Need Urgent Advice regarding my Sleeve!

[Beautiful Life 1]

Hello Everyone!

I am hoping this post will be read by those who can give me some advice. I have been a member of this forum over a year now, and this will be my first official post. I am struggling deeply I was sleeved on October 16th, 2010 by Dr. Alvarez, whom might I add was an amazing Doctor and I have absolutly no regrets! He was wonderful and I could not have asked for a better Doctor, I have had absolutly no problems since my surgery to present!

My forum topic is in regards to my sleeve and that I feel I have possibly stretced it out For the past four to five months I have basically been able to eat whatever I want and the quanity size is well over 4-6 ounces at one sitting, I am guessing around 9 ounces. I feel at this point I can basically eat just as I did before surgery with hardly no restrictions and I feel absolutly nothing when I eat like I did before Don't get me wrong this has been a wonderful journey up to this point. I started at 245 and I am currently 170, I have exercised since 3 weeks post op and stay very active with various types of activities. But I am feeling down and out again as the weight is just not moving and I don't have any control anymore. I am lost and don't know where to turn at this point. I know 170 is a great number to be at and I am proud of that accomplishment, however I am still carrying at least another 25 pounds that need to go and they just won't go! And since I can eat anything and everything that does not help either

Is anyone having this problem or can anyone please give me some advice on where to go in the next direction! I am just beside myself on what to do next. Should I resort to diet pills at this point, I am very confussed and would like any advice anyone can offer.

I try to avoid carbs as much as possible and for the most part eat a very health conscience diet. However another issue I have received in the past four months is the sweet monster as well, before I never even cared to eat sweets, I thought I could never eat them again, until I lost all my sensations

Thanks for reading and I hope to hear any if any solutions to this discouraging point in my life!

[Buckeye Girl 8]

So sorry to hear this. I don't have any experience based advice since I have only had my sleeve a little over a month. The first thing that came to my mind while reading your story is that I would maybe go see a dietician or nutritionist. I know that out of all the diets I ever tried, weight watchers was the one I was most successful with, so I am just planning to join again, once I get close to goal.

I hope some others that have had their sleeve for a year or more, can give you some advice based on their own experiences.

Best of luck to you!

[Thomas CPA 496]

It is pretty much a fallacy about stretching stomachs. Those who eat in hot dog eating contests don't stretch out their stomachs.

Next don't fret over carbs. Losing weight is simple math, burn more calories than you take in. It has nothing to do with carbs and there is way to much worrying over the whole issue of carbs. I take in 100 grams of carbs on any given day and lose weight by working out 4 to 6 days a week either at gym or tennis.

Carbs burn first and then fat but without initial carbs the body goes to fat and yes muscle which is why Protein is important but as my doctor said you only need 60 to 80 not 80 to 100 grams per day as sleeve is not as restrictive as bypass.

Regarding ounces to eat. Keep in mind your stomach is the size of a medium banana. If you ate something that size made of lead you would be eating several pounds at a time. Forget ounces and consider volume.

I can and do eat more than 6 ounces at a time and still losing weight.

Don't worry you are doing great.

[Caliblonde 25]

My surgeon told me that it would probably take me 2 years to lose all of the weight that I wanted to lose. Since you're only 20-25 pounds away from goal, you're in the home stretch and it can take a really long time to get those last few pounds off. Maybe you should try to go back to basics. As Tiffykins would say "just because you can eat it doesn't mean you should". Since your tummy isn't giving as much restriction as it did in the beginning you have to put the brakes on yourself. Also, even though you're not losing weight, I have to point out that you're not gaining weight!! That's a huge success

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I really don't know what to tell you because there is no way I can eat 6 ounces. I can eat 6oz of yogurt, because it's a slider.

As far as meat goes, if I eat 3 oz I am so stuffed, I am just miserable.

You need to go back to basics and just eat Protein first and veggies if there is room. Stay away from all those white carbs and your cravings for sweets should go away.

[Foxbins 625]

Do what Oregondaisy said. Eat dense Protein and a few green vegetables. Track your food intake--a few bites here and there adds up fast. Drink Water when you feel hungry, then take a walk, then eat a small protein-based snack if you are still hungry.

[RickM 1,747]

I think that what you may be seeing is a mix of comfort with a greater variety of foods along with the old discipline issue on the sweets front. At 75 lb down, you are in the 70-75% of excess weight lost range that is average for the sleeve, but at only a year out you still have some time left in the typical 18 month weight loss window - many people do beat the averages and lose all of their excess weight with the sleeve. Are you still fairly restricted if you have only meat at a meal - on the order of 3oz or so? That's my typical test for capacity and restriction - even though I can eat much more of other things, the so-called sliders, I try to make that an advantage rather than a problem by willingly having more veg and fruits to balance out the Protein rich meats, and avoiding the empty calorie sliders. I can readily (comfortably full rather than stuffed) have 6-7 oz of salad including a couple ounces of meat which is a nice balanced meal, but if I have only the dense meat my limit is still about 3 oz, give or take a fraction depending on the meat.

Are you still tracking your intake (if you ever did)? I find that that still helps in keeping my mind on what I am eating, and can highlight how much damage the sweet cravings may be doing (be honest with yourself!) As is noted many times on these forums, the sleeve is still just a tool, and you have to learn how to use it, particularly in the long run; it can still be defeated by drinking calories or even letting them slip past in high calorie sliders. Also, while it's good to keep an eye on your carbs, despite your sweet tooth, how is your fat intake doing - that still counts despite low carb being the fashion of the day. At 9 calories per gram versus 4 cal per gram for carbs and Protein, they can sneak up on you quickly, and the overriding factor in our weight control is still calories in versus calories out - it does no real good to limit carbs in the effort to burn fat sooner if we throw a bunch of fat back into our stores; we really need to watch all of it, even if we "only" have a particular weakness for one or the other. This gets back to the tracking discipline to help make sure things aren't slipping past us.

Another issue that may be coming into play here is that the exercise that you have been doing all along may not be doing that much good anymore, at least on the caloric front - as you lose the weight, the exercise becomes easier and of less value, even if you feel that you are still working as hard as you ever were. It can really sneak up on you. I don't do a lot of walking since the first month or so (at least not as "purposeful exercise"), preferring the gym and swimming, but I noticed that sometime between the second and fourth months my heartrate when walking as fast as possible, just short of a jog, had dropped from 130ish (in the healthy cardio range of 80% of max heartrate for me) to barely 100 - it still seemed like I was working as hard as ever, but I really wasn't. I can still get that exertion level when swimming, but I have to work harder, and keep reminding myself to do so.

On the diet pills front, I would check with your doctor on that - most of the infomercial pills are near worthless and can be outright dangerous while the more legit pharmaceuticals, prescription and OTC, have some value in certain cases, but I suspect that with the restriction that we already have with the sleeve, that their value would be limited; but it's worth a chat with a doc who knows you and how those drugs work.

Good luck with it all, things can be jump started and you can get back on track,

[Beautiful Life 1]

Thanks so much for all of your advice, It makes me feel better to know that this could be just a minor change for me and I need to retrain my sleeve and get back to basics! I was thinking to mix up my work outs, try new things to move the calories better! I will also look into circut training and see if it does any good! Thank you so much for all your help....I really greatly appreciate it! I hope I can get this last 20 pounds off without killing myself to much

I still believe the sleeve was the best thing I ever did and I have been very happy and healthy!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

[thinoneday 445]

Hello Everyone!

I am hoping this post will be read by those who can give me some advice. I have been a member of this forum over a year now, and this will be my first official post. I am struggling deeply I was sleeved on October 16th, 2010 by Dr. Alvarez, whom might I add was an amazing Doctor and I have absolutly no regrets! He was wonderful and I could not have asked for a better Doctor, I have had absolutly no problems since my surgery to present!

My forum topic is in regards to my sleeve and that I feel I have possibly stretced it out For the past four to five months I have basically been able to eat whatever I want and the quanity size is well over 4-6 ounces at one sitting, I am guessing around 9 ounces. I feel at this point I can basically eat just as I did before surgery with hardly no restrictions and I feel absolutly nothing when I eat like I did before Don't get me wrong this has been a wonderful journey up to this point. I started at 245 and I am currently 170, I have exercised since 3 weeks post op and stay very active with various types of activities. But I am feeling down and out again as the weight is just not moving and I don't have any control anymore. I am lost and don't know where to turn at this point. I know 170 is a great number to be at and I am proud of that accomplishment, however I am still carrying at least another 25 pounds that need to go and they just won't go! And since I can eat anything and everything that does not help either

Is anyone having this problem or can anyone please give me some advice on where to go in the next direction! I am just beside myself on what to do next. Should I resort to diet pills at this point, I am very confussed and would like any advice anyone can offer.

I try to avoid carbs as much as possible and for the most part eat a very health conscience diet. However another issue I have received in the past four months is the sweet monster as well, before I never even cared to eat sweets, I thought I could never eat them again, until I lost all my sensations

Thanks for reading and I hope to hear any if any solutions to this discouraging point in my life!

Hello, I don't know how much i can help but here is my story and maybe it'll help. i'm 2 years out, i started at 350 lbs, I was very heavy. I rec'd my sleeve on Dec 29th 2009 and at first i thought what have i done. . but i continued just like my doctor told me and at 7 weeks out had lost 53lbs and continued to lose at a good rate (a little too good) well January 2011 came around and boom my weight loss stopped dead. I didn't lose anything anymore for over 7 -8 months (talk about a major stall) and like you i did everything. Well i got upset and frustrated and kept trying different things. . then Little Miss Diva said something to me that hit a thought. . she said that when the body was gaining weight, it hit a weight where you stayed for a long period of time, and now that your losing weight, it got to that weight and it stays there for a long time as well. Well for me i stayed at 215 lbs for years before gaining all my weight. Now my body is stuck between 200 - 210lbs. Maybe my body is finally catching up and healing. I still have a bit to go (like you) but am in stuck world too. I've stopped worrying about it now and just live my life.(wish my loan was in stuck world too! ) I watch what i eat, i eat normally but keep my amounts 6 - 7 oz nothing more.(I still have restriction and slime when i go over 6 oz) I try really hard not to snack at all, drink tons of Water, and stay far away from fast food or restaurants. I do have treats at least once a week so i don't feel deprived. i weigh once a week and either have lost a lb or two or haven't lost anything. it's really slow now but at least i'm not gaining. The honeymoon is definately over so now we must adjust to what we have and love ourselves for who we are. We have come a very far way and we will never go back to how we were. Don't be upset, look where you have come to and be glad in that.

I hope i've helped a bit. Good luck and hold your head up high.

[Jinjin 21]

Try the 5 day pouch test- google it. http://www.5daypouchtest.com/recipes/recipes.html

I found the link. Give it a try! Make your tool do what its suppose to again : )

Good luck

[former_vbg 198]

Like others have suggested, try to focus on your dense Proteins first, and then veggies, etc. I would bet that you will feel more restriction doing that.

There is some controversy over people who watch their carbs verses not. Personally, I think it plays a HUGE factor in weight loss. The problem with calories is that just like carbs, not all carbs and calories are equal. There are the healthy carbs and healthy calories and vice versa. Many people on here have found their body is very carb sensitive. I can tell you I am one of those. I do not watch calories at all and instead watch the kind of carbs I am taking in. For example, if you ever compare salad dressing bottles- the "fat free" Salad Dressing is MUCH higher in sugar and carbs. Where the regular salad dressing (same flavors) is much lower in carbs and sugar.

Also, someone else mentioned the work out routine. If you haven't, you may need to mix things up because your body may have become used to that level of activitiy and it may not have the same affect it once did- plus when we are heavier and working out it does take more work which equals greater calorie burn which also equals weight loss.

You can do this, try to get in more Water, crystal lite, etc...

[dargar27 2]

Best of luck to you! You're doing awesome, keep up the hard work! I too have been able to eat whatever I want, and have had to be super careful or I can really over eat....but only the sliders and foods I really shouldn't be eating...lol When I eat Protein, I fill up very quickly, and can only eat about 4 or 5 oz at a time at the most, so that is what I try to concentrate on. It's funny though because I also have been craving sweets and I never did before. I have always craved the more savory stuff like pizza, etc., but lately it's been suger. Weird. Go back to the basics, and you might even try tracking your calories, Protein, carbs, etc. on a site like www.myfitnesspal.com. I started using this when my weight began to slow down and it's awesome!! I"m on there as dargar27 and would love to befriend you on it if you would like some support. I'm currently 4 months out since surgery. Good luck!!

Thanks so much for all of your advice, It makes me feel better to know that this could be just a minor change for me and I need to retrain my sleeve and get back to basics! I was thinking to mix up my work outs, try new things to move the calories better! I will also look into circut training and see if it does any good! Thank you so much for all your help....I really greatly appreciate it! I hope I can get this last 20 pounds off without killing myself to much

I still believe the sleeve was the best thing I ever did and I have been very happy and healthy!

Happy Halloween Everyone!