I must say I'm a little taken aback by the number of posts I've read on this forum recently by people who seem genuinely surprised that you can gain weight after having surgery. Whether it be Water retention during that first month (3 week stall) or simply 9 months down the line and someone is eating crappy foods and not following their plan anymore....it is most certainly possible. In fact, no matter what type of WLS you have, a person who is determined can eat around it. This is why most of us are forced to have a psych eval and see a NUT several times before surgery...so we understand this is not fool proof.

This is not meant to be a criticism of anyone here. My real concern is why aren't your doctors and NUTs driving these points home with you before surgery? My surgeon made me sign a document stating I understood I had to eat right and exercise for the rest of my life or the surgery wasn't going to help me.

If I could say one thing to everyone it would simply be that the surgery will not do everything for you. You have to eat the right things, and you need to exercise. The sleeve helps initially. But as time goes by the sleeve does less and less, and you have to do more. The people I've seen here who have been successful are those that embraced those changes and learned better eating habits while they were still in the honeymoon phase, so when their capacity to eat increased they made better, healthier choices and maintained their goal weight.

A huge demographic exists of people who are lusting for a pill that allows you to eat like a hippo but look like a cheetah. There is a large flock of vultures preying upon their naive belief in mythical science.

No such pill exists and no operation.

Unimplemented, even an effective, expensive, and dangerously acquired tool such as VSG has no value.

Someone the other day called it a "temporary tool" rather than just a tool for us to use to regain control of our lives... I like thinking of it as temporary. It helps to remind us that it alone will not be the cure all. It will help us get started, but if we don't make other changes we may not be one of those 3 years plus success stories!

A huge demographic exists of people who are lusting for a pill that allows you to eat like a hippo but look like a cheetah. There is a large flock of vultures preying upon their naive belief in mythical science.

No such pill exists and no operation.

Unimplemented' date=' even an effective, expensive, and dangerously acquired tool such as VSG has no value.[/quote']

Yep. There are people out there with the metabolism to eat like that. We all know someone like that and we want to be them. I do.

I must say I'm a little taken aback by the number of posts I've read on this forum recently by people who seem genuinely surprised that you can gain weight after having surgery. Whether it be Water retention during that first month (3 week stall) or simply 9 months down the line and someone is eating crappy foods and not following their plan anymore....it is most certainly possible. In fact' date=' no matter what type of WLS you have, a person who is determined can eat around it. This is why most of us are forced to have a psych eval and see a NUT several times before surgery...so we understand this is not fool proof.

This is not meant to be a criticism of anyone here. My real concern is why aren't your doctors and NUTs driving these points home with you before surgery? My surgeon made me sign a document stating I understood I had to eat right and exercise for the rest of my life or the surgery wasn't going to help me.

If I could say one thing to everyone it would simply be that the surgery will not do everything for you. You have to eat the right things, and you need to exercise. The sleeve helps initially. But as time goes by the sleeve does less and less, and you have to do more. The people I've seen here who have been successful are those that embraced those changes and learned better eating habits while they were still in the honeymoon phase, so when their capacity to eat increased they made better, healthier choices and maintained their goal weight.[/quote']

I was self pay, in the US. I never had to meet with a NUT or psych prior to surgery. I only met my surgeon three times, one of those being the day of surgery. My surgeons office does not endorse an eating plan, just telling people to "eat normal" and depending on restriction of the sleeve. I did all my own research for an eating and exercise program. I do not want to be one f those people who gain all my weight back after WLS. What a waste of $14K that would be.

Anyway my point is, not everyone has guidance from Drs and NUTs.

This is an excellent post, BTB. I just want to a comment, which will probably be controversial.....

But this is why I think (my opinion, no need for anyone to flame me) is why people with low BMI's shouldn't get this surgery as a 'preventive measure.' It just doesn't work long enough to be used as a preventive measure. It' s a tool to temp restrict intake so you can learn how to eat while losing weight. The losing weight is the reinforcement needed to keep people on track. If you don't get that reinforcement because you don't have much weight to lose, then why have the operation in the first place? It's not going to keep you from overeating 5 years from now.

I was self pay' date=' in the US. I never had to meet with a NUT or psych prior to surgery. I only met my surgeon three times, one of those being the day of surgery. My surgeons office does not endorse an eating plan, just telling people to "eat normal" and depending on restriction of the sleeve. I did all my own research for an eating and exercise program. I do not want to be one f those people who gain all my weight back after WLS. What a waste of 14K that would be.

Anyway my point is, not everyone has guidance from Drs and NUTs.[/quote']

Thats a fair point. I think a person is perfectly capable of guiding themselves through this journey with the proper research. I do wish more doctors would take it upon themselves to educate their clients more, and at least offer a suggested eating plan. I've seen a few here who had surgery and then were asking "now what?" Makes me glad resources like this forum are available.

I had my surgery in Mexico and have\was well versed on what I need to do to be successful, maybe that is just me.

I have seen MANY sleevers who have had there surgery in the U.S. and have had councelling and a NUT and still come on here asking ridiculous(should already know) questions and sound like they have no idea what they are doing. Are these the people who may not be successful? Is it because they can't follow the diet guidelines given? Or is it because they truly can not give up there old eating habits?

This is a life changing experience and not for everyone. I do take it one day at a time but also love the new me and remember this everyday!

My BMI was around 43 before starting. I was told by nurses, (not bariatric), that I didn't need surgery, I didn't look that bad. I'm 6'2" and mainly just had a pot gut. What you couldn't see was how bad I felt, how little energy I had, the sleep apnea, high blood pressure, diabetes, and the general misery that goes along with being obese. I could not lose the weight, chemo, steroids, lupron, and blood pressure medicine all set up a pretty good diet killing team.

My BMI was considered borderline for eligibility for VSG but the comorbidities put me over the line.

I would not go back. My life has been improved immensely and my life expectancy raised.

The sleeve may be a temporary chance but I would take the chance again in a heartbeat. I am making it a permanent fix.

I remember when I was pre-op and going to different surgical seminars, there was one in particular that stood out for me in a bad way. For the first time I felt like I was in a crowd that had little knowledge about the surgeries let alone what would be required. Granted I'm a research nut so that could be just me. I didn't learn a thing from that seminar I didn't already know BUT the big issue that bothered me the most was the questions from the audience about when they were going to be able to eat their favorite foods (and you can guess it's wasn't about salads). That was the majority of the questions! The doctor I chose was a bit harsher when it came to guidelines and that works for me. When he talked about the two week pre-op diet (which is quiet liberal than most other doctors) someone asked "what if I can't do that?" His response was "well then you aren't ready for this surgery, come back to me when you are!" The two week pre-op is a breeze compared to following the rules afterwards. I had to be mentally ready to say I was willing to stick to the plan no matter what. Because after the surgery, it is even more critical to be able to follow the rules. I know not everyone can make that mental switch 100% but for me, it's what works. I know if I started slipping, it would be a slippery slope and I would need to seek professional help.

The other comment my surgeon made that also stuck with me is that he doesn't care about my first year post op weight loss...because that's easy. He cares about the following years because that's when it shows that I'm determined to keep it off. So this first year I HAVE to make the necessary changes to sustain this for life. At least for me, this is the path that I am choosing.

A huge demographic exists of people who are lusting for a pill that allows you to eat like a hippo but look like a cheetah. There is a large flock of vultures preying upon their naive belief in mythical science.

No such pill exists and no operation.

Unimplemented' date=' even an effective, expensive, and dangerously acquired tool such as VSG has no value.[/quote']

I gotta admit, I have always dreamed of this "eat like a hippo and look like a cheetah" actually becoming a reality, even though i know it wont, haha. A girl can dream, right?

Hehehe! Cheetahs eat pretty well and still look sleek and muscular...must be all that protein

<3

Quite frankly I think the diet part is a no brainer. WE ALL know what healthy food is and what a healthy calorie limit is. People fail because they don't change their thoughts about food and about themselves. If you don't believe in yourself, how you succeed at anything?

Well with all this being said, I'm in quite a predicament right now. I spent 5 days in the hospital for kidney problems. Came home with two stents to help them empty and now my urologist says no protein and no calcium...I'm like ummmmm what the heck do I do now.

I've been eatting vegetables mostly for a week now. I'm seriously unsure which route to take now.

Sad sad

Well with all this being said' date=' I'm in quite a predicament right now. I spent 5 days in the hospital for kidney problems. Came home with two stents to help them empty and now my urologist says no Protein and no calcium...I'm like ummmmm what the heck do I do now.

I've been eatting vegetables mostly for a week now. I'm seriously unsure which route to take now.

Sad sad [/quote']

How long do they want you to stay off protein? It's not ideal but it's not going to kill you either. Are there any other types of protein you can tolerate? There are some great vegetarian Proteins out there. Your bariatric surgeon has surely encountered this before and may have some suggestions.

As far as I know indefinitely...my urologist is giving my kidneys a month to "rest" and then I go in for more studies.

I agree, I need to consult with my bariatric surgeon and get his suggestions.

I'm going to research the vegetarian approach. I asked my kidney doctor about soy protein and he frowned on that as well.

It's troublesome that's for sure.