I recently heard a story about an old friend of the family whom supposedly had WLS (don't know the kind) and she only lost 20 lb right after then gained it back... Just wondering how often something like that happens? I am pretty much set on getting SKINNY after I am sleeved with Dr. Garcia May 15 (yay!) and feel like this is my last hope. I would be absolutely devastated if it didn't work.

It will work IF you work it and you get your head straight. You still have to diet so to speak. 3 small heathy meals a day and a couple of healthy Snacks.

After 5 months out I can eat the wrong and bad things and then also eat off and on all day and gain weight. This is a tool not a miracle. It curbs your appetite and controls how much you can eat at a setting.

How often do most of us eat when you're NOT hungry? Me, often. I can keep my sleeve full all day if I want to and really add up the calories and with that the weight. This is more of a head game than most understand until you get into it. Most of us are emotional eaters and we are food addicts and that's why we got so heavy to begin with. Your new stomach only holds a small amount of food, but if you put a small amount in your stomach every hour or so with high calorie and bad foods, you'll gain weight.

The first 3 months or so you're scared to hurt your sleeve and you're real careful. After that you start to test the limits of what and how much you can put in there. The stuggle with the food addiction and emotional eating is where the work really is.

I wouldn't strive for skinny either, make the goal healthy. Because the other side of this is that skinny does not necessarily equal happiness. I think a lot of us think we'll be happy when we lose the weight, everything will change IF we lose the weight. Be prepaired to change your life, the way you think about food and they way you deal with everyday life without using food. Changing from a couch potatoe to an active lifestyle. Everyday doing some sort of exercise to keep moving.

Yes, I knew all of this when I started, but what I didn't know was how hard it would really be. Food addiction is as strong or even stronger than drug addiction. You have to eat to live so it's always in front of you challenging you to keep in control.

Again, this is a tool not a miracle. I'm just keeping it real and honest.

I had my surgery in Mexico 15 months ago and I have lost 94 lbs. I am a size 6 (from a 22-24) and couldn't be happier. I say aim for whatever your goal is and stick to your plan until you get there. I changed my eating habits while I was losing and now I'm not the dessert fiend I used to be.

Hey!

5dogma has pretty much summed it up for you.... the sleeve is an amazing tool but must be respected as any other surgery.

Now, that being said, I can honestly, utterly and completely tell you that this is the ONLY way that I have ever achieved any sort of weight loss - the most has been about 7lb, which took me many, many months of strict dieting - and kept it off over a long period of time.

I also agree with setting an achievable, attainable and healthy goal weight... if you surpass it happy days... if you don't make it, then it is devastating and can really mess with your head ( I am 11lbs away from my surgeon's goal, which is completely and utterly realistic, and I am struggling with that mentally as I am 21mths out and whatever I do doesn't effect the scale. I am dealing with this but it can be really tough on the ole self esteem and confidence!).

Good luck with your forthcoming surgery... follow your surgeon's rules, relax and try to enjoy the rollercoaster ride that awaits you!

Thanks for the advice! It just surprised me when I found that out, with the diet required both before & after I don't see how it was possible for her not to lose more. I didn't know if the surgery failed, or if that was a real possibility...

Oh, and another thing that made me inquire is that someone on another thread (gastric sleeve) said they they lost 11 lb pre-op then gained 3 after so the surgery wasn't a success for them. I don't want this to happen to me! How does that happen?!?

They probably gained 3 lbs of Water weight after surgery. You're on an IV and that puts water weight on some or probably even most. Don't freak out about this surgery. Be realistic about your expectations an keep remembering it's a tool not a miracle and don't expect it to be easy.. You got a lot of work ahead, this is just the beginning.

My daugher had Dr. Garcia on Jan 23rd. We loved him and his staff in TJ. She's down from an 18 to a size 8-10. She like me struggles with the food addiction. We were just saying, "well you can't eat a whole gallon of ice cream at one time, but you can eat a gallon in a day!" Some days it's just hard.