Kindle

"The emotional first aid kit" by Cynthia Alexander "Eat it up" by Connie Stapleton "Get out of your head and into your life" by Steven Hayes "Life Without Ed" by Jenni Schaefer "Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Dummies" and "Feeling Good : The New Mood Therapy" by David Burns also check out www.smartrecovery.org

It's always possible to lose weight, no matter how far out you are. The whole point of VSG is to provide a way to limit your stomach capacity. But as you learned very quickly it only works if you put good food into it. Your restriction will work with protein and veggies. You already know the secret to losing weight. You HAVE to cut out the carbs or your surgery will be a waste. Go back to basics ....high protein and plenty of water. Sadly, you are one of the examples of the Bariatric industry focusing too much on surgery and not enough on the psychological aspect of weight loss. In the end, obesity is the product of addiction, not stomach capacity. Surgery took less than an hour, but it takes a lifetime of mental health support to achieve and maintain weight loss. Your story is unfortunately all too common. For me, committing to changing my behaviors and developing new emotion coping stategies is the key to my success. I read dozens of self help and addiction books, joined an online addiction recovery program and saw a therapist for a year. Every day is still a struggle, but at 4 years out, 104% EWL and still within 10 pounds of my lowest weight, it has been worth it. I suggest reaching out to whatever mental health support programs you may have available. I will try and compile a list of the best resources I found.

Why would you want to drop water weight? It's not real weight anyways. And the resulting dehydration is bad for your heart, kidneys, brain and basically shuts down the metabolism of body fat. Kind of the exact opposite of what you should be striving for if you want to lose real weight and stay healthy.

What she said.... it's a diuretic used to control edema in CHF and HBP patients. Taking it without doctors supervision can lead to dehydration, cause electrolyte and thyroid hormone imbalances as well as liver and kidney damage. Are you inquiring because your doctor is prescribed it or are you looking for a temporary water weight loss?

Go back to basics. Whatever you did that first year after surgery, do it again. I regained 10 pounds in my 4th year from obvious poor food choices. Sure, my restriction is far less than it was the first two years, but it was the type of food I was eating, not the amount, that caused the regain. I had gotten happy and lazy and ignored all the Bariatric "rules" that had helped me lose 100 pounds and maintain for 3 years. Once I realized where I was headed, I went straight back to my proven weight loss high protein/low carb meal plan, added protein shakes back in and greatly increased my water intake. Dropped those 10 pounds in a couple months. good luck! You can do this.

Oh yeah, forgot about my boobs. Picture two tennis balls dangling in a couple of socks. Went from a 44DD to 34 A/B. I really wouldn't even need a bra if I didn't need someplace to stuff all the excess skin. Actually hard to find bras I don't fall out of when I bend over.

I don't own a scale. Only weighed myself at the doctors office in the beginning. Stepped on the scale at work once a month or so for the first couple years postop. But I can easily tell by how my jeans fit if I'm losing or gaining. I'm 4 years postop and I maybe weighed myself 3-4 times in the past year.

I had surgery on a Friday and was back to work the next Thursday. I am a vet tech so my work consists of 10+ hour days on my feet, bending, squatting, lifting, etc. I was up shopping and sightseeing days 1 and 2 postop, traveled via plane and car days 3 and 4 and was grocery shopping, getting my hair cut and plowing my driveway day 5. So if I was working from home I probably could have gone back within 1-2 days.

My point is, it doesn't matter if you have 10 WLSs, if you don't change your eating habits you will have the same results. I believe too much emphasis is placed on the physical side of WLS, instead of the psychological side. Stories of "failed" WLS all have a common theme, namely, poor choices when it comes to nutrition. With very few exceptions, obesity is a product of addiction, not stomach capacity. And unfortunately surgery and the surgeons that perform them do not address the addiction. My sleeve definitely helped me lose weight, but it doesn't keep me from gaining it all back. Choosing grilled chicken, a side of greens and water over a double cheeseburger, fries and coke does that. Took thousand of hours of introspection, therapy, and mental health support to be able to make those choices.

I'm 49 (had surgery at 45) 5'5" lost 100 pounds. Initially had major sags and wrinkles in my face, jowls, neck, upper arms, belly, butt and legs. My face, neck and arms tightened up nicely within a year. I Probably look older with the lines on my face than I did with chubby cheeks, though. Still have Looseness on my belly, but not too bad that I'm not afraid to show it off. Below my waist is a disaster. My ass skin is on my thighs and my thigh skin in on my knees. Despite wearing size 5/6 jeans, shorts and skirts are not a part of my wardrobe. But I'll take saggy skin over smooth fat any day!

I've been gone from this site for a year and I see nothing's changed. It's all just a huge drama fest. I'm not going to get into the argument, just give my 2 cents to address the issue of regain. I'm 4 years postop and from personal experience, I can tell you restriction plays a very minor role in maintaining weight loss. The choices we make determine our level of success. If you make the same choices that got you fat in the first place, then you will become fat again. If you put the time and effort into getting help to address your inner demons and learn how to make different choices then you will have a successful outcome. Money spent on second and third surgeries is a complete waste and any surgeon performing them is completely unethical, IMO. The money is much better spent on a therapist to address the REAL reason behind your obesity. It has nothing to do with how much you can eat.

I'm 4 years out and still freezing. living in the mountains in Idaho where we have snow from September-June sure doesn't help. I wear long underwear 9 months out of the year. I've worn shorts about 12 times in the last 4 years and half of those were when I was visiting my parents in Arizona. I bought a truck based solely on the fact it had heated seats and steering wheel. The best Christmas present I've ever received was a 20 pack of LL Bean Wicked Good hand and toe warmers. My waterbed is set to 95 degrees, so really the only time I'm ever warm is when I'm in bed.

Ok, 10x may be a little exaggerated, but it's pretty close to that. I have no idea how many ounces I can eat. I've never been a measurer/tracker. But for example, in the beginning I could maybe finish about 1/3 of a yogurt cup. Now I could easily eat 2 cups. Went from nibbling 1/4 quest bar to now being able to eat two (not that I do, but I COULD) a couple forkfuls of salad would stuff me, and now I can easily polish off a couple cups of spinach salad. I used to struggle to sip down enough water, now I can chug 8 ounces at a time. As for all the "bad stuff" (cake, ice cream, bread, candy bars, etc) there's pretty much no restriction. Solid proteins like steak, elk, and pork chops are still pretty restrictive.....probably only 4-5 times as in the beginning. But back then just 2 tablespoons would leave me stuffed for hours. But despite having less restriction, I still eat a fraction of what I did before surgery. I could not have lost over 100% of my excess weight without that severe restriction the first year postop. But in the end, maintenance is all about the choices I make, not my restriction.

I never had pain eating. As for stretching, you can't stretch your sleeve at 10 days out. If you do overeat, you'll blow out your suture line long before you stomach tissue would stretch. But you will certainly lose restriction over the years. At 4 years I can eat twice as much as I could at 2 years and probably 10 times as much as I could the first 6 months postop.

No comparison I was back at work day after having my gallbladder removed. Had absolutely zero "side effects" from the surgery. Took 7 days to return to work after VSG. 4 months of not wanting to eat and about 10-12 months before I felt totally "normal" again. Of course the other side effects, namely losing 100 pounds puts VSG at the top of my list for best surgery I ever had!