Should I Sleeve if I am NOT A BIG EATER?

[sleevenaive 0]

I know hard to believe but hear me out. I do not eat a lot. Never have. Not a binger or a stuffer or whatever. I just cannot lose weight. I eat less than 1000 calories a day - sometimes as low as 600. If I ate a lot I would just Bypass or Sleeve and shut up. But I have never been a big eater. But I have been gaining weight at an alarming rate since I herniated a disc 6 months ago and have put on 35 pounds... UGH. I had lost that a year ago before I hurt my back. I was almost human at about 185 but now feel like a monster. Sorry for the negative terms. But I just do not want to do this surgery and then find out I am not going to lose any weight. I may have some gut issues, or metabolic issue - yes I take thyroid meds and T-3 extract but am still falling asleep during the day and lethargic. I have a slow metabolism - around 1100 a day... I lost weight last year on 3 shakes a day and tons of exercise - walking, classes, dancing, squash - but now I can hardly walk....

Ome doctors say my metabolism will change as will how my stomach processes food. Others say no it is just a restrictive surgery...

I want to believe that by doing the sleeve my stomach will change the bacterial content, and the metabolic process and it will help - but I sure don't want to go through this if these things don't happen... did that make sense?

Thank you

[feedyoureye 3,087]

If you are eating 600-1000 cals a day and have gained 35 pounds in 6 months, I don't know if the sleeve will help. That is about what you will eat for the first 6 months on the sleeve, and if you can't exercise anymore, then I don't know how much the sleeve will help you. The sleeve is a restrictive procedure... and you do lose some Ghrelin... the hunger hormone when you have the majority of your stomach removed. This ends or reduces hunger for many but not all people who have it done. Peoples tastes change, and the sleeve will probably keep you towards the 600 cal end of the scale for a while, but the stomach stretches out a little and you can eat more after 6 months or so. If you have been very honest about how much you eat, then I'm not sure I would get it done. Do you use a site like Fitday.com? May I suggest you really keep track of what goes into your mouth for a couple of weeks if you haven't done this, and go from there. Good luck with your search for the answer.

[rubyspring 1]

I'm not a big eater either but I'm going ahead with my sleeve next Monday. One thing I know about myself was that I was eating all the wrong things: white Pasta, bread, cheese, ice cream. I rarely ate a vegetable other than Tomato sauce on the pasta and pizza. I'm hoping that the sleeve, eating smart and exercising will get me back to a more normal weight. The only thing I am trying to prepare for is that it may take me longer than most to get to my goal. But living at 100 lbs over is no fun.

[Lila21 36]

I tend to agree with FeedYourEye. I'm not sure if the sleeve will help you if you don't generally eat very much to begin with. The one thing it will change in your physiology is hunger. Most people say they are less hungry with the sleeve, but , again, if you weren't that hungry or eating too much to begin with, I'm not sure it's worth the risk. I'd look into your metabolism and see if there is a problem there. Honestly, you should be losing weight at 600 - 1000 c. a day, and I think there must be something else that is going wrong. Unfortunately doctors are often not great at pinpointing these issues. Maybe even consider a nutritionist or someone who can run the right blood tests on you. I wish you the best of luck!

[sleevenaive 0]

Hi and thanks for the replies. Not sure if I am placing this in the right spot... Hunger is not my issue. Not enough exercise from a seriously herniated dis has really impacted my weight gain.I have done a food log and am staying in the 800-1500 most days - and sometimes as low as 600 if I only have three shakes. I think my body is sick of shakes... I think there is something off in my gut and am taking a lot of Probiotics now - funny - thing - have not gained in a week on them... so not sure what that means... I keep hoping that by cutting out part of the stomach you do change your gut hormoes which are linked directly to your hypothalamus... there is research being done on the brain gut connection and then how certain bacteria in your belly can cause weight gain or loss... I keep reading and trying to sort this out... I do knwo that I started gaining weight after a two week course of intravenous antibiotics back in the 90s... I have never been the same since then... so maybe my gut bacterial population is the issue... I think Metabolism is impacted by thyroid as well as gut bacteria. I am talking to my endocrinologist who is a very responsive doctor at Tufts but research is so new it is not main stream... I really appreciate all your input and thank you all.

[feedyoureye 3,087]

Hi and thanks for the replies. Not sure if I am placing this in the right spot... Hunger is not my issue. Not enough exercise from a seriously herniated dis has really impacted my weight gain.I have done a food log and am staying in the 800-1500 most days - and sometimes as low as 600 if I only have three shakes. I think my body is sick of shakes... I think there is something off in my gut and am taking a lot of probiotics now - funny - thing - have not gained in a week on them... so not sure what that means... I keep hoping that by cutting out part of the stomach you do change your gut hormoes which are linked directly to your hypothalamus... there is research being done on the brain gut connection and then how certain bacteria in your belly can cause weight gain or loss... I keep reading and trying to sort this out... I do knwo that I started gaining weight after a two week course of intravenous antibiotics back in the 90s... I have never been the same since then... so maybe my gut bacterial population is the issue... I think Metabolism is impacted by thyroid as well as gut bacteria. I am talking to my endocrinologist who is a very responsive doctor at Tufts but research is so new it is not main stream... I really appreciate all your input and thank you all.

The stomach and gut are two different things... I think the probiotic route sounds good as far as the gut goes. What a mystery! How frustrating! Can you do non spine exercises? weights with the arms, leg only or isolations of some kind? Getting the body moving, even parts of it might help get things going...

[MLeena 0]

I have not yet had the surgery, so I am not talking from experience here... However, I went to 2 different seminars with 2 separate practices and both stated that it does not matter if you only eat minimal calories, that your body will fight against you and prevent you from losing weight after a month or so. It was described as a room with a window open and the air on - the air (your body) will continue to try and regulate your body (the room) to maintain your weight. Funny though, your body lets you gain, but not lose. I was told that this diet does a type of "reset" for about 1 1/2 years "golden period" and allows you to break past that set point. I was also told that it does effect your hormones and the research I have done on this seems to support it.... otherwise, why would so many people be cured from diabetes, pcos, metabolic syndrome, which are hormonal disorders.

Also, just as a FYI my nutritionist told me that your body would not allow you to lose weight for long and not for long term if you were just on a restrictive calorie diet (which it sounds like you are on in a normal basis) without surgery.

So anyway, I think that there is more to it than just restrictive. I would not be having this surgery if it was only restrictive.

Hope what I have been told is right....

MLeena

[Adri 40]

Doesn't most digestion happen in the intestines, not the stomach? Maybe gastric bypass is for you? I would talk to as many doctors as possible to get your "physiology" theories verified. But from my own experience and what you see on these boards, the reason the sleeve works is because of the restriction.

So far, I have not tried junk food...candy, Cookies, cakes, potato chips, etc... But I can eat very high calorie, rich foods without a problem...beef, fried pork, bread, Pasta, rice, baked potatoes, even had two KFC chicken legs tonight (without the skin) and 2T of cole slaw with no problem (and I'm only 8 weeks from surgery). So if I decided to go out of control with the types of food I eat,,,I'd be a gone-r, the only thing I can rely on is the restriction to help me. The rest is up to me.

I hope this information helps in some way. I wish you the best!

P.S. Excess fat affects your hormones, so therefore the loss of that fat will also affect your hormones. The real question is, will this surgery help you lose fat if you are not an overeater. ???(I am diabetic and it has much improved since surgery because of the fat loss.)

[PeteO 3]

My first thought ... if you are not sleeved and only eating 600-1000 calories/day, your stomach is not "full" and your body is in starvation mode with a slow metabolism. Before sleeving, I would consider increasing intake moderately (maybe 1000-1300/day) to try to kick start your metabolism. If your body is in starvation, it doesn't matter how little you eat or how hard you exercise, the body tries to hang on to what you have.

That is the beauty of the sleeve, that full stomach is reached on fewer calories, so the metabolism stays up.

This advice and $1.99 will get you a Protein bar :-)

-Pete

[sleevenaive 0]

Hi Michelle - you are making a great point. I really do think that there is something about hormones created int he stomach that will change with surgery. I keep reading about bacteria and hormones and think it is more than restriction. Well at least I hope so. I ate next to nothing for three days - 3 glasses V-8, 2 hard boiled eggs and veggies which was about 500 calories so my metabolism is like a dinosaur... but I think point about small means full might help...

[sleevenaive 0]

Hi Pete - thanks for the reply. Would LOVE to kick start my metabolism - but with a herniated disc and a slightly ruptured one there is not much I can do. I walk but with under-active thyroid and my back like this I am dead in the Water so to speak. I lost 30 pounds a year ago with constant exercise and 3-4 shakes a day which was about 800 - 1000 calories a day with TONS of exercise - so that kind of shows how slow my metabolism is and what it needs to get moving. I am trying to stay positive and think about how positive the sleeve could be...

[Guest Rosalind]

It sounds as if you need to see a metabolic specialist. Losing weight is all about eating less calories that you burn. Unless you have no muscle at all, you burn more than 1400 calories a day at rest. Are you keeping a food diary? 800 calories is a very very very small amount of food! Mosttimes people eat more calories than they realize especially with added sauces. Could this be true with you?

[Beth Nelson 1]

I'm so afraid now after reading all these posts to have my surgery next month I only meal a day and it's a small meal because I have stomach issues so I can't tolerate a lot a Foods I think I've gained this weight from being on medication if it's medication that has made me gain weight with a gastric sleeve help me lose weight anyway with exercise and I'm scared to lose my chance not to have the surgery cuz I've been going through the process for a year now so I don't want to give my surgery spot now and risk the chance of maybe it will help me get from 275 back down to 180

[GreenTealael 25,342]

12 minutes ago, Beth Nelson said:

I'm so afraid now after reading all these posts to have my surgery next month I only meal a day and it's a small meal because I have stomach issues so I can't tolerate a lot a Foods I think I've gained this weight from being on medication if it's medication that has made me gain weight with a gastric sleeve help me lose weight anyway with exercise and I'm scared to lose my chance not to have the surgery cuz I've been going through the process for a year now so I don't want to give my surgery spot now and risk the chance of maybe it will help me get from 275 back down to 180

These posts are from 11 years ago! We have access to do much more information now.

Ask your surgeon about weight loss outcomes when taking medications that are known to cause weight gain.

Also ask the prescribing physician if there are alternatives that you could switch to.

And you could always start a thread asking other members to share their experiences with WLS while on meds that cause weight gain.

Good Luck ❤️

[ShoppGirl 4,786]

I had the sleeve and Because I have always been able to eat more at every given stage than I was expected to I have not used the restriction portion of the surgery and I have still been successful so far. I have to measure my food but with the decreased hunger I am able to do that and be satisfied with the smaller portions.