Hi I'm scheduled for June surgery and I'm reading how some have gained some or all weight back I guess I thought with the Sleeve being that your stomach is much smaller it would be hard for the weight gain -- now I'm scared

Hi I'm scheduled for June surgery and I'm reading how some have gained some or all weight back I guess I thought with the Sleeve being that your stomach is much smaller it would be hard for the weight gain -- now I'm scared

True, the stomach is smaller, however it has no control over what goes into the stomach and how many times someone eats. It is very easy to eat around the sleeve. Falling back on old bad habits, eating high calorie foods, not exercising are all ways to put back on the weight. The sleeve it only a tool, it works if you do the right things, if you don't it can't help you.

Have not had surgery yet but I'm going with "the sleeve is a tool" theory and it's going to be up to me to make it work:)

Thank you

You must watch what you eat forever. The sleeve gives you restriction but if you eat chips, popcorn or other snack foods they seem to go right thru. You must portion your food and follow all thr rules. Count cal and carbs. This is a lifelong process for us overweight people. Also some people go back to grazing. Which means they eat every hour and that will definetly put weight back on.

On a positive note, if you follow the rules you will lose weight faster than you could ever imagine. I am 66 and 5 months out and down 66 lbs. I have not exercised because of pain issues. So for me and many of us it is such a fast change that your mind does not catch up. I would do it all over again. My butt has gotten smaller and my husband is always commenting on that.

Best of luck to you. You will do fine.

Yes, if you graze all day on junk...your going to gain! :-(

Thanks all for great advice and congrats on your weight loss

I agree that weight gain from grazing is something you must be on alert for after your stomach returns to normal ( month 6 for me). Eating small portions of dense protein every 2-3 hours really helps for me, but I am also pretty active so need the protein. It is a constant learning experience to balance eating for nutrition and satiety versus weight management. Just be aware of your goals and try and make good decisions. This goes a long ways to keeping you in a place of balance. Also being active on VST and attending support meetings is really helpful because there is strength in numbers. Try to avoid eating processed foods and those that are high in simple carbs ( even 2g) as they can trigger your eating instinct.

I am coming up on 2 years out and I am still at goal....BUT I could definitely put my weight back on if I wasn't kind of careful. At 16 months out I gained 8 pounds back... freaked out and took care of it. And with some determination have maintained ever since. It is MUCH easier to maintain weight loss with my sleeve. Its half the sleeve doing the work and half my brain-- will not go back to 260 pounds, I can't and I won't!

Do be scared. I'm 1 year and 8 months post op. my starting weight was 252 and. I got down to 155. I was so happy I started eating thing I know was bad for ME( pasta, bread and sweets). I then creeped up to 168 lbs. Then I realized I had to go back to the basic, protein, water, protein, water, protein, water. I worked to hard to lose weight to regain it. I'm at 159 lbs and still losing.

I meant don't be scared

It is up to me to make this work. I have a friend who had a bypass several yrs ago and couldn't figure out why she was gaining weight back. She kept saying 'but I can't eat that much'. We would go to lunch and both would order a cheeseburger. I would get fries. I ate my burger and most of the fries (this is before my surgery) and she would eat half of her burger and just a couple of fries. She would get a to go bag and then mid- afternoon she would eat the rest of her burger and any leftover fries. She ended up eating almost the same thing I did. You will gain weight if you eat too many calories- the sleeve will limit how much you can eat at one sitting, but grazing is very easy and a habit I don't want to get into.

Since your stomach is smaller do you feel hungry most if the time or quicker then usual ?

Since your stomach is smaller do you feel hungry most if the time or quicker then usual ?

Some with the sleeve don't feel hunger. But there are those of us that still do. Only now it's not hunger pains, but nausea. I rarely got hungry at all pre op and it's very strange for me now, almost 6 months out, to actually physically FEEL the need to eat a few times a day. Before it was maybe once a week and I would eat enough for 3-4 grown men in a sitting. I was a camel so to say.

I'm not hungry all the time at all. Usually 2-3 times a day. I have to remind myself to take a couple healthy snacks/protein shakes to get in what's necessary nutritionally. And if you follow your guidelines and stick to dense Protein, it tends Ro keep you satisfied longer.