want2bthin

I haven't been on this site for a long time, but I do plan on changing that.

I recently started a blog on my whole WLS journey - I am 5 years out from VSG; lost 152 lbs and have kept it off for

over four years now.

I wrote a post specific to my NSVs and since it's quite long, rather than copy it here I'll share this link instead.

http://wlsnetwork.com/nsvs/

Main Site: http://wlsnetwork.com/

Please feel free to comment here or on my blog and check out the whole blog to learn more. Please feel free to share with others and join our Facebook group, etc. if you like what you see.

I also liked all the ones that were already mentioned. Body Fortress is very good and reasonably priced. I often added Torani syrups to it or fresh fruit. I used milk - it gives you more Protein anyway - and I often used Almond Milk - a little less Protein but also fewer calories. I liked the Syntrax Roadside Lemonade when I wanted something a little different. There is a good deal you can get with them for a set of samples - I think you get 14 - and it was good to try them all. I bought it almost two years ago now so don't remember the details but I'm sure if you search the forums or even Google it you will find it. It's a one time deal. The Premier ready made shakes were perfect to take on the road with me. There were many times where we were heading out and I wasn't sure when or where we would be eating so I would keep one in the car at all times. I also would grab for a quick Breakfast when we wanted to 'get up and go' and I just didn't feel like really eating (believe it or not, you'll understand after better after surgery). Then there is powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury unflavored. I bought a tub of both that as well as their chicken Soup. The Soup was very good again when I wanted something different. You should be able to get sample packs to try first too. I was fortunate that my surgeon gave me some before I ordered the whole tub (even though their tub is half the size of many). Lastly one that I only tried recently but have enjoyed is Bari-wise - their hot chocolate and their chocolate shake/pudding mix. They have a little less protein than the others but are pretty tasty and low calorie - mix with Water, so good for a protein 'bump up' if you are running low against your target some days.

Hope this helps...

Sorry to hear it didn't go as well as you hoped. It certainly sounds like you have had a tough time with the Band so you must be very glad to have it out. I did not have erosion and I'm no Dr. but I'm not sure that I see why he thinks bypass would be a better choice. I know there are a lot of revision patients here who did have erosion so it would be helpful for you to learn about their experiences. I have 'heard' that many surgeons now are trending towards doing sleeve vs. bypass due to the great success of the sleeve and less invasive surgery. Of course based on my own success I completely agree with that but ask 10 other people and you're likely to get 10 other opinions.

You are in the right place to get more opinions and 'real life' experiences and input. I'm sure you can find people who have been revised from both Lapband and even Sleeve in gastric bypass forums. As we all know no one surgery is foolproof - I know people who have been successful at all of them and also people who have gained back a good amount of weight with all of them. The fact that you had physical complications is the thing I would worry the most about. A Hiatal Hernia is very common - I learned after surgery that I had a small one which they repaired during the my sleeve surgery. Did this surgeon look at the particular spot where the band eroded? I suppose depending on the location that could play into his opinion. What has your preferred surgeon said and, even though he has less experience with the sleeve than others has he consulted with other sleeve experts? That's the sort of thing I would be looking into.

Ultimately you decide but it definitely sounds like whichever way you go it has to be better than your experience with the Band. I wish you all the best!!

I am 4 months in and only lost 30 lbs and in last three weeks haven't lost any weight oam getting very disappointed any suggestions thanks

Please try not to be disappointed - I know that can be easier said than done but you have lost 30 lbs!!! I've seen many people definitely go through some plateaus and so I suggest you study what you are eating to look for clues. Are you eating enough for instance? If you are eating higher carbs cut back on them; if you aren't drinking 100+ oz of Water a day that is the #1 thing I would suggest you try and see if it doesn't give you a jumpstart. What helped me is that knowing that this was a matter of physics - there was no way I could eat so little and not lose weight - some weeks were better than others of course and it's hard not to be disappointed in the weeks when you lose little or nothing. This is a huge lifestyle change so keep following your program. I originally did not cut back on carbs but as months went by I realized that weeks when I did I had better losses so that encouraged me to keep them down. I knew it was only temporary and that helped put it in perspective. And I learned that the less I had them the less I craved them. Ironically now I eat them more because if I didn't I would keep losing and I don't want to do that - I'm still 6 lbs under my goal.

There's lots of good advice on these forums and many others going through what you are so you can get some real good ideas. One other thing I did was to try new recipes here and there and that helped. One of my favorite breakfasts became cream cheese pancakes and I enjoyed and still enjoy a lot of Soups. I also typically eat greek yogurt every morning for Breakfast when I'm home. My favorite is light and lively blends - the coconut flavor to be exact. shake things up so you don't get bored with a routine.

You're off to a great start having lost 30 lbs so the best is yet to come!! Congrats!!

I'm 2 years out and freaked out because I have gained 10-13 lbs in the lady fee months. Trying to get back on track but I don't seem to be able to get thing going on a positive direction. I was a very slow loser and only lost 60lbs. I would love to lose another 20lbs.

I understand how you feel about the gain. I know others like us who are at the 2 year mark and they have gained 10+ lbs. Right now on my Facebook group several of them are trying the 5 day pouch test together and others are going back to their pre or stage 1 post op diets. I think the key is to 'nip it in the bud' and I know you can do that. Being 20 lbs from goal is amazing - think about it. I think that sometimes we have to think in the third person so to speak - if I told you I was 20 lbs from goal and had lost 60 I bet you would be telling me the same thing - talk to yourself like that. I do know that those last 20 lbs are definitely a lot harder than the first 20 but just remember it's a matter of time. You can and will get there. I encourage you to shake things up for even just a week and try my 40/60/100 plan or your pre or post op plans. If you aren't already drinking 100+ oz of Water a day and you do nothing else give that a try too. I think that higher threshold really makes a big difference then the standard 8 glasses we have been taught we should drink forever. Congrats on being 2 years out - I know you will get to your goal -- you can do this!!! All the Best!

Wow AWESOME! I converted from the band to sleeve on 2-5-14. Your post is so inspiring to me.....I want to do well sop bad but above all I want to keep it off! Thanks for the 40/60/100 plan I I'm carb sensitive spp this should add as I'm able to take in more Water and good period. Right now I'm not getting that much in!

Congrats to you on your surgery. I know those first 4-6 weeks were the toughest. And if you can't take in 100 oz of Water yet do not despair - just work towards increasing week after week. I doubt I could drink that much that early out myself but I did work on upping it each week. For me what worked best was using a 24 oz water bottle and Walmart brand 'Crystal Light'. I bought the individual packets in various flavors and each morning I take out four packets and then fill up that bottle four times using different flavors each time. My favorite is their fruit Punch - and I like the Walmart brand better than Crystal Light so along with saving $$ that's another plus. I carry packets in my purse at all times. I know that technically 24 times 4 = 96 but I also got in other liquids through the shakes or additional cups of water during the day. I honestly think that the 100 oz mark makes a huge difference - if there was only one change you could do that is the one I would suggest trying first. I wish you all the best and continued success in your journey. You are well on your way!!!

Thank you so much for your post!!! And congrats on your maintained success! I am 6 months post op & about 2.5 pounds shy of 100 pounds lost. Things are going great, but I do worry about long term maintaining. You've proven that it's totally possible. I'm going to try to increase my Water to 100 oz. to see if your 40/60/100 plan works for me. I do try to stay between 30-40 carbs & get at least 60 of Protein.

Wow - Congratulations to you -- reaching 100 lbs was definitely a huge milestone and I realize you may have even met that since writing this or, if not, you will soon. Isn't it just amazing... I definitely learned for myself that the lower carbs worked better for me in terms of losing faster. I would still lose but I hoped for at least 10 lbs a month on average and it seemed I didn't get that if I didn't eat lower carbs. In fact I have to say that this was the first time in my life that I truly realized how evil carbs were and how addicted to them I was though I always knew I had a sweet tooth. Oddly now I do not worry about them at all but I think that's also because I just naturally cannot eat much of them. A few bites of bread or Pasta and I'm stuffed and I don't touch rice. Rice was one thing my Lapband never tolerated so if anything I would say over the last 2 years I may have had a few bites here or there.

You are doing fantastic and I'm so happy to hear about your success!!

Dear Want2 bthin,

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!! Your story is so inspirational, and gets me hope while I am waiting hell I can get in for the surgery. I'm all approved, but group health is so darn busy it takes four months to get a psych eval, and two or three more months to see the surgeon--then another couple for a surgery date, so reading your post and hearing how well you are doing is incredibly helpful to me. Your two year perspective is also good for giving me better perspective on time. Thank you--once again. Yours were the words I needed to hear, and you look fantastic!!

I know how difficult the waiting can be so hang in there. I submitted my appeals mostly over that I didn't think I should have to go through the 6 months pre-op diet that my insurance wanted me to do again since obviously I had to do that prior to my Lapband surgery and, in effect, I felt like I had been on a 'diet' for the last 6 years while having the Lapband. Well since it took 3 appeals in the end I think I was just shy of six months when I finally won the appeals. It was draining but it added all the more to my determination. I had so much encouragement from others who already had the surgery - that I should use the time to continue to do research and ask questions and learn from others. And that before long I would be on the 'losing side' -- and they were so right. You'll get through this too - keep your eye on the prize

Thanks everyone and congrats to all of you who have had surgery and are 'on your way'. To those of you 3-4 weeks out, like I mentioned those were the toughest weeks. You really do need to learn a whole new way of eating and try not to take it too fast. It amazes me the differences in surgeon's post op diets.

To answer some questions:

girliegirl: The reason I had the band removed was I was not having success with it - even after 6 years. I do admit that after the 3rd year or so I just gave up trying. I lived in NY and went to a support group where there were two women who had the 'new' sleeve procedure and they did great. Their surgeon came to talk to our group and explained that typically they were using this type of surgery for people with very large midsections which put them at higher risk to start off with RNY - but the thought was that they would have the sleeve only as step 1 of 2 surgeries. I was able to get that surgeon to accept me as a patient (Lapband people know how difficult that can be) and he did a scan which showed no issues so, of course, we started the fill route again. I so wanted it to work out but it didn't.

Then in 2011 we moved to Florida and I set some specific goals for myself - one was to lose the weight finally. I started doing research and looking for a surgeon. Went to a seminar and then set up an appointment. That surgeon had a new scan done and I honestly don't remember the specifics now but he saw that the band had either slipped upwards around my esophagus or something like that. I had no symptoms from it - other than not losing weight I suppose. He said it should qualify me for a revision so I started down that path. Well it took me multiple appeals with my insurance company to get it approved. Interestingly they approved removing the band immediately; but they wouldn't approve replacing it with the sleeve. One of their experts said in his report effectively - she failed with the Lapband, she'll fail with another WLS. That infuriated me and I appealed to my employer since they self fund the insurance. I wanted both done in one surgery so I waited until they were both approved which took about 6 month. Sorry for the long answer to a short question.

before you were sleeved did you have any doubts that you would be able to stick to the program as strict as you did?

I'm sure I had some doubts but I think more than that I had tons of determination. I honestly think that being a failed Lapband patient gave me - and still gives me - more determination then ever to succeed. I think only those who have been there -- which is I expect most of the people in this particular forum - can understand that. With the exception of my morbid obesity I always considered myself to be a successful and goal driven woman. I dealt with failing on numerous diets over many many years and while I wasn't happy with that the magnitude of the failure I felt at failing after Lapband surgery was at least 10 time worse and I never want to feel that way again.

It took just about six months for me to get approval and I took advantage of that time by doing a lot of research and reading here and on obesityhelp.com to mentally prepare myself. Thankfully my surgeon's pre-op diet was not as strict as many others I've read about in that it was not a completely liquid diet. Two meals were shakes but one was a regular diet type meal with Protein, veggies and a starch. The two weeks that I was on it prior to surgery all I would think about was how far I had come to get there and there was no turning back.

That's probably one thing I did not stress enough in terms of what I did right - or that went right -- the selection of my surgeon (Dr. Robert Marema @ US Bariatrics) and the fact that the program is a Center of Excellence. I cannot rave enough about him and the entire practice. We have a separate Facebook group and monthly support meetings so I continue to be in contact with them to this day. I can call or email at any time - the staff is incredible. The whole pre and post op programs are phenomenal. There was a special Bariatric care unit at the St. Augustine Hospital which they designed. They required that I attend a four hour pre op education course -- even when I was the only one attending they took me through the whole four hours of education one on one. At the hospital they sent me home with all kinds of goodies - shake samples and a shake bottle, sample Vitamins and Vitamin holders, an insulated bag and measuring spoon set, jars of baby food, etc. Since I had prior WLS surgery I also had another experience to compare this with and it was literally night and day.

Lastly my surgeon had WLS himself some 15 or so years ago -- gastric bypass -- so I knew he could truly relate to what I was going through having gone through it himself so he definitely practices what he preaches. This might sound terrible but my Lapband surgeon was a very petite man who I doubt weighed more than 140 lbs if even that so I never had the same sense that he understood what it was like to be morbidly obese.

A very long answer to a short question but I hope this helps.... Don't be afraid of sticking to your program. The lack of hunger made that quite easy for those first few weeks and when you see how little you can eat and learn to stop yourself (and the sleeve teaches you that whether you like it or not), you'll do very well.

Thanks everyone and congrats to all of you who have had surgery and are 'on your way'. To those of you 3-4 weeks out, like I mentioned those were the toughest weeks. You really do need to learn a whole new way of eating and try not to take it too fast. It amazes me the differences in surgeon's post op diets.

To answer some questions:

girliegirl: The reason I had the band removed was I was not having success with it - even after 6 years. I do admit that after the 3rd year or so I just gave up trying. I lived in NY and went to a support group where there were two women who had the 'new' sleeve procedure and they did great. Their surgeon came to talk to our group and explained that typically they were using this type of surgery for people with very large midsections which put them at higher risk to start off with RNY - but the thought was that they would have the sleeve only as step 1 of 2 surgeries. I was able to get that surgeon to accept me as a patient (Lapband people know how difficult that can be) and he did a scan which showed no issues so, of course, we started the fill route again. I so wanted it to work out but it didn't.

Then in 2011 we moved to Florida and I set some specific goals for myself - one was to lose the weight finally. I started doing research and looking for a surgeon. Went to a seminar and then set up an appointment. That surgeon had a new scan done and I honestly don't remember the specifics now but he saw that the band had either slipped upwards around my esophagus or something like that. I had no symptoms from it - other than not losing weight I suppose. He said it should qualify me for a revision so I started down that path. Well it took me multiple appeals with my insurance company to get it approved. Interestingly they approved removing the band immediately; but they wouldn't approve replacing it with the sleeve. One of their experts said in his report effectively - she failed with the Lapband, she'll fail with another WLS. That infuriated me and I appealed to my employer since they self fund the insurance. I wanted both done in one surgery so I waited until they were both approved which took about 6 month. Sorry for the long answer to a short question.

Please read the post I just added for my Two Year Surgiversary which is today - well at least for the next 5 minutes.

I had the same fear of failure. I honestly don't think people can understand (except for those of you here who failed with the Lapband) how big of a failure I felt with it. At the most I lost 47 lbs and I had it for 6 years almost to the day. I went to support group meetings for a couple of years even - and stopped going when new people would ask me when I was going to have surgery and I told them I had it 3 years ago.... Eventually I gained all the weight back plus another 13 on top of that prior to having the Sleeve.

Two years ago when I was asking the same questions that many new to this are still asking I was encouraged by 'veterans' that there was no comparison for the sleeve to the Lapband. They are 100% right. With the Lapband I was always hungry. I had many many fills - most of the time I felt no difference and there was one time where I literally couldn't drink Water and had to go right back in for an unfill. Oh boy how I do not miss that at all - another huge benefit of the sleeve. I can never fault the Lapband for my failure completely. In time I learned what went down easy and if something got stuck I learned how to get it unstuck and once I did I could eat the same way I used to again. It still amazes me now. There's no way I could eat a whole slice of pizza or a sandwich now at one sitting. With the sleeve I was virtually never hungry and really haven't been for almost two years unless I really go a good 5-6 hours with eating nothing. I think that is what still amazes me the most. And not being hungry is incredibly liberating. I had to find other things to do with my time; I got to where I forgot to eat. My husband and I would be out for hours and he would want to get something to eat and I would say 'well I'm not hungry' and he would respond - 'well some of us still have to eat ya know - it's been 4 hours since I ate :)"

Bottom line is do not let the fear of failure stop you - I'm so glad I didn't.

Susie

All - Thanks so much for your continued kind words.

Lisa - It looks like you are doing all the right things and with your back issues it may be adding stress that is impacting you. Keep doing what you have been and take care of your back. Just think how much worse it would be if you still had those 100+ lbs on. Hang in there!

Melissa - There is hope. I don't know where you are in the process. Have you seen a surgeon and has he/she done any tests. I first went to a seminar for my new surgeon; then went in for an exam. After hearing what I was going through they sent me for an endoscopy and they look at your stomach and esophagus. I really didn't think they would find anything; I thought it was all me contributing to the failure; not following my Lapband surgeon's plan, etc. Well sure enough they found that my Lapband had actually slipped upwards and was essentially choking me in my esophagus - something like that. I actually felt so relieved since for the first time I felt like it wasn't all my fault that I had lost so little with the Lapband and then regained it. That finding helped my insurance to approve the removal of the Lapband as soon as the paperwork was sent in; getting them to approve doing the revision was the tough part and took 3 appeals - you can read on my profile.

Anyway - I hope that you have found a good surgeon and have started the process for yourself. I have one friend who has a Lapband and, honestly she is the only person I have ever met let alone heard of who has kept her weight off 6 years now; she lost 80 lbs with it.

The process can be slow and very discouraging at times when dealing with the insurance company and being forced to wait, etc. but it is SOOOO worth it!

Thanks everyone. See below for some answers to your questions.

cyncitygirl: You are doing great. Don't stress about eating more yogurt than others - as a soft food it will go down easily. Once you are on solids you will see that you can eat much less. Even at almost a year out I can't eat more than 2.5 oz at the most of meat - and it's rare I even eat that much. I have greek yogurt routinely as one of my breakfasts - I like the Dannon Light & Fit - but I'll also use plain and then put SF Torani Syrup in it to flavor. Those are 5-6 oz and I have no problem eating them though it takes a while.

Lisa: Read what you wrote and think about it - 'only 101 pounds!' since May - Holy Cow - that is phenomenal!!! I know it's very hard to do but try not to compare your rate of loss to others. I always figured 10 lbs a month would be good and you are doing much better than that! Congrats on your success.

As for my diet, I will say that my surgeon had a stricter program than most that I've read about on here. I was not allowed to have simple carbs (bread, Pasta, rice, etc.) and even nuts for the first six months. My main focus was on Protein. I was lucky if I could eat 1 or 2 T of veggies with that but, to be honest, lots of times that 1 or 2T caused me not to be able to keep the food down so in general I just stuck with Protein. I also would never be able to get my protein in without having at least one shake a day. The overall plan that worked best for me over time and is essentially what my surgeon's program is was to stick with the following limits.

Water - 100+ oz per day (I keep a 24 oz bottle of Water a day with me at all times. I use Crystal Light - well really Walmart brand). I buy the individual packets even though they cost a little more. I set out four of them a day and that lets me get in 96 oz and I'll have another glass of water here or there. My favorite flavor is fruit Punch. I never was a coffee drinker so the first bottle I have in the a.m. is one of the "Energy" versions which has caffeine in it - that's my 'coffee' which I usually have only on M-F when I'm working.

Protein - 60+g per day - I get this usually by having either a Protein Shake or greek yogurt for breakfast; ham and cheese rollups for lunch and chicken, beef, etc for dinner. If I don't have enough in for the day after dinner sometimes I will make have the juice mentioned above and will mix a scoop of unflavored powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury powder into it. Hint: With Unjury I've learned to let it sit for a few minutes before drinking - it smells horrible and that gives time for the smell to go away.

Carbs - Less than 40g per day - I track my food on myfitnesspal - I love that program. I have no excuses because it's always available online, through my iPad or iPhone. I've met other friends from VST on there and we encourage each other. I found earlier on that looking at others food diaries gave me good ideas when I was getting bored.

Fat - I really never worried about how much fat I ate.

Vitamins - I take Building Blocks chewables - a.m. = 2 Calcium, multivit, Vitamin D3; p.m. = 2 Calcium, multivit, CQ10 - I also take a chewable Iron tablet in between those - must be at least 2 hours before or after calcium.

Exercise: My surgeon started off with requesting at least 30 mins per day; 60 minutes later on. I was better in the beginning and would make sure I got out for a walk most days. I worked out with a personal trainer for a while once a week. I love to swim so when the weather was warmer I was swimming in my pool for 45-60 mins most days. Even in FL I can't do that right now.

I followed the above pretty consistently for the majority of the year and in general ate an average of 600 calories or so when I was in my prime losing months. I have to admit that since having less than 10 lbs to lose, I've relaxed quite a bit and average more like 1000 calories these days. I have had to travel for work several weeks since the beginning of the year. I've still managed to lose at least a lb a week which I'm thrilled about. The fact is that once you have a sleeve it really would take some determination to truly overeat - at least if you stay away from sliders. If I eat more than I should I just tell myself it's a maintenance day. I think the most I've ever ate in a day would be 1800 calories which will not make me gain weight. I still try to make it a point to track on myfitnesspal regardless - it keeps me accountable.

Hope this helps..... Stay with your program and you will do and continue to do Great!

Susie

I just posted this in the Success Stories topic but want to be sure that anyone thinking of a Lapband revision sees it also.

Hopefully this works. I just posted an album of me with before photos and progress along the way.

I doubt I could ever fully describe how incredible this past year has been. My surgiversary will be on

March 7th. I started my pre-op diet 2 weeks before at 286.2 lbs; as of this morning I now weigh 142.8 lbs.

I really can't believe it myself. I am a Lapband revision and was told that I should expect to lose slower

because of that. My hope was that at 1 year I would have lost 120 lbs or 10 lbs a month.

VST has been a vital contributor to my success - both in reading the forums before surgery, after and

hoping to contribute along the way (though I admit I have not been on near as much as in those early days).

Many thanks to all of the wonderful members who have posted and shared your journeys, tips, recipes and challenges.

To those of you considering VSG I encourage you to read through the many forums here, as I did. In one sentence I

can tell you that this is the best thing I ever did for myself!

To those of you in the first month after VSG - hang in there, the first month was the hardest - it gets better and better.

Susie

Hopefully this works. I just posted an album of me with before photos and progress along the way.

I doubt I could ever fully describe how incredible this past year has been. My surgiversary will be on

March 7th. I started my pre-op diet 2 weeks before at 286.2 lbs; as of this morning I now weigh 142.8 lbs.

I really can't believe it myself. I am a Lapband revision and was told that I should expect to lose slower

because of that. My hope was that at 1 year I would have lost 120 lbs or 10 lbs a month.

VST has been a vital contributor to my success - both in reading the forums before surgery, after and

hoping to contribute along the way (though I admit I have not been on near as much as in those early days).

Many thanks to all of the wonderful members who have posted and shared your journeys, tips, recipes and challenges.

To those of you considering VSG I encourage you to read through the many forums here, as I did. In one sentence I

can tell you that this is the best thing I ever did for myself!

To those of you in the first month after VSG - hang in there, the first month was the hardest - it gets better and better.

Susie

I've been talking Iron once a day since my surgery almost a year ago. I have 9.5 lbs to go so I feel your pain. When I look at my BMR now I see why my loss has slowed down. I figure the best I can hope for is 1 lb or so a week and that's with eating 1000 calories a day. I'm so happy with where I am that another 9 weeks or so will go by quickly. Hang in there

This really has turned into such a great topic so thanks everyone for being so honest and sharing what you were/are going through. Along with lots of eating alone in my car I learned where the public trash cans were in shopping centers or gas stations because that was always my last stop before getting home - to 'hide' the evidence (e.g., bakery boxes, fast food bags, etc.). I'm glad to know I wasn't as alone as I thought but I'm even happier that those days are gone since having the sleeve. Though to be honest with one or two exceptions. I have no idea why but at some point a few months ago I really started craving these cinnamon Buns that the local Publix (grocery store) bakery makes that have lots of cream cheese frosting. I resisted but seriously it just kept nagging and nagging at me for days. Finally I told myself I just had to give in and I went and bought one. Of course I ate it alone in my car but I could not eat more than half and mostly I was eating the icing. I will say, however, that I still logged that in MyFitnessPal using Cinnabon calories but since I ate so little else I think my total calories for the day was still 1500 or less so I knew I wouldn't gain weight over it.

After getting sleeved I began referring to my new self as Susie 2.0 and anytime I thought about old behaviors I would tell myself that that was something Susie 1.0 would do, not 2.0. It may sound crazy but it has worked a lot of times - bottom line is that I have no desire to go back to Susie 1.0 who had all those bad behaviors. I'm thrilled with Susie 2.0. Again, I can't explain it but I had that same craving a couple of more times and did the same thing a couple of more times and I always added it into my food diary. I'm not sure what clicked but the last time I did it I was totally disgusted with the richness of it and I ate maybe a bite or two and threw it out. I have not had that craving since and I think that was in early November. I recognized quickly that I was going back to my old behaviors (1.0), eating alone, throwing the evidence out before getting home, etc. To this day I never told my husband about it. But I'm happy to say that I'm over it.

So all this is to say that with the sleeve you probably will face issues and it is very much a learning process. I was always told the first 6 months were the 'honeymoon' period and I was determined to make the most of them. We've got a great support group here to go to for help. Perhaps we should suggest a new forum topic just for Bingers?

clk - you have captured so well the thoughts and processes that many of us go through. I, too, was a binge eater. I had a Lapband revision and I can tell you also that with the Lapband I was still a binge eater. That is mostly because I would binge on sweets - ice cream, cannolis, etc. While I never wanted or would consider RNY because I had no co-morbidities - I worried when having sleeve surgery 10 months ago that without dumping syndrome I would continue on with my sugar/carb addiction.

I am happy to say that I can't even imagine being a binge eater anymore and I've removed that label from myself. I'm still amazed at how the sleeve has completely changed my relationship with food. I think that the lack of hunger and a Protein rich diet has really been key. I also think that my post-op diet as well as surgeon's follow up program has also been key. I can't say enough good things about my surgeon and US Bariatrics in St. Augustine FL.

That being said my post op diet did not allow for most carbs for six months - even nuts. My carbs came from low fat dairy and some fruits and vegetables - I had no Pasta, rice, bread, potatoes or nuts. I learned about MyFitnessPal on VST and I absolutely love it. It's the best program I have ever used. So I agree with others that tracking is another key to success. I have it on my iPhone and track anywhere and everywhere - I don't have the excuse that I wasn't by a computer. In fact I just read yesterday that Consumers Digest just rated it the #1 program for weight loss this year- above WW, etc.

Anyway, back to binging - with your small pouch I think you would really have to work hard to binge. During the holidays I did eat more sweets than I ever had since surgery but I tracked every one of them. In fact, a lot of them just didn't even taste that good anymore. My sister sends out packages of her homemade Cookies each year and most years I would get those in the mail, stash them and eat them all within a day or two. My husband never even knew they came This year I received the package and ate 2 Cookies a day (tracking them) for a few days and then brought the rest to my aunt who is a couple of hours away in an assisted living facility.

Others have mentioned many books and I'll add one to the list which I bought years ago. It is called "Shrink Yourself" and it deals with binging and the psychology of overeating. There is also an online program at www.shrinkyourself.com. While there is a paid 12 week program there is more than enough free information out there to help people so check it out.

I guess more than anything else I wanted to respond as another former binge eater with my testimony that since having the sleeve it has been a non-issue - which in itself alone truly AMAZES me.

I hope this helps.

Susie

Thanks Sleeve Master for the advice on the cookbook - I will check it out.

I did make this recipe tonight and it was fantastic. My husband even ate it and he's pretty picky.

I used a 9x13 pan and cut into 12 portions but could only eat 1/2 portion and added 5 bite size tortilla

chips, light sour cream and salsa.

Great recipe!

One of my New Years resolutions is to try more recipes - this sounds great. Heading to the store to buy ingredients now. Thanks Happy New Year to all!!!

I mix the unflavored Unjury with my crystal light when I'm close to the end if the day and need to get more Protein in for the least amount of calories. I like the idea of using 16 oz of Water to dilute it more so will try that too. I agree that it's similar to the Syntrax flavors. I've also learned to let it sit a bit before drinking since it seems to help eliminate the initial smell it has if you know what I mean.

I'm 4'10' date=' scheduled for sleeve next week. I had a lap band that was unsuccessful due to placement. I had it removed in June and had to wait for my stomach and ulcer to heal. I am ready to go now! I think I may be the biggest on here with my peak being 273, I'm currently at 253, so I have a lot of work ahead of me! I'm so ready! Any suggestions going into surgery? Oh yeah...I am traveling from Texas to my hometown in Florida for the surgery. I have a wedding to attend 4 days post op and after my post op appointment (10 days post op) I will be flying back alone with my strong willed 4 yr old...am I crazy or what?!?[/quote']

I haven't read through all these posts but wanted to let you know that you're not the highest starting weight. I am 5' 1.5" and was 286.2 lbs when I started my pre-op diet 2 weeks before surgery. It's almost 8 months since then and I'm down 112 lbs. I also am a Lapband revision. I'm thrilled with my progress especially considering I was told that with a revision I would lose slower.

I live in Florida and had my surgery at Flagler Hospital in Saint Augustine by Dr Marema. I can't recommend him and the US bariatrics group enough. My whole experience has been fantastic.

I wish you and all of the others who are seeking surgery all the best.

Susie.

I really have not posted on VST for a while and have been meaning to start again; particularly in the Band Revision forum. You can read many more stories of people's experiences there, but I just wanted to throw in a few more points for consideration based on my own experience having a LapBand for six years:

Fills - They never hurt but I am so glad that I have never had to have them again. There was so much trial and error and second guessing involved. My Lapband surgeon was very conservative with fills so it took something like 6 or 8 of them to even begin feeling restriction and that in itself took a few months. It's a great money-maker for doctors and most insurances cover only some or none of them. Once my insurance stopped paying I ended up negotiating with the Dr. for him to accept $75 per fill vs. the $150 I would have had to pay. Still - that adds up.

I also could not tell for days whether it was effective; with the exception of when it was too tight which would take a day or so. So I walked out of the office feeling fine and happy that I thought I had finally found my 'sweet spot' only to wake up the next day to find I couldn't even keep Water down and to make an emergency appointment to get some of the fill taken out. Not fun.

Insurance - Most will only cover one WLS procedure so you want to make sure it's the right one for you. I had to appeal 3 times to have get my Sleeve approved. That in itself took 6 months. On the 2nd appeal the insurance Dr.'s expert opinion stated something to the effect of - 'she failed with the Lapband so she will fail with VSG"; Gee, thanks for that vote of confidence Dr., by the way have you ever met me, have you ever examined me? On what basis are you expressing your 'expert' opinion of me?" The only positive in that was that it was so absurd I used it as an argument in my 3rd appeal letter and finally won. As I already mentioned when I had the Lapband in 2006 (I think I wrote 2007 before which was incorrect, the only two options were Lapband and RNY. Be glad you have the Sleeve choice now - it has come a long way in the last few years and they predict it will be the #1 recommended surgery over RNY soon. In fact my own surgeon had RNY some 12 years ago and he states that if he were to do it again he would do the Sleeve (of course, not sure if he tells his RNY or Lapband patients that so I'll take it with a grain of salt Of course, many people don't even have insurance and had to self-pay for the Lapband and now a revision and VSG. No small chunk of change; I was fortunate that insurance paid for all of my surgeries.

Pre-Op Diet - I did not have to do any pre-op diet to get the Lapband so it was scheduled pretty quickly. Of course, at the time, I thought that was just great. As I mentioned since I had to do all these appeals I also started visiting my PCP monthly so that the insurance couldn't hang the 6 month requirement over my head if they denied me again. My VSG surgeon required a 2 week pre-op diet which was very regimented but relatively easy and I lost 10 lbs in that time. It really did help me get ready for the surgery mentally and I'm grateful that my surgeon required it.

This is a personal decision that only you can make and you should weigh your options carefully of course. I just thought it may be helpful to hear some more 'real world' experience from someone who has had both surgeries now.

All the best,