I'm only gaining because she wanted me to stop smoking and eat 3 times a day instead of my normal 1 - 2. I already get full easily, called "early satiety". I get full easily and will stay full all day. I would go plenty of days without eating at all which is why I brought up the option to do this surgery since the smaller portions would help me not feel as malnourished. Plus why be this big when I barely eat and my doctor agreed totally and signed me right up saying this would help.

Now my nutritionist is trying to make me eat 3 times a day, with Snacks in between and says I have to quit smoking which I didn't mind at all, I was actually ready for that. So since I quit smoking and have been eating 3x daily, I have gained about 7lbs in the past 2 months and now she threatens me with additional visits before approval if I gain 1 more pound....

I feel sabotaged, what do I do, I can't eat this much and not gain weight...WHAT NOW?!?!?!?!?!?

I feel hope slipping...smh

I can't speak for others but I feel like because my hypothyroidism was diagnosed as such and is now being treated, I can now get the surgery. Before being diagnosed and treated I was dragging through the day, I could barely keep my eyes open. I couldn't function and because of that I wasn't able to hold down a job.

Now that I am on medication for my thyroid condition I am actually able to function during the day, I can stay up without falling asleep and I finally know what hunger pangs are. Now I feel like I need the surgery to kind of in a way 'undue' the damage a thyroid condition caused me for several years. I hope that answers your question and with all that said, do you think WLS can help someone like me?

Also, my surgeon requires that any metabolic condition be under control before getting the surgery. Mine is.

That makes perfect sense to me. If the condition is controlled but the obesity does not correct itself, then absolutely I think the surgery is beneficial. Thanks for taking the time to answer.

April,

It sounds like you've got a good NUT and a good head on your shoulders- with some good advice on things to eat/drink depending on your mood. Getting this right now will definitely make it will make your new life so much easier and happier.

I always struggled with regularly scheduled meals (along with portions and choices:), and I have to work hard every to be sure I get the good stuff in at the right. You've lost 10 lbs and that is awesome.

Big portions were my main issue. The sleeve is for the weight loss and family history of diabetes and heart disease. From what I was told, my hunger hormone will be cut out and it should allow me to have smaller portions. To me smaller portions is what's "normal", I won't feel malnourished because I will only feed my new stomach only what's needed vs with my larger stomach being sometimes overfilled with bad food.

Plus doc says with the weight loss, we may also overturn my infertility issues. Been trying 15 years after my one and only was born...I believe this surgery will have many benefits on my behalf. And my selfish answer beyond my personal health benefits, I want to make my uncle eat his words he said to me at 17.." you're too pretty to be so fat" maybe now he will want to treat me like my other cousins but either way...he will still be irrelevant to me!! I do have my reasons!!!

Hate to break it to u but not everyone loses the hunger hormone. Some do. many don't. I got my hunger (true hunger, not acid like some day) on day 10. I'm hungry more often now than I was before, cuz I'm only able to eat a very small amt. I'm usually hungry again 2 hrs later. Ur gunna have to start eating more often than 2x a day otherwise ull literally starve.

Just wanted to warn u that u may not lose the Ghrelin. About 25% of Ghrelin (the hunger hormone they cut outa ur stomach) is made in the pancreas. My dr said it's perfectly normal to be either hungry or not. I'm bummed I'm in the hungry category...

Good luck!

Re. Overeating or small meals...call it whatever you want...if you consume more calories than you burn...your body will store the excess as fat. My. $.02.

Hate to break it to u but not everyone loses the hunger hormone. Some do. many don't. I got my hunger (true hunger, not acid like some day) on day 10. I'm hungry more often now than I was before, cuz I'm only able to eat a very small amt. I'm usually hungry again 2 hrs later. Ur gunna have to start eating more often than 2x a day otherwise ull literally starve.

Just wanted to warn u that u may not lose the Ghrelin. About 25% of Ghrelin (the hunger hormone they cut outa ur stomach) is made in the pancreas. My dr said it's perfectly normal to be either hungry or not. I'm bummed I'm in the hungry category...

Good luck!

Yuuuuuup. *(Raising my hand)*

I definitely fall under the hungry category. I got my real hunger back on day 5 after surgery. And I mean real hunger. I've been hungry ever since, very very often. Thankfully though the hunger goes away after a few small bites of something...

. .your instincts and your choices are going to get you where you want to be, not the NUT.

There was so much wrong with this post I seriously wanted to pass out. I'll just say this...

Her choices and instincts got her to where she is now. Are they really going to get her where she wants to be without professional help?

April, It sounds like you've got a good NUT and a good head on your shoulders- with some good advice on things to eat/drink depending on your mood. Getting this right now will definitely make it will make your new life so much easier and happier. I always struggled with regularly scheduled meals (along with portions and choices:), and I have to work hard every to be sure I get the good stuff in at the right. You've lost 10 lbs and that is awesome.

thank you!!!!!

April, It sounds like you've got a good NUT and a good head on your shoulders- with some good advice on things to eat/drink depending on your mood. Getting this right now will definitely make it will make your new life so much easier and happier. I always struggled with regularly scheduled meals (along with portions and choices:), and I have to work hard every to be sure I get the good stuff in at the right. You've lost 10 lbs and that is awesome.

thank you!!!!!

I got fat from not eating properly and from pigging out. I'm responsible for every pound gained over the years.

Yup. I've got nothing to blame but me.

I totally agree with you on this point because I it's clear the OP was not forthcoming initially about what she was eating. And ......whatever the cause.....we are ALL overweight because we ate too much of the wrong kinds of food for our body. Doesn't mean you shoveled in food like a dump truck. But you ate more than your body could process. If you ate a healthy amount or even less, and your body still stored it all as fat due to some metabolic condition, then why have WLS? It will not help. It only reduces your intake. Why not address the real problem? And I don't think doctors are gods, but I do know that you are not capable of diagnosing the OP from here.

I agree with this - and mostly with the idea that too much for me might be just right for someone else.

Metabolic testing is what led me to surgery. Learning that I could expect to lose nearly one pound per month on a 1,200 calorie diet unless I drastically increased my exercise levels pointed me towards surgery as a forever option to keep the weight under control.

I don't deny (heh) that there's some level of denial about our habits for most everyone. I thought I was eating even less than I was - but I was not regularly eating as much as doctors, nutritionists and BMR calculators told me I could eat without gaining. I had to eat less and even now I eat less than you'd think my activity level would allow. I was also in denial about how and why I was eating.

But it's truly a peeve to see people step in and claim people are delusional or outright lying about food. Why? Because I had more than one doctor and more than one nutritionist insist that I was eating more than I was recording. I didn't just give up on dieting and opt for surgery after one go. I tried to adhere to strict diets for years with minimal results. I was constantly chastised for not "coming clean" about what I was eating in my food journal. Excuse me? I'm the woman that took the time to work up the nutritional data for six measly M&Ms so I could account for the calories! I wasn't cheating or forgetting or sitting in denial about my habits. I simply couldn't lose on the same number of calories other people could lose on.

To take it a step further, this whole idea feeds into that "if you're not losing, you're not trying hard enough" or that there's a one size approach to losing weight.

THERE IS NOT.

I'm sorry, it's too individual for that. I can eat and easily maintain on things that would make someone else pack on pounds. And other people need far more calories than I eat.

Pointing fingers and casting accusations makes me think of the never obese and totally judgmental people that worked incredibly hard to crush my self esteem while I was genuinely trying to better myself. I'm all for ideas both positive and negative being shared, and I don't want to say people shouldn't share their feelings or opinions.

But geez, think about it before you paint everyone with the same brush. I know damn well I starved myself for months on end without seeing weight loss, and anyone that tries to tell me I'm delusional or remembering it wrong should have spent a little time with me back then, when I would have clawed someone's face off in response because the lack of food made me more than a little testy!

~Cheri

This isn't precisely in response to the OP but rather to the comments generated here that are also carrying over into other posts as criticisms.

Cheri,

Thank you for spelling out the last part for those of us that weren't bright enough to get it...

Cheri,

Thank you for spelling out the last part for those of us that weren't bright enough to get it...

Don't be mean, Laura.

You actually read all the way to the end? You're solo, girl. Gold star!

~Cheri

I skimmed

Don't be mean, Laura. You actually read all the way to the end? You're solo, girl. Gold star! ~Cheri

I enjoy your posts and don't consider them long. That may have something to do with how I write? Maybe?

I can relate to all of what you said. I wasn't eating too much. I was eating too much of the wrong things. Understanding that subtle but vital difference has made, well all the difference. And it drove me crazy too when people thought there was no way I could weigh what I did given what I "said I ate". Their quote marks, not mine. Infuriated and frustrated me.

Like you. I too lose "only" 6 lbs a month which is 1.5/week even after being sleeved. And no I am not cheating. But we all got fat different ways and will get thin in slightly different ways. I went through the same experience as the OP in terms of putting on weight from starting to eat after starving myself. It can and does happen.

And I have NO idea what my original point was now so I will go for a walk instead..........

... Plus why be this big when I barely eat and my doctor agreed totally and signed me right up saying this would help.

I haven't been eating the best foods for me which is how I got into the habit of eating less because I couldn't seem to stick with the good for me foods.

Maybe I was unclear somewhere but I was eating a lot in one sitting...I didn't just get fat, I've been fat but that happened over many years of large portions and the mindset given as a child to always clear my plate and late night eating and sweets as Snacks...

I don't know if there was judging or not, but I know I'm sure confused ... I think the bottom line, though, is there has been a history of an unhealthy relationship with food.

Would that be correct or oversimplifying?

I think the posts asking why she needed the surgery if she doesn't eat that much were also confused by these statements I quoted. But as has been pointed out, what does eating too much really mean? As Butter and Cheri point out, and what other WLS patients with some time under their belt discover, the body truly requires far less food than I ever imagined. We are all different. We have different health issues and take different medications. All these leave can leave our metabolisms messed up and those who have limited activity have these issues compound.

The guy who sits next to me eats non-stop at his desk. I'm not kidding. The dude never stops eating. He is a rail while the guy across from me rides his bike into work everyday 10 miles each way. Rides on the weekends. He has his lunch which is always healthy portions and type, yet he is morbidly obese. Now, is this a front he puts up and goes home and binges on crap all night? Perhaps, but I doubt it. How can the person next to me eat no less than 4,000 calories a day and be a rail while the guy across seems to do everything right, yet is morbidly obese?

So, overeating, IMO, is consuming more than your body needs to fuel itself while maintaining a proper metabolism. Finding that balance is the key. The sleeve has helped me do that. Not eating is not part of that equation as it throws your metabolism off. I do believe my mind is a scary place to be and to trust myself, early out, would be a practice in sabotage. I could not trust myself to make the right decisions. I needed help.