I Have a question I have not seen asked on here. We were or all obese for one reason or another. over eating, binge eating or whatever habits we had if we can call them habits. How does VSG change this eating?

so that you loose weight?

Thanks for any answers, :sad0:

I Have a question I have not seen asked on here. We were or all obese for one reason or another. over eating, binge eating or whatever habits we had if we can call them habits. How does VSG change this eating?

so that you loose weight?

Thanks for any answers, :sad0:

Well for one thing your stomach is about as big around as your ring finger and it's pretty hard to eat very much with a stomach that size.

Pluse as so many others have said, the sleeve is not the magic cure for weight loss -- it is nothing more than an aid in helping you lose weight and if you use it properly and change all the bad habits you've developed over the years and focus on eating 60-70 grams of Protein, less than 30 grams of carbs and stick to 600-800 calories a day, then you're going to lose. Of course, as the experienced sleevers have attested, you can eat around your sleeve and gain weight (meaning ice cream, high fat foods, carbs, etc. ... things that go down easy that they refer to as slider foods.)

That's my take on the matter; I am sure others will have much more to say on the matter.

I Have a question I have not seen asked on here. We were or all obese for one reason or another. over eating, binge eating or whatever habits we had if we can call them habits. How does VSG change this eating?

so that you loose weight?

Thanks for any answers, :sad0:

Depending on your anatomy, 70 to 90% (average 80%) of your stomach is removed. The hormone that is involved in making you feel hungry is called gherlin. It tells your brain that you're hungry and you respond by eating. Gherlin "lives" in the part of the stomach that is removed.

Think of a sleeved stomach like a narrow straw that leads down to a pouch. The straw restricts how much food you take in and that pouch fills up fast on small amounts of food. You instantly feel full. Because the gherlin has been largely removed, cravings are dramatically reduced.

It's your choice what you put down that straw. Ice-cream and other empty calorie foods slide right on down and you can pack the calories in. If you stick with 3 meals a day of healthy foods, you lose.

Things are clearer now , thank you for the education!!!

I love learning from all of you!!!

I cant add much to whats already been said.

The stomach is much smaller, some are smaller than others.

For me, I can still eat alot at times, other times, I cant. I still get famishly hungry and crave alot of bad food. Its up to me to limit those foods, etc.

I cant add much to whats already been said.

The stomach is much smaller, some are smaller than others.

For me, I can still eat alot at times, other times, I cant. I still get famishly hungry and crave alot of bad food. Its up to me to limit those foods, etc.

Lisa....

Have you tried drinking ice Water (slushy is even better) before a meal? That is the only thing I have found that changes my restriction. If I drink something cold before a meal it limits me to about half of what I usually eat.

Cravings... the only thing I have found that helps with cravings is to avoid it completely. If I eat a little I just crave it even more. For me it has to be all or none. After about three days I am fine and the cravings are almost gone.

For me, cravings are tied to my carb intake. Which can be difficult because I need carbs to do my endurance sports. But I have to be careful with them and I'm constantly cutting back as I feel the cravings coming on.

I didn't think about the ice Water thing... I often can't eat much in restaurants and that's also pretty much the only time I drink ice water.

I really don't think the sleeve will help with binge eating. The sleeve definitely cuts your portions of meats and meals down -way down.

It depends on what you binge on. For me it's candy and ice cream. So far, I can't eat ice cream anymore and that 's a good thing. It makes me sick.

However, my boss had this big huge box of chocolate truffles in her office and I had a couple. If I had been in binge mode and was offered the whole box, I think I could have eaten the whole box.

You still have to use will power to stay away from slider foods. A person could graze all day long picking and eating little bits of this and that, if a person did not want to get a handle on their eating habits.

Hello, I have suffered from various eating disorders all my life, with Binge eating disorder high on the list in my later adult years. I was warned that WLS would not help me, but you know, after 40 years of every diet, every therapy available, everything that medical science had to offer as well as everything that all the quacks out there have to offer, I had to try it.

So my answer to does it help with binging is yes and no. Yes, because now I have that restriction so that even when I do make bad choices, the damage is very minimal. And no becuase of course, I carry the same head around with me that still wants to binge sometimes.

But what it does do for me is buy me time to think. There have been times when I have wanted to binge, and have even purchased my favorite binge foods. But can I scarf them down? No, 3-4 bites and I am done. So then I have time to think it through, do I really want to do this? SOmetimes, YES, LOL!, but really I can't physically, so I end up throwing it out or sheepishly bringing it home and handing it over to my family so they can finish it. They know all about me. And then I look at what led me to think I needed to binge and I hopefully learn yet another thing about me and my food issues.

So I guess this is why I have a problem when I hear people say that if you don't solve your food issues first, then you shouldn't have surgery. Some of us would die first. I also take issue with surgeons who won't operate unless you lose X amount of weight first. If I could lose weight on my own, I wouldn't need the surgery. I gained 20 pounds while I was waiting for surgery becuase for me stress and binging go hand in hand. Dr. Aceves was so sweet, he knew that I needed the surgery to get my life back and he was right.

So my wieght loss has been slow, now 84 lbs at 11 months out, but even though I've had some bumps in the road with the food still, the periods of good eating have been wonderful, and the bad times are getting fewer and far between, and now finally for the first time in my life the pressure is relieved and I really am learning to deal with my food issues.

So for bingers, I would do this again, but just know that its not a magic cure and that you will need patience and time and willingness to work on things as you go.

Bren

Thanks Bren, I got alot of good info from you. Well from all of you.

I hope to use the VSG as a tool to stop the binging.

I am a nervous wreck over this surgery, I am scared that something will happen and I won't happen.. Just my irrational fears...lol

:frown1:

That's a really good way to put it Bren. I am a binge eater as well. I don't think about binging as much now a days because I always feel so full.

I wonder what it will be like a few years down the road. I have read on the other board that a couple of years from now is when the real work starts, and keeping the weight off is not as easy.

So I guess this is why I have a problem when I hear people say that if you don't solve your food issues first, then you shouldn't have surgery.

Me too. What I say is, if you don't work on your food issues, surgery isn't going to help you. The more you work on them before surgery, the better of you'll be, but it's not like you can't keep working on them forever.

Plus, some of the physiological issues of being obese may be contributing to your eating issues. I think it's a complicated system with lots of feedback loops. Fixing one side of the equation can often help the other side.

I also take issue with surgeons who won't operate unless you lose X amount of weight first.

Sometimes it feels like they are trying to make you "earn" your surgery. Sure, losing 10 lb. can make your liver easier to handle and some people have health conditions that losing 25 lb. might make much better. But there is no data to support making everyone, not matter what, lose 10% of their body weight like a lot of surgeons do.

Let's put it this way. Say person A started at 350. They are told to lose 35 lb. and that it's for their own safety to make the operation less risky. Person B starts at 250. They are told to lose 25 lb. Why is it safe for person A to have surgery at 315 but not safe for person B to have surgery at 250 pounds? (Assuming both people have similar health histories and conditions.)

I just realized I never actually answered the OP's question though. So here's my answer:

My eating has changed because I'm no longer full of ghrelin so I'm no longer hungry all the time. This has changed my relationship with food. I am more in control now. My tastes have also changed. I like things less sweet now and I'm more sensitive to additives so I eat more whole and natural foods now.

Because I can't eat a lot at one time, my ideas of what is a normal portion have changed considerable. So I don't even try to eat a lot of food most of the time. When I do try, I get negative reinforcement.

Edited June 23, 200917 yr by MacMadame

I'd imagine its a bit like a lapband - restricted space doesnt matter so much if you pig out on slider foods.

I've found that I still occasionally have a big pig out - I wouldnt call myself a binge eater, but I did like to settle in with a lot of something.

Well, I cant eat a family bag of chips anymore - those give me heartburn. A lot of Cookies go down well but my faves were always shortbread type ones, those stick, 2 or 3 is plenty for me. We had an apple pie after dinner last night at the request of number 2 son, who hates our no dessert habit, and I had a bite and was done. Cant handle much pastry, certainly cant go out and eat 3 or 4 custard tarts like I used to do. Cant eat muffins, donuts without pain, those were real problem foods for me.

But - whole box of chocolates? Easy. Ice cream (which I NEVER cared for and now like a lot more)? Easy.

I've sneakily changed what I like to binge on in order to get round the fact that I cant binge. Or the other thing I find myself doing is picking ALL day.

I find for me, the urge to overeat like that comes very seldom, its not a daily problem for me, I can guarantee it one day per month and other than that its once in a blue moon. So you know, I go with it. It doesnt seem to harm my weight, it just makes me feel bloated and disgusted for a day, which if I cared that much, I woudlnt do it in the first place now, would I? I dont bother trying to work out the reasons for it as it happens so seldom its not really a problem.

But if its something you find the urge to do on a daily basis, hmmm, I'd be afraid that WLS might be only half the answer.

Sometimes it feels like they are trying to make you "earn" your surgery. Sure, losing 10 lb. can make your liver easier to handle and some people have health conditions that losing 25 lb. might make much better. But there is no data to support making everyone, not matter what, lose 10% of their body weight like a lot of surgeons do.

Let's put it this way. Say person A started at 350. They are told to lose 35 lb. and that it's for their own safety to make the operation less risky. Person B starts at 250. They are told to lose 25 lb. Why is it safe for person A to have surgery at 315 but not safe for person B to have surgery at 250 pounds? (Assuming both people have similar health histories and conditions.)

A liver shrinking diet isn't based on the number of pounds lost. A liver shrinking diet is when you cut out carbs. Glycogen is a type of carbohydrate and when you do Atkins Glycogen is burned. THAT is what makes the liver hard to manage during surgery.

As for weight loss even 10# makes surgery easier for the surgeon. But a liver shrinking diet (burning glycogen) makes the liver easier for the surgeon.

Lisa....

Have you tried drinking ice Water (slushy is even better) before a meal? That is the only thing I have found that changes my restriction. If I drink something cold before a meal it limits me to about half of what I usually eat.

Cravings... the only thing I have found that helps with cravings is to avoid it completely. If I eat a little I just crave it even more. For me it has to be all or none. After about three days I am fine and the cravings are almost gone.

I know what you mean about the cravings. Im the same way. I do so much better when I avoid them, but I always give in sometimes. It keeps me sane, but then on the other hand, it makes me want more...ugh...lol

Ill try the ice water trick. I know when I drink water, i dont feel as hungry. But my appetite always comes back with a vengence.

I know what you mean about the cravings. Im the same way. I do so much better when I avoid them, but I always give in sometimes. It keeps me sane, but then on the other hand, it makes me want more...ugh...lol

Ill try the ice Water trick. I know when I drink water, i dont feel as hungry. But my appetite always comes back with a vengence.

Did you ever do the cottage cheese test we did on the other board?