What causes weight gain after sleeve surgery?

[LightlyMyDarling 5]

Is weight gain caused by mindless snacking and grazing? Drinking milkshakes all day long? I haven't had my surgery yet, but I'm curious how weight gain happens a year or two after the surgery "honeymoon" period is over.

If you're stomach is still small, with just a bit of stretching, even if eating "slider" foods how can weight gain be significant unless you're consciously trying to eat, eat, eat all the time? I think most of us gained weight by doing just that, but isn't it harder to snack all the time after the sleeve? Any thoughts would be appreciated!

[steelemagnolia 7]

I am not a doctor, but if I understand correctly, your appetite should be less with the sleeve, but if you are not careful, you can stretch the stomach and eat more than you should.

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

When I see posts online about weight regain -- and when posters describe what has happened -- they use language that describes some of these behaviors and emotions:

* snacking

* grazing

* no longer tracking their intake

* "falling into old habits"

* their exercise programs got sidetracked

* "not paying attention"

* feeling much less restriction from their sleeve after, typically, a year post-op

* experiencing life stress and soothing themselves with food

* feeling disappointed that weight loss didn't make them sufficiently happy or resolve their problems

* being angry with themselves

* depression

* lack of support from family members

* overt antagonism from family members about their weight loss

* deaths of close family members

* social isolation

* inability to manage successfully psychiatric drugs

* WLS complications they've not fully recovered from or resolved

* medical problems unrelated to WLS, e.g., cancer

* alcoholism or drinking too much

It's a jungle out there. That's why I'm now in therapy (for the first time in my life) and will remain in therapy throughout my first year post-op and probably for the two years thereafter.

I think the easy part of WLS is losing the weight. I've done that at least 40 times. This time, I hope / plan to keep it off.

Edited October 4, 2014 by VSGAnn2014

[Bobby46 327]

Hello. I was sleeved on Aug 11. I can only speak about my experience, so this is strictly my opinion.

I have struggled my whole life with food and weight. I turn to food when I'm bored, stressed, worried, happy and sad. Food was the center of my life for years. I am clearly addicted to it and the comfort it provides to me. I imagine most people who are significantly over weight have been so for many years. I developed horrible habits and a co-dependent relationship with food for decades. Again, I imagine most people in this boat are the same as me. Saying that....I truly believe that people gain weight after this surgery because breaking those habits, breaking that addiction never really goes away. Its going to be a life long battle even with surgery, period. Right now....8 weeks out from surgery.....I can eat a little more. I can eat sweets and carbs pretty easily. I think that if I don't get my habits under control and if I don't stay totally vigilant concerning my triggers and go-to, feel-good foods, then, yes, I can see myself gaining in the future. The surgery is a tool to use to control portions....it doesn't control what food you put in your body....you do. Yes, you will always have a smaller stomach to control the amount of food. But, if you are reaching for chocolate, chips and fried food....even in small amounts.....over time the weight can and will return.

[Recycled 2,182]

What causes weight gain after sleeve surgery?

The exact same things that cause it before surgery. Too much food and no exercise.

The surgery is only gonna give you a helpful tool to limit you intake. The rest is up to you. You have to change all your eating habits and get you bod moving. Yeah, yeah, yeah.....I know....you dieted and exercised before. Really, you gonna stick with that story.

The surgery is your chance to get it right. Eating small portions require you eat the correct nutritional food or you will become weak and tired. Eat too much and it will hurt. As you adjust to the new eating guidelines and begin losing weight, you'll gain the energy to exercise and workout and do all the things you've been missing. Then over time, these new guidelines will develop into new lifestyle habits which will stay with you when you reach your goals.

So in the end........you won't overeat the wrong foods and sit around on your ass doing nothing and gaining weight. -

Edited October 4, 2014 by Recycled

[livvsmum 2,370]

Well I can't speak for everyone but, I think a lot of times it probably has to do more with unresolved food/mind issues than anything physical. It is still totally possible to compulsively overeat with a sleeve....it's just an all day thing instead of a big binge. As soon as I started feeling those urges coming back, I got myself to therapy. I've been working with an eating disorder therapist since then and it has made a huge difference in my long term success.

Edited October 4, 2014 by livvsmum

[McButterpants 2,846]

Had that discussion with my doc...those that don't follow the plan (Protein first) and those that don't move their bodies are at risk to gain their weight back.

I can eat lots of food - I can eat around my sleeve. I have to choose not to do that. I can eat copious amounts of tortilla chips - that's one of my slider foods. I don't feel particularly great afterwards, but if I don't identify it, I can graze on them all afternoon long.

You've seen it before, the sleeve is just one tool in your toolbox. You still need to make good choices, you still need to move your body - that's what you control.

[vincereautmori 323]

I think everyone has given you great advice, to sum it up, it's up to you, the sleeve will help you with portions but you have to feed it the right foods.

[vincereautmori 323]

I am not a doctor, but if I understand correctly, your appetite should be less with the sleeve, but if you are not careful, you can stretch the stomach and eat more than you should.

I suppose you could stretch it, but man, that's got to be painful. If I take one bite more than the sleeve allows, wow, do I pay for it.

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

Is weight gain caused by mindless snacking and grazing? Drinking milkshakes all day long? I haven't had my surgery yet, but I'm curious how weight gain happens a year or two after the surgery "honeymoon" period is over.

If you're stomach is still small, with just a bit of stretching, even if eating "slider" foods how can weight gain be significant unless you're consciously trying to eat, eat, eat all the time? I think most of us gained weight by doing just that, but isn't it harder to snack all the time after the sleeve? Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Oh, no ... it's very easy to snack after the sleeve -- you just have to give the foods you've eaten long enough to leave the stomach. And if you're eating "slider" foods (chips, sweets, crackers, breads, Cookies, ice cream) those foods slide right down out of the stomach quickly into the intestine because they're so highly processed and easily mushed by the stomach. And within 15-20 minutes, you can fill it up again with "slider" foods.

All day and all night long. That's how some folks don't lose weight, regain their weight and more after WLS. They learn to game the sleeve. Or the lapband. Or other forms of WLS.

If you're committed to overeat, you will figure out how to do so. It's not that hard.

The restriction you feel a few weeks post-op is not the restriction you will feel a year or more out.

I think people buy the idea that restriction and ghrelin reduction is a permanent change But if you read these boards, you will hear that it surely doesn't work that way for many patients.

[BitterSweet* 835]

If you do what you've always done, you will be what you always were. The surgery is only on the belly not the brain, and there are plenty of folks who simply refuse to acknowledge or deal with the mental components of why they are obese, morbidly obese, or completely incapacitated due to what goes into their mouths.

Ignoring the mindset, patterns, and pathology behind what got you (us) where we are (were) along with eating around the sleeve and not exercising is a sure fire express ticket back to obesity.

[BitterSweet* 835]

If you do what you've always done, you will be what you always were. The surgery is only on the belly not the brain, and there are plenty of folks who simply refuse to acknowledge or deal with the mental components of why they are obese, morbidly obese, or completely incapacitated due to what goes into their mouths.

Ignoring the mindset, patterns, and pathology behind what got you (us) where we are (were) along with eating around the sleeve and not exercising is a sure fire express ticket back to obesity.

[Babbs 14,681]

One of my favorite sayings:

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results"

[Angel720 47]

The day before surgery I spoke with one of the doctors at my surgeon's office, he is a nutritionists and has a sleeve too so he spoke form the medical standpoint and from a patients perspective too. What hee said really has struck with me, he said, that the most important part of weight loss surgery was my "mind" , I needed to change mentally to be successful. I get it, I need to change, having a smaller stomach helps me, makes is easier and more realistic but I have to do the work.