Sleeved in January 2011. Lost 87 lbs the first 11 mos. My weight at the beginning was 349, so I am still morbidly obese at 262. Yes, I'm thinner, yes I'm healthier, yes, I'm happier, but NO, I'm not satisified. My husband also had the sleeve in the same month, he's lost 130lbs. He is still morbidly obese at 280. He is ok with where he is at. Would like to lose more but he is happy with where he is at, he thinks it was a success. I want at least 63 more pounds off in order for it to be a success for me.

We both eat about 1800 calories a day, sometimes 2000, sometimes 1500. We both bike and walk. I guess the real secret is eating 1000 calories a day and to be honest, neither of us can do it. We are hungry. Not starving, but not full enough to live on 1000 calories.

Hindsight....I would have done it one step further and gotten the BPD, too. We were cash pay and as it's so expensive we chose this thinking it would be the answer. Unfortunately, it did not get us to our goals. I am working with a psychologist now and she is trying some methods that may help me eat less. My hands are up in the air in frustration as this point so I hope she can help.

This is not meant to discourage anybody considering this, just a piece of advice. If you are way overweight as we were, you might need more than just the sleeve.

I am sorry you have had such an unhappy experience with your sleeve. I was sleeved on 2/13/12, and I have lost 80 lbs since my surgery, 95 overall. I am 4 months out, and still have another 65-85 lbs to loose before I will be where I want to be.

My suggestion is to cut back on the calories, back down to 1200, drink as much Water as possible, and always remember Protein first. You can do this....we all faith in you!!!! Good luck!

I'm no expert, but I'm on a liquid diet now - pre-op and I'm eating 800 calories and not really that hungry. The key is to totally cut out sugary foods.. they are a cancer -they make you crave more sweets.andmore....etc.. every time I've tried low-carb I'm never really hungry and sometimes have to force myself to eat..

If all else fails -- go back to the basics try your post-op diet for a couple of weeks- nothing but liquids and Protein. It may help to reset your metabolism, and shrink your appetite.

Just figured I would post this interesting fact that I learned on a documentary on obesiety recently. If you have ever been overweight, in order to maintain your weightloss you will have to eat 20% less than someone with the exact same body type, height/weight that has never been over weight. My suggestion is to contact your NUT or surgeon and talk openly about your diet. They can help you come up with the correct calories to eat in order to acheive more weightloss.

BTW...you both look Fab!!!!

Let me post this photo...before and after...this is where we are at now.

Thinner and healthier, but not thin.

This may be a little off topic, but you look SPLENDID--you're a very pretty woman! You and your husband have accomplished so much, and I can imagine how frustrating it can be to have a surgery and then not have it restrict you in the way you imagined.

Courage! You're doing great (though I completely understand your frustration)!

First off, you look really great. You've both done good work and you shouldn't fail to be proud of your accomplishments just because you aren't to goal yet.

Secondly, the only surgery I'd consider revising to if I were you, would be DS. So yes, if you're considering it, I think that BPD is the way to go. That said, it's a HUGE change and a lifetime of supplements and blood panels to stay healthy, so you have to be sure it's necessary. Which leads to my third:

I don't think you've got anything to be ashamed or worried about.

I think you're right on track for a slower loser. I lost quite slowly, too. It seemed that no matter what I did to mix up my diet it didn't have a big impact.

I know there is one more "heavyweight" here who got to goal very slowly. But she got there! Your sleeve isn't stretched. I know a lot of people feel like there's a honeymoon phase but that is simply not the case. You're more than a year out - your sleeve is about as big as it's getting so unless you constantly cheat it or try to stretch it, you're fine. Your tool is in fine working order.

And I'm not here to judge your diet or intake but here's my two cents, anyway.

You're eating too much for your body, or you'd be losing more. Some folks are lucky and can eat more without gaining. Some folks are athletes and need 1,500+ calories a day. Some of us have to be very strict all the time to lose and stay firmly on track in maintenance to avoid regains. It's just a sad fact of life.

My opinion is that you need to cut those calories. Start by cutting 500 out a day until you're consistently 1,500 per day or lower. And then when you hit a stall (same weight longer than three weeks straight) drop them again by 10% - with this tactic you will lose again.

If you're having a problem with hunger check if you need to be on a PPI again. Just in the last month I had to restart my PPI. I was feeling like I was starving all day long and at night I'd have an acid problem. It took me two weeks to put two and two together and get back on my PPI. Now I feel fine again and the hunger is gone.

And be sure it's not head hunger. Have you worked on your food issues? We all have them or none of us would have a weight problem. Are you compensating, overeating, hiding? Evaluate this honestly so that you can get to where you want to be.

Last but not least, stop comparing yourself to other people. Especially men, because they always lose faster! You can always revise to DS and should look into those options if you're certain the issue isn't something you can fix without it. But not everyone reaches goal quickly. Nobody wants to be "that girl" that loses slowly and we all walk into this surgery with some measure of unrealistic expectations, I think. If we didn't I'd never read a single post about someone freaking out over "only" losing 30 pounds the first month or "stalling" for two days!

You know what to do, right? We all do! Dieting has been drilled into us countless times, especially when we spend years overweight.

Try using 1,500 calories (go 40% Protein, 30% fat and 30% carbs if you want to feel satisfied) as your ceiling for a while. See how you feel. Get back on a shake a day. I'm two years out and I drink a shake most days. I consume between 1,200 and 1,400 calories most days. I like to hit 90+ on my protein and the shake gets me there. I still have very little room for food. Two scrambled eggs, max. So you do have restriction and you do have the tool to do this. I just think you've gotten complacent. I'm sorry to say it that way - it happened to me for a spell, too! But there's a difference between eating "normally" (which anyone who knows my posts knows I advocate) and eating "normally for an overweight person." You don't need 2,000 calories a day, especially not in the losing phase. I don't care what the doctors say or the nutritionists say, either.

If they were right, and dieting was one size fits all, I would have gotten thin the first time I tried Weight Watchers at sixteen!

Chin up. Be nice to yourself. Pat yourself on your back for how far you've come. And get your buns back on track. Because if you hang in there, you can live at goal.

~Cheri

You and your husband look great! You've done so well! Be sure to take time to realize how much you have accomplished.

My only question is how are you doing on drinking your Water? Are you getting in at least 64 ounces a day? It can help you feel full, and your body needs the water/fluid to lose weight.

I started off losing quickly, but I am now a slow loser (9 pounds lost since February), but I am still losing. I find that I need to constantly reevaluate my eating choices. I have recently been eating a lot of Oikos Greek yogurt, and then I read a thread on here about the yogurt and someone mentioned the sugar content. I realized I hadn't even looked at the sugar content on the label. It was a reminder to myself that I needed to make sure I wasn't eating anything with more than 6 grams of sugar in a serving. I will have to go back to a different flavor of Greek yogurt.

Looking back, I realized that I made the choice to buy the Oikos brand not based on the food label but based on the price. It was on sale for $1 per container (5.3 ounces), so I grabbed it. This experience made me reevaluate what I was doing, and I ended up losing a couple of pounds. I realized I needed to stay aware of what I was eating and doing even when I think I know.

First off' date=' you look really great. You've both done good work and you shouldn't fail to be proud of your accomplishments just because you aren't to goal yet.

Secondly, the only surgery I'd consider revising to if I were you, would be DS. So yes, if you're considering it, I think that BPD is the way to go. That said, it's a HUGE change and a lifetime of supplements and blood panels to stay healthy, so you have to be sure it's necessary. Which leads to my third:

I don't think you've got anything to be ashamed or worried about.

I think you're right on track for a slower loser. I lost quite slowly, too. It seemed that no matter what I did to mix up my diet it didn't have a big impact.

I know there is one more "heavyweight" here who got to goal very slowly. But she got there! Your sleeve isn't stretched. I know a lot of people feel like there's a honeymoon phase but that is simply not the case. You're more than a year out - your sleeve is about as big as it's getting so unless you constantly cheat it or try to stretch it, you're fine. Your tool is in fine working order.

And I'm not here to judge your diet or intake but here's my two cents, anyway.

You're eating too much for your body, or you'd be losing more. Some folks are lucky and can eat more without gaining. Some folks are athletes and need 1,500+ calories a day. Some of us have to be very strict all the time to lose and stay firmly on track in maintenance to avoid regains. It's just a sad fact of life.

My opinion is that you need to cut those calories. Start by cutting 500 out a day until you're consistently 1,500 per day or lower. And then when you hit a stall (same weight longer than three weeks straight) drop them again by 10% - with this tactic you will lose again.

If you're having a problem with hunger check if you need to be on a PPI again. Just in the last month I had to restart my PPI. I was feeling like I was starving all day long and at night I'd have an acid problem. It took me two weeks to put two and two together and get back on my PPI. Now I feel fine again and the hunger is gone.

And be sure it's not head hunger. Have you worked on your food issues? We all have them or none of us would have a weight problem. Are you compensating, overeating, hiding? Evaluate this honestly so that you can get to where you want to be.

Last but not least, stop comparing yourself to other people. Especially men, because they always lose faster! You can always revise to DS and should look into those options if you're certain the issue isn't something you can fix without it. But not everyone reaches goal quickly. Nobody wants to be "that girl" that loses slowly and we all walk into this surgery with some measure of unrealistic expectations, I think. If we didn't I'd never read a single post about someone freaking out over "only" losing 30 pounds the first month or "stalling" for two days!

You know what to do, right? We all do! Dieting has been drilled into us countless times, especially when we spend years overweight.

Try using 1,500 calories (go 40% Protein, 30% fat and 30% carbs if you want to feel satisfied) as your ceiling for a while. See how you feel. Get back on a shake a day. I'm two years out and I drink a shake most days. I consume between 1,200 and 1,400 calories most days. I like to hit 90+ on my protein and the shake gets me there. I still have very little room for food. Two scrambled eggs, max. So you do have restriction and you do have the tool to do this. I just think you've gotten complacent. I'm sorry to say it that way - it happened to me for a spell, too! But there's a difference between eating "normally" (which anyone who knows my posts knows I advocate) and eating "normally for an overweight person." You don't need 2,000 calories a day, especially not in the losing phase. I don't care what the doctors say or the nutritionists say, either.

If they were right, and dieting was one size fits all, I would have gotten thin the first time I tried Weight Watchers at sixteen!

Chin up. Be nice to yourself. Pat yourself on your back for how far you've come. And get your buns back on track. Because if you hang in there, you can live at goal.

~Cheri[/quote']

Wow very insightfull post, even for us pre op, didnt know that we need to eat 20% less than the normal folk.

Very helpful, something I think anyone who is in a stall should read.

One thing I just though that might help a lot is getting a personal trainer and especially work on building muscle - after all muscle is the furnace that burns fat in the first place.

You have done great and are looking amazing! Keep your head up and keep trucking along. To repeat what lots have said, mix it up with the foods. Fruits, although good for you, are high in carbs and sugar. I haven't been sleeved yet (July 27) but even now, if I eat too many fruits in a day for a week and keep everything else the same, watching calories and staying at or under my recommended for losing, the fruit stops me from losing. My mom is the same way. I have to limit myself to 1, maybe 2 at most and that not on a daily basis, a day to lose weight. That really stinks too because I LOVE fruit! Maybe try adding more veggies as opposed to the fruit. Protein too but I know that sometimes I just need something with a little crunch too it that is healthy too.

Best of Luck!

P.S. I can't wait til I'm 87 pounds down! You are an inspiration to me whether you know it or not!

WOW, this is great advice from former food addicts like myself. LOSING WEIGHT IS HARD WORK AND MAINTAINING IT IS EVEN HARDER!!!!!! It takes a lot of self discipline and exercise to lose and maintain it. With some folks the lbs just drop off, with me and my thyroid issue I have to workout overtime sometimes two times per day plus eat bet 800-1,000 calories per day. I agree with CherryBomb and Mass index and this GS is a tool, it won't lose all the weight for you, we have to eat right and exerise if we want to lose more. Sure we can obtain a RNY to lose more weight, but there is a negitave tradeoff and that is issues with vit absorbtion, night blindness, and some people who can't stop losing the weight because their bodies suddenly can't absorbe protien, it turns the protien into ammonia and they die within 3 years. Some people can live with that and some choose to keep fighting with our GS. May you make the right decision for you because only you have to live with your body and the unhappiness it has caused you. Good luck to you guys in keeping up the fight against obesity because it is hard work to stay healthy.

Y'all look wonderful! I can't really ad to the already excellent suggestions here except to say that I firmly believe you can do it--I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that you can and will get there.

My husband is also a sleever. I think having a partner who is in it with you can be a tremendous asset. You don't have to explain to him/her why you're eating what you're eating, why you don't/can't eat pizza any more, etc. On the flip side, you may not have the same nutritional requirements. My husband can eat a LOT more than me and not gain an ounce--in fact, he can LOSE WEIGHT on a lot fewer calories than would make me GAIN WEIGHT! ARGH! Even though we've both been sleeved, we eat very differently, and this is what I thought I'd share with you--I have to eat appropriately for my sleeve and for my goals, and my husband eats for his. He doesn't worry about it, honestly--when I say that, I mean he really doesn't think about it any more. We don't keep food in the house that isn't good for sleevers, but he really just doesn't think about it. He doesn't get all that hungry, and when he does, he eats what he wants and that's that.

On the other hand, being female and hormonal and subject to serious weight fluctuations, I do think about what I eat--I focus on getting in as many raw or lightly cooked vegetables as I can, along with lean protein (for me, that's fat-free dairy and other veggie protein sources plus a little shellfish--that's what my sleeve allows!). I do eat fruit, probably 2 to 3 servings a day, but see if switching your focus off of fruit and onto veggies helps. And MIND THE SALT! I have the same thyroid issues as you--you definitely can see your doc regarding those; levothyroxine is cheap and it definitely helps the metabolism--my doctor once told me that my thyroid was so low-functioning that I could eat NOTHING and still not lose any weight, for an extended period of time!!! That was depressing, but it was also a sure-fire way to be sure I took that pill every day!

Bottom line: HANG IN THERE. Y'all are looking and (I bet!) feeling amazing. You just have more to do, and you're in the process of doing it. Don't get hung up on could have/should have. You ARE DOING IT. It just takes longer for some folks--but it's not a race, right? This is for life. And FOR LIFE!!! BEST WISHES!!

Just figured I would post this interesting fact that I learned on a documentary on obesiety recently. If you have ever been overweight, in order to maintain your weightloss you will have to eat 20% less than someone with the exact same body type, height/weight that has never been over weight. My suggestion is to contact your NUT or surgeon and talk openly about your diet. They can help you come up with the correct calories to eat in order to acheive more weightloss.

BTW...you both look Fab!!!!

Yes! It was called Weight Of A Nation on HBO! I just posted about the 20% above. I knew our bodies want to stay fat, but I didn't realize how much until they said this on this documentary. I highly recommend everyone who is overweight or used to be over weight to watch this! I'm sure it will be out on video! Very informative! I know it made me strive even harder to get this weight off and to keep it off!

I also agree with not eating carbs/sugary foods. It really does make you crave more! I do go off track every once and a while. But I go back to the basic's that I learned...this is a life long battle. But use your tool that they gave you and you'll make it! Be one of the 80%! Not the 20% that gain their weight back! YOU CAN DO IT!

Thanks' date=' Cherry...I've read the same and have been terrified of the malapsorption issue. It's the reason I didn't do bypass. I am trying to eat fruits and fruits and fruits and veges. My body really craves protein, though, in order to feel satisfied. I can eat the fruit, but within an hour, I am hungry again and fighting the urge to eat. I usually end up eating some cheese or some turkey---something to make the hunger go away. This is what the Psych is going to help me with using hypnosis. I'm not sure what I think about hypnosis, but I'll try anything at this point. I really was hoping to be around 210 at this time and everyday I see it slipping away for good. I just want to be healthy.[/quote']

Are you taking an anti-acid med? I didn't really believe what I read about it making you feel hungry but at two years out I believe it now started taking one and a whole lot less hungry all the time now. Also, if y'all are eating carbs you are going to be hungry more quickly.

2000 calories does seem like a lot. Is there anyone else thats been sleeved for this long that can eat that much? I thought our sleeves wouldnt let us eat that much anymore :/

Really WHAT you are eating. Remember, slider foods have Lots of calories and carbs and you can push a wholeeeee lot down if you want or drink a whole lot also.

Are you getting in your protein and water? My doctor tells me to stay between 48-60g of protein and between 50-60oz fluid daily. Try not to get too down on yourself, you've already lost so much!!

When I was told about this surgery my doctor told me that there are 2 kinds of patients that he recommends for the sleeve.

1.) People that need to lose 100lbs or less

2.) People that are excessively overweight like 325+ that are planning on getting Gastric bypass afterwards. Basically using the sleeve as a step 1.

My doctor doesn't volunteer a lot of info but this was the first thing I heard. Therefore maybe you should consider getting your step 2.