Are there any sleevers out there that have gained a lot back?

[sleeve 4 me 910]

I guess all the talk around me hearing about so many wls people gaining their weight back just got to me and freaked me out. Especially since I've been trying to maintain and not lose anymore and yet not gain is tough too. I guess I will eventually find that happy place of maintaining. Thanks for all the feedback.

[Tiffykins 673]

The main issue with RNY regain is that once their malabsorption wears off, it's called intestinal adaptation, they are NOW metabolically challenged to keep the weight off. We have simple restriction only to keep us in check.

For all the sleeve patients I've seen gain weight is that "life happens", and emotional eating creeps back in. Also, choosing the wrong foods, getting back into bad habits/behaviors that led to their obesity in the first seems to be the culprit.

I've said since hitting maintenance that losing was super easy. Maintenance is where the hard part comes in. I'm a firm believer that behavior modification is the biggest contributor to long term success for any weight loss surgery patient.

Trying to find a balance of a new "normal" and remembering what contributed to my obesity is what helps me tremendously. I do live a pretty extreme life of moderation, and I accept a 5lb bounce. Anything more than 5lbs, be it Water weight from alcohol, and carbs, or if it's a true gain from several weeks of just eating what I want (which I experienced last holiday season), and I go right back to Protein, Protein, protein.

Knock on wood, I was not compulsive or emotional with food. I just ate a lot of it. I have only recently been dealing with head hunger, and absurd cravings that I can only contribute to the pregnancy. I honestly can not wait for the next 3 months to fly by so I can get off this rollercoaster, and back on plan with my eating. It's been an emotional twist for me that I've gained weight, and that I can not get into ketosis.

[kwikwits 20]

I can't imagine eating the way I used to eat. I can't fit much in right now. When does that change?

[Tiffykins 673]

I can't imagine eating the way I used to eat. I can't fit much in right now. When does that change?

Restriction for me stayed pretty consistent for the first 3-4 months. I started eating more higher fat foods to get my losing to slow down because I was already within 25-30 pounds within my goal weight. I noticed I could eat more slider foods, but dense Protein was still only about 3oz.

Around 8-9 months I hit my sleeve capacity, and it's remained the same since then. I still max out at 3-6oz of dense Protein foods. Scallops, soft meats like duck, I can get in about 5-6oz, steak about 4-5oz, chicken I'm still pretty restricted to 3-4oz.

NOW, with all that being said, if I add any type of condiment (commonly called food lube) I can fit a bit more in. Add anything bready, like a wrap, or some of a dinner roll, some mashed potatoes in between bites of my meat, cheese, I can fit in a few more bites.

The first mushy meals I was really restricted to about 3oz of stuff like yogurt, sugar free pudding, refried Beans, etc etc. But, I was able to move up to less liquified mushies within a couple of weeks, and tolerated them well. It just takes time.

Drinking warm fluids, especially herbal Decaf tea, was a major help with relaxing my sleeve before eating.

[coops 1,790]

This really worries me, especially as I am not near the weight where I would like to be at over a year out and a weight where I just couldn't afford ANY amount of regain.

I am still struggling to get to goal, so I will need to be extra careful when/if I get to my goal weight and maintain *sighs*!

[mp8btpc 33]

Pardon me while I have a fit like a small whiny child! """"I DONT WANNNNNNNNNNNA GAIN"""""""""!!!!!!! CRYYYYY.

Sorry, I had to throw that out there and get it off my chest. I worry about it a lot. I saw a picture of myself at a concert the summer before surgery and I thought to myself, please dont screw this up self!

sigh

[DoOver 17]

NOW, with all that being said, if I add any type of condiment (commonly called food lube) I can fit a bit more in. Add anything bready, like a wrap, or some of a dinner roll, some mashed potatoes in between bites of my meat, cheese, I can fit in a few more bites.

The first mushy meals I was really restricted to about 3oz of stuff like yogurt, sugar free pudding, refried Beans, etc etc. But, I was able to move up to less liquified mushies within a couple of weeks, and tolerated them well. It just takes time.

Drinking warm fluids, especially herbal Decaf tea, was a major help with relaxing my sleeve before eating.

Did this part change over time? At 4 months out adding anything just seems to take up more space. Especially bread seems to really take space.

When my boyfriend and I go out to eat together, I will typically get baked unbreaded fish. Then I take 2 bites of something he has to test it. Those 2 bites really impact how much of the fish I can eat. When I'm alone and only get the fish, I can almost eat the whole serving. Those 2 bites can impact being able to take as much as half of the fish. But I do love being able to test the foods and get a bit of variety.

[Indymom 132]

I think one of the biggest reasons I haven't been shy about telling people about surgery is that I want the accountability of everyone knowing what I went through. If When I do get to goal, I am determined to not regain because I don't my close friends saying "look, all that work and struggle you had at the beginning and you're going to throw it all away?". I want them to raise an eyebrow when they see me with too much of something bad (though I'm sure I'll treat myself here and there when I get to that point).

[Tiffykins 673]

Did this part change over time? At 4 months out adding anything just seems to take up more space. Especially bread seems to really take space.

When my boyfriend and I go out to eat together, I will typically get baked unbreaded fish. Then I take 2 bites of something he has to test it. Those 2 bites really impact how much of the fish I can eat. When I'm alone and only get the fish, I can almost eat the whole serving. Those 2 bites can impact being able to take as much as half of the fish. But I do love being able to test the foods and get a bit of variety.

Yes, at 4 months out, I was still super restricted. The adding bread, potatoes, other mushy foods to my meat really changed well after a year post-op.

A lot of it was "how" I ate the food on my plate. I would only eat the meat first, add nothing to it. Once I got into maintenance, and eating more varied diet, I started eating differently. A bite of meat, a bite of veggies, a bite of meat, a bite of potatoes. Those mushy foods helped the food go through faster, and didn't take up space.

I didn't touch bread for months, and for the first year, it was really difficult for me to eat breads. Now, they're a bit of a slider food. I still feel restriction with breads, but I can eat it without discomfort at this point.

Just like, if I decide to drink wine before a meal, I can eat more. Sometimes, I'll have coffee or a hot tea (like at the Japanese restaurant we frequent) before my meal, I can fit a few more bites in. The alcohol and warm liquids all relax my stomach. Another reason why alcohol is so discouraged early out. Snacking and drinking go hand in hand especially in social settings. We drink, we snack, we drink some more, we snack some more etc etc. That's what led to my gain over the holidays last year.

[ouroborous 519]

I second the "eat meat first" thing. Not only is meat denser (fills you up quicker), but it produces a much better glycemic curve than any breads or sweets. It's a long, slow release of blood sugar, preventing that spike and crash that led so many of us into metabolic syndrome (and eventually diabetes or worse). In short, you will "feel full" longer if you focus on Protein first.

All the statistics on weight regain being said, it's very true that losing is the easy part. For the first year or so, you hardly have to do any work to shed 10 pounds, it seems. Past that, it gets harder. I'm not as far along as Tiffykins, but I'm about 17 months out, and I'm definitely at the stage where I have to WORK to lose weight. That means doing SOME kind of fitness activity EVERY day, plus going to the gym to build muscles with resistance training twice a week. And truth be told, I should be doing more -- more cardio, more resistance. Ladies, it's super important that you get enough resistance training, since if you let your muscles atrophy through weight loss and inertia, you'll have to fight even HARDER to avoid regain later. And gents, it's super important that you do cardio and not just pump Iron, since the strongest muscles won't prevent a heart attack, and all of the "metabolic rate" nonsense to the contrary, there's simply no replacement for BURNING calories if you want to lose fat and keep it off.

Bottom line is, after about a year (seems to be the average), weight loss and maintenance becomes WORK, if you want to maintain it. There's simply no avoiding that fact. However, unlike pre-sleeve, the hard work can actually, well, WORK... you actually CAN lose the weight and keep it off. You CAN get and keep a body you're proud of. I don't know about you, but for me, pre-sleeve, even those "simple" goals seemed impossible. Now, they seem like a challenge, but possible.

[BlackBerryJuice 349]

Like Tiffykins, I've also been pretty lucky to date. I just had my one-year sleeveversary and in the last few months, I don't feel that my stomach capacity's increased. It did increase quite steadily for the first 6-8 months. Today, I can eat a McDonald's cheeseburger in one sitting, but I can't fathom finishing a Big Mac or a full 6" Subway sandwich, for example. I don't restrict myself too much, but I make an effort to eat healthy Snacks and avoid things like milk shakes, frappuccinos, etc. Basically, if I'm going to have a cheeseburger or an ice cream, it's going to be the only unhealthy thing I have all day. I don't count calories, either, which is awesome - I feel like for the first time in my life, I can eat intuitively and not gain weight.

Here's what I've had today so far:

Bfast: coffee with half-and-half/Splenda and half a whole grain English muffin with a slice of cheddar and a fried egg

Snack: 1/2 pint blueberries

Lunch: another coffee and a croissant sandwich with deli turkey, cheddar, lettuce, cucumber, Tomato, and mustard

Snack: 1/2 pint blueberries, 4 Godiva chocolates

Dinner: a homemade bun with salmon filling and some fish Soup

If I get hungry later, I'll just have another one of these salmon Buns.< /p>

I feel full on that amount of food and have lots of energy, and I don't feel deprived at all. I don't regain anything on that amount of food, either, even if I don't work out at all. One of the best things is that this quantity of food doesn't look strange, so I no longer feel self-conscious eating in public. If I feel hungry earlier than normal, I have a coffee or tea and it generally staves off the hunger for another hour or so.

[sleeve 4 me 910]

OK so ONLY ONE person has gained after being sleeved out of everyone here? AND she's down 22 lbs. since then...

So that's a good sign right??? right???? LOL. I'm not paranoid. Just trying to research with REAL people, not just reading some report.

Thanks!!!!!!

[sleeve 4 me 910]

Like Tiffykins, I've also been pretty lucky to date. I just had my one-year sleeveversary and in the last few months, I don't feel that my stomach capacity's increased. It did increase quite steadily for the first 6-8 months. Today, I can eat a McDonald's cheeseburger in one sitting, but I can't fathom finishing a Big Mac or a full 6" Subway sandwich, for example. I don't restrict myself too much, but I make an effort to eat healthy Snacks and avoid things like milk shakes, frappuccinos, etc. Basically, if I'm going to have a cheeseburger or an ice cream, it's going to be the only unhealthy thing I have all day. I don't count calories, either, which is awesome - I feel like for the first time in my life, I can eat intuitively and not gain weight.

Here's what I've had today so far:

Bfast: coffee with half-and-half/Splenda and half a whole grain English muffin with a slice of cheddar and a fried egg

Snack: 1/2 pint blueberries

Lunch: another coffee and a croissant sandwich with deli turkey, cheddar, lettuce, cucumber, Tomato, and mustard

Snack: 1/2 pint blueberries, 4 Godiva chocolates

Dinner: a homemade bun with salmon filling and some fish Soup

If I get hungry later, I'll just have another one of these salmon Buns.< /p>

I feel full on that amount of food and have lots of energy, and I don't feel deprived at all. I don't regain anything on that amount of food, either, even if I don't work out at all. One of the best things is that this quantity of food doesn't look strange, so I no longer feel self-conscious eating in public. If I feel hungry earlier than normal, I have a coffee or tea and it generally staves off the hunger for another hour or so.

I hear you on the subway...I can only eat about 3 inches of a subway sandwich and with some of bread taken off top.

[SouthernSleever 228]

I'm about 10 months out and I still have great restriction. I worked 6 1/2 hours cleaning a house and was SO hungry on the way home I stopped at Burger King and got a Whopper Jr. I took the bottom bun off and ate it that way. It was just right. I worry about gaining back and I feel like I've stopped losing. I'm not doing great on my plan, i'll admit, but not horrible either. <sigh>

[Shalon 10]

Is there a specific failure thread?