I can lose weight, I just can't maintain. Is VSG a smart choice?

[clc9 644]

I realize this is asking the choir if I should join the church, but I was hoping to see if there are people with similar experiences to me who have found success with VSG.

I've lost over 100 pounds 3 times in my life on my own slowly through sensible eating and exercise. 120 pounds, 100 pounds, 170 pounds. No matter how thrilled I was with how I looked and felt and no matter how secure I felt in the notion that I'd "figured it out this time", I regained and then some. Weight loss is relatively easy. Keeping it off has proved impossible.

So here I am, feeling like Sisyphus pushing the boulder up the hill only to have it roll back down again and I absolutely can't face another trip up the hill knowing I only have a 2-4% chance of keeping it off on my own.

After being anti-surgery for years, I am now thinking it may give me the only chance I have to keep a substantial amount of what I lose off.

Does the sleeve make maintenance any easier than it was without it? I don't expect "easy" but I hope for "easier" than impossible.

I met with a surgeon yesterday and it sounds good, but I don't want to be a failure again. Give me a reality check if I need it!

Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

[theantichick 2,204]

I'm only 4 months out, so I can't speak from experience. Hopefully some of the vets will pop in and give you their real world experience. I can share my research with you though.

The evidence is indicating that surgery gives us a "do-over" in relation to set point. Our bodies have a tendency to get used to a weight, and fights like heck to maintain by flooding our systems with hormones and other mechanisms to drive us to eat high calorie, fatty, sugary foods as well as slowing down our metabolism in order to hang on to fat stores and maintain what the body thinks is a good weight. While they're not sure *how* yet, the evidence points to the surgery re-setting that point and making it a little less of an uphill struggle to maintain.

Notice I said a LITTLE LESS. This still requires a lifestyle change. The sleeve doesn't really stretch, so the volume restriction is always there to a degree, but it's still possible to "eat around" the restriction by eating the wrong things, or grazing constantly throughout the day. So we do have to radically change our relationship with food, and get and stay active for it to really work long term.

Hope that helps.

[Hiraeth 515]

Yes, absolutely. The WLS definitely helps you keep the weight off. You are what's called a "yo-yo dieter". That means you are able to diet, but you go back to your old eating habits, which causes you to gain back the weight, plus some. The reason you gain back your weight is because you are still hungry, even though you have lost the weight. The reason is because you are overeating, which caused you to gain weight. Overeating also causes your stomach to stretch. The stomach stretches naturally. But if you continue to overeat and stretch your stomach, it can stretch so much that it doesn't shrink back to normal size. Stretching the stomach that much is causing an empty space, which needs food to fill it so that you aren't hungry. You have to eat more food in order to feel satisfied; and when you eat more, you gain more. The hunger pangs that you feel are from the irritated walls of your stomach. Your stomach walls are irritated because they have been stretched beyond normal capacity. Many people have different reasons for overeating in the first place: Depression, boredom, marriage, divorce, etc. People like to eat, so it's normal to want to chow down on a lot of food. If we didn't like food, then where would we get the motivation to eat? Who wants to chew and swallow something if it isn't fun? No one.

I, myself, am a "yo-yo dieter". I lost over 30 pounds in 2 months a few years ago. Then the holidays came, and I got clumsy. I got so clumsy that I eventually went back to my old ways of overeating, and put the 30 pounds back on, plus another 30 pounds. It's like I went without my "crack", and once I was able to have it again, I went overboard to make up for lost time, lol.

The WLS is the most effective method for losing weight and keeping it off long-term, because it is actually shrinking your stomach. When the stomach is small, it cannot take in a lot of food. Not being able to take in a lot of food helps the hunger pangs feel less aggressive. When they cut out 90% of your stomach, they are also cutting out the part of the stomach that produces a chemical called ghrelin. Ghrelin is known as the "hunger hormone". Even though they cut out this part of the stomach, that does not mean all the cravings disappear completely. It does help with the cravings, but they can still remain. The reason is because a lot of overweight people are emotional eaters. Some people overeat even if they aren't hungry. But the WLS definitely helps you make better decisions and keep the weight off longer.

I've never lost this much weight in my life. After my WLS, I lost 60 pounds in just 4 months. I feel like I've lost almost half of myself (in a good way, lol). I used to be so hot natured before my WLS. Now that I've lost all this weight, I always feel cold. I actually don't mind it much, because I hate being hot, and because it reminds me that I'm losing a lot of weight.

I definitely recommend this surgery. In just 4 months, I have regained so much energy, confidence, and most of my health issues are nearly gone. I feel great.

[KristenVSG2014 1,871]

I guess it depends on what the underlying cause was for your regain. Is it behavioral/physical/combination?

I was never able to lose weight (except that one time I was starving myself using Phentermine) even though I was really good at following rules and exercising, so maintaining is new territory for me. However, I would say it has to be easier if you are good at staying compliant and sticking to the basic rules.

My biggest issue was part behavioral AND physical. My behavioral issue was using food as a coping mechanism, especially during times of stress. So I had to learn new non-food-related coping mechanisms. My physical issue was a hormone imbalance (PCOS) that made losing weight damn near impossible and a big ass stomach (it took massive quantities to fill me up).

Surgery took care of the physical issues. I had to take care of the behavioral.

You can do anything you set your mind to. I say you go for it!

HW 290+/SW 261/GW 160/CW 159

[Raymia 565]

Don't mind me I haven't had the surgery yet... But I must say I regret not doing it when I originally planned on doing it, because nothing changed except the scale, I could have been living healthier life. Now 3 year later I'm just getting started and I'm 3 years older

[Healthy_life2 8,319]

@@clc9

Before surgery I've gained and lost. I never could maintain for long.

I had surgery June of 2014. I maintain in the 130's.

I had to change my behaviors and work on some issues with a counselor. I'm a stress emotional eater. I now take my stress to the gym. It feels better than eating to comfort myself. Maintaining takes work. But it can be done. I get my Protein goals in. I workout 5 days a week.

Maintaining is a balance. If I eat wrong or not exercise I gain weight. If I gain weight. I get back on the horse and work my program. I still weigh everyday to keep myself in line. Living like this is just normal for me now. Its living like the rest of the population that are health minded

[Noneyo 171]

Your story is very much the same as mine. I have lost and gained and lost and gained so many times. I used weight loss drugs, I took up running, I did it all. I can get healthy but I can't stay healthy. I have never been able to maintain it. I am a binge eater and it used to hit me out of nowhere. With my third child I got to my highest weight and decided it was enough. I had my sleeve done not to long ago and it has changed my life! It is a tool but it is a tool that stays with you for life and I just know it's going to work for me this time. I know I have to change my relationship with food and I am working on that daily so I am ready. I haven't weighed yet because I am only weighing once a month and the scale is another obsession of mine that I won't be controlled by ever again. I track my food and rely on NSV'S and I have had lots of them! Wishing you much good luck on your journey whatever you decide!

[clc9 644]

I guess it depends on what the underlying cause was for your regain. Is it behavioral/physical/combination?

I was never able to lose weight (except that one time I was starving myself using Phentermine) even though I was really good at following rules and exercising, so maintaining is new territory for me. However, I would say it has to be easier if you are good at staying compliant and sticking to the basic rules.

My biggest issue was part behavioral AND physical. My behavioral issue was using food as a coping mechanism, especially during times of stress. So I had to learn new non-food-related coping mechanisms. My physical issue was a hormone imbalance (PCOS) that made losing weight damn near impossible and a big ass stomach (it took massive quantities to fill me up).

Surgery took care of the physical issues. I had to take care of the behavioral.

You can do anything you set your mind to. I say you go for it!

HW 290+/SW 261/GW 160/CW 159

When I've lost weight in the past despite all the positives and eating foods I enjoy, I feel like I am hanging from a cliff by my fingertips as I approach my goal weight. What I don't know is how much of the desire to eat too much is my body fighting back to my set point and how much is simply a return to bad habits. So it feels behavioral - ”why can't I stop eating?" but could that be influenced by the body's physical response to being well below its set point?

Raymia, I hear you! It's not like my life is getting better by not doing the surgery.