I had gastric sleeve in 2011. Lowest weight was 148. I now weigh 195 lbs. Where am I going wrong. I heard that I can reset my sleeve is this true. If so what do I do. And does the sleeve stretch itself out. My highest weight was 275. And for those who say this surgery is cheating I've worked harder at keeping my weight down with this than if I just pitched a tent in the gym and lived there. Lol

Some regain is considered normal.

Take a hard and unbiased look at your diet. What has changed? Are you eating more now? Are you tracking your meals? Are you exercising? Have some junk foods creeped back into your life in the years since your surgery? Are you eating and drinking at the same time?

It is normal to be able to eat more this far out from surgery but many times if people examine their diet there are some habits that have crept back in.

We are here to support you!

With my eating I never did a lot of worry about portion control because it used to be after a few forks I was full. Now I don't know like as far as portions how many ounces of meat how many ounces of vegetables how many meals per day should I eat it's getting to be so frustrating along with the weight gain. It seems all the support goes to the New gastric surgery patients and everyone else is left to figure out things on your own. Even the literature I read it's geared to those that are fresh outta surgery n a few months out. Hellllpppppp.

But what ARE you eating now?

You can start with 3-4 ounces of lean protein followed by veggies to fill you up.

If you are gaining weight though you need to evaluate what you are eating that needs to change. If you are not ready to do that and make the changes?

Have you reached out to your team?

Yes, just a lot of talk about keeping food journals. I guess my day is so hectic it's just a hassle to right down every sip of water n every morsal of food. It's frustrating me now as I speak. I'm ADHD n that focus and concentration to do that all day. My thoughts are all over the place all day everyday so it's hard to be consistent trying to document.

6 minutes ago, bossyj said:

Yes, just a lot of talk about keeping food journals. I guess my day is so hectic it's just a hassle to right down every sip of Water n every morsal of food. It's frustrating me now as I speak. I'm ADHD n that focus and concentration to do that all day. My thoughts are all over the place all day everyday so it's hard to be consistent trying to document.

LOL. This isn't magic bean surgery. You have to (at least IIIIIII have to) put the work in. LOL. I weigh/measure and track my food every meal. And I log it. It's the only way I know when I go sideways and then I absolutely know what to fix. Instead of rationalizing and bs'ing my way back up the weight loss charts to full blown obesity.

It's as simple and as hard as that. At 6+ years post op, your tum is very mature and I bet able to eat a full plate of food. Which should scare the livin' fu*k out of you. I can eat 1/2 a plate at 10 months and I'm terrified!

I'm only seven weeks post op, but I know from years of dieting that as soon as I stop measuring and logging all my food, I gain without even realizing. I know that measuring and weighing and logging has to be something I do pretty much forever to be successful. It is a pain in the ass. But I am worth it. And so are you! None of us want to make this investment of time and energy and money to gain in the end. This is a lifelong journey, and we are on it with you! [emoji6]

I am 11/2 years out and I still measure I keep my meat to 3 1/2 to 4 ounces. I do not measurd veggies but it wouls probably be about 1/2 cup

I'm 2 months out and at home I only do have a cup per meal. Maybe a tad more. If I'm working then I just eat something like a couple tacos, one and a half chicken strips or a grilled chicken sandwich with no bun. Then a few potato wedges or fries

Did the OP ever give any insight on the changes in diet, lifestyle & habits?

If food journaling throughout the day is hard, fall back on a few prepackaged fixes with set nutritional content. Stuff like string cheese, eggs, packets of tuna fish, individual hummus packs. That at least gives you set units to track rather than weighing anything.

On 12/9/2018 at 9:02 AM, bossyj said:

I had gastric sleeve in 2011. Lowest weight was 148. I now weigh 195 lbs. Where am I going wrong. I heard that I can reset my sleeve is this true. If so what do I do. And does the sleeve stretch itself out. My highest weight was 275. And for those who say this surgery is cheating I've worked harder at keeping my weight down with this than if I just pitched a tent in the gym and lived there. Lol

On 12/9/2018 at 10:20 AM, bossyj said:

With my eating I never did a lot of worry about Portion Control because it used to be after a few forks I was full. Now I don't know like as far as portions how many ounces of meat how many ounces of vegetables how many meals per day should I eat it's getting to be so frustrating along with the weight gain. It seems all the support goes to the New gastric surgery patients and everyone else is left to figure out things on your own. Even the literature I read it's geared to those that are fresh outta surgery n a few months out. Hellllpppppp.

On 12/9/2018 at 12:27 PM, FluffyChix said:

Yes, just a lot of talk about keeping food journals. I guess my day is so hectic it's just a hassle to right down every sip of Water n every morsal of food. It's frustrating me now as I speak. I'm ADHD n that focus and concentration to do that all day. My thoughts are all over the place all day everyday so it's hard to be consistent trying to document.

I agree with you, There is not a lot of information and support for people maintaining or have weight gain. Most vets disappear from the forums because it's mostly new people. It's hard to see people struggle with a major weight gain. I know this is not easy from my own experience.

You may not want to hear some of this. But, I'm saying it because I care.

The work does not end after goal. Don't let this gain become 100+ pounds back. Are you willing to change, work and do things that are not convenient or comfortable? Suffer the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.

(1) As you progress out from sleeve surgery your restriction is less. You will be able to eat more food.

(2) Stretching is rare. Very few revisions are done. You can make an appointment with your surgeon to see if you stretched your sleeve. Ask your dietician/surgeons office for help getting your diet back on track.

(3) Many people confuse stretching for the the ability to eat more and grazing food throughout the day (combinations of health and unhealthy foods) Any of us can eat around our surgery. Eating more calories is causing the weight gain.

(4) Pouch reset is a fancy way of saying getting back on track. Pouch reset is the old diet progression (liquid ,soft foods then real food stage) If you find this too restrictive try a different approach that is realistically sustainable for you long term. Contact your dietician or research diet options.

(5) . Portion control/surgery restriction will only take you so far. To set your body back into weight loss mode is to know how many calories you are eating. You can use a food app. It makes it easier. Click the link below.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.myfitnesspal.android&hl=en

Edited December 17, 20187 yr by Healthy_life

I agree with you, There is not a lot of information and support for people maintaining or have weight gain. Most vets disappear from the forums because it's mostly new people. It's hard to see people struggle with a major weight gain. I know this is not easy from my own experience.
You may not want to hear some of this. But, I'm saying it because I care.
The work does not end after goal. Don't let this gain become 100+ pounds back. Are you willing to change, work and do things that are not convenient or comfortable? Suffer the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.
(1) As you progress out from sleeve surgery your restriction is less. You will be able to eat more food.
(2) Stretching is rare. Very few revisions are done. You can make an appointment with your surgeon to see if you stretched your sleeve. Ask your dietician/surgeons office for help getting your diet back on track.
(3) Many people confuse stretching for the the ability to eat more and grazing food throughout the day (combinations of health and unhealthy foods) Any of us can eat around our surgery. Eating more calories is causing the weight gain.
(4) pouch reset is a fancy way of saying getting back on track. Pouch reset is the old diet progression (liquid ,soft foods then real food stage) If you find this too restrictive try a different approach that is realistically sustainable for you long term. Contact your dietician or research diet options.
(5) . Portion control/surgery restriction will only take you so far. To set your body back into weight loss mode is to know how many calories you are eating. You can use a food app. It makes it easier. Click the link below.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.myfitnesspal.android&hl=en

I was using my fitness pal n my dietician says that my fitness pal is for general weight loss it does not take into consideration that bariatric patients caloric needs are different not as many calories needed. So she guided me to a site called baritastic. My issues is focusing enough to track and log and portion consistently.

39 minutes ago, bossyj said:

I was using my fitness pal n my dietician says that my fitness pal is for general weight loss it does not take into consideration that bariatric patients caloric needs are different not as many calories needed. So she guided me to a site called baritastic. My issues is focusing enough to track and log and portion consistently.

I'm sure your ADHD is making logging difficult. Glad you have an app to help. Writing a food log takes way too much time.

I'm old school they didn't have bartitastic in 2014 when I had surgery. It could not track my calories in the first stages due to my low calorie intake. My calories are in the 1100 range this far out from surgery. I'm curious of where your dietitian has your calorie range? Are you at 900 or below?

Edited December 17, 20187 yr by Healthy_life

My 2 cents,

Log your food - you cant fix what you don't measure.

No snacks- log your food at the meal time and don't eat at non meal times

Eat from the 3 walls of your grocery store and remember to pay at the 4th

stay out of the middle of the store as much as possible

limit your sugar intake to 10 grams or less per day

limit your carbs to 75g if your maintaining your weight and under 50 if you want to lose weight.

Never eat if your not hungry

Dehydration can make you feel hungry so drink more then drink some more.

Edited December 17, 20187 yr by allwet
atrocious spelling errors lol

Ima try to say something here that will make you smile or make you happy or make you feel inspired. You don't necessarily have to become complicated about your eating. There is one truth for sure in all this. Weight gain means more calories than your activity level warrants. It's almost certain that you have a shitty metabolism and the only way to improve this is more activity and less or better food choices. This is a disgusting oversimplification of whats really going on in your body, both chemically, mentally and physically, but still, a simple truth that you hate, but know. Accept, no matter how frustrating, that you don't get to eat a 2000 calorie diet and maintain your goal weight.

Rules to Follow:

1. Always eat breakfast, lunch and dinner.

2. Don't eat more than 1 level cup of food for a meal (1.5 cups if your a male) tiny plates and 1 cup bowls are great here. Its all I use anymore.

3. Eat for expected activity ahead. (example, more calories in your meal if you are going to demand more of yourself physically. Dinner should not be a calorie dense meal if you are going to veg out on the couch and wind down for the night.)

I'm gonna leave it at three to make it look simple! So for now, don't worry about counting the calories, just worry about the portion size. If you find that you start losing weight quickly than consider adding in a mid morning snack and late afternoon snack that are no more than 100 calories to help stave off hunger. But first, see if you can start losing again and adjust from there. If you aren't losing weight, then you have to get more complicated with looking at and logging your calories. Hopefully you won't have to do that though!

Please, love the food you eat. Become an absolute snob with your choices! I can tell you to eat 3 oz of lean protein, 2 oz of starch and 3 oz of veggies with each meal, but I feel like that kinda kills creativity. You get a cup so make it worth. This ratio is a guideline to bring balance to your meals, but don't let it stop you from making a variety of culinary art and excitement. Don't be scared to make casseroles, stir fry, soups, crazy salads with weird flavor combinations. And, you know it...but sugar is evil.

I know you're absolutely dejected right now. It's sooooooo hard to admit to others and to yourself that something has gone wrong. You butchered your body to reach a goal that you didn't keep and now you feel like a turd. I want you to think of something else though. What if you didn't have the surgery? Where might you be right now? Maybe you would have done to yourself what I did. Maybe you might have been 475 lbs and super sick and then thinking about surgery. I have a flap of skin that hangs way down off my tummy area that covers my privates! Sorry for graphic imagery, but, it roles up like a cute burrito as well. Ima have to have that removed on my own dime or convince myself that its fun to think of Mexican food when I'm laying in bed at night!

A lot of people get lost thinking about where they didn't get too in the positive direction after WLS, but in their self misery, they forget to consider where they didn't go in the negative direction too. This counts for something huge in my book!!!...and I do know huge very, very well. ? Pick yourself up, dust off your bum, and love yourself. You absolutely cannot reach a goal if you are hating yourself. Reach out for help from somebody, a nutritionist, a personal trainer, a friend, maybe a psychologist even. Keep visiting these forums and posting things as you go. Its very therapeutic.

PS-My apologies if I have ruined Mexican food for anyone. Sometimes my humor gets a little morbid, but I do mean it all in good fun.