night, or whatever, to not let that become "Well, might as well have more, might as well go crazy and get back on it tomorrow, might as well finish out the week and get back on it next week....well, next week's [insert holiday or occasion here]...remember that from the dieting years? It's a sneaky, sneaky thing but before you're aware of it your "old" self can come for a visit and move right in.
That's not to say that you can't enjoy those things ever...you just have to be vigilant about keeping focused, and not get careless about eating whatever, whenever. And I'm preaching this all over the place: If you feel like you have a "sweet tooth" now, please do some research on sugar addiction ahead of time. It's a real, physical addiction and the ONE thing I wish I'd known about, identified in myself, and been prepared for ahead of time.

Hello my name is Ladydeenj and I am addicted to coffee!!! So..... having to stop it was so difficult! The choice was Decaf or nothing and for a week I chose nothing!!!! However, the feel of a hot cup of coffee early in the start of the day was greatly missed! So.... I decided on decaf, 1/2 cup with Carmel premier protein!!!! There is a God!!!! Holy smokes that was delicious and fulfilling and yes folks it’s a love connection !!! 3 cheers for living la vida loca.

...to share a before and after photo.
I still have 10-20 pounds to lose to get to my goal weight - but at 1 year post-op from my VSG it seemed like time to be brave and share it with everyone... so here is pre-surgery vs. now.
Despite needing to lose another 10 to 20 I am still pretty proud of my results so far!

Greetings from Grand Blanc, Michigan!

That stuff is the devil...and as it's for appetite control, why would you need that with your sleeve? The close you are to goal, the slower the weight's going to come off. Just do like everyone else suggests and go back to basics, be very strict, avoid slider foods (even healthy ones) and you'll get there.

My 1st one and I'm sure there will be more. To think more of myself, to love me more as I achieve a good weight,loss, to see it for myself instead of hearing about it from others.To feel powerful instead of a fat and weak victim.

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