VSGAnn2014

Cheat? Seriously? SERIOUSLY?

First, you should know I've never been banded. Have just been sleeved. But yes, some people who've been sleeved do lose too much weight. But that's a rarity, not commonplace. And actually, based ONLY on what I've read online the last two years, it seems to me like at least some people who revise from a lapband to a sleeve have a harder time losing all their excess weight than those who are "virgin-sleeved." If this is true, I'm not sure why (I've never seen any well designed studies about this phenomenon). Those who've been banded / sleeved should chime in on this. But when I've read previously banded folks complain about slow weight loss after being sleeved, I've wondered if it's because people who were banded and didn't lose all their excess weight or who regained after having their bands removed have had more experience learning how to "cheat the band" (e.g., eaten more than their stomachs would handle by stacking food up in their esophaguses, eating slider foods because that's all that would stay down if the band made them throw up a lot) and fall back on those behaviors after they have been sleeved.

The average IQ of all human beings is 100. That does not mean all human beings have an IQ of 100.

(((hugs)))

Some (most?) of you have heard of the National Weight Control Registry. See http://www.nwcr.ws/ The NWCR is a database about thousands of people who have lost a considerable amount of weight any way they could lose it -- dieting, exercise, surgery, and probably through hypnosis, prayer and voodoo -- and (the good part) maintained their weight loss for at least one year. Some people have been part of the NWCR for many years. Anyway, these thousands of people are, not surprisingly, a popular pool of people for researchers to study to learn what behaviors / attributes help people maintain their weight losses. They use other people who've regained their weight to compare and contrast those two groups' behaviors / attributes. One of the salient findings to come out of that research is this: The people who maintain their weight losses don't ever change how often they weigh themselves. It doesn't matter how often they weigh themselves (daily, weekly, monthly, multiple times a day), weighing less often is associated with weight regain. Obviously, we're talking correlation between these two variables, not ascribing cause/effect to them. Do we stop weighing ourselves when we start regaining weight? Or do we regain weight more readily when we stop weighing ourselves regularly? Discuss.

Massively great post. Thank you.

The VSG surgery is not new. VSGs used to be done years ago as the first surgical procedure for very heavy patients who needed a gastric bypass, but weren't good medical risks for the more complicated gastric bypass operation. Doctors went in and did a sleeve, which helped a heavier patient lose enough weight and get healthy enough that he/she could qualify (medically) for a bypass. And lo and behold, many of the patients did so well on the sleeve alone that they didn't need / want a bypass. After all, the sleeve doesn't have the big malabsorptive issues that bypasses do. And remember that bypasses are considered "the gold standard" of all WLS surgeries. And thus "the sleeve" was added to the menu of WLS surgeries. (There are now nearly a dozen different WLS procedures, including mini-bypass, duodenal switch, etc. Google is your friend if you want to learn about all of the WLS procedures.) And decades before all of this, VSG surgery was performed on people who had stomach illnesses that required removal of most of their stomachs due to terrible ulcers, stomach cancer, and other ailments. There's tons of research on those patients. Again, Google is your friend. In fact, Google is always your friend. While you're there, check out all the more recent long-term studies of VSG success. As you alluded to in your OP, the lapband has turned out to be problematic for many patients. The deal is that the lap band was never intended to become a permanent installation. If you know anything about medical devices, you know that foreign objects in the body often fail and cause problems. Again, Google is your friend. I think that a good medical analogy for VSG surgery are surgeries done to remove tumors, bone spurs, cancers, gall bladders, appendix(es?), ovaries/uteruses, tonsils, etc. Although we may need to monitor the body thereafter or take some supplements, nothing artificial or mechanical is put into the body to replace those organs. I also think that any sleeved patients who don't bother taking all their prescribed supplemental Vitamins, minerals, antacids, etc. or who don't get their annual blood panels done after having VSG surgery are not taking responsibility for their health.

I'm always curious about how much people weigh whom other people think are too skinny. I'm 5'5" and 138 pounds and 70 years old. Would that be "too skinny" to you?

Uh, yeah, no. You're probably not going to lose like that -- but faster. Early on, as your stomach heals (it's very swollen for several months post-op) you'll lose weight pretty fast. The first six months post-op are referred to as "the honeymoon period" when you probably will lose the most. And then there's the penis issue: You've got one. People with penises lose faster -- they have more muscle mass, which uses up calories faster. Those of us without penises don't have that benefit / problem. P.S. Not everyone is rushing to lose weight fast, fast, fast. I wasn't. And by Month 5 I was eating 1,000 calories, by Month 7 I was eating 1,200 calories. I hit my weight loss goal (150 pounds) at 8.5 months post-op. During the next 6 months I've lost another 12 pounds and am now maintaining at 138. Honestly, my guess is that if you have 100 pounds to lose that you'll lose the whole 100 pounds in 9-12 months.

Good. You're conducting a science experiment. Please publish the results. We'll peer-review your findings.

Bella -- so proud of you. You are gorgeous. Love the pix, thanks for those. And your new eating program sounds just right to me. You are doing well. Makes me happy for you. Ann

Oh, yeah. It's acid, baby, acid. Remember in science fairs how you (or someone) dissolved teeth in coca cola? Yup. That. You gotta change your ways.

The way to avoid regain is to build live a healthy lifestyle. We can't expect to eat / live the same way we did pre-op. If we don't change, we'll regain.

Pulling on those size 4 jeans hasn't gotten old yet either.

Boy, did I ever eat too fast pre-op! But I don't now. Eating slower really does make food taste better and extends my enjoyment. FTR, I am not one of those who "no longer enjoys food." I love food. Just love it. It tastes great. It also feels amazing to be in control of so many aspects of eating, compared to the way food controlled me pre-op.

Not earth-shattering news, but here's a quick piece on why WLS patients regain. http://www.nawls.com/public/333.cfm Some more good (short) pieces: http://www.obesityaction.org/educational-resources/resource-articles-2/weight-loss-surgery/treating-weight-regain-after-weight-loss-surgery http://www.bariatriccookery.com/3-top-reasons-wls-regain http://www.5daypouchtest.com/articles/art001.html

None that I'm aware of. I'm 70 years old, was sleeved 15.5 months ago, have lost 97 pounds, and am now maintaining at 138 pounds and feel 30 years younger! BTW, I had my first-ever gall bladder attack 10 days post-op and had to have my gall bladder removed. I recovered fast and easy. Never had any problems since. And gall bladder issues after / during rapid weight loss is not uncommon. Lots of younger people here have had that, too. Of course, there are long-term complications that anyone can have because they don't eat nutritious foods, don't take their meds and supplements, eat too little, don't deal with old (or new) eating disorders, etc. But those aren't age-related. Don't be afraid. There's lots to learn. And many changes to make. If you want to live longer, better, happier, and feel so much better, consider seriously WLS for yourself.

You probably remember, but I had my first-ever gall bladder attack 10 days VSG post-op and then had my gall bladder out 4 weeks post-VSG surgery. Recovery was easy-peasy, and I've had zero problems since than. Is surgery not an option for you? Have you had an ultrasound? If you have an ultrasound you can see the stones -- they're very bright. Things that I find offer me more calories (which I also need in maintenance -- I'm maintaining now at 138 pounds) include high-Fiber, high-Protein crackers with (sorry) cheese or meat or jam (or all three) on top. I'm also eating a lot more brown rice these days. Also dark chocolate. You could try regular bread in addition to the high-protein bread you love so much. Sounds like it's time for an extra snack or two each day. Good luck!

Have you had WLS? How long ago? Neither of those categories of food are things you should be eating until you're in maintenance. They're not high Protein, they're not healthy / colored veggies or non-starchy fruits. And they are definitely not whole grains. That's what you're supposed to eat during the weight loss phases. If you haven't been sleeved yet, you probably can't imagine how your appetite and tastes will change post-op IF (I said IF) you adhere to your eating program. But if you have had WLS recently and you're craving these foods and think it's appropriate to have them now, you're probably already eating these foods. So go cold turkey, and your cravings will reduce greatly.

Oh, yeah. Be prepared.

Oh yeah, I do the Excel spreadsheet thing. For sure. So encouraging over time. And keeps me honest.

@@Mom26 ... A couple more thoughts .... The great thing about this online message board is that it is anonymous. Nobody here knows who you are. The advantage in that is that you can say anything you want -- things you couldn't say to those right there in the room with you. Nobody here will hold you responsible for anything you say. You can change your mind later. You can rant / rage / vent / whatever. Whatever you feel / think right now is subject to change down the road based on your future experience and new information. In other words, this is just a place to process and assimilate what you know now. Finally, there is no end to most of life's journeys. They just go on along paths we never have trod before, even when there are sharp turns along the way and it seems we've crossed the border into a foreign land. What I mean is we're never "through" or "finished" or "graduated." We just move on to the next phase. As my mother who died a few weeks ago used to say to me, "Honey, I don't know. I've never been this age before / I've never faced this kind of thing before." Like her, I am now more willing to admit I don't yet know what I'm just now learning. (((hugs)))

As the posts above show, anyone can make restaurants work as a WLS patient if -- and that's a big, necessary IF -- we are willing to be our own advocate and be responsible for eating what's healthy. Something others haven't mentioned yet that I do is this: When we're going to a restaurant that has an online menu, I use that to consider what my best options are before we arrive at the restaurant. And if the restaurant is a chain / corporate restaurant (and not all are "fast food"), I look at the nutrition docs re the menu choices' macronutrients (calories, grams of Protein, carbs, fats, Fiber, sodium, etc.). If I'm going to a fine restaurant that doesn't have an online nutritional guide, I use other restaurants' nutritional guides to guesstimate the fine dining restaurant's choices' macronutrients. I know that my daily My Fitness Pal records are not "correct to the exact calorie." However, I know from over a year and a half's experience using MFP to plan and track my food that my tracking results are not far off.

Looking back, I don't think my nutritionists (NUT) added all that much to my journey. Both of them offered very basic information that I learned in high school back in the dark ages and already knew from a lifetime of dieting. I don't especially regret the 3-4 hours I've spent with them over the last year, but wish they'd offered more. Plus, I see threads here from time to time that make me think some NUTs don't understand much about bariatric surgery or the differences in nutritional requirements for bypass patients and sleeved patients. Your thoughts?

Peanuts. Almonds. Walnuts. I never ate them during my weight losing phases. They go down WAY too easy. And now, nine months into maintenance, I eat them ONLY when I pre-weigh them out and record them in My Fitness Pal. They are very, very "expensive" in terms of calories and fat for the relatively small amount of Protein they offer.