It appears that VSG is quite successful, with weight loss well over 100+ pounds common in the first year. But I've also read that maintaining that loss after the 2 year mark is difficult, and gaining weight back is common. This doesn't appear to be the case with the bypass so what causes this? I know it's a TOOL, but why is the tool so successful for 1-2 years and then not? What changes and why and what can be done to prevent it? Obviously maintaining healthy habits and continuing to work at it, but what physically or mentally causes this shift? I've heard the stomach stretches out so there isn't as much restriction, but then I read where that is not possible? Having experienced regain after countless diets I want to set myself up for success.

5 hours ago, GreenTealael said:

They are hard to read! I remember during grad school thinking who the hell do they write these papers/journals/articles for? Them selves ?

you're actually correct! I was a research librarian for several years at a major university. Scholarly articles like that are generally written by PhD-level researchers and their target audience is other researchers. Before the internet age, that's how researchers who were working in the same field knew what their fellow researchers were doing on other campuses or in other agencies. It's basically how they kept up with what was going on in their field. So even though students read these articles, they aren't the intended or primary audience for them - it's basically the way researchers communicate with each other so they all know what's going on in the field.

I never lost feeling hungry. But very little filled me up. Like a teaspoon of minced chicken salad every two hours, once I got to semi solid . Even now, 12 years out, I can eat a very small baked chicken thigh and a couple ounces of sweet potato, and 1/3 c of applesauce for dinner and i am soo done. What I realized when I gained back some weight, was that I NEVER learned in my entire life how to maintain my weight - I was always either losing weight or gaining it. BAM ! total mind blowing experience. So I started losing the weight I had put on, and after 10 pounds gone; I purposely stopped losing weight even though I wanted to lose 30 more pounds. And I maintained that 10 pound weight loss. I ate more, I ate higher calories. I found out what I needed to eat/how much I needed to move to stay at THAT weight. MIND blown. After a couple months, I purposely. With INTENT lost another 10 pounds. Slowly. Then stopped again. 2 months at that weight. And so on. Then I got to the down 40 pounds which was my goal. I stayed with in 5 pounds of that weight for a YEAR !!! A few months back, I decided to do 5 more pounds. That was harder. But I did it. And another 5 pounds. Right now I am a pounds under that, and pretty happy. Might do another 3 pounds but very slowly and carefully because at 67 years old I haven't weighed this since the 1970's !!! And I am loving it, I eat well. I have some dietary limitations and eat low fiber and low residue as a medical necessity. Darn. But I had to figure out what would work for ME. Took me most of a lifetime. But so glad.

16 minutes ago, BriarRose said:

I never lost feeling hungry. But very little filled me up. Like a teaspoon of minced chicken salad every two hours, once I got to semi solid . Even now, 12 years out, I can eat a very small baked chicken thigh and a couple ounces of sweet potato, and 1/3 c of applesauce for dinner and i am soo done. What I realized when I gained back some weight, was that I NEVER learned in my entire life how to maintain my weight - I was always either losing weight or gaining it. BAM ! total mind blowing experience. So I started losing the weight I had put on, and after 10 pounds gone; I purposely stopped losing weight even though I wanted to lose 30 more pounds. And I maintained that 10 pound weight loss. I ate more, I ate higher calories. I found out what I needed to eat/how much I needed to move to stay at THAT weight. MIND blown. After a couple months, I purposely. With INTENT lost another 10 pounds. Slowly. Then stopped again. 2 months at that weight. And so on. Then I got to the down 40 pounds which was my goal. I stayed with in 5 pounds of that weight for a YEAR !!! A few months back, I decided to do 5 more pounds. That was harder. But I did it. And another 5 pounds. Right now I am a pounds under that, and pretty happy. Might do another 3 pounds but very slowly and carefully because at 67 years old I haven't weighed this since the 1970's !!! And I am loving it, I eat well. I have some dietary limitations and eat low Fiber and low residue as a medical necessity. Darn. But I had to figure out what would work for ME. Took me most of a lifetime. But so glad.

Thanks for sharing that BriarRose! I remember you making a similar comment (but couldn't remember who or what post) and it hit home. I've never been in a place of maintanence.

On 2/28/2023 at 6:11 PM, catwoman7 said:

you're one of the lucky minority whose hunger never came back. For most of us, it comes back sometime during the first year. I was hoping I would have been one of the people whose hunger never came back, but no - unfortunately not. It was so much easier those first few months when I was never hungry and didn't give a flip about food!

I don't know if I consider myself "lucky"...I'm unfortunately learning that every body has its problems and being almost-too-thin is frustrating too. I'm heading to the doctor and my dietitian this week to get myself feeling better.