I'm 38. I've yo-yo'd my whole life. I'm currently 328 lbs. my last big weight loss was 5 years ago. I went from 317 lbs. down to 205 lbs. I even did 6 marathons & a FULL IRONMAN Triathlon. I know how to lose weight, but I keep gaining it back.

My biggest problem is overeating. I don't snack much. I LOVE to eat out at restaurants. I don't eat tons of sweets...I eat lots of meat. I want to lose weight to reduce chances of premature death and diabetes. My surgery is scheduled---in 6 weeks. I'm planning on doing it, but am a little scared.

Help? Ideas?

The surgery will help immediately and forever with overeating. You simply will not be able to do it with a sleeve. And even though it's possible for you to stretch your sleeve (through constant overeating to the point of pain and vomiting) your sleeve is only going to have a tiny bit of stretch, anyway. You will never sit down and consume a massive meal again.

That said, many people transition from overeating to grazing because that's what their sleeve will allow.

As with any surgery, the sleeve really is only a tool. It will help you control your portions while (in most cases) taking way your desire to eat and your hunger. This in turn gives you the time to work on breaking bad habits permanently. That's the hard part - learning how to be satisfied with smaller portions and a different way of eating so that you can maintain long term and still be happy.

meat is a tricky one. For some people they can eat it fairly quickly post op. I had issues with any dense Protein for a long time. Beef, in particular, bothered me for a long time. I could only eat a bite or two of steak and would feel terribly frustrated. But anything beyond that would make me sick. There simply wasn't room for more. I was sure I'd use tuna as a staple protein as soon as I was on soft foods but again, it took me a very long time to be able to eat more than a bite or two. In fact, I was more than a year out before I could eat more than an egg scrambled with cheese in a sitting.

That said, after a period (several months, in all honesty) of feeling pretty frustrated by food and forcing myself to eat around the clock to hit my nutritional goals it did get easier. Now I still eat small portions but I enjoy them more than before. I can eat 2-3 ounces of dense protein in a sitting and that's plenty.

Be prepared that this is something you might also experience and there's absolutely no way to know until you're sleeved and healed. You could develop lactose intolerance. Many don't, but you could. It's important to be mentally prepared for any of the potential outcomes so that you can cope if you have those issues post op. It's when people aren't prepared that you see the incredibly frustrated posts by people that feel they made a mistake.

I love my sleeve. I couldn't have lost weight without it. It changed my life and gave me the opportunity to really understand my relationship with food and improve it forever.

Good luck with your decision. Hang around and read stories - I'd hit the exercise/fitness board and see how people maintain an athletic lifestyle post op, because there might be something there that interests you. Many people transfer their food addictions to exercise...I'm not one of them, but they're out there.

~Cheri

I found this post to be very comforting .I too am thinking to go this way and I had some fears and concerns thanks for the positive yet haunest post

Why did I have VSG? I was a volume eater. I could lose weight on any type of diet, but keeping it off long term made me a failure. Sounds like you and I are similar in this regard. I have lost the same weight so many times that I was discouraged, almost immobilized enough to not have VSG believing I was the failure. Think of this like fixing a leak in the sink. If you don't have the right tool, you can't fix it. That is all this surgery is, a tool. You can use the tool and lose weight or you can choose not to get the tool and continue on the road you are currrently on.

VSG is a restrictive surgery and permanent. Never will I gorge again for it is physically impossible. Now, i can eat junk and gain weight. Eating a high calorie smoothing, sweets or junk will count for me gaining weight.

The choice is yours. Yo-yo some more and feel like you are not in control. Or have a tool that allows you to limit the quantity of food you consume. Obviously you have discipline otherwise you never would have competed, let alone completed an Ironman. Impressive

Hoping you find what is right for you. As for me...I love my sleeve and have no regrets.

Hi

I too was a volume eater,binge eater to be frank.

Now,I know that this surgery gives us the chance to change permanently.But it also depends on how honest we can be with ourselves on a daily basis.

My friend that had GB a year before me has regained 40 pounds already.She says she struggles with Protein and eats what she can.That is her story and she is sticking to it.When I had her over for a meal,that did include complex carbs,she called me obsessed with Proteins...she is in strong denial that she is doing this to herself and she is back in that pattern of self loathing and not ready to see that she can change this.

I think it also depends on how ready we are to commit to this as a daily mindful process.It is a daily thing,I think for the rest of our lives.Just like my skinny friends eat healthy most of the time and "nice" stuff some times,not whatever they want as muh as they can possibly get into their bodies,we will have to do the same.

And its diffcult to say what is different this time (I have lost 100+ quite a few times in my life only to regain) but something is different.I think was just ready for the change and when I dont feel like co-operating,I do anyway...lol.

Good luck and this sleeve might not be a magic bullet,but for me,it is totally life changing.

I think you just know when you are ready for this surgery. I went to my surgeon and he recommended the band. That was about 18 months ago. He explained all the pros and cons of both surgeries. So I thought well I will just limit my calories and get a personal trainer and for 6 months that worked and I lost 25 pounds.

But then some things changed in my life and over a period of 3 months I put on 35 pounds. That's been the story of my life for the last 20 years. Don't get me wrong though, I have had a really good life. I got fat at the best restaurants eating great food and drinking expensive wine and I loved those dining experiences.

But one day I just woke up and decided I just wanted to be thin. I'd had the wining and dining experience and now I wanted the 'being thin' experience. I called my surgeon and told him I wanted the sleeve ASAP. He re-organized his schedule, told me to start drinking Optifast 3 meals a day and 2 weeks later I was in surgery.

There has not been one day when I have had second thoughts. It hasn't been easy some days but I never feel regret and I always keep in mind why I did this and the end result.

Luckily I did not find this forum until after my surgery or I might have had second thoughts, but then again my surgeon told me that death was a possibility and I still chose to go ahead. 2 months later I like myself much more than I have for over 20 years. That's my story.