Huhhhhh....(big sigh). I'm writing this in total frustration with myself. I think I've totally stretched my sleeve, because nothing...and I mean NOTHING is being restricted and I'm SO scared that I am going to gain my weight back.

I was sleeved about a year and a half ago...June 29th, 2010. I weighed 330 pounds at my highest (which was right before surgery). This time last year (6 months later) I weighed 215 pounds!!! Yes! I lost a total of 115 pounds in less than 6 months. How great is that! I should have been totally proud of myself...I looked and felt wonderful! But....there was always the evil food lurking over me...snacks, chips, Cookies...and soda. Time went on and my cravings have become worse and my tolerance has become better. BAD combination.

To make a long story short...the past 3 to 4 months I've been drinking a lot of Soda (which is the Devil to Sleevers) and I think I've ruined my sleeve. Since March of this year my weight has slowly creeped up...I am now teetering between 235 and 240!!! Someone please help me or give me some advice or hope that I have not totally ruined my sleeve. I have cut the soda totally now. I don't what I'd do if I gain this weight back.

As someone who is only two months out, I have no clue whether you have stretched the sleeve out or not. What I can say is that you need to remember why you chose the sleeve in the first place. You, like most of us probably chose it as a tool to help YOU lose the weight. You bought a hammer to put a nail in the wall, so to speak. Now you have put the hammer down and are trying to get the nail in the wall with just your hands. Not going to work.

Here is my advice. You are a woman therefore you are strong (sorry guys but it's true). You have the inner strength that it will take to get yourself back on track. Don't be down on yourself; rather remind yourself that you are beautiful and you deserve to be happy in your body and you deserve to feel sexy! Remind yourself that you are worth the effort it will take to get back on track.

Now, to get back on track (I have read) is no easy feat. Go back to the basics - Protein before anything else. Eat slow. Drink non-calorie drinks or Protein shakes only. You could even try the pre-op diet that the docs put us on (protein shakes through the day and a small meal at night with no snacking). Or maybe try mushies or soft foods only. Stay away from the carbs until you no longer crave them. Exercise.

You can do this. As I said, you are a woman and you have inner strength that is virtually limitless. Reach inside, find it, and put it to work for you!! You are worth it!

We all share a bond of our struggles with food. These struggles are not something that will ever go away and we will always need to remind ourselves that we can overcome them because we are worth it.

Shae

Think about that motivation you had right after surgery. You lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time. You can do it again. Re-read your diet instructions from the surgeon and follow it to a T. You can do this.

You can also go and try the 5 day pouch test. . . it's tough but works very well. . . go to your search engine and just type in 5 day pouch test. . . i'm out now 2 years and at 1 year I stopped losing weight, not because i was eating all the evil foods, no, it was more that my body had had enough and possibly reached where it is supposed to be. . so now for this past year, i've been up and down about 10 lbs too. this year coming is a new year for me and this year (i'm determined this time) I will get to the gym 3 x per week and work out this fat booty and loose the extra 30 lbs i have left to get to my own personal goal. . . you know what you have to do, you know the evil foods, but unfortunately if you haven't used that 1 critical year to relearn your eating habits, we tend to go back to the old ways and we can trick our sleeves into virtually anything. . . including gaining weight back. . . so drop those sodas and high starchy snacks and replace them with crystal lite water and veggies and the gym. . . good luck and hopefully I didn't say anything to make anyone feel like i wasn't giving support. . . .

I know it may seem like you've done something bad to your sleeve, but I'm betting that if you focus on eating Protein first and then green veggies, you're going to be dropping those unwanted pounds like hot bricks--and be right back where you want to be and feeling healthy and proud of yourself.

Use that tool! When you say "nothing is being restricted," do you mean you can eat unlimited quantities like you did pre-sleeve? I imagine that's not the case. If it's that your sleeve allows you to eat whatever types of food you want, yeah, that I can see, which makes it so much more important to do the protein-first, then veggies eating plan. You can eat whatever type of protein food you enjoy, and tasty veggies, so go for it!! Make your health and fitness a priority to yourself--YOU matter, and your needs matter. Hugs to you!!

Everyone has said it just right. You have the tools to get back on track. Even if your sleeve is stretched, it is impossible to stretch to pre op size. Utilize the size you have and eat alot of protein, You will do fine. Merry Christmas. Thanks for sharing.