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

Ok thank you ..today i am one month post op.maybe the body want his time for the schok of loosing so fast weight...I cant eat nothing just liquid milk tea yogurt and maybe 3 tea spoon of mashed potato some days ..3 tea spoon of liqiud soups.for exercice i am walking 4 days a week 35 min on treadmill. In the body i look more slim but the scale dont move.I just want to be sure that this stall one day will go away..and be pacient...

Thanks for sharing this info. At just 6 weeks post-op this confirms for me that need to stay on track and follow the program and that the surgery was only a tool and the rest is up to me. Thank you for your honesty.

On 1/12/2019 at 8:02 PM, BajanSleeve said:

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

I'm sorry you are struggling and happy you've had an "Aha moment" and posted about it.

I've been saying this from the beginning of my personal WLS journey. If we don't get right in the head, the surgery--which face it, it's not magic bean surgery--is not gonna do all the heavy lifting. We are such crafty, smart, surviving specie(s) haha, that we WILL figure out a way to outsmart our surgery.

What I still hear however is more magical thinking coming out of your mouth. Tomorrow, nothing will be different. You will wake up, resolve to mystically "do better"/"be better" etc, but guaranteed by 3-5pm, you will break and go for the fix. There is NO magic in this process. No WISHFUL thinking.

Unless/until you accept that your success depends on being accountable for your actions, and decide that will make concrete changes that are actionable, you will continue to despair and the beatings will continue until morale improves.

Honestly, the ONLY way to confront this issue we ALL face is to have a great plan. In your case (and in many of our cases, the key to the plan needs to include strategic partners: surgical team (who needs to know you're struggling and doing things you aren't supposed to do, bariatric counselor/therapist, RD), reading books on ending these self-defeating behaviors whatever they may be, making a concrete check list you USE and follow faithfully each day, decide on zero tolerance of going off-your checklisted plan, and being content that it takes time to correct behavior and weight. It also takes a physical plan for exercise.

Then you have to DO YOUR PART. You must log. You must weight foods. You must PLAN. You should maybe think about weighing daily, measuring monthly. Check things off your list.

I doubt seriously that you've stretched your pouch. Most likely, what has happened is that your pouch has matured which carries with it a natural "opening" or relaxing of your tum, which means you "CAN" eat more. It doesn't mean you "SHOULD" eat more. If you go back to your rules and follow them, you should begin to feel your restriction again.

Set your rules!

1. No more than 1 cup of food at a meal by volume.

2. Eat dense, dry, lean protein first (60-80g per day).

3. Eat al dente or raw veggies.

4. No meat lube, sauce, compound meals that are highly caloric. Keep your food separate! It will hang in your pouch better and provide nutrition without a bunch of added calories you don't need.

5. Cut your carbs to 20-30net carbs (carbs - fiber) per day.

6. Aim for almost zero sugar.

7. Drink your water (100+ ounces per day.

8. Don't drink your food! No liquid calories.

9. No eating/drinking 15 mins before and 1 hour after

10. Exercise daily. Try for 10K steps each day.

11. Take your supplements.

12. Get a real life support group and attend regularly.

13. Come here and get involved and on the BP facebook group.

14. Above all--see your doc, RD to get a plan for success. AND get a referral to a bariatric counselor.

15. Consider joining OA.

I wish you success, health, and a good life. I don't mean to beat you while you're down. I'm trying to make sure you don't waste any more of your honeymoon period spinning your wheels and participating in a giant fantasy.

I have an update!!! Posting in a new thread. I have had a major breakthrough and discovered what was hindering me and it may help other women in their almost 50's who are doing VSG

Where is it?

25 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

Where is it?

https://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/423143-breakthrough-women-48-to-55-must-read/?tab=comments#comment-4747894

On 1/21/2019 at 4:36 AM, FluffyChix said:

I'm sorry you are struggling and happy you've had an "Aha moment" and posted about it.

I've been saying this from the beginning of my personal WLS journey. If we don't get right in the head, the surgery--which face it, it's not magic bean surgery--is not gonna do all the heavy lifting. We are such crafty, smart, surviving specie(s) haha, that we WILL figure out a way to outsmart our surgery.

What I still hear however is more magical thinking coming out of your mouth. Tomorrow, nothing will be different. You will wake up, resolve to mystically "do better"/"be better" etc, but guaranteed by 3-5pm, you will break and go for the fix. There is NO magic in this process. No WISHFUL thinking.

Unless/until you accept that your success depends on being accountable for your actions, and decide that will make concrete changes that are actionable, you will continue to despair and the beatings will continue until morale improves.

Honestly, the ONLY way to confront this issue we ALL face is to have a great plan. In your case (and in many of our cases, the key to the plan needs to include strategic partners: surgical team (who needs to know you're struggling and doing things you aren't supposed to do, bariatric counselor/therapist, RD), reading books on ending these self-defeating behaviors whatever they may be, making a concrete check list you USE and follow faithfully each day, decide on zero tolerance of going off-your checklisted plan, and being content that it takes time to correct behavior and weight. It also takes a physical plan for exercise.

Then you have to DO YOUR PART. You must log. You must weight foods. You must PLAN. You should maybe think about weighing daily, measuring monthly. Check things off your list.

I doubt seriously that you've stretched your pouch. Most likely, what has happened is that your pouch has matured which carries with it a natural "opening" or relaxing of your tum, which means you "CAN" eat more. It doesn't mean you "SHOULD" eat more. If you go back to your rules and follow them, you should begin to feel your restriction again.

Set your rules!

1. No more than 1 cup of food at a meal by volume.

2. Eat dense, dry, lean Protein first (60-80g per day).

3. Eat al dente or raw veggies.

4. No meat lube, sauce, compound meals that are highly caloric. Keep your food separate! It will hang in your pouch better and provide nutrition without a bunch of added calories you don't need.

5. Cut your carbs to 20-30net carbs (carbs - fiber) per day.

6. Aim for almost zero sugar.

7. Drink your Water (100+ ounces per day.

8. Don't drink your food! No liquid calories.

9. No eating/drinking 15 mins before and 1 hour after

10. Exercise daily. Try for 10K steps each day.

11. Take your supplements.

12. Get a real life support group and attend regularly.

13. Come here and get involved and on the BP Facebook group.

14. Above all--see your doc, RD to get a plan for success. AND get a referral to a bariatric counselor.

15. Consider joining OA.

I wish you success, health, and a good life. I don't mean to beat you while you're down. I'm trying to make sure you don't waste any more of your honeymoon period spinning your wheels and participating in a giant fantasy.

Great post for everyone to read, thank you

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

I hope we all find the motivation to get through this. I have been seeing a counselor already, my surgery is Feb 26 and thank you for sharing this. One of the things I have discovered in my counselling is that, the habits that caused me to gain weight were as follows :-

1. A partner that loved to eat out alot and not work out. For I am a follower so if I have someone who loves eating out and yet has a metabolism that burns it off. Well I'm the one disadvantaged.
2. Work, often stressful situations at work led me to eating comforting food, a latte and muffin and lunch, a chocolate bar here and there.
3. Calorie counting, and being around people who are constantly mentioning the calories in a food, led me to be embarrassed in eating food at work.
4. Partner does not like alot of foods that I liked and grew up eating. And being someone that doesnt like to cook alot, i choose to eat out with my partner.
5.Not drinking enough liquids and often dehydrated pain felt like hunger pain.

My solution we came up with my counselor:-

1. Preplan meals and have it on my fridge.
2. Learn to say and offer to eat at home .
3. Read up on obesity related complications, such long effects of diabetes, heart disease etc. GUESS kind of like scare myself to discipline. This seems to work for me.
4. Don't eat when I'm stressed.
5. I have bought a dress that I have placed on my wall in my room as a reminder of what I want to fit in at the end of 2019.

I hope some of these may help, but hang in there.. I hope things get better.

I had my first gain this week. small, only 3lbs, but I know it is because I have veered off track. It is indeed a mental project for me.

Bajan, wondering how you're doing. I'm almost 2 years out and starting to feel that slide. I'm determined to get it back under control and came on bariatric pal looking for some support. I used to post here regularly and life happened and my health took a back seat. I'm not going down without a fight.

Have things gotten better for you? I personally can relate, in that I am already wanting to go back to my bad old habits. Embrace the fact you acknowledge your struggle, and consider today a fresh start. Best of luck in your journey, I have faith you can get back on track. <3

I've accepted that there are some times of the year that I will gain weight, like Christmas or a holiday away. If I gain a couple of pounds during those times, I don't panic and give up altogether, I just settle back to my 'new normal' eating habits and lose those couple of pounds again. It's tricky to avoid the "I've messed it up so I'll have a blow out" feeling, but I've learnt to ditch those perfectionist tendencies, because they don't help me in the long run.

That was a really hard lesson to learn, actually!