I'm not an expert. I was sleeved August, 2016 after a lifetime of diets and eating/exercise programs. My weight fluctuated my entire life. I was an obese child. My first diet began at age 9 after being teased unmercifully at school. I struggled to maintain a "close to" normal weight as I entered my teens. Thus began a lifetime of eating disorders that included bulimia and anorexia that lasted well into my 50's. I took pills, shots and filled my body with anything that promised a quick solution and weight loss. All this to say I've had a lifetime of experiences being overweight. I know many people on this site have very similar experiences.

I feel compelled to post about my surgery because I fully expected my life to be very different post surgery. I did lots of research and read many stories from many people who had not only sleeve surgery but also bypass surgery and lap band surgery.

I needed a drastic change. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life waking up and going to sleep with my weight dominating my thoughts. While I'm certainly still adjusting I am learning to listen to my body. I'm aware when I've had enough to eat and it is well before I'm "full". If I don't listen to my body sometimes one additional bite can cause me to feel nauseous and throw up a portion of my food.

I made a commitment when I had the surgery to stop eating when I'm not hungry any longer. Feeling full is no longer enjoyable for me and I'm happy my body doesn't tolerate it very well. Things are very different. Meal time is different. What I eat is different. How people react is different. But I expected these changes.

If people are concerned about how much or what I'm eating I compare it to an alcoholic worried that I'm not drinking enough [emoji4]To my friends I usually say "why don't you worry about what you're eating and I'll worry about what I'm eating".......with a smile.

This is lots of reading for a very simple thought and my very humble opinion. Your life changes after sleeve surgery (or bypass or whatever). It's a permanent change and you will eat differently, you'll feel differently about food. The hard changes are about how we use food, how we think about food and what food we think we want or need. That doesn't go away overnight. The sleeve is a tool. It will work beautifully if you use it correctly. If you don't make the necessary changes it will fail. You still can't eat anything and everything you want in huge quantities. You still can't use food to heal emotional hurts or make you feel rested if you're tired. You still need to make good choices and eat things that will fuel your body instead of your emotions.

Many people on this forum have said over and over again that "head hunger" is a problem and we need to work on it everyday. Surgery doesn't make it go away. I had never heard the term before but believe it's true. Food is never the solution but perhaps counciling and/or a good support group can help.

Any type of bariatric surgery is simply a tool. It is not a magic cure for being overweight. If you think your whole world will change as a result of the surgery I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. It still requires commitment, dedication, sacrifice and a willingness to work hard. I absolutely believe it's worth it!

Thankyou for posting your message. You are telling my story. I am wanting to commit to surgery and have been waffling for over a year. Your message has inspired me to proceed...Angie

Surgery is definitely a tool not the end all. I could not have lost weight without it. It is not the easy way out- it was the only way out for me.
Feeling so much healthier and better and I'm only half way to goal. Definitely have to watch myself slipping into using food for stress relief or comfort. Vsg doesn't fix those old habits but it does make it possible to work through them a bit.


Mich W
Hw 223, SW 217 CW 179.8 GW 135

All very good and wise points!!
The sleeve actually does seem a little bit magical to me- in that I don't care about food too much anymore-- ha! Seems pretty magical

Thankyou for your posts...My decision is made after 3 years of back and forth... Good luck to you both.

I agree with OP.
I am only about a month out and it has been very hard.
Food was my escape, my friend, my comfort, my drug of choice, my stress reliever.
I am having to learn to deal with my emotions without food and it is very hard.
Surgery is not a quick fix.
As I said in a previous post, surgery was actually the easy part.
Everything since surgery has been way harder than I had anticipated.

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Any type of bariatric surgery is simply a tool. It is not a magic cure for being overweight

I'm older, all comorbidities, fairly low BMI. My surgery is 10/5.

Your comments echo my thoughts precisely.

I hope some of the folks who are trying to figure out how to "cheat" or do things differently than the drs advise, read what you've said.

It's a lifetime commitment. It's giving yourself the best new life you can
Thanks for sharing.

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For me, I could NEVER have lost weight without doing this. It is the part of the journey I needed. I had the perfect diet in terms of types of nutrition and food. I had no control on portions. The prolactinoma (a pituitary brain tumor) secretes a hormone that doesn't allow me to have the sensation of fullness so I could not control the quantities. Now, I can. And even after 20-30 lbs down I was now able to do exercise easier. Exercise gets easier the less pounds you have to move. The sleeve was the "magic" missing piece I needed.

Re head hunger: I still feel it at night, and since my calories are low, I fit in that piece of 90% cocoa dark chocolate. It does have natural mood lift, but without the sugar, it isn't harmful and no one got fat on unsweetened chocolate. It is a vegan prebiotic little crunch of nutrition! (I keep it in the freezer so it does actually crunch, lol)