*Gastric sleeve diet* (without surgery)

[planetheather 137]

You can't act as if you had 85% of your stomach removed and your ghrelin production had been all but stopped.

This is very true! I was able to lose 70# by acting that way and also adding in exercise. But it was incredibly hard and not sustainable (for me and for most people)--hence the regain within 3 years and the surgery 5 years later. More damaging than the loss/regain was the damage to my self confidence. But if you can do it as a pre-op exercise, that would be great and you'll be so much further along.

[Nicolanz 1,484]

I'm not saying it can't be done but less than 5% of people who diet and exercise alone are successful at keeping the weight off. I don't think it's possible to eat like a sleever without the sleeve. You'll be starving yourself. I eat 2-3 oz of Protein and about 1/4 cup of a side for a meal.

[moonlitestarbrite 902]

yeah, i have a friend who tried to do a super low calorie diet and she was SO HUNGRY and ended up binging repeatedly.

is there a reason you can't do a moderate reduced calorie diet? like 1400-1600 cal diet with a exercise? the more you exercise, the more of a calorie deficit you will have. when losing weight without WLS, you want to aim for a slow steady weight loss over a sustained period of time. the slower you lose... 4-6 pounds a month, the more likely you will be to actually keep it off long term.

the V-trim diet is an excellent diet for people who can track and follow their eating and exercise. try googling it. in the mean time, try tracking everything you eat... cut out the crap and processed carbs and you should make some headway.

[Maccurdyerica 15]

4 days on my diet and I've lost 7 pounds and it took me a year and a half to get to this point I am mind over matter and it feels so good

[Butterthebean 8,146]

I wish the rest of us had your mind over matter super powers then we wouldn't have needed to take the easy way out and have surgery.

[No game 14,437]

4 days on my diet and I've lost 7 pounds and it took me a year and a half to get to this point I am mind over matter and it feels so good

Awesome..... You might find like minded and bodied people on these forums. As they are for strong minded people like yourself that can do it without surgery.http://weight-loss.fitness.com/forum.php

http://www.minimins.com

http://weight-loss.fitness.com/forum.php

Edited December 22, 2013 by laura-ven

[LipstickLady 25,682]

4 days on my diet and I've lost 7 pounds and it took me a year and a half to get to this point I am mind over matter and it feels so good

Good for you! I can't wait to hear of your continued great progress.

[familyguy 147]

This is a fascinating topic and now that I'm 4 weeks post opp, I have definitely asked myself a few times "why didn't I just eat like this instead of having the surgery?" After all, besides the cost, it does come with some serious life changes that are not always that simple to deal with.

However, pre surgery, I would have thought that the quantity of food I'm eating now would have made me pass out. Now, I eat very little and have tons of energy.

Pre surgery, I would have loaded up a big plate of whatever food was available and then gone back for seconds. Now, I put the smallest amount of food and a salad plate and end up walking away with left overs.

Pre surgery, I would have salivated at even a whiff of something that smelled good, now things that smell good are interesting but don't have anywhere near the same effect.

Pre surgery, I would have given myself breaks from any diet I was one (birthdays, anniversary's, football games, etc, etc). Now, there's really no way to take a break.

Definitely want you to be successful in whatever you choose to do. For me, the sleeve created some profound physiological and mental changes that I couldn't find on my own.

[Threetimesacharm 1,400]

Good Luck losing the remaining 93 pounds......................mind over matter right?

4 days on my diet and I've lost 7 pounds and it took me a year and a half to get to this point I am mind over matter and it feels so good

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

I am surprised to hear that people would have any weight loss surgery without first trying every diet known to man(or woman)kind. Seriously, try every healthy weight loss approach first, I know I did. When I was sleeved I had no doubts or regrets because I had no alternative, diets never worked for me over the long haul .

[LipstickLady 25,682]

I am surprised to hear that people would have any weight loss surgery without first trying every diet known to man(or woman)kind. Seriously, try every healthy weight loss approach first, I know I did. When I was sleeved I had no doubts or regrets because I had no alternative, diets never worked for me over the long haul .

Yup.

[skikyd 165]

I have yo - yo dieted for 30 years.

1 year ago I decided to go for WLS.

I thought I wanted a band... After research I decided on a sleeve.

My insurance company and doctor wanted me to lose weight before surgery.

I did. I lost 40 pounds Pre op.

I questioned my self at that point. If I can lose 40 pounds.... Do I need surgery?

30 years of history tells me I do.

After losing 40 pounds I COULD go out and eat things bad for me........

POST SURGERY ..... I CANNOT.------ at least not with out a lot of pain!

I an do happy with my decision. It is really a life changer.

[leslie1958 159]

I went onto Nutrisystem and lost 60 pounds over a year. I felt marvelous and very proud of myself and honestly thought I would NEVER be overweight again. I maintained the weight loss for a number of years but here I sit even bigger than I was when I started Nutrisystem. Here is what I have learned - losing the weight just gets you to the starting gate, the real challenge is keeping it off. I do wish you all the luck and I do hope you are one of the few that can lose and maintain. BUT I would be remiss if I didn't tell you that the odds are stacked against you. It took my Nutrisystem experience and gaining it all back to finally make me wake up and realize that if I am ever to be a healthy weight It will take surgery.

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

While this diverges a little from the original post, I do want to make a point to all choosing weight loss surgery (any type by the way). The sleeve surgery was the tool I NEEDED to lose over half my body weight. It is the TOOL I currently need to maintain those losses. Don't be fooled though that it does all the work over the long haul. Over time, your success with weight maintenance becomes more about you then about the surgery - this is why over a longer horizon you do see regain (partial usually) with many people.

I have lost weight using many techniques. Just a few come to mind:

Lapband - lost about 70# in 2001, regained all plus a bunch more

Weight watchers - lost 85# in 2005, regained about 45-50# of it over 5 years

Nutrisystems - multiple tries, lost around 30-50# each time and always regained plus bonus pounds

Hgh (can't remember, the hormone drops) - lost about 20# but felt horrible so could not stay with it and regained plus.

That is just the last decade or so.... since I went on my first diet when I was 8, I can tell you about every diet, every medically supervised fast etc. The only think I did NOT do was take the pills because of risk of heart damage.

To maintain massive weight loss takes an entire shift in your way of living. Accepting just how little food you need. Accepting that you cannot eat like a "normal" person who was never obese. Working out even when you don't really want to - and not to get into a dress or whatever, to do it forever, day in and day out....

for me, having spent so many decades at a relatively high BMI 40-50 range; it is difficult for me to maintain my weight now at a normal size. By difficult I mean that I must basically still follow the sleeve rules and way of eating, but allow myself a few more indulgences than I did during the losing phase.

Don't mean to sound like a downer, just injecting a dose of reality. I could not have done it without the sleeve though, so I am an advocate for sure.

[feedyoureye 3,087]

Best of luck to you and I would have to agree with Jane.^

Also, through the years I have seen threads on this site, "Would you do it again?" or something like that.. and time after time I have read "In a heartbeat" and "my only regret is I didn't do it sooner" I just knew that one more diet was going to get me the same results as all the other diets did in the past. A little weight loss, and a lot of weight regain. I never really thought about getting surgery until the last minute before I actually did the research and had it done. I had reached the place where I KNEW I was going to suffer and die younger if I didn't get the weight off now. You call going to Mexico "a last resort" Many of the people were at that point before making the surgery happen, and most of them say "I would do it again in a heartbeat" and "I wish I had done it earlier" Thats how I feel too.