Should I get gastric sleeve?
cupcakecomatose
Posts: 3 Member
this is something I've been debating with myself for a while...
I've been struggling with my weight my entire life. The last time I was at a normal weight was when I was 5.
I've started a lifestyle change and I've been eating clean and exercising regularly for about a year and I'm very comfortable with it, but I'm not losing any weight. I lost 10 lbs, and then that's it. Once a couple years ago I lost 30lbs, but gained it all IMMEDIATELY back!!
I've been struggling with my weight my entire life. The last time I was at a normal weight was when I was 5.
I've started a lifestyle change and I've been eating clean and exercising regularly for about a year and I'm very comfortable with it, but I'm not losing any weight. I lost 10 lbs, and then that's it. Once a couple years ago I lost 30lbs, but gained it all IMMEDIATELY back!!
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Are you eating at a deficit?0
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Calories consumed...not the cleanliness or lack thereof of food determines weight loss0
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Liftng4Lis wrote: »Are you eating at a deficit?ceoverturf wrote: »Calories consumed...not the cleanliness or lack thereof of food determines weight loss
Yep this^^^^0 -
And you are only 25. Having this type of surgery does not guarantee results.0
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Give MFP a proper chance:
Log your food, everything you eat.
Weigh everything you eat. Use digital scales for accuracy. Use USDA listed foods in grams.
Eat at a reasonable deficit and eat the foods that you know you enjoy in a way that is sustainable for the long term.
Get in some exercise that you enjoy (Walking is a great start) - for your health and your mental spirit it really does help to lift mood.
Be patient - you have struggled with your weight for a long time and it will take a long time for it to leave - this is where patience and persistence pay off.
Read, read and then read some more. MFP is one of the best resources around. Get yourself some like minded friends on here to support you.
Maybe think about getting support IRL - if you have binge eating issues etc etc seek counselling and support. Ask family and friends if that works for you, to support you in your endeavour.
You don't sound really taken by the idea of surgery....I totally understand. It was offered to me when I was 268 lbs and I looked around at the other ladies in my life that had gone down this path and they were ALL struggling. There were malabsorption issues, vomiting, constant pain and now down the track only 1 has kept her weight off the rest have regained all and more of what they needed to lose, but they STILL suffer with pain et etc.
I wish you all the best.
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cupcakecomatose wrote: »
Yes I'm eating about 1,500 calories a dayLiftng4Lis wrote: »Are you eating at a deficit?
Weighing your food?0 -
personal choice but id make a serious attempt at calorie counting and lose the weight without surgery, A deficit is all you need. A gastric band is not guaranteed success.0
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My usual response unless someone's weight is actively and currently causing them serious and permanent health problems that are so severe that they warrant a surgery that can have dramatic and devastating complications...then, no.
I do understand, I do....that weight loss can seem overwhelming. It can seem like a mountain that you just aren't able to climb, however...and I mean this...if I can do this, so can anyone else. I am no one and nothing special. You just have to do it though. I'd talk to your doctor about more support. I'd get a dietitian. I'd talk about a referral to a support group. I'd be asking for anything and everything before I even considered going under the knife.
Thank you very much for this response, it is very difficult and it's nice to know someone understands0 -
cupcakecomatose wrote: »
Yes I'm eating about 1,500 calories a dayLiftng4Lis wrote: »Are you eating at a deficit?
What's your average carbs : fat : protein ratio? (Or just go to http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings and change your Diary Sharing to Public.)
I ask because of your screen name - cupcakecomatose - I am very familiar with the "sugar coma" and losing weight has been so much easier since I focused on eating more protein and less foods with added sugar.
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(Edited to delete weird double post)
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http://www.medpagetoday.com/Endocrinology/Obesity/40490
From that source, yes they lost weight BUT:
-34.3% of patients who had sleeve gastrectomy as their primary procedure and 50% of those who'd had it after a failed gastric banding still had a BMI above 35 kg/m2 after 5 years.
-Over 5 years of follow-up, 77.9% of patients developed vitamin D deficiency, 41.2% had iron deficiency, 39.7% had zinc deficiency, 39.7% had a vitamin B12 deficiency, 25% had a folic acid deficiency, and 10.3% developed anemia.
-These deficiencies occurred "despite routine supplementation, in a higher rate than we had expected," the researchers wrote.
-They also found that re-operation due to insufficient weight loss was needed in eight patients, or 11.8% of the study population.
It's certainly not the easy way out given some of these complications. And the problems you have currently in keeping the weight off won't magically go away post op. What's going to prevent you from gaining it all back if you haven't learned how/why you're not losing or keeping it off?0 -
I was told that I qualified for surgery. It wasn't so much "suggested" to me. It just came up in a conversation with the doc about my weight. That was one wtf moment in a long series of wtf moments that convinced me to turn it around. MFP, which I happened upon by accident, was exactly what I needed to help me do it on my own. I just reached my halfway point this Monday. 55 lbs down, 55 to go.
It's important to know that even after surgery, you still have to balance your calories in vs. calories out, and you have to pay even closer attention to nutrition than you do now, as failing to get enough protein, iron, fat, etc. in your small portions will cause loads of complications (my mom knows all about that). I understand that different procedures have different malabsorbtion risks. You can teach yourself how to "eat around" the surgery and regain weight (again, mom). It is by no means a "set it and forget it" arrangement. Just like losing on your own, it takes long-term commitment and never-ending vigilance in order to be successful.
The uninformed will call WLS the "easy way out." Those people are idiots and you shouldn't listen to them. Do your research, talk with your doctors, and make the best choice for YOU. It may be the boost you need, but you may not need it at all.0 -
cupcakecomatose wrote: »this is something I've been debating with myself for a while...
I've been struggling with my weight my entire life. The last time I was at a normal weight was when I was 5.
I've started a lifestyle change and I've been eating clean and exercising regularly for about a year and I'm very comfortable with it, but I'm not losing any weight. I lost 10 lbs, and then that's it. Once a couple years ago I lost 30lbs, but gained it all IMMEDIATELY back!!
Not on the advice of internet randoms.0 -
The risks are pretty high with the surgery. It's just not worth it. My best friend had it done on August 17th. Seven days later she was in the icu with a blood clot from her ankle to her groin, and a pulmonary embolism. She spent 2 weeks in icu, and now she is meeting with specialists at UofM who are going to try and save her leg. If they cannot fix the massive 2 foot clot, she is going to have her leg amputated. She was a perfectly healthy 35 year old that needed to lose 100lb. No high bp, no other comorbid conditions. Now, she may be a skinny 35 year old woman with 4 children and no leg.....hmmmm.0
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I had sleeve surgery and regret my decision. I had it done about 3 years ago and only lost about 50ish pounds. Of course others have success and I'm definitely not the poster child for the surgery but I did hit 50% of the excess weight loss. I don't like the long staple line and having these metal staples in me for the rest of my life. I had a horrible acid reflux episode a couple of nights ago while sleeping. Woke up with a choking feeling and coughed up acid into my mouth, nose, and inhaled it into my lungs. The next day it hurt to take a deep breath. Just be prepared to not be able to eat right before going to bed. I still have restriction this far out and can only eat about 2 chicken wings in one sitting or maybe 1 and a half drumsticks or 5oz of steak. The good thing is no malabsorption so that's a plus but since you wont have malabsorption everything you eat will still be absorbed. It's a restriction only surgery. If you can get portion control down without the surgery, then please do not get this surgery.
I now eat 1700 cals on non workout days and 2000 cals on workout days and am losing weight. I had to do a metabolism reset a couple of weeks ago because I wasn't losing weight at 1200 cals. Now I'm much happier and wished that I would of taken the time to learn my body back before I thought of the surgery as a solution. The surgeon putting me on a 800 calorie diet right after surgery made sense when I was first out of surgery but eventually you do get hungry and you find that the 800 cals doesn't work and you're just miserable. Screw that! Also the surgeons diet caused me to lose a crap ton of muscle. My thighs felt like mush. Sorry for giving you my whole life story but looking back I probably wasn't a good candidate for the surgery. I don't want to discourage you though but I honestly wish I would of given MFP a fair shot. Good Luck with whatever you decide.0 -
The risks are pretty high with the surgery. It's just not worth it. My best friend had it done on August 17th. Seven days later she was in the icu with a blood clot from her ankle to her groin, and a pulmonary embolism. She spent 2 weeks in icu, and now she is meeting with specialists at UofM who are going to try and save her leg. If they cannot fix the massive 2 foot clot, she is going to have her leg amputated. She was a perfectly healthy 35 year old that needed to lose 100lb. No high bp, no other comorbid conditions. Now, she may be a skinny 35 year old woman with 4 children and no leg.....hmmmm.
Holy crap. I thought what my mom is going through was bad enough...0 -
cupcakecomatose wrote: »this is something I've been debating with myself for a while...
I've been struggling with my weight my entire life. The last time I was at a normal weight was when I was 5.
I've started a lifestyle change and I've been eating clean and exercising regularly for about a year and I'm very comfortable with it, but I'm not losing any weight. I lost 10 lbs, and then that's it. Once a couple years ago I lost 30lbs, but gained it all IMMEDIATELY back!!
I'm sorry, but I'm gonna get a little "tough love" on you. NOBODY "immediately" gains back 30 pounds. It just does not happen. You gained weight over time and gained it back because you stopped making an effort and were eating in a surplus. Also, eating "clean" isn't going to make a difference if you're not eating at a deficit.
I know weight loss is a struggle. Like you, I was an obese child. I was a toothpick until 4 and by 5 I ballooned up. I slimmed out in 5th grade, but by 9th grade I was heavy again. In 12th grade I was my heaviest at 190 pounds. However, I lost the weight and kept the weight off. The most I ever gained back was 30 pounds and that was due to my own negligence, not my body. Do not consider weight loss surgery until you know you've truly tried to lose weight. You lost 30 pounds once and can do it again. What do I mean by truly trying?- Weigh ALL food with a scale before eating it. Yes, even packaged items, fruits, vegetables. Everything! Not using measuring cups, not measuring spoons, but a digital scale. Weigh everything but liquids in grams. Use measuring cups for liquids only.
- Make sure you eat at a deficit. Going by your weight now, you can afford to shoot for at least a one pound loss per week.
- Get some exercise. It doesn't have to be drastic. Try walking for 15-30 minutes a few times per week and build from there. Walking works wonders.
- Do NOT eat back all of your exercise calories MFP gives you. MFP overestimates calorie burns. Eat back 50-75% of your exercise calories.
I'm 99% sure you will see weight loss in a month or less.0 -
The risks are pretty high with the surgery. It's just not worth it. My best friend had it done on August 17th. Seven days later she was in the icu with a blood clot from her ankle to her groin, and a pulmonary embolism. She spent 2 weeks in icu, and now she is meeting with specialists at UofM who are going to try and save her leg. If they cannot fix the massive 2 foot clot, she is going to have her leg amputated. She was a perfectly healthy 35 year old that needed to lose 100lb. No high bp, no other comorbid conditions. Now, she may be a skinny 35 year old woman with 4 children and no leg.....hmmmm.I had sleeve surgery and regret my decision. I had it done about 3 years ago and only lost about 50ish pounds. Of course others have success and I'm definitely not the poster child for the surgery but I did hit 50% of the excess weight loss. I don't like the long staple line and having these metal staples in me for the rest of my life. I had a horrible acid reflux episode a couple of nights ago while sleeping. Woke up with a choking feeling and coughed up acid into my mouth, nose, and inhaled it into my lungs. The next day it hurt to take a deep breath. Just be prepared to not be able to eat right before going to bed. I still have restriction this far out and can only eat about 2 chicken wings in one sitting or maybe 1 and a half drumsticks or 5oz of steak. The good thing is no malabsorption so that's a plus but since you wont have malabsorption everything you eat will still be absorbed. It's a restriction only surgery. If you can get portion control down without the surgery, then please do not get this surgery.
I now eat 1700 cals on non workout days and 2000 cals on workout days and am losing weight. I had to do a metabolism reset a couple of weeks ago because I wasn't losing weight at 1200 cals. Now I'm much happier and wished that I would of taken the time to learn my body back before I thought of the surgery as a solution. The surgeon putting me on a 800 calorie diet right after surgery made sense when I was first out of surgery but eventually you do get hungry and you find that the 800 cals doesn't work and you're just miserable. Screw that! Also the surgeons diet caused me to lose a crap ton of muscle. My thighs felt like mush. Sorry for giving you my whole life story but looking back I probably wasn't a good candidate for the surgery. I don't want to discourage you though but I honestly wish I would of given MFP a fair shot. Good Luck with whatever you decide.
OMG.....I am just so sorry for your friend @vlovell24 and for you "NotGnarly;33987187".....these real life experiences are just appalling and I am grateful that I NEVER to up the 'offer' to go through with WLS.
NotGnarly you are doing fabulously on your own and I really hope that with more time and continued weight loss your health improves.
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I can't answer that. I think you should track your food with a scale for a couple months and make an appointment to go see your doctor. Not a weight loss clinic. Your doctor. Discuss why you aren't losing and what can be done about it. Take a printout of your food log along.0
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Ultimately, only you and your doctors can really say if weight loss surgery is really right for you. Even getting the sleeve is still surgery with all the inherent risks of surgery.
I am not diametrically opposed to surgery, however, I believe that is should be done in conjunction with a nutritionist and therapy support as the reason most of us are over weight has more to the base then just simple over eating. For many it's a coping mechanism, so you'll have to learn entirely new strategies if this is true for you.
Like all tools, it can be useful. But the thing is, you have to use it correctly. And its definitely not a magic bullet. Good luck!
(Edited for grammar)0 -
Only if the doctor tells you that you have to in order to stay alive. Gastric sleeves are no different than tummy tucks, or anything else. They are artificial attempts to correct real issues. The answer is in two words: LIFESTYLE CHANGE. Yes, I know that some have it harder than others, but without the lifestyle change there are too many people who have had expensive and evasive surgeries that are right back to where they started. Give this a chance. A true, real, long-haul chance where you log EVERYTHING (yes, including all the condiments, butter, etc that people put on their food). I wouldn't even worry so much about "eating clean." It is calories in, calories out. The bank doesn't care about how clean or new your money is, do they? No. They care that you invest more money than you spend. Same with calories. Your daily activity and exercise deposits calories into your daily bank so that you can spend them on food. As for water, drink copious amounts. It is your friend and replaces hunger. You will see the results if you are honest about what you do on here.0
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First of all, I think you need to calculate the correct amount of calories you should be eating. Once you've done that, stick to those calories. Weigh every thing you eat for accuracy and do this for a month. You'll surprise yourself - you WILL lose weight. Exercise isn't even particularly necessary - it's that calorie deficit.
Gastric Sleeves, in my opinion - are a very aggressive way to lose unwanted pounds. If you are medically advised, then by all means proceed but you just need to be a lot more mindful of your calories and your portion control. I really think this is the issue. Also, you claim to have lost weight in the past and gained it straight back which suggests you were doing something totally unobtainable for you and your lifestyle. It doesn't HAVE to be complicated and impossible. Yes you need to work at this but you CAN do it.
A gastric sleeve isn't a magic wand. It won't suddenly erase your food issues. You can just as easily put weight back on with this too. So you really need to get educated about the process and give yourself some time to realy make a go of this. You can do it, I promise
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cupcakecomatose wrote: »
Yes I'm eating about 1,500 calories a dayLiftng4Lis wrote: »Are you eating at a deficit?
You probably are eating more than that. Like most of us you are probably underestimating what you are eating and overestimating what you are exercising. You can eat your way around the sleeve too. Get realistic about your logging. Make a solid eating plan and stick to it. You are not dieting.You are changing your lifestyle permanently.0 -
The risks are pretty high with the surgery. It's just not worth it. My best friend had it done on August 17th. Seven days later she was in the icu with a blood clot from her ankle to her groin, and a pulmonary embolism. She spent 2 weeks in icu, and now she is meeting with specialists at UofM who are going to try and save her leg. If they cannot fix the massive 2 foot clot, she is going to have her leg amputated. She was a perfectly healthy 35 year old that needed to lose 100lb. No high bp, no other comorbid conditions. Now, she may be a skinny 35 year old woman with 4 children and no leg.....hmmmm.
Losing a leg will get her much closer to goal. But I'm guessing that wasn't the plan.0 -
In summary the answer for me was not just no but HELL NO.
Your answer may vary.0 -
Ask your doctor.0
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