Weight regain with VSG?

[MINI-Me 196]

I've been lurking a lot on Obesityhelp.com. It seems like I've been reading several posts out there lately about people being 2+ years out and gaining weight. Tonight, I read another about a woman who's gained back a lot of her weight and basically starting over again.

Where were these kind of posts when I was doing my research? Why amI freaking out now when I am so close to goal? Did I see these posts before & just ignore because "I will be different"?

I need someone to talk me down. I am so close to goal. I NEVER want to be that fat girl again. Am I going to gain again just like I have after EVERY diet before? Please ... I need some reassurance - I feel like crying.

[tbtroy78 0]

I think people who regain the weight might of forgot that the surgery is a lifestyle change you have to accept this and going back to eating the way we did in our old selves is breaking your commitment to yourself and your new life style I am gonna be under 400lbs in a few weeks it is just so awesome to be that light again I can't ever go back to my old ways don't be discouraged you can do this we are all here to support you

[Tiffykins 673]

I've been reading the same stories, and I had read several before choosing VSG. However, the one common theme I notice is that all of the stories I read all stated that they let life take over, got back into bad habits, and essentially never made the lifestyle change that is necessary to maintain.

We can't go back to sucking down milkshakes and ho hos without a regain. I may have some regain, I think I'm mentally prepared for it. If I see a regain, I know how to get back on track. I can say, without a doubt, that at 1 year out making the doing the right thing, making the better choice is a bit harder than what it was 6 months ago.

Sometimes life does happen, and people think the sleeve will save them from what they choose to put in their mouths. Unfortunately, it's not going to save us. It'll help us, but we have to save ourselves.

Just my 2cents.

[Lee 19]

I'm reading the same stories as well. It seems like a common thread is "carbs". I tested it with a few crackers, or with 1/2 a small movie popcorn (gained 2 pounds overnight and took a week to drop them), and I can see how it would be so easy to eat carbs and gain weight. The carbs slide down like it's a party going on in there. Dancing straight through my sleeve, not a hint of fullness or restriction.

Needless to say, I won't be visiting popcorn again, and the box of crackers (whole wheat health food store blah blah blah) went into the dump after eating 4 of them and seeing them slide on through.

I ate low carb before surgery and I guess it's going to be my path post-op as well. I can't complain because before I would do low carb and lose 5-10 pounds a year, only to put them right back on if I picked up carbs again for a moment. At least I have a fighting chance of keeping the pounds off this time.

Rather than being frightened by it, I hope to read and reread those stories to motivate me to stay on track.

[MINI-Me 196]

You guys are right. Thaks for being level headed for me.

This sleeve seems like a miracle too good to be true. I keep waiting for someone to say "pyche - it was all a big joke. You will gain back all the weight". But, it WILL NOT happen this time.

[Jachut 487]

I find exercise the best weapon to avoid regain.

I got asked at bootcamp the other night why I needed to work out so hard (we were chatting, and I was saying I run 4 times a week, 4 to 6 miles, and do two bootcamp sessions). The point being why would I need to do that much when I'm already skinny.

Duh! That's how I STAY skinny. I have a band, its rather loose these days, havent had a fill for 2 years. Do the bad habits creep back in? Yep, they do. I could get filled to get on top of all that but I dont want to live life forever on restricted food intake either, I enjoy eating now. But I run and I work out and i burn LOTS of energy and I've been at goal weight for 2 and a half years and never gained a gram.

[Bob_350lbs 105]

Be strong my fellow VSG'ers...it's a battle, the greedy food industry vs us. Buy organic fruits, veggies, and Protein. Our government is run by corporations...a billion dollar industry, what would they without us? Let our $$ speak for us..

You will be successful and keep the weight off...just boycott Mcdonald's and the likes of them....

Edited June 6, 2010 by Steph_123

[deletedsally 8]

Mini, I've been scared too. I didn't read the stories--but truthfully I didn't need to read about someone else's WL failure to to experience the fear of my own ability to self-destruct with food.

I don't worry so much about getting to the point where I could eat really large meals again--but I tend to be a grazer, and now that I am 10 weeks out and a little more comfortable with eating, I can see very easily how I could stop losing and/or gain weight even right now. I'm drinking almost calorie free liquids, I'm not drinking with meals, I'm eating healthy Proteins, and I'm not eating lots of carbs or high fat junk--but these are choices that I don't have to make. It's requiring some determination and effort on my part, just like every other time I have dieted. The sleeve is helping me because it reduces the amount that I can eat at one time, and it has significantly reduced my hunger. Unfortunately, even now, the sleeve can't force me to make good choices, or prevent me from snacking all day. I'm hoping that the reduction in ghrelin production, and the smaller size of my stomach will give me a little edge that will help me to be more successful at losing/maintaining, but what I'm most afraid of is me...I am still perfectly capable of packing in the calories without eating huge quantities of food. Here's a perfect example:

I was running errands with my grandson the other morning and I pulled into the drive through at Hardee's and got us each our favorite "breakfast" junk--a sausage biscuit. I was able to eat almost the entire biscuit--and that's only 2 months after surgery. That was a whopping 530 calories (340 from fat) and 36 carbs for one meal--so when Tiff says that she can now eat about twice what she could eat at 2-3 months out, I can do the math, and the numbers are not good. The fact is, I can make lousy choices right now, and in another year, I could do even more damage. Definitely no magic solution in the sleeve...Ultimately, the solution still rests with me.

[JudyJudyJudy 7]

I've been lurking a lot on Obesityhelp.com. It seems like I've been reading several posts out there lately about people being 2+ years out and gaining weight. Tonight, I read another about a woman who's gained back a lot of her weight and basically starting over again.

Where were these kind of posts when I was doing my research? Why amI freaking out now when I am so close to goal? Did I see these posts before & just ignore because "I will be different"?

I need someone to talk me down. I am so close to goal. I NEVER want to be that fat girl again. Am I going to gain again just like I have after EVERY diet before? Please ... I need some reassurance - I feel like crying.

Everyone is different....just DON'T be that person...the sleeve is different...you can't stretch it out like other surgeries as far as I know.

You WILL be different....YOU WILL SUCCEED...just allow it to happen..and stop reading such negitive post....be the positive one like our beloved Tiffykin's....you'll be fine....just stay possitive!!!!

[MINI-Me 196]

Everyone is different....just DON'T be that person...the sleeve is different...you can't stretch it out like other surgeries as far as I know.

You WILL be different....YOU WILL SUCCEED...just allow it to happen..and stop reading such negitive post....be the positive one like our beloved Tiffykin's....you'll be fine....just stay possitive!!!!

That's my plan! Thanks.

[pnw218 14]

It seems to me that someone would really have to go crazy with what they were eating to gain back alot of weight.

I am curious to see how I will do on a cruise next month. I will be 5 months out. I don't think I will be able to eat too much - but do plan to eat dessert with every meal! However, I will also be taking the stairs instead of the elevator : )

My issue now ... is wanting a healthy treat in the afternoons. I was going to go back to the Atkins lo carb bars but they have so many calories! Any ideas what is worse: calories or carbs??

[ouroborous 519]

I think that Tiffykins is right (as usual). This is a tool to help us make the right choices, not a magic silver bullet.

Over the weekend, I let my stress and anxiety take over, and I grazed (also, my girlfriend brought home a Specialty Cookie for me... I love them, but that was probably a 1200 calorie chocolate chip cookie). I ate crackers and chips, and I gained a pound.

Not huge, I can shrug it off and go back to being healthy this week. I've got a new goal, being under 250 by the end of summer. That's ambitious -- it'll require a 4 lbs a week loss -- but it's something to shoot for.

And that's the ticket -- you have to realize that this is a lifestyle change. The sleeve will help us by restricting our food intake (without all of the complications of the lap band). The sleeve will help us by reducing our body hunger almost down to nothing.

But we have to fight the head hunger. We have to keep active. We have to remember that even with the sleeve, we can go back into bad habits of inactivity and bad eating. There's just no magic silver bullet. We have to do the work.

So, it's probably not a SATISFYING answer, but it's an answer: yes, you can definitely gain the weight back if you don't keep working at it. It's not the sleeve's fault (unlike with other surgeries, there's not a built-in rebound), but ultimately it's our fault if we do -- we have to cultivate new, good habits to replace the old ones, and we have to watch out for the old, bad habits taking over.

At least, with the sleeve, I CAN lose weight. Before, it was just constantly an upward curve.

[MINI-Me 196]

And that's the ticket -- you have to realize that this is a lifestyle change. The sleeve will help us by restricting our food intake (without all of the complications of the lap band). The sleeve will help us by reducing our body hunger almost down to nothing.

But we have to fight the head hunger. We have to keep active. We have to remember that even with the sleeve, we can go back into bad habits of inactivity and bad eating. There's just no magic silver bullet. We have to do the work.

While I agree with what you said, I'm going to play devil's advocate here.

I'd like to know what everyone is doing to ensure they don't fall back into bad habits and regain? (Just like all of us Career Dieters have done in the past.)

[Tiffykins 673]

While I agree with what you said, I'm going to play devil's advocate here.

I'd like to know what everyone is doing to ensure they don't fall back into bad habits and regain? (Just like all of us Career Dieters have done in the past.)

I have a before picture on my the side of my fridge. I hide it when company comes over, but it's there staring at me every day. It's hard to remember that I was such a huge heifer, but that picture doesn't lie. So, when I reach for that honey bun, or little strawberry shortcake roll, I am reminded of where I came from, and where I'll be again if I can't keep my fat "head" out of the fridge and pantry.

I'll be real honest, I'm petrified of getting fat again. I was hanging onto some of my fat clothes, but I finally let them go 2 weeks ago. It was liberating. Grant it, my closet looked bare, but I was glad to get rid of the clothes that no longer fit.

I did hang onto some of my 8s and 10s because when/if I get pregnant, I would like to be able to wear those clothes while I can until I have to purchase maternity clothes.

For me, I have already had a couple of moments of "what the hell" that led me to the fridge at 9:30 at night for a slice of cold Papa John's pizza. I wasn't hungry, I wasn't bored, I wasn't sad, or upset, stressed or any other emotion. I just plain and simple wanted it. No rhyme or reason, it just sounded damn tasty.

The thing that bothers me the most is that I still lose. I know it won't last, and I better "behave" or I'll be posting one of those discouraging stories in another year. I really don't think it would take that much to gain again. I probably wouldn't be able to gain back 100lbs, but 30-40lbs seems fairly easy in the grand scheme of things. Eating is a lot easier now, I can definitely fit more in, and I have to really watch what I eat. So, it's definitely easier to eat more of the bad foods. The sleeve makes things easier, but it definitely isn't a cure all. I wish I had more promising news, but at a year out things are definitely different and I know that this is a lifetime commitment to myself and my health.

[ouroborous 519]

While I agree with what you said, I'm going to play devil's advocate here.

I'd like to know what everyone is doing to ensure they don't fall back into bad habits and regain? (Just like all of us Career Dieters have done in the past.)

Tiffykins idea of posting a picture of herself before the surgery is great. Another thing I've found is that it's very, very hard to just "stop" a bad habit.

The only thing that works, for me, is to replace it with a good habit. In other words, if you're used to eating before bedtime, replace that with a little light exercise. If you're used to snacking on Cookies in front of the TV, snack on some raw vegetables. Basically, don't eliminate bad habits, replace them.

And yeah, take a little time every day to remind yourself why you're doing this, remind yourself what the payoff is when you do the right thing, and remind yourself what the costs are to slacking off.

It's still not 100%, but I find that a few simple mental "judo" techniques like these go a long way towards helping me replace bad habits with healthier ones.