Do you regret surgery and miss eating bigger meals?

[Ihave6kids 29]

Hi sweetlover,

(I like your name, by the way.) Ya know the little bit of time I "Regret" the surgery is so little compared to all the times I was majorly depressed about being overweight. Before I was sad all the time about it. All the time!! Now every once in a while I think about Thanksgiving and Christmas coming and I won't be able to pig out. that's ok. I am going to lose while everyone else gains this year. Thats a great thing!!:thumbup:

[trouble 0]

My husband felt the same way before my surgery and really didn't want me to do it. I would not change a thing. I'm only 6 weeks out but eating a lot less. I haven't lost a lot of weight since surgery but have lost 30 lbs in all and 30 lbs in 6 weeks is pretty good. I feel sometimes like I eat too much, but I don't regret the surgery at all. My husband is actually very happy now that I had it too. Now that he see's that it hasn't changed the way I feel he's great. I had the band before and often felt horrible. His fear with the sleeve was that I would be stuck feeling horrible for life. Not the case. I eat whatever I want in smaller portions and never feel bad, unless I eat cheese or ranch dressing. These are 2 of my favorite things but for some reason they make me really nauseaus. But if I really want them I have them anyway because it only makes me feel that way for about 30 minutes and I'm fine. I'd definately do it again.

[lunarose 97]

Hi, I am only 2 1/2 weeks out but so far I don't regret it at all.

Nancy

[Lisalu 89]

I'm only 10 weeks out but no regrets.

I think you CAN try everything at Xmas dinner, just put tiny portions on your plate. I sometimes eat with a cocktail fork. This means my bites are tiny--about the size of a raisin. If I do this and chew every bite about 25 times, then I eat about at the same pace as others and don't finish 20 minutes before everyone else. Today I didn't do that. I was eating lunch while on the computer (I know, shame on me), and so my bites were too big and I didn't chew enough. My food was dense Protein and now I'm full way too soon. I'm a slow learner though, I've done this twice this week.

[BlackBerryJuice 349]

Often, BEFORE I eat something I like, I wish I could eat more. Then I sit down and have a little bit and feel completely satisfied. It's just like if you ate a lot before the surgery - once you're stuffed, the food kind of loses its appeal. Went to an Indian restaurant tonight, and was super-excited for the food. Had a tablespoon of butter chicken, a tablespoon of lamb curry, and a bite of naan, and was ready to head home, lol. No desire to eat anything else at all. I got my buffet meal to go, so now I have about 10 meals in the fridge.

[BJean 16]

sweetlover, I agree with the positive posts 100%! I never dreamed I would be this happy with the sleeve! It is the best thing I've ever done for myself.

You, on the other hand seem to have some reservations. Fear of the unknown is normal, of course, but you should really be at the point of not being able to lose and keep off those 50 lbs before you make such a major decision. Especially since your husband is against you doing it. You need to want this very much and have no serious reservations about having a good portion of your stomach removed. If you get to that point, you shouldn't regret having done it afterwards.

But if you're not sure I believe you should wait until you are. See if you can get rid of those extra pounds by stepping up your activity level and try eating 5 very small meals a day instead of doing some major deprivation diet. Think about your health and what you need to do to have a healthy body.

My only regret is not having the sleeve sooner. That being said, it is probably not for everybody. You need to determine if it is worth the major changes in your life BEFORE you get the surgery.

[SParkle 4]

I can only really echo what the other posts say, and add that I really can't believe the change in myself since being sleeved. I used to be a huge volume eater, but now don't even miss that - infact I look at normal portion sizes in amazement..... wondering how people can eat it all.

You need to be prepared to battle with any cravings and need to want to change your way of living - you will be eating to live, not living to eat. food really becomes unimportant - which considering I have spend half my life on diets of one form or another is a wierd thing to say.

I'll still eat everything, having spoonful of hubbys dessert because I can, and not buying diet produce because now I don't have to..... I watch what I eat and the quantities, but I need to shed the diet mentality that has become ingrained in my brain.

We went out with friends to an all you can eat chinese buffet the other night, and I was thinking what a waste of money for me..... but I managed to go up 3 times..... each time getting little portions on my plate, eating slowly and unrushed... and no one said anything about how little I was eating. I chose carefully and really enjoyed my meal!

My husband is amazed that I have changed so much, and is in awe of the fact each day he wakes up to a new wife.... getting smaller by the day.

like many the only regret was that I didn't do it sooner.

Good luck.

[feedyoureye 3,087]

I would love to hear from some folks 4-5 years out, but of course, there aren't that many of them...I know you have less hunger early on...Its probably similar to those who had RNY... I would guess... I met a gal who had RNY 7 years ago.. she looked great! But she did say it was hard everyday, even that far out.

[deletedsally 8]

My only regret is that I wish my doctor had made my sleeve just a little smaller. He used a 40F bougie, and that may be why I seem to be able to eat more than what others are reporting. Anyway, the fact that I am able to eat larger portions (I can eat 2 pieces of pizza, or most of a hamburger) has definitely slowed my weightloss. Other than that, I love everything about the way this has helped me feel empowered to eat less and be healthier.

[BJean 16]

You had your surgery in March, you've lost 69 lbs and you're concerned that you don't have a smaller pouch? I'm very impressed with your weight loss! And the fact that you might be doing it a tad slower than some others here isn't necessarily a bad thing for your body and your overall health. I want to congratulate you on your fantastic success! Keep up the great work.

[deletedsally 8]

Let me explain a little...I am very happy about my weight loss--and truthfully, after having lost a lot of weight on a variety of diets in the past, I can honestly say that this is the easiest 70 pounds that I have ever lost. My concern is that a big portion of the weight that I have lost was in the first 3 months. I have only lost 3 pounds in the last month. Even that is better than nothing, but I still weigh 213 pounds, and I have a lot more weight that I would like to lose. I'm scared/disappointed because in the last 2 months, the amount that I can eat has increased significantly, my appetite has increased, and my weightloss has slowed to a crawl. If I were closer to a reasonable goal weight, I would be less concerned about that--but it feels like the reduction in the amount of restriction that I feel is happening too soon.

When I compare the amount of food that I am able to eat to what others in my family are eating, it seems to me that I can eat almost normal sized adult portions. That definitely was not the case 2 months ago. I'm afraid that if this pattern continues, that at the end of a year or two, I will not have enough restriction to prevent me from overeating, and I don't want to lose that.

Even so, if I didn't lose another pound, I would have no regrets about having had the surgery. My health and the quality of my life have improved dramatically. I just got back from a 5 day vacation with my children and grandchildren. I walked all over the mountains and had more energy than anyone else on the trip. Prior to VSG, I rarely left the house because I was so tired and my feet hurt so bad.

This surgery has given me the opportunity to live well and enjoy life again. It has also returned to me a sense of dignity and self-control. Even though I wish a had a little more restriction, at this point, I still have enough restriction to help me eat small portions and refrain from over eating. I'm being careful to avoid eating past the point of comfort (I haven't thrown up once) because I don't want to do anything to cause my sleeve to stretch/expand. I want the freedom this has given me to last forever!

[mila1013 0]

hi sweetlover

I am in the process of revising to a sleeve but i can answer your question. I had the lap band for about 8 years (lost it this year to severe complications) for me I wanted to eat less, I consumed an average of 750 cals a day (yes 750) i wanted something that would help me eat less, that is why I got the band, never once ever did I wish to eat more, not once. For me I was grateful to not have the constant "calling" to eat, those thoughts didn't consume me, they do now as I no longer have the band. Think about your weight, your volume of food, your relationship with food, etc that should help you, give you some peace in deciding...

Mila

I am supposed to have my surgery later this month. My husband is totally opposed. He thinks I will struggle to live with the changes I will need to make to my lifestyle. He also questions what the long term effects of the surgery may be. I wonder if people who have been post op for more than a year hate the fact that they can no longer eat more than one piece of pizza or a Christmas turkey dinner (even if the portions are very small it would be impossible to have a taste of everything including dessert). Do you have regrets? If you had it to do over would you still do it? Is it worth the many sacrifices you have to make? I am flip flopping a dozen times a day - should I or should I not have the surgery!! I have about 50 lbs to lose. Would appreciate any help you can give me. Thanks very much.

[feedyoureye 3,087]

My surgeon asked me if I would like to lose 50 pounds. Of course I would! However that would leave me at 200 pounds, better, but not in the "normal" range. He is probably being practical saying that, and I haven't been able to lose that myself so....but.....

[GeorgieGirl1957 0]

CLK,

I couldn't have said it better myself! I always have said, instead of cutting out most of my stomach, they should be slicing and dicing my tongue!!! I have and always will be a foodie. I don't pig out on junk, but I like high calorie, fattening rich gourmet foods. I ate too much and I ate too fast.

I can no longer eat too much, but speed is still something I am working on. Portion Control and speed are two things this tool really helps with. When I crave something I just tell myself, "you can have it, just not now. And not a lot." But I don't feel deprived of anything really. And I am getting my health and my life back.

GG

[wannalise 15]

My surgeon asked me if I would like to lose 50 pounds. Of course I would! However that would leave me at 200 pounds, better, but not in the "normal" range. He is probably being practical saying that, and I haven't been able to lose that myself so....but.....

Side note here, but when I was looking into surgery in the states I had to have a psych appointment and told the psychiatrist if I could just make it to 200 lbs that would be a victory for me and I'd be satisfied. (and truly that would have been a huge change for my life and worth the surgery and hard work.)

Now, I have realized that we dream about this and hope for this always to fall short, aim high! You really can make it to a "normal" weight. You don't have to look that far out now, but just now that you are stronger than you think and this sleeve really is a great vehicle for getting to where you want to go.

Good luck to you!

Anna