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....

5 hours ago, Valboosky said:

I'm actually surprised how low the starting BMI is for some people that get the surgery.

It's pretty drastic for someone with under 100 lbs to lose.

I disagree that its drastic for anyone with up to 100lb to lose. People have and maintain obesity for many reasons, some quite complex, which is aside from individual factors such as gender, height, age. I am quite short 100lb extra on me is massively obese, whereas, 100lb on a 6ft1 person may well be overweight or just in the early stages of obesity.

What a lot of people don't realise for lighter weight overweight person 25lb or 50lb is just as hard to lose as 100lb or 150lb for those who are more overweight.

I am at 35 weeks weight loss from September surgery sometimes it times to change things up to see results. Focus on protein intake or exercise.

On 11/28/2021 at 9:47 AM, 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.

So again, this is a tool to use. It is not a quick fix nor is it an easy way for you to lose weight and still keep your bad eating habits. It changes your physiology to make your weight loss chances more permanent. The rest is up to you. Now this is going to sound harsh but it is on YOU to do the research about any procedure before you have it. It is on YOU to do what is required to make a procedure like this work. To proclaim it bullshit because you don't want to put in the work is not placing the responsibility where it belongs.
What are you eating? Is it fried food? Carbs? Cookies? Chips? Are you getting any exercise? Because if you are still eating garbage and sitting around on the couch then, yeah, you're screwed.

I think some people reacted strongly because of OP stating “this surgery is bullshit”, which is a pretty bold statement and runs counter to many of our experiences. This surgery isn’t appropriate for a number of people who get it, certainly. Some surgeons are lazy or greedy and push people through who aren’t mentally prepared to make the necessary changes. But that doesn’t make the surgery itself bullshit.

If you aren’t planning on making any changes to your life, and don’t want to track (be it calories, protein, water) I honestly don’t recommend it. I’ve had some friends tell me confidently that they plan on getting surgery and eating exactly as they are now, but relying on portion control that the surgery provides. I cringe, because it’s so easy to bypass the restriction with snacking, eating calorically dense food, etc.

OP, what’s done is done. I wish for your sake you could go back and reverse the surgery, but you can’t. I hope you can find a way to move forward and either use your surgery to lose further, or find a way to live eating the way you want without regard to weight loss. I’m sorry that your surgical team failed you- you deserved more support than you got.

OP and the ones who aren't into logging food, I recommend you use "Baristatic App"

I am also the person who disliked this aspect of logging food. But once you're on this journey, it's important to do what's needed to achieve success even if it's something one dislikes.

I started logging using the above App. It's easy, straightforward and will help you track almost everything WLS needed.

I'm also really not into logging food and hate doing it. I still force myself to do it even if it's a struggle.

I think if you go into this with a "I'm not this kind of person so I won't do that" then you're not in the right mindset for surgery. If you always do what you have always done then you always get what you always got, which is obesity. For most of us success with this surgery means changing a lot of things to our lifestyles and adjusting to a new mindset. You can't go in just saying I don't log food, I don't cook, I don't exercise, etc. and then think anything will change for you.

@LaoDaBeirut, what you said 100% echoes my experience. I had to let go of everything I knew and did. I had to listen and implement the ideas I was given. It was hard. I swore I would never track, but I tried it. Now, I see that it has been what I needed to do...and I suspect always will.

The surgery is merely a tool. If there was a magical surgery they could keep us from eating too much or having cravings or all of the things that lead up to our situations, they would need to be operating on our brain, not our stomachs.

Even with a small stomach, there is nothing that would keep a person from eating ten meals a day If they put them really close together. And, even with a smaller capacity, you can put some high calorie stuff through there! Think of all of the soft foods that don’t even fill you up and just slide right by. You can put a lot of calories through your body.

At the end of the day the surgery is a tool to help you on your journey. But there is a lot of other work that Hass to be done. Most surgery programs recommend support groups, and other practices to help you get that part down. But successful weight loss has everything to do with changing the way you relate to food. All the surgery does is help you to feel full faster - assuming you eat protein-dense foods. I’m really sad if your Program led you to believe that this would fix everything. That’s just not the way it is.

1 hour ago, evanrj said:

The surgery is merely a tool. If there was a magical surgery they could keep us from eating too much or having cravings or all of the things that lead up to our situations, they would need to be operating on our brain, not our stomachs.

Even with a small stomach, there is nothing that would keep a person from eating ten meals a day If they put them really close together. And, even with a smaller capacity, you can put some high calorie stuff through there! Think of all of the soft foods that don’t even fill you up and just slide right by. You can put a lot of calories through your body.

At the end of the day the surgery is a tool to help you on your journey. But there is a lot of other work that Hass to be done. Most surgery programs recommend support groups, and other practices to help you get that part down. But successful weight loss has everything to do with changing the way you relate to food. All the surgery does is help you to feel full faster - assuming you eat protein-dense foods. I’m really sad if your Program led you to believe that this would fix everything. That’s just not the way it is.

Exactly, which is why the op and many others feel like this. My observations and experience on this journey has lead me to believe to succeed long term with this surgery you need to be the type of person who would succeed with normal diet and exercise programs and if you can do that why would you need surgery. Surgery is a kick start caused by the early after surgery effects where you physically cant eat and your body is forced to survive on a low calorie diet. But once the body heals and you can start bringing in "normal" foods that is where you need will power and commitment and this is where it fails as some of us are lead to believe that the portion control side of things is what looses the weight. I have been very surprised by the amount and types of foods i can actually eat ! I feel that perhaps the op may experience the same. Its not the fault of the op for being disappointed and to have feelings of being misinformed. My dietian told me prior to surgery and again after surgery that I could eat as I did pre surgery and loose weight because of the portion control side of things.... false. My surgeon told me AFTER surgery at my 3 month post op appointment that the effects of the sleeve last 18 months to 2 years at the most and what happens after that is entirely up to you. So yes if you look at it like that why are we cutting pieces off a perfectly healthy vital organ for short term benefit. Studies now show that gut health plays a huge roll in weight control among other modern health issues so maybe that is another solution that should be looked at before surgery as I dont even know if we are able to do what it takes to get out gut health right after surgery. That is something i plan to look into.

On 12/7/2021 at 3:54 AM, Valboosky said:

I'm actually surprised how low the starting BMI is for some people that get the surgery.

It's pretty drastic for someone with under 100 lbs to lose.

Not really. I have under 100 pounds to lose but I'm only 5'0", so 75 extra pounds on me looks (and feels) like 100+.

To the OP, you admitted that you're not disciplined, so that's your problem. The sleeve works if you work it. If you're not tracking your food or being at all diligent with your intake (eating junk, snacking, etc.), then I'm willing to bet you're eating way more than you "feel" like you are.

Edited December 12, 20214 yr by AjaSlimtone

On 11/29/2021 at 1:25 AM, cellbell said:

Because the surgery helps people better manage a very strict diet program so they can actually sticks to it. Some people lose their hunger for months, making it much easier to be satisfied at 800 calories. Even when hunger returns, a smaller stomach helps with Portion Control.

But whats the point if you are miserable ?and for some its given them reflux Personally I am physically hungry all the time I cant seem to get that feeling of satisfaction. Plus the reflux

On 12/11/2021 at 11:18 AM, SleeverSk said:

Exactly, which is why the op and many others feel like this. My observations and experience on this journey has lead me to believe to succeed long term with this surgery you need to be the type of person who would succeed with normal diet and exercise programs and if you can do that why would you need surgery.

Before surgery, I had been obese since the age of 8. I was 54 when I had the sleeve done. In all those intervening years (decades), I was never able to lose significant weight and keep it off for more than a year (usually 6 months). After surgery, I lost 130 pounds and reached a normal BMI for the first time since I was a little girl. I'm coming up on 3 years since my sleeve and my weight is within 4 pounds of my lowest weight. I had 45 years of trying to lose weight and maintain the loss. If I could have done it on my own, I would have.

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Surgery is a kick start caused by the early after surgery effects where you physically cant eat and your body is forced to survive on a low calorie diet. But once the body heals and you can start bringing in "normal" foods that is where you need will power and commitment and this is where it fails as some of us are lead to believe that the Portion Control side of things is what looses the weight. I have been very surprised by the amount and types of foods i can actually eat ! I feel that perhaps the op may experience the same. Its not the fault of the op for being disappointed and to have feelings of being misinformed. My dietian told me prior to surgery and again after surgery that I could eat as I did pre surgery and loose weight because of the portion control side of things.... false.

To a certain extent, you're right. No surgery will allow you to eat unhealthy food on a regular basis and maintain the weight loss. The part you are missing is that for some of us, the surgery alters our appetite and reduces cravings. That makes it much easier to stick to a desired eating plan. Prior to surgery, my appetite beat me up like it was Mike Tyson. Now, it's more like a toddler. It can make a lot of noise, but it doesn't overpower me anymore. I'm not consistently relying on raw will-power, where I'm constantly struggling not to eat. That wouldn't be at all sustainable (as my 45 years of diets demonstrated). Sure, sometimes I want something bad and I have to tell myself "Not right now". But it's a heck of a lot easier to do that now than it was before surgery.

It's really unfortunate that you were told you would be able to eat as you did pre-surgery. I honestly don't know ANYONE who completely went back to their old diet and maintained their weight loss. Now that I am in maintenance, I'm not as strict as I was during the weight loss phase. I eat more carbs (in the form of fruit mostly) and I allow myself a treat now and then (Thanksgiving, Christmas, my birthday, Passover, etc.) But day to day, I eat a maintenance diet that is very different from how I ate pre-surgery.

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My surgeon told me AFTER surgery at my 3 month post op appointment that the effects of the sleeve last 18 months to 2 years at the most and what happens after that is entirely up to you. So yes if you look at it like that why are we cutting pieces off a perfectly healthy vital organ for short term benefit.

Your surgeon is simply wrong. 2 years and 9 months after surgery, I still have significant restriction and my appetite is still about two-thirds of what it was before. The restriction is not as intense as it was in the early days/weeks/months after surgery, but it's there. I am satisfied with a fraction of the food I used to eat at one meal. It will always be possible to "eat around your sleeve" by eating unhealthy food in small portions, but all day long. No surgery can stop you if you are really determined to over-eat. That's why it's important to get to the root of the psychological reasons you depend on food to help you cope. Because surgery doesn't eliminate those issues. It's very unfortunate that your bariatric team didn't prepare you for that aspect of things.

Different people have different experiences of what post-surgical life is like. Not everyone gets the long-term appetite reduction that I enjoy. I'm aware that it may not last forever. But almost 3 years later, the sleeve is still helping me maintain my weight loss, WITHOUT a constant will-power battle. It takes commitment sure - I can't eat everything that comes to mind, whenever I want. But for the first time ever, I feel like on any given day, I can CHOOSE how and what I eat, rather than being a prisoner of my appetite.

I’m new to the group and haven’t had my procedure yet but I will get sleeved on 1-12-22 I’m in other weight loss groups and I have never heard of not losing weight at all I hear people say they hit a stall usually around 6 months post op

It can and does happen, I also know people who lost weight and gained it all back and are now at their starting weight plus have the challenges being sleeved gives you. You still need will power and commitment to make this work long term and it doesnt come easy

Sorry, I cant imagine getting any type of surgery done without knowing what I would need to do afterwards. I used to read these boards a lot when preparing, but post surgery and at goal now, its disheartening to read some posts on here so I'm here a lot less. People not doing what they were advised to do but rant and rave anger here. Seems so silly. Surgery is a tool. That's it. I knew that going in and I knew it during. And, if the surgery team is not giving you enough info, sorry, but there are tons of places online to get it. I never research just using one source. Nor, did I just meet with one surgeon. I get it that some folks have challenges after surgery. No problem. Our bodies are different and react different. But, if someone is not willing to make lifestyle changes, this is not the surgery for them. I'm off to take a break from this site again. Stuff like this is annoying. I dont take it personal, but it just feeds into the negativity out there about having WLS. All the best everyone!