Perhaps this post will help someone who is seeking to do VSG or some form of WLS because I will be honest with you about my journey. It has been 8 months since I had VSG surgery and I have lost only 44 lbs. Up to a month ago I had lost 55 lbs but I have since gained 10 lbs. There are a couple reasons for my weight loss failure and I am just putting them down in writing not so much so that folks can be critical, but more for the folks out there considering this surgery or might just have had it.

I have not been committed to the process of changing bad habits or incorporating exercise into my lifestyle. I must have thought that having VSG was going to magically take away my appetite and food cravings for bad food. Guess what? I was starving the day after surgery! My appetite really never left. So if I did not CHOOSE what to eat and what not to eat, you could pack in tons of calories even in small portions. To cut to the chase, VSG does not work if you are not disciplined with your food choices. That shouldn't be a huge revelation but I actually had a mindset that my stomach would be gone and I would not even want to eat anymore so all the weight would just melt away. It does not happen that way!

I did not follow the instructions and guidelines post surgery about not eating and drinking at the same time. I had been told not to do it, I read that it would stretch your stomach pouch, but I still went ahead and did it. Guess what? My stomach has stretched and I can basically eat a small 'normal' size meal at only 7 months out when it should not be like that this early. Again, not being committed to the process

I am a type II diabetic. The catch 22 is that taking insulin makes you GAIN weight. That is just the nature of insulin and the more insulin you have to take, the more you gain weight. The first 4 months after surgery I was taking hardly any insulin at all but as my stomach expanded and I was able to eat more I had to increase insulin intake. So as a diabetic I'm really supposed to be exercising to compensate for that but cant seem to get this life style discipline into my life. I have a tread mill in the spare room - what is wrong with me!!!!

I am hoping that I can gather the motivation, the inspiration that inner push that I need to develop discipline in my life. i'm almost 50 years old and its really hard changing the way you have lived for so long but there are no short cuts, not even VSG 'saved' me. Sometimes I think the biggest problem and hinderance is just me because discipline does not depend on emotions - discipline is 'just do it' no matter if you 'feel' it or not...………..I NEED this, I need to get this translated from my head knowledge into practical living...….I'm rambling now

I'm hoping my update in the next 3 months will be a very different one in a more successful direction

you are 100% correct. The sleeve is just a tool. We have to work it, but dont beat yourself up. Change your behaviors. FInda therapist that can help you get to the root of the food issues. It will help. Also find an accountability buddy. One that is local to you and that can help keep you accountable and not enable you. RId your home of the foods you should not be eating. Start with a clean slate. You can do this! you have the knowledge of what to do, now just implement it. Make yourself incentive boards.. WAY TO GO Boards, motivational boards..

Good Luck

Best wishes.

2 hours ago, BajanSleeve said:

Sometimes I think the biggest problem and hinderance is just me because discipline does not depend on emotions - discipline is 'just do it' no matter if you 'feel' it or not...………..I NEED this, I need to get this translated from my head knowledge into practical living...….I'm rambling now

You nailed it. It's not as simple as "Just do it "no matter if you feel like it or not. It may mean digging deep and finding what got you to your height weight and confronting behaviors that are holding you back. May be time to find a counselor/therapist to get you over this hurdle. Get help even if it's hard..Even if you don't feel like it. Overcoming the mental battles can be the best gift out of this surgery.

Keep us updated. This is not the end of your story. It's the beginning.

SIDE NOTE:

Your post is very important for people making the choice to have sleeve surgery. Many of your points are not stressed enough by surgeons. Yes, you will still have an appetite and will be able to consume more food month's/years out.

I'm sorry you're struggling. I can only empathize but I have no words of wisdom because I too, am having a hard time at 5 mos post surgery. I don't feel I've fully embraced a healthier lifestyle and made it part of my routine like I expect I should have by now. I'm fighting the downward spiral of not being happy with myself. Good luck to you. I hope you find a way to turn things around.

I just wanted to say thank you for sharing.

I hope your next update finds you more at peace with yourself and perhaps ready to make further changes to change your health towards the better. Obesity is a difficult disease to treat.

Thanks for your honest post. At 6 months out I see this can be a slippery slope and agree this is only a tool. I think you are correct, many think this is the easy way out. It sounds like you know exactly what to do. 10 pounds is fixable. You have got this!

17 hours ago, rs said:

I'm sorry you're struggling. I can only empathize but I have no words of wisdom because I too, am having a hard time at 5 mos post surgery. I don't feel I've fully embraced a healthier lifestyle and made it part of my routine like I expect I should have by now. I'm fighting the downward spiral of not being happy with myself. Good luck to you. I hope you find a way to turn things around.

hopefully we can all encourage each other to break out of our lagging and bad habits. The battle is mainly in our mind.

you: 'I'm fighting the downward spiral of not being happy with myself.'. I can relate. For me this means that I am not happy with myself BECAUSE I am not doing what I should do and I have no good reason not to. So I am disappointed in myself more so than not happy with myself. Again, this is a battle of the mind. But not loving yourself goes deeper and VSG is not the issue in that regard. I pray your love for yourself will grow because it has started by your stepping out to try to change your life and get healthier. That is actually a courageous step. I did this to try to reverse diabetes and get HEALTHY. Honestly, and I mean it, my main goal is not to be skinny but to be HEALTHY so I am not dependant on insulin. And weight/obesity ties me to diabetes so I hope to loose enough weight so that I don't have to take it anymore.

How about we both FIGHT!?? Starts in our mind...……..we decide to fight

hopefully we can all encourage each other to break out of our lagging and bad habits. The battle is mainly in our mind.
you: 'I'm fighting the downward spiral of not being happy with myself.'. I can relate. For me this means that I am not happy with myself BECAUSE I am not doing what I should do and I have no good reason not to. So I am disappointed in myself more so than not happy with myself. Again, this is a battle of the mind. But not loving yourself goes deeper and VSG is not the issue in that regard. I pray your love for yourself will grow because it has started by your stepping out to try to change your life and get healthier. That is actually a courageous step. I did this to try to reverse diabetes and get HEALTHY. Honestly, and I mean it, my main goal is not to be skinny but to be HEALTHY so I am not dependant on insulin. And weight/obesity ties me to diabetes so I hope to loose enough weight so that I don't have to take it anymore.
How about we both FIGHT!?? Starts in our mind...……..we decide to fight

@bajansleeve yes let's both fight, together!

It’s not a failure until you quit giving everything you can. If you’re still working to change, you’re in the game!

You are the first person I've ever read who said they were starving the day after WLS surgery.

Anyway, sorry you are struggling and I hope you get your issues together. At least your mistakes might be a red flag to someone else like you, who was not emotionally ready for WLS surgery.

Thanks for your post. I’m only 3 months out but I’m already feeling similar. I know I should have lost more weight than I have - but as you know “knowing what to do” and “doing it” are very different. I did join a gym right after surgery and I was going 3 days a week (up from NEVER exercising). Then my NUT told me I should be going more often. So what did I do? Start going more often? No - I stopped going! I don’t even know why. Part of me was like - I’m not doing good enough? Well screw it - I’m just not going to do it anymore. So I too am disappointed in myself. ?

Thanks for your post. I’m only 3 months out but I’m already feeling similar. I know I should have lost more weight than I have - but as you know “knowing what to do” and “doing it” are very different. I did join a gym right after surgery and I was going 3 days a week (up from NEVER exercising). Then my NUT told me I should be going more often. So what did I do? Start going more often? No - I stopped going! I don’t even know why. Part of me was like - I’m not doing good enough? Well screw it - I’m just not going to do it anymore. So I too am disappointed in myself. [emoji27]

I can relate. Why do we do this to ourselves?

Thank you so much for this post. It's important and relevant for all of us to see/hear that it still takes real and constant effort to maximize the benefit we can realize from this tool. Too many of us have thought the surgery would make it easier, if not effortless. Totally not true! You can DO this thing.

On ‎1‎/‎14‎/‎2019 at 6:46 AM, RussT said:

You are the first person I've ever read who said they were starving the day after WLS surgery.

Anyway, sorry you are struggling and I hope you get your issues together. At least your mistakes might be a red flag to someone else like you, who was not emotionally ready for WLS surgery.

I have read of quite a few people who battled with hunger immediately after surgery. Some people said it was dehydration and then emotional hunger but you know what, I ain't too sure bout dat! When I was researching VSG I was reading how my appetite would be next to nothing with a reduced stomach and how the hunger hormones would be reduced etc. I NEVER experienced this. The only thing that restrained me from eating was the size of my stomach and that if I ate too much I would become nauseous or it would physically hurt me. NOT because I was not feeling hungry . If felt SO disappointed that an expectation I had built regarding reduced hunger was not what I experienced

I am also so sorry you are struggling, we all know and feel for you, it is a battle. Perhaps be a little nicer to yourself, after all you must have done some things right! You lost 50 + Lbs! Maybe just breaking it down so it is a bit more manageable. Set your daily goals and start each day a new and don’t beat yourself up if you aren’t perfect. Personally i aim to get my steps in every day, but at one month out i had a bad cold and could barely get out of bed, so little if any steps that day! I try to plan my meals, my liquid , my exercise out a week, but do take it day by day, realizing it is a marathon , not a sprint. Sometimes i am ravenous too! But the good news is that a few tablespoons of food fill me up. Are you working with a nutritionist? Maybe that will help with hunger, also a personal trainer to get you motivated to move? I’ve spoken to a lot of thin people and no one wants to work out, they just view exercise and eating right as a daily chore, rather like brushing your teeth. No on wants to brush their teeth, but they do it because they need to. Perhaps approach your daily food and exercise intake the same? I am doing that, or trying to... seems to work. Just don’t give up on yourself!