BostonGary

Congrat's -- as someone else who's in the "100 pound club", I can say it's life changing. Keep up the good work. Enjoy your new life without having to carry another body around with you... lol.

Sorry to hear that. It's unfortunate, but there's very good reasons why they have a psychological exam for this procedure. This surgery is not a solution. It's a tool... I can't stress that enough. You don't simply have this surgery and be cured of a weight issue, it's a surgery to help you resolve your weight issues, but it's not a complete solution. If people have eating disorders or food addiction, this surgery is quite frankly a waste of time and money. They are making the right decision in making people wait or avoiding the surgery if the result is going to be an expensive surgery that will fail the person in the long run. My suggestion is to focus on the reasons why they suspended your surgery and try and resolve them. You said that you've been struggling "with eating my whole life". If that's something you've recognized, I think you need to ask the question that if tomorrow you woke up and you were at a healthy weight, would you still be "struggling with eating". Meaning, does your attitude about food and how your relationship with food is, would that change? It sounds like it wouldn't. Focus on why you have food issues, try and resolve them. I suggest seeking help and seeing if you can. I wish you luck.

The good news is you recognized your habit as being "old". So take solace in that. Ask yourself the simple question "would you have recognized that before the surgery?" I bet not. I'm not a stress eater, so I can't speak to how to stop that, but with the sleeve, you have a good tool to try and mitigate that the possibility of your stress eating and remind you that you shouldn't. The moment you feel full, that first moment. You know, that tightness, that uncomfortable feeling? Stop. Put it down and walk away -- that's the tool telling you, you've had enough. The good news here is that 500 calories of Ritz crackers is no different than 500 calories of another food (within reason). Your body will burn off those calories and you shouldn't see any impact. However, as you know, do that daily... and you're back to where you were before the sleeve. The prior commenter was right, keep healthy options around -- also water. Feel hungry or stressed. Drink a bottle of water, then have a handful of walnuts, almonds, etc. That should take the urge and the need for eating away. This tool only works if you know how to do use it. It's not a solution for obesity, it's just a great tool to help you. Hope that helps.

I'll be a year out on 11/21, I'm down 110 or so pounds. I'm loosing about 2-3 pounds a month since June, so my weight loss has slowed, But that's still "losing", and my caloric intake has increased as I've become more active and more comfortable with understanding my stomach and diet more. But here's the thing. I've tracked and I'm never above 2500 calories at one given day and I'm usually hovering around 1000-2500 a day. What I found is that I typically eat most of my calories mid-day. Dinner, I try and limit that, but of course if you eat out, that's nearly impossible. But here's the important thing. I stop eating when I feel full. I literally stop -- had enough, and that's usually around 10 oz of food. Which is not a lot of food... calories of course can vary, what you eat can make a difference. If you eat a big piece of chocolate cake, that's going to be 1000 calories, so I stay away from sugar, deserts and things of that nature and try and load up on proteins, grains and "fuel" foods that make me feel good (full) but also are not going to be a negative on my health. I'm feeling great, I'm about 30 pounds away from my "personal" goal. But if I stopped losing now and maintained this weight for the rest of my life, I'd be happy with that. So do calories matter, of course they do. But you should also trust your sleeve. Eat slower, eat better food. Stay with proteins like chicken, fish and lean red meat. Stay off fatty foods like fried foods (I don't eat them) and YES, eat carbs but health ones like brown rice, wheat and grains. Deserts... meh. I tent to have a couple bites to "try" and I'm fine with that. This surgery works if you don't have this massive obsession with food and when you get hungry, you don't binge eat or snack. So for me, it's been a terrific tool for me. If I do snack, it's something like cheese and crackers or yogurt... I haven't had a potato chip in nearly a year in a half. That doesn't mean I don't like potato chips? I've just found other things that I enjoy as much that are better options... Where could I do better? What I have not done is get enough exercise in, that's been something I've been disappointed with personally and I'm working on that by trying to find things which I enjoy vs. treadmill / walking / swimming (which I find to be a time waste and boring). So I've started Tennis and more active "sport" things which can get me a good cardio on a regular basis. So some pointers that I live by now: - Count your calories, but don't obsess. I keep within 2200 (as a male) - Eat healthy calories. Get into better habits, now is the time. "Soup is always better than a sandwich." Common sense. - Stop eating when you feel the slightest bit full - TRUST YOUR SLEEVE - Don't drink when you eat, you'll fill up quicker and be hungry sooner - Get more exercise (a struggle we all face) - Eat only when you're hungry, "don't social eat". Food is energy, but you only need it when you need energy. Your body will tell you when... people tend to just eat to eat for various reasons. Eat only when you feel hungry, then go to the top of this list and obey... LOL

You've done great as well. I've been seeing about 2 - 4 pounds a month since about June. I've also not been as active as I'd like to be -- However, have watched what I eat and keep it around 2000 cals a day.

So I'm almost a year out (11/21/2016) and I'm about 105 pounds down. My weight loss has slowed now, probably to about 2-3 pounds a month since June (as expected), but it's still happening and I've now started to be more active -- Tennis, swimming... I feel terrific and as you can see, there's a radical change. I'd like to lose another 20-30 pounds, but I'm going to do that with more exercise. The first picture is a before and after of my face. Then there's some full body shots, or close to full body. Just to give you an idea of how radical this change was, prior to surgery, I was the following: 358 pounds and a 50/52 inch waist size. Today 249 pounds and a 38 waist size For me, personally, I'm back to where I was when I was in my late 20's, I'm 52 years old now. Health? I feel amazing, more energy, more sleep, more life. Hopefully, this will inspire people. I know when I saw the pictures of people who made progress, I got inspired.

You'll be fine. In 2 weeks you'll be asking why you didn't do this a long time ago... trust me.

Iron and protein!!! You're not getting enough!!!

This is where I think I disagree, not about the idea of eating too much and stretching your sleeve (which is certainly plausible), but about the idea that certain food types and what you eat will cause you to gain your weight back. I for some people who have food issues and are food addicts, food's that trigger unhealthy reactions is something I think you're being specific about. But not everybody who has weight problems are those type of people. I think your example of pizza, beer and pasta is not at all accurate. So yes, I think you can overeat and eat yourself out of your sleeve, but no... I disagree that the types of food is a gating factor to falling off course. Overweight people have many different reasons they are overweight. It's not a black and weight absolute for all VSG people that all patients have food issues that are analogous to an "alcoholic" -- that's just overly simplifying the issues. It's also painting a broad brush towards people who have a genetic disposition of being overweight or people who don't have a relationship with food that can cause them to overeat. It's just not that simple. I think it's always about calories in and calories out. If you eat pizza or drink a beer, and you continue to do that, of course you're going to gain weight and go back to being heavy or fail at the outcome. You can't do that every day of your life and all the time -- but that ALSO goes for people who don't have a VSG. It's just common sense. You have to balance your intake based on your diet and the calories you consume and understand those calories have an impact on your weight -- every day.. The worst thing a person can do decide that they are overweight SOLELY because of the types of food they eat. People fail on diets because they make their lives a compromise and stop eating the things they like in favor of things that they don't like -- "denial diets" don't work because they don't change eating habits. Changing habits and changing your attitude about portions will help you maintain or allow you to lose weight. If you figure out that you can have things you like but in moderation and within the size of the portions that limit them to being acceptable, you'll be fine. The reality is, for the most part, 400 calories of pizza is no different than the 400 calories of soup or salad, but the thing you have to understand is that one piece of pizza at 400 calories is not going to be as healthy for you and needs to be treated as such. You need to change your habits around food so that maybe having half of piece and some salad to make up that 400 calories is the better option. And if you want the wine or beer, that's fine, but maybe you need to consider that the only drink you have during the course of the week and you might need to hit the gym or get more active to offset some empty calories that you've allows yourself to have. You can just consume calories over and increase those daily calories and expect to lose weight -- you'll gain weight and the problem with things like pizza is that for 400 calories you get maybe ONE slice, if you can even eat that much (after having VSG), you're not going to be satisfied and it's not as good for you. Blaming the types of food you eat for gaining back weight is not the way to go. Counting calories and getting protein and respecting your body (and your mind) to tell you when you've eaten enough is the right way to go. For people with VSG, learning what a PROPER portion size is for whatever you're eating is the key. People that push their sleeve and eat until their overly full will continue to be challenged. My strategy has been to always put protein first, and eat until I feel that my stomach is telling me I'm done. After a while, I know that about 8-10 ounces of food total is going to be enough -- if that's a life measurement that I can live with for the rest of my life, even if that feeling goes away, I'm 100% fine with that. I know that in the past I could probably have eaten three times that amount and that's why I gained weight, I know now where my limits are and how to maintain them moving forward even long after the "tools" of a VSG are no longer able to help.

The question I have is if you start feeling full, stop eating. Will you eventually "stretch" out the sleeve. I wasn't aware you could do that but actually what would happen is that you would no longer have that feeling (you get used to it), overeat and it's not that you've stretched you sleeve (which I thought wasn't possible), you're just able to eat more food as you're not bothered by the feeling of being full. Lastly, I do think the idea of Ghrelin (the hormone that makes you feel hungry) does return -- but when does that start growing back? Or is that another per individual thing? So I guess I'm saying / asking two things: 1. Can you really "eat yourself out of your sleeve" and stretch it? 2. When does the Ghrelin start to re-appear and create more hunger?

I'm at 9 months and I still have the feeling of being full and not being able to eat too much. I love it. I love the idea of being able to portion control and not being able to overeat. I hope this feeling never goes away. I'm down 100 lbs.

WLS is not a fix. It's a tool. Sleeve, Band or Bypass. It's just tools. They aren't solutions. They are used to "reset" your body so that you can have a chance to reset your attitude about food, diet and exercise. Tools are there to help not be the only solution in the plan... If you're looking for rationale as to your stall and trying to find excuses or reasons for the stall, look no further than the calories you're consuming and what you're burning. Calories in, Calories out. That concept never changes even if you have WLS. If you eat cake and drink wine, you better offset that with something that's going to burn those calories off (empty calories I might add) or you'll stall, or worse, gain weight. Nobody can tell you what you can eat or not eat, you need to tell yourself what's acceptable. I prefer to eat what I'd like, when I'd like -- but I'm also tuned into the fact that my weight is not going to stay the same or will not lose weight if I don't change my attitudes and my thinking. I didn't get obese because I ate well, i got that way because I had bad habits and didn't care what I put in mouth. Once I had the sleeve, I adjusted my relationship with food. I also adjusted to the feeling of "being full" and know when to stop. I love that I can't fit much into my stomach anymore -- to me, this is the biggest win. As soon as I feel full, i stop. I also make much better food choices. Do I eat things like Pizza? Sure. But I might have one slice and have some salad where as before, I'd have three or slices and maybe an appetizer. I'm not going to deny myself the things that I want, but I'm also not going to fool myself into thinking that the food I want is healthy. So I limit what what is, the size of the portion I have. I think if you stop eating everything that you like, you're going to fail. Why? Because you're not going to be happy and you'll completely go off the course. Denying yourself something is fine as long as you can feel fulfilled, if you can't, you need to find a happy medium. So eat things you like, but make sure you offset that with good healthy choices and if you do eat those things, make sure you track the calories so you can burn them off later with exercise. Good luck,

7g is on the high side if you're looking at a daily intake of not exceeding 20g. Remember, things like milk, yogurt, fruit and anything that you should be eating as well has sugar in it. The most you can do to limit your sugar intake with the GS (or any diet for that matter) is better for you. Sugar really IS the #1 problem in our diets. It's in everything we eat with refined sugars (high fructose corn syrups) and hides in things you'd never think has it like dairy... I try and keep my total daily sugar count below 15g.

The reason why you like it is that it has a lot of sugar and tastes better. 7g is a lot higher than recommended by my team. Both the GNC Lean and Premier Proteins have 1-2g of sugar.

Amazing... Transformational. You can see the glow of happiness on your face...