Has anyone else been overweight since birth, but had success with the sleeve?

[edashwood 7]

Hi there,

I am very new to this. I can't remember a time when I wasn't overweight. Even in baby photos I am the roundest one there! In 1998 I was one of the first people in Australia to have the gastric banding operation done. At the time I weighed 88 kilos (BMI about 35, I am 5ft2). I went down to about 76 kilos and then steadily up for the next 14 years. In 2012 I had the rotten thing taken out and have been on the up even more ever since. I now weigh about 100 kilos (BMI 40), and am miserable. So aside from the moderate success I had with the band (initially...and to be honest only because of the vomiting) I have really NEVER had success on a diet...and I've tried them all. I just, basically, get hungry. Also, I come from a family of obese women so I think that is just where I am "set". I have my first surgeon's appointment on Friday. I am busily compiling a list of questions for the surgeon. At the top of the list I have written:

1.Throw yourself on floor and beg for help. Pull nostril hairs to get tears going if necessary.

This is really how I feel. I just don't want to fail - AGAIN.

So...I'm just wondering if there is anyone out there like me who has never been a slim person, but who did overcome that history and become one with the sleeve.

Gratefully yours for any encouragement.

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

I think many people are in your shoes.

I have dieted successfully in the past, but have gone back up every time, ever higher.

I started at just under 40 BMI and am now just below goal.

I think VSG surgery is an amazing miracle. It won't fix you. But it will give you a real fighting chance to fix yourself. And that makes all the difference.

[Bufflehead 6,358]

*raises hand* I can't say I was overweight since birth since I was actually underweight at birth. But by the time I was 2 years old, I won the "Biggest Tummy" award at the local toddler Independence Day pool pageant. And between that time and age 48, I was NEVER a normal weight. I was obese, morbidly obese, or on rare occasions overweight. Mostly morbidly obese, particularly after puberty. Anyway, I have lost 180+ lbs (82 kg) since my surgery. I have about 20 lbs to go to reach my goal, but I have no doubt I will get there and I consider myself a success already. The sleeve is the tool I needed for success that I never had before. And of course I tried to lose weight -- like most people, I didn't want to be morbidly obese -- but I never had success before this. IMO you need to be committed to following a strict program along with your surgery. That may sound daunting, because most of us failed at strict programs before surgery, right? But if you are committed, the sleeve will help you stay on track. But you need to bring that commitment.

A couple of things I want to encourage you on:

First, give up the fatalistic thinking of "my family is obese therefore I am doomed" and "my body has a set weight, I'll never beat it." That kind of defeatist thinking is particularly unhelpful and it's really self-sabotaging. Don't fall into that trap.

Second, it's unrealistic to think that after sleeve surgery, you'll never be hungry again. If you are lucky, you won't have hunger for many months after surgery, but for the vast majority of people it does come back. It's really important to learn to deal with hunger in ways other than stuffing your mouth. Now, at two years out from surgery, if I ate every time I got hungry I would undo the work I have done and re-gain the weight I have lost, let alone ever get to my goal. So I am working with cognitive behavioral therapy techniques to acknowledge hunger but move past it and get on with my day until my next meal.

So, yes, I believe you can be successful -- but be ready for commitment, hard work, and having a conscious plan of attack for any challenges -- the sleeve by itself will not give you success, but it can help you reach it. Good luck!

[edashwood 7]

Bufflehead, thank you so much for this answer. I have read thousands of post....and lots of people saying they have gone down and up, so I was curious to know if there was anyone out there that had only had success and got to a healthy weight range with the sleeve. I have never been in a healthy weight range. I just want to experience it. We go on a couple of beach holidays with the kids every year...I have never once swum with them. Even if they beg...I just sit their on the beach like an idiot, fully clothed and too embarrassed even to wear shorts. Such a loser. I want to be the 'other' kind of loser!

[MichiganChic 3,262]

I was born chubby and was overweight most of my life, other than a few times as a teen ager or young adult, when I fad dieted, medical weight loss dieted, starvation dieted myself to a lower weight. The majority of my life has been spent as a morbidly obese woman, and I do have a family history of morbid obesity. I have several cousins who had WLS - successfully.

I lost about 160 pounds from my highest weight, and 140 with the sleeve. To be honest, before I had the sleeve, even after I decided to do it, I was skeptical about my ability to succeed. I am a person who has accomplished a lot and can generally do anything I put my mind to, except for losing and maintaining weight loss. I figured there was something physically wrong with me because I knew what to do and how to do it, and actually did it the right things but was still fat. I now realize that was because I was too hungry to be able to get my calories low enough, for long enough to lose the needed weight.

Having the sleeve truly changed my life and gave me power over my obesity. My advice is to use the honeymoon period - I didn't used to believe in that, but I do now. Learn new habits early on, and change your approach to eating, and be meticulous and as careful as you can. You'll thank yourself for it later. Make it all about you. You deserve to be thin, happy, successful at this, and the only way that happens is to make yourself a priority. Also, be patient. The weight isn't going to fly off, most likely. It's hard work, and it takes full effort all day, every day, forever. It took me 14 months to lose over 140 pounds. About 30 came off the first month, but after that, there were some months that I only lost 4 or 6 pounds. These are all important things to know, because after the first couple of years, you won't have as much restriction, hunger returns (never as bad as before surgery for me) and it takes a lot more effort. But once you know how to do it, and you are thin, it's not nearly as daunting as without a sleeve.

So, to answer your question, yes, others have done this and you can, too! It's up to you how use this gift. If I can do it, anyone can, even you

[joatsaint 2,814]

I too was overweight since at least 1st grade. I can still remember going to Sears for school clothes and having to get the "husky" brand of jeans. I slowly put on weight over the years till I was somewhere around 240-250 in High school and stayed around 270 for 10+ years. Getting a desk job in 2007 really put me over the top. I started gaining weight rapidly and got up to 375, at which point I quit weighing myself, so I don't really know how big I got.

In 2012 I was at my lowest point, mentally, physically and career wise. Life was getting to the point where it wasn't worth living. So I had to make a change. I had the Sleeve in Dec 2012, lost 130lbs the 1st year and took off another 40 the 2nd. I've kept off 170lbs for almost 3 years now. I still have my moments where my mind wants me to just eat, eat, eat, it doesn't really care what, just eat! But the Sleeve does it's job and painfully reminds me to stop eating.

I've never been a slim person, and I don't think I'm one now. I'm just a normal sized person. After 47 years of being overweight, the Sleeve has worked for me.

But I have to do my part too. Eat the right things, keep a positive mental attitude, and keep moving forward. It is NOT going to be easy. But the results - are worth everything you have to go through. When I was down or struggling, fastest way I felt better was by brightening someone else's day. Give, help, love, and share. Make the world better and heal yourself.

[edashwood 7]

Wow such inspiring answers! Thank you ladies...You have given me hope and made my day...I'm so proud of all of you!

[ga_crystal 51]

Such inspirational stories, don't think I could live without this site....it has been so nice to have since my gastric sleeve surgery.

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

For the record, @@joatsaint is a guy, not a "lady."

Not sure any of the other are actually "ladies" either, but ....

[edashwood 7]

My bad. ????

[lastingdreams 57]

I was an overweight, obese kid. I was over 200 at age 7, over 300 at age 13. I had never gone below 300 in the 18 years that followed that age 13 weigh in.

I had the sleeve surgery in Aug 2014....On January 31st I weighed in at 299. Today I'm 274.

Has it been hard? Yes

Has it sucked at times? Yes

Was it worth it? Heck Yes

No diet had ever worked before (see the statement about being over 300 since age 13) but this did and does. It saved my life and changed my life

Just my experience.

[lclemur 161]

Yes. Overweight almost all of my life. I have had months here and there where I was "overweight" according to BMI, but mostly obese and morbidly obese. I have lost 72 lbs. I look in the mirror, and sometimes I don't recognize the person staring back at me. I am on a staycation now. If it wasn't for my sleeve (and MyFitnessPal!) I would be eating my way across LA. I am not hungry. I hope this lasts a long time. In any case, it works if you work it. Good Luck! We are here to cheer you on!