Hi all.

I am considering having a VSG. I thought I would seek advice regarding this. I have a very large appetite, largely emotional eating, I am sure, but I am able to consume large portions of food, and tend to get hungry fairly easily. Result has been many years of yo-yo dieting. my BMI is now in the mid 30's.

does anyone know if the post-op portion of food is affected much by sleeve size? Ie, I believe it is common to take 75-85% of the stomach.... has anyone ever had say a 45-55% reduction to remove ghrelin cells, but a larger stomach size remains? I would still like to be at least able to enjoy family meals once in a while. thank you all kindly for any advice.

23 minutes ago, Pescador said:

Time eating is irrelevant. We eat no bread, carbs, sWeets. We are both 70. Husband maintains perfectly. I had a low BMI. I work with a life coach at the surgeon's office. No matter what, I struggle terribly, I eat less than my husband. I follow rules. I backtrack to shakes. I try the re-set the pouch.

I am also wondering about this.... are you saying you can eat the same size meals now as before you had the VSG ? (or did you have another method? ) What were your meals like before, and what are they like now?

Sorry to hear of your struggles, keep trying as much as you can.

Knowing what I do now I will say that going through WLS is more mental than anything else. Yes, I struggled with the same issues: what if I want to go to Buffalo Wild Wings and pig out every once now and again? What if I do want to go to a AYCE Chinese buffet? What if I want to snack and eat all day on Thanksgiving? Problem is those "few" exceptions will become the norm.

You will have to accept and come to terms that there are some things you will not be able to do again. When I quit smoking years ago I couldn't fathom doing some things without the ability to smoke. Going out to eat, to a bar, or just working in my garage seemed like they'd be impossible to do if I couldn't have a cigarette in my hand at the same time. And guess what? Life went on just fine. We need to look at food like any other addiction. If you're struggling with alcoholism you can't try to justify going to a bar only on big sporting events. It's a door you open that leads to more excuses of indulging yourself when you know you shouldn't.

I'm as guilty for thinking of ways on "well, how can I get around having a smaller stomach and still do x, y, and z?" Now I realize what a mistake thinking like that was. WLS is a tool - it's not a magical pill. I'm about 4 1/2 weeks post-op now and yes it is still strange to take half an hour to eat half a cup of chicken salad. Each day it becomes more of the norm and I'm simply adjusting for it, but it hasn't been a bad thing. I'm down 30 lbs and feel better in these past few weeks than I have in years. There are going to be things that I miss, but that's what got me overweight in the first place.

By all means take your time in making this decision. Things will be different but you have to be honest with yourself in what is best long term. Keep talking with people and don't let those that are unhappy with their decisions to scare you away from doing what you think is best for you.

10 hours ago, Pescador said:

Time eating is irrelevant. We eat no bread, carbs, sWeets. We are both 70. Husband maintains perfectly. I had a low BMI. I work with a life coach at the surgeon's office. No matter what, I struggle terribly, I eat less than my husband. I follow rules. I backtrack to shakes. I try the re-set the pouch.

It looks like you tons of restriction cause you can't eat much. But your concern is that your not losing weight.

I hope it gets better for you, I can't imagine going thru this surgery at your age!

If it makes you feel any better OP I just told people I was dieting and cut most carbs and sugar out. Went out to eat had some seafood, couldn't eat much, but there were no questions because I've already told my friend I was dieting. People notice you eat significantly less, but you don't have to tell them you had surgery. Tell them you're dieting. Also, disclaimer, it was a little easier for me to get away with this because my surgeon skips the purée stage completely.

16 hours ago, bariboy said:

thank you all for your feedback everyone.... I hope it makes sense, I am not worried about my typical meal size, I WANT to eat less, MUCH less, I realize my battle with food is putting me down a dangerous path....

....I am just SO self conscious about others knowing, people thinking I am weird, or weak, or "took the easy way out". I do not intent to tell any family members besides my spouse.

Your posts have been so very helpful.

You are doing this for your health and well-being. What difference does it make what people think?

To ask for a bigger stomach so you don't have to face the questions of others is setting yourself up for failure.

I told everyone I was having the surgery - co-workers, family, etc. Everyone has been supportive and happy for me that I am finally losing the weight and looking and moving better. I made the decision to be open about it because I didn't want to have to lie or pretend to people about why I was eating so little or losing so much weight so fast.

A good Bariatric surgeon requires a visit to the Nutritionist and the Psychologist to make sure you are ready for such a life-changing surgery.

8 hours ago, Airstream88 said:

You are doing this for your health and well-being. What difference does it make what people think?

To ask for a bigger stomach so you don't have to face the questions of others is setting yourself up for failure.

I told everyone I was having the surgery - co-workers, family, etc. Everyone has been supportive and happy for me that I am finally losing the weight and looking and moving better. I made the decision to be open about it because I didn't want to have to lie or pretend to people about why I was eating so little or losing so much weight so fast.

A good Bariatric surgeon requires a visit to the Nutritionist and the Psychologist to make sure you are ready for such a life-changing surgery.

You are certainly right, and I see what you are saying. I am a very private, self conscious person, so I won't be telling anyone, but I applaud you for doing this.

I was just hoping it may be possible, at my absolute largest gorging meals, to be able to take in a portion of say, HALF of this size plate at holiday dinners, etc... right now I could probably eat 2 of these no problem

Edited February 28, 20179 yr by bariboy

You are certainly right, and I see what you are saying. I am a very private, self conscious person, so I won't be telling anyone, but I applaud you for doing this.

I was just hoping it may be possible, at my absolute largest gorging meals, to be able to take in a portion of say, HALF of this size plate at holiday dinners, etc... right now I could probably eat 2 of these no problem

I am 3 minutes months out from VSG and could eat that whole plate, I would be extremely full and definitely feel the restriction and uncomfortable, but I could eat that much. (Not that I would )

Just now, augustgirl said:

I am 3 minutes months out from VSG and could eat that whole plate, I would be extremely full and definitely feel the restriction and uncomfortable, but I could eat that much. (Not that I would )

wow!! crazy.... I assumed I'd only be able to eat about 1/5 of it !

I'm 3 months out and can only eat about 4-5 bites off that plate...if that.

I am almost at three months and would not be able to eat more than 6 to 8 bites of that meal.

Everyone is different. Being absolutely full after the sleeve is a painful experience too.

At 4 months I could eat maybe the turkey and a few bites of the veggies and no stuffing since bread swells up in my stomach. I don't expect to ever be able to eat an entire 8-10" plate of food in one sitting again.

I am 3 minutes months out from VSG and could eat that whole plate, I would be extremely full and definitely feel the restriction and uncomfortable, but I could eat that much. (Not that I would [emoji6])

I'm 5 months out and there is no way I could get even half that down if I stuffed. I don't see how at 3 months you could get that down. That is easily 1lb of food.

I'm almost 9 weeks out and I would say I could probably eat a third of that. Maybe all of the turkey, a couple bites of veggies and maybe a couple bites of the cranberry sauce. I can eat between 3 and 5 oz per meal depending on what the meal is and how long I'm taking to eat it. If I'm eating slower over a long period of time I can eat more so I try and limit my meals to 30 minutes.

At 2 years out I wouldn't even bother trying to finish that plate. Turkey and cranberry would be gone though, that is for sure!

@bariboy - I can see where you are coming from. However, I don't put much weight in other peoples opinions except for very close family and those are the ones that are always the most supportive. I am betting that if you are a really big guy, you probably have some back issue, blood sugar related issue, cholesterol... something. Anytime there is a family gathering and you feel uncomfortable, tell them you are having blood work in the morning or something like that and you are supposed to be fasting or something. They usually don't think twice about it.

However, once you start losing weight quickly it will be impossible to avoid the questions. So you'll need to think how to continue after that.

I could eat about 2 pieces of turkey and 1/2 green beans .