I'm thinking about getting a vertical sleeve, but I was wondering if I would lose weight with it since I've tried so many other diets and failed. I mean, I've been on very low calorie diets before and didn't have much success. I even tried following Weight Watchers and exercising no less than an hour a day no less than five days a week and in 5 months, I only lost 3 pounds. Comparitively speaking. I've lost 4 pounds from a stomach virus before. I've tried Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig, New Lifestyle, New Directions, Atkins, Sugar-Busters, phentermine, other diet drugs. I've tried and failed at everything even following programs faithfully. Am I just hard wired to be fat?

Has anyone else had a history of failed diet attempts and found success with the sleeve?

We have all failed diets in the past. We have to take control of our own selves by taking the extreme action that this may seem to some. I am now 6 days post op and things are going well. You MUST reduce the size of your liver with this diet. Anyway, good luck in your decision process.

One question is why did you fail? Ate too much, do you have any medical issues preventing you from losing weight?

You will lose weight with the sleeve, but here's the BUT: you have to be ready for this surgery and a big change to your lifestyle. You need to follow the diet plan and try to get in some exercise. I have lost weight many times in the past but for me it is the keeping it off. Now with the sleeve I can only eat small amounts of food so it has helped me to maintain my weight loss.

I was sleeved on 02/11/13 and am down 22 pounds since the day of surgery. I don't consider this to be another diet. This is my new life. Getting the sleeve was just one of the tools I needed to help me in this new lifestyle. I would suggest that you see a nutritionist first. I was reluctant to do that because I knew what I should be eating and that I should be eating smaller portions, but what she taught me helped in all this. Yes, you will lose weight. There is no way not to when you are limited to eating such small amounts. The only way this will fail is if you don't follow the rules. These rules are just for the first year, they are for life. You need to prepare yourself for this. Research it, talk with your doctor. I know many people that don't have obesity or overweight problems don't think this surgery is a good idea, but those of us who have tried other forms of weight loss need this little push to get us going in the right direction. Good luck!

The short answer is YES. I had tried all those crazy diets and never lost much... I did lose 50 pounds the year before my sleeve surgery, but gained it all back in seconds when I had a round of pneumonia. Since my sleeve, I've lost over 120 pounds, down from a 24 to a 14/16, and loving life!

You will loose weight, how much will depend on how you use your tool. I know a few people who didn't follow anything still lost between 50 and 70 lbs and were happy with that at the time. Now they complain often that they wish they had lost more. I also know many who followed the guidelines and maximized the use of their tool. They have lost 100 plus pounds and are doing fantastic!! I think that as long as you remember that this is a tool and you still need support on the lifestyle change of changing your eating habits, emotional eating etc. I track my food everyday, I have had days where I have eaten a little poorer than I would have liked but I just pick myself up and get back on track. I attend support group once a month and best of all i am loving life again. It is definitely not an easy fix, it is a lot of work but well worth the pay off