I had gastric sleeve surgery on July 21st. Over the first six weeks I lost 30lbs. I haven't lost a single pound since then..... My doctor keeps saying I need to keep my daily calorie intake to 800 or less to lose weight. I haven't been logging everything but I think I'm staying around that number... I'm not a very disciplined person so keeping track of that every day usually doesn't happen. I'm super frustrated and getting depressed over this. If I was able to lose weight by sticking to a very strict diet and exercise program I would have done that a long time ago and never had the surgery. I had a big part of my stomach removed for nothing.... Anybody else out there who can't lose weight even after weight loss surgery? I don't know what to do....

6 hours ago, goodmanje said:

I had gastric sleeve surgery on July 21st. Over the first six weeks I lost 30lbs. I haven't lost a single pound since then..... My doctor keeps saying I need to keep my daily calorie intake to 800 or less to lose weight. I haven't been logging everything but I think I'm staying around that number... I'm not a very disciplined person so keeping track of that every day usually doesn't happen. I'm super frustrated and getting depressed over this. If I was able to lose weight by sticking to a very strict diet and exercise program I would have done that a long time ago and never had the surgery. I had a big part of my stomach removed for nothing.... Anybody else out there who can't lose weight even after weight loss surgery? I don't know what to do....

Hi,

I’m so sorry you’re having a difficult time. I have surgery in December and I worry about this same thing happening to me. I’ve heard so many different theories as to why the weight comes off so slow. If you don’t mind me asking how many pounds were you overweight? Do you find that you are able to consume what you used to? If so, I would definitely talk with your surgeon. I heard a woman on here say she did the bypass after the sleeve was not effective enough.
Have you talked to your surgeon?
I wish you all the best and know that it will get better. ?

It sure doesn't sound like you had realistic expectations of WLS, and I'm wondering how you were approved for it.

Instead of cursing your surgery, though, how about investing in some bariatric therapy to help you develop some new attitudes and strategies that will make you happier as you do the hard work we all need to do to lose weight?

Bari surgery purveyors do oversell these procedures: medicine is a business, and bariatric surgery has its own marketing plans and strategies.

If someone has said you must eat 800 cal/day forever, this is an eating disorder/anorexia. That limit should only be in place during the pre- & immediate post-surg diet.

It's true the surgery is sold as a "cure," albeit the medical world also couches this procedure as a "tool" for a cure.

It's also true that most patients never get to their ideal weight, much less keep off the weight they lose initially.

It's also true that stomach amputation and the year prior to the surgery which requires generally unnecessary appointments, procedures, tests, labs, etc., is obscenely profitable for the hospitals and the only reason they offer it.

Those of us who choose this outrageous procedure are desperate and hopeless. The medical world knows this. They choose to underreport outcomes such as Goodmanje's, who has a right to voice frustrations, concerns, and warnings.

We're all hoping to be one of the "lucky" ones. And we're all willing to be permanently altered with no guarantees. Perhaps, instead, as with any business, we should demand there be guarantee of a reasonable outcome.

I think we've all seen on this site that there are enormous inequities for access to care, bari teams, quality surgeons, programs, plans, preparation, diets, etc. We can't possibly know which elements are scientific and which aren't. The research is all over the place.

The 30 day mortality rate deal has to do with how hospitals report their "success" rates. Yep--if you get taken off the ventilator on day 31, the hospital reports it as a "success" story with regard to mortality/complications, etc.

It's an enormous gamble.

26 minutes ago, FutureSylph said:

It sure doesn't sound like you had realistic expectations of WLS, and I'm wondering how you were approved for it.

Instead of cursing your surgery, though, how about investing in some bariatric therapy to help you develop some new attitudes and strategies that will make you happier as you do the hard work we all need to do to lose weight?

Don't know how your plan works, but "bariatric therapy" here runs $1700/hour.

On 11/28/2021 at 15:51, LadyH said:

Bari surgery purveyors do oversell these procedures: medicine is a business, and bariatric surgery has its own marketing plans and strategies.

If someone has said you must eat 800 cal/day forever, this is an eating disorder/anorexia. That limit should only be in place during the pre- & immediate post-surg diet.

It's true the surgery is sold as a "cure," albeit the medical world also couches this procedure as a "tool" for a cure.

It's also true that most patients never get to their ideal weight, much less keep off the weight they lose initially.

It's also true that stomach amputation and the year prior to the surgery which requires generally unnecessary appointments, procedures, tests, labs, etc., is obscenely profitable for the hospitals and the only reason they offer it.

Those of us who choose this outrageous procedure are desperate and hopeless. The medical world knows this. They choose to underreport outcomes such as Goodmanje's, who has a right to voice frustrations, concerns, and warnings.

We're all hoping to be one of the "lucky" ones. And we're all willing to be permanently altered with no guarantees. Perhaps, instead, as with any business, we should demand there be guarantee of a reasonable outcome.

I guess this may be the case of some programs, that they oversell the success rate. It certainly wasn’t with mine. I went in with eyes wide open. My doc set a goal for me of 165 lbs, which was still overweight according to BMI. I’m maintaining at 140. Although I certainly haven’t been perfect, I followed the program they gave me the vast majority of the time. The longer I did that, the easier those new habits became. This is MAJOR surgery. I went in to it with the mindset that this was my last chance to turn my life around, and if I was going to do something so major by damn I was going to follow the advice of the team I was trusting to operate on me. For anyone struggling I’d advise you to schedule a visit with both your surgeon as well as the psychologist/psychiatrist and nutritionist who provided your clearance pre op.

25 minutes ago, kristieshannon said:

I went in to it with the mindset that this was my last chance to turn my life around, and if I was going to do something so major by damn I was going to follow the advice of the team I was trusting to operate on me.

Yes. My surgeon is with a teaching hospital and indicated up front that research shows this is the best proven way to keep weight off long-term for people who have been unable to maintain weight loss in the past. I figured this is my best chance of success, if I follow their recommendations.

My program did not recommend tracking calories, although that may work for some people.

800 calories long term is unrealistic. I stalled like everyone else and as soon as I was able to eat 1000-1200 calories I started losing the weight because my body was no longer in starvation mode. Try switching it up, try new exercises and see if that helps. I was 210 on my surgery date and am now 170 and my surgery was 9 weeks ago. But I realized I like everyone else who is starving themselves on here that didn’t work for me. Eating a balanced diet that yes Includes carbs has worked for me. What may work for another won’t necessarily work for you and no doctors don’t always know what they’re doing. My doctor didn’t even tell me about so many things that I eventually learned on my own or even on here talking to others. I’m sorry you’re having a rough time and for anyone being judgmental you clearly needed the surgery right so don’t go around bashing anyone else. Just cause you had it easier or your situation worked better. You don’t know what someone is going through and what they’re doing. You y very well could be an ongoing health issue they need to look into. Best of luck.

11 hours ago, goodmanje said:

Exactly, the surgery is bullshit. It's a total gamble.... I would never recommend someone have two thirds of a healthy organ removed from their body because it MIGHT help them develop a habit.

The surgery is not bullshit. You just weren’t/aren’t in the right frame of mind to lose weight right now. Like others have said, it is a tool. If you are not disciplined enough to use the tool you will not get the results you want. Don’t get mad at the surgery/process/surgeon……be mad with yourself.
I truly hope you can figure out how to use the this tool to get the results you want….it is not magic after all. You actually have to put in the work.

I had a chat with my preop team about the LSG I had on 11/8. My preop provider says if patients are using the surgery as an excuse to lose weight faster, they will fail. It’s a process, a tool to help with weight loss. Even with my behavioral health evaluation for the surgery, I expressed that this is a tool for me and not a magic wand to lose weight in a blink of an eye.

So far, I’m 20 lbs lighter after 21 days. My post opt week 4 starts tomorrow and it’s a learning process. I don’t count my calorie intake but I record all my intakes including water and clear liquids.

I wish you the best of luck and maybe get a weight loss therapist.

As mentioned already follow your docs advice 100%. Become a disciplined person and log your food, start working out even if it’s just walking, speak with a psychologist and change your lifestyle - this is the key to success x

I had the sleeve in 2010 and didn't lose much and there were a couple of others at the hospital who didn't lose so 2021 and I've had the bypass on the 23rd August and 45lbs lighter and feeling good about my self and surgery⁰

That's disappointing and quite unfortunate. I hope you can follow some of the given advice from here and turn things around.

Wish you all the best.

21 hours ago, goodmanje said:

Then I guess I'm screwed since even the surgery didn't work. I'm officially the fattest loser...

You need to get into some counseling ASAP. Its pretty clear you have some unrealistic expectations of what WLS was and how it would work, and you also might need some support on how to manage your new life and adjust post-op. I'm sorry this has been so disappointing and frustrating for you, but as others have said, weight loss surgery is a tool not a magic wand. You absolutely can overeat if you want to, it just makes it harder. But if you aren't tracking what/how much you're eating, how do you know if you're overeating? And exercise is good for you; sounds like you are really resistant to that, but the reality is you need to move your body regularly. Whether you are trying to lose weight or not, your body NEEDS it.

Again, your feelings are valid, WLS is a massive life change. But some additional support for your emotional/mental health would probably be really helpful for you. You can't have the surgery and then refuse to comply with the post-op requirements and then be angry that surgery "isn't working" for you. It is, but YOU need to make it work. We are here to cheer you on, but you've got to do your part.

Everyone has covered the mental aspects, so I won't repeat. But I'm curious...

1. Do you feel restriction when you eat? At six weeks out, it should be very apparent. What happens if you overeat?

2. What kind of food are you eating? Are you following an eating plan? Or just eating whatever?

3. Do you eat meals? Graze? Both? What is your style of eating?

4. Are you hungry all the time? Or do you eat out of boredom, as a coping mechanism, etc?

The folks on this site are super-knowlegeable and might be able to help you figure out what's going on if you provide more information.