Continuing on my Quest for the truth from real VSG veterans, I'd like to pose another question...

I hear and read a lot about "Do's and Don'ts" from so-called experts, dieticians, and nutritionists that we must all follow or risk gaining back the weight we lost once "the Honeymoon passes".

I'm curious, has this happened to any of you?

I'm not talking about a stall or 5-10 pound bounce, I'm talking about gaining back 40% to 50% or more

If so, please share what you think caused it; better yet, if this happened to you and you fought it off and subsequently lost the excess weight, please share your strategy.

Since I know this is a common fear, I'd also love to hear stories from people who were afraid they'd gain weight as they moved the maintenance, but didn't; especially those who strayed from the diet guidelines.

I am very happy with my progress (down 47 pounds), but I'm having a tough time accepting the idea that I'll never be this heavy again...

Thanks

I think talking to those who have only experienced a 5-10 pound bounce would be extremely beneficial, personally. While I value everyone's experience, I would rather stop any regain before it gets to 15, 20, 30 pounds.

Yes, if your 5-10 bounce grows, feel free to share!

I think talking to those who have only experienced a 5-10 pound bounce would be extremely beneficial, personally. While I value everyone's experience, but I would rather stop any regain before it gets to 15, 20, 30 pounds.

I agree.

These are the folks that put a plan in place and have maintained that successfully. I'd rather get the nuts and bolts from therm.

I think talking to those who have only experienced a 5-10 pound bounce would be extremely beneficial, personally. While I value everyone's experience, but I would rather stop any regain before it gets to 15, 20, 30 pounds.

I agree.

These are the folks that put a plan in place and have maintained that successfully. I'd rather get the nuts and bolts from therm.

I would really like to hear from those who fell (which is why I started this thread). Search this site, there are dozens of posts about dealing with stalls and arresting the bounce, but I can't seem to find much evidence of SLEEVE FAILURE (which is what I would consider a 40%-50% gain back).

That said, I'm happy to hear from bounce arresters as well...

Weight regain of that magnitude obviously happens...just google it, and everybody I know who knows somebody that has had VSG or RNY also knows somebody that has gained back at least half the weight. So while I am interested in people who have insight as to how to deal with the "bounce," I, too, would like to hear from serious regainers, if they should be so comfortable and spirited as to share here.

Google just gets me experts OPINIONS or stats, not stories from real people.

All the stories of real people failing I've found were lap-bands or old-fashioned stomach stapling.

Please just let real people respond to my post...

My response was obviously not as requested, so I deleted it.

After having a husband who had RNY 9 years ago, and a sister in law who had the sleeve 6 years ago (she was one of the first people to get it before it started becoming more popular), I have noticed after a few years there seems to be about a 10-20 pound gain that almost seems to organically happen. I've also seen a few very veteran sleevers (over 3 years) on this very forum experience this. Obviously I'll give them a chance to chime in.

And before I get jumped on for saying the above as fact, I'm just speaking from what I've seen first hand
and from this forum, but the 10-20 pound gain after 3 or 4 years seems to STATISTICALLY be the norm. Why? Well I'm sure that's what you're trying to find out.

ETA: Both hubby (who is RNY not sleeve) and sister in law have kept the weight off aside from the 10-20 pound gains.

I'm having a tough time accepting the idea that I'll never be this heavy again...

Thank you for bringing this up; wrapping my head around this notion is a mind bender for me. Looking forward to responses.

Not sure the OP will find this helpful, but here goes anyway ....

I've seen many posts on online WLS forums from people who have gained considerable amounts of weight (40-50 or more pounds).

In many instances they've suffered pretty bad life blows -- became widowed, became seriously ill, had family members become very ill, had grandchildren move in with them to be raised, had to move in with other family members due to financial problems, etc. In these instances they report they've just been overwhelmed by life, not had the energy to support their own health, gone back to "bad habits," etc. These are people whose new circumstances have just consumed the resources they might otherwise have used to build and sustain a healthier lifestyle.

Some who've gained also report that they're now drinking a lot of their calories. In one instance I recall, a woman had become "addicted" (it seems there's really no other word for it) high-calorie coffee drinks from McDonalds and over months of posting about this problem could not seem to kick it. (She was also someone who had suffered the loss of a beloved spouse from cancer after losing her weight.) Needless to say, she also wasn't getting much Protein or other nutritional food that WLS patients need to be successful long-term.

I've seen people cite drinking lots of sweet tea (there are several of those in my WLS support group), Mountain Dew, wheat thins (yes, wheat thins) as the villains in their WLS tragedies. Grazing and all-day munching is also implicated in these regain situations.

Yes, the physics of weight regain (too many calories eaten, wrong foods eaten / drunk, too little exercise) are obvious. But the real question is ... what's behind the inability to create a new lifestyle that would sustain long-term weight stability and better health?

P.S. My shrink says that after people lose all their excess weight have to find NEW motivations and NEW goals to inspire their commitment to the lifestyles that will keep them thin. After the initial weight loss, he says, the compliments stop, the thrill of being newly slim fades, boring real life pales by comparison to the excitement of watching the weight fall off. He says those who are most successful long-term are those who actively identify and work toward new goals. In other words, the most goal-oriented patients are those who have a natural advantage in keeping their weight off.

@@VSGAnn2014

Awesome points and YES, drinking your calories is one of the biggest indicators of weight gain. That's how my husband gained 30 after quitting smoking. Too many Starbucks coffee drinks, beer and soda. (He subsequently lost the 30 he'd put on) This was one of the first things his surgeon told him about WLS patients who gain their weight. DON'T DRINK YOUR CALORIES. He explained it as the one of the mortal sins for WLS patients.

Just an observation, but if someone did regain a great deal of weight, chances are pretty good that they are not active on this forum. We are a self-selecting group and chances are pretty good that participating on this forum is 1) very helpful in reaching our goals, and 2) indicative that we haven't given up whatever our experience.

"Just an observation, but if someone did regain a great deal of weight, chances are pretty good that they are not active on this forum. We are a self-selecting group and chances are pretty good that participating on this forum is 1) very helpful in reaching our goals, and 2) indicative that we haven't given up whatever our experience."

I think this probably true, so let me modify my question.

Have you or anyone you know personally had a big gain back...

I'm early in my sleeved experience but attend a support group where a few members are struggling with regain. One gentleman had regained close to 40 pounds, another 50 pounds (out of 175 pounds lost) and a lady who is about 7 years out had regained close to 60 pounds (out of 200 pounds lost).

The reasons why included big life blows as @@VSGAnn2014 noted but also moving away from the nutrition and activity guidelines. They shared that there is a point in this experience where one might feel or decide that they just want to eat whatever they want, Protein needs be damned. They also stopped tracking and exercise stopped being a priority.

In the case of the guy who gained 40ish pounds, he adopted a vegan diet and has since lost 67 pounds. He also has started tracking, planning and cooking again. The others did not share how/if they are doing anything differently.

what i found interesting was the amount of shame and self-disgust that people expressed. I was really struck and pained by it because to me, they are not failures. they have not failed their weight loss efforts or surgeries. they still have the tool and can develop/resume the habits needed for success.