Hi All,

Well, I hate to write this post. I feel ashamed..sad..angry..frustrated..hopeless..lost...confused...unsure. I am not sure what else to say about how I feel. I have gained roughly 30 pounds. I started my journey at 315 and got down to 220 and then hit a wall. It's like a " i feel comfortable being this small, so why go further when i am feeling great about myself" and then i hit the other wall "oh crap ive got celiac and im addicted to gluten and i cant stop eating gluten and now i have to learn how to be gluten free the rest of my life to prevent feeling sick all the time" wall. Iv'e hit several walls, but these are two main one's. I also believed a lie. I believed others when they told me that i "couldnt stretch my sleeve if i over ate". Let me say this: I binge..I over eat ...usually under severe stress, to reduce frustration or stress. I have eaten several times where I have gone beyond feeling full to feeling sick like I am going to puke and there has been only one time where I burped and got the slimies..but besides that.. I have not puked from over eating..EVER.. never before sleeve or after sleeve. I feel like my stomach is broken..or maybe my brain. Point is: I don't ever get sick enough to stop doing the behaviour that caused me to feel sickly overfull in the first place.

Okay I think I am rambling. Point is: I know I can eat way more than before. Will going back to liquids only for say 2 weeks, cause my stomach to shrink in size? and give me some added restriction? Or am i just doomed to keep gaining weight without ever being full? I need to lose the 30 I have gained. I am trying to get into Paramedic Academy and I am no where close to goal.

Please Help,

Signed, Hopeless in Victoria

Victoria, it is not hopeless.

I don't REALLY know much about true stretching of the sleeve, but I DO know how to keep that feeling of restriction.

They key is eating small quantities, eating low carb and avoiding sliders. Doing a week or something of a liquid diet can certainly help get that "restricted feeling" back, but you don't have to do anything that radical.

My advice is clear the sliders/junky/celiac make you sick foods out of your house. DOn't buy em and you won't eat em.

Focus on staying hydrated, not drinking with meals and eating basically dense Protein and veggies. Avoid or cut way back on fruit (sugar), liquid calories and anything that just goes down too easy (crackers, popcorn, etc.). Go back to basics.

I am 2.5 years out from surgery and you may have read my post about shockingly losing my appetite. I think some of the replies hit the nail on the head.. once you get used to eating little, your appetite decreases. When you get used to eating lots... your appetite increases.

If you really are binging, you might want to consider counseling or some kind of support group for food addiction. That is a tough one because we all think we are food addicted at some point - but me - I was mostly hungry all the time pre-sleeve.

I am in therapy for binge eating disorder and bulimia. I know exactly what you're going through. I will say that professional help for me has made all the difference. Finding out you can't eat something you feel very attached to is a major lifestyle change and it would be beneficial for you to seek counselling. If you need help finding someone, please PM me. I have a lot of resources I can put you in touch with.

You may also want to try the 5:2 diet....I always feel restriction on the day after I have eaten a low calorie day. Just Google 5:2 diet and it will tell you all about it, but basically, 2 days a week you eat 500 calories for the day. It's really not that hard because it's just 2 days a week and they are not consecutive.

Good luck....and don't beat yourself up too much. You came here for support and that's a great start!