100% Regain
TenshiDuck
Posts: 5 Member
Hi, all,
I figured I would post in case anyone else out there is lurking and too ashamed to post. Of all the surgeries, it seems like VSG has the lowest regain out there - just my general observation from looking across boards for all different kinds of bariatric options. In fact, that's one reason I chose the VSG. It seemed guaranteed to succeed.
Well... it hasn't. At least not for me. I know all the catchphrases - work the tool, it's not a magic solution, etc.
At one point, about a year after surgery, I was down about 100 pounds and kicking butt... around then, I began to stall. Stalling led to lost motivation. Lost motivation invited the return of bad habits. Bad habits brought the weight back. I have topped out at about 10 pounds below my heaviest recorded weight, and finally made the decision to try and get control of my life again.
However, as far as I am concerned, it's as if I am doing this weight loss thing without ever having had any type of surgery. The sensation of restriction is completely gone - the only time my body reminds me that most of my tummy was removed is when I eat just a little too fast and get an air bubble under a bite of food, which forces it back up and out in a most unfriendly manner.
I'm not necessarily looking for advice - I've read it all! - or condolences, or even "go get 'em!"s. I just wanted to put this out there so that, maybe, another VSGer who is facing the shame of regain knows that he or she is not alone.
Or perhaps I am alone?
Either way, I'm back on track and 'sweating for the wedding!' Hubby and I got married courthouse style in January of this year, but we want to have a ceremony/party with friends and family, now! My goal is to lose 100 pounds by September 2017.
Thanks for reading. We got this.
I figured I would post in case anyone else out there is lurking and too ashamed to post. Of all the surgeries, it seems like VSG has the lowest regain out there - just my general observation from looking across boards for all different kinds of bariatric options. In fact, that's one reason I chose the VSG. It seemed guaranteed to succeed.
Well... it hasn't. At least not for me. I know all the catchphrases - work the tool, it's not a magic solution, etc.
At one point, about a year after surgery, I was down about 100 pounds and kicking butt... around then, I began to stall. Stalling led to lost motivation. Lost motivation invited the return of bad habits. Bad habits brought the weight back. I have topped out at about 10 pounds below my heaviest recorded weight, and finally made the decision to try and get control of my life again.
However, as far as I am concerned, it's as if I am doing this weight loss thing without ever having had any type of surgery. The sensation of restriction is completely gone - the only time my body reminds me that most of my tummy was removed is when I eat just a little too fast and get an air bubble under a bite of food, which forces it back up and out in a most unfriendly manner.
I'm not necessarily looking for advice - I've read it all! - or condolences, or even "go get 'em!"s. I just wanted to put this out there so that, maybe, another VSGer who is facing the shame of regain knows that he or she is not alone.
Or perhaps I am alone?
Either way, I'm back on track and 'sweating for the wedding!' Hubby and I got married courthouse style in January of this year, but we want to have a ceremony/party with friends and family, now! My goal is to lose 100 pounds by September 2017.
Thanks for reading. We got this.
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Replies
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Thank you for posting. I have also gained weight back. And fact today is day two, yes just day two of being back on track for me after really being off the program for the past year. I'm not sure how it happened but slowly I stopped exercising, started eating snacks like chips and popcorn and I started drinking sweet tea. Next thing I know I've gained 40 pounds!
So now I need to lose those 40 and an additional 20 to 25. I can't believe how freaking hard it is every single day. But I know it's worth it. So today I'm with you, starting over feeling like the sleeve may or may not actually be helping. But I've got to try. We can't give up.7 -
I posted this in response to another thread, but I think it is accurate for here too. 2 things I learned in this "journey", that I wish they would stress a LOT more in the prep for VSG - (1) importance of retaining/building muscle WHILE losing (prefably before surgery too) and (2) Making people believe that the restriction is why they will lose weight ... it is not - it is the mechanism that will help you (for a year maybe) to eat less than you burn, which is why you will lose weight. The surgery is nothing more than a "diet" pill. You have to lose weight like everyone else, you just have a little help in the "stick to it" side of things for awhile. Anyway, here is what I wrote there - I hope some piece helps, and good luck to you!!!!
Please do not rely on the restriction to tell you when to stop eating. Always stop BEFORE you feel it. *DECIDE* how much you should eat, eat that and stop.
The problem is that (1) you can stretch your stomach out a little - eating always to your "limit" and carbonated type drinks are ways to make that happen sooner, (2) carbs "slider" foods dissolve very very easily so that by the time you have been eating for 15 minutes, the "bulk" is gone and you can easily fit more in - for example, you will look at 6 rice cakes and think "no way will that fit", but it will - by the time your mouth and saliva finishes and you swallow, each rice cake is like 1 tablespoon of "food" in your stomach. It is not hard to eat all 6 - at 45 calories each, you just ate 270 calories (almost all carbs) and are likely to still be hungry not long after. Now - take 6 Tbs of tuna or other dense protein and eat it all. You will be FULL, and it will likely be awhile before you are hungry again because it takes longer to digest and move on no matter how much you chew it first. 6 Tbs tuna is about 150 calories. So it is very easy to fall into the trap of eating higher calories for less satisfying food and being hungry again sooner (leading to "grazing").
The "restriction" will NOT keep you from gaining weight forever. It will certainly help, but the choices of food you make and how responsibly you eat determine whether you continue to lose, stall or start gaining again. It is very, very easy over time to eat more calories than you burn, even if you think you are not eating "a lot".
Think more of it this way - your "stomach" dictated what you ate all your life... it told you when you were "full" and when to stop eating. And look what happened - you were overweight enough to need WLS. So clearly your stomach is a TERRIBLE indicator of how much to eat. From now on, let your BRAIN decide how much you SHOULD eat, eat that and stop. If you are truly hungry after that, make a conscious decision on what else you will eat and how much and start planning your meals better to be more filling. You will definitely need more calories as you are longer out and are more active, but you should be in control of how many those are and what makes them up. Letting your stomach decide is like going to a grocery store while starving and not having a list. BAD IDEA. Go to the grocery store after eating, and with a meal plan laid out and shopping list to match it. Get what is on the list and get out. That is how you should be eating... That "honeymoon" is a learning time, and once it is gone you are just like everyone else - calories in has to be less than calories out. You just have a slight advantage in that it is harder for you to eat large volumes at once. But grazing and drinking during meals and drinking carbonated drinks and always eating to "fullness" will eventually catch up with you and put you right back with the rest of the world struggling to lose weight.
Edit: having WLS is kind of like a permanent diet pill of sorts... you get used to it over time and it loses its effectiveness. People who have WLS have tried every diet there is - and generally fail because they cant stick to the restrictions in food and are hungry. There is no "magic' in the surgery that changes the laws of physics so that you dont have to eat less than you burn to lose weight... it just makes the "eating less" part DOABLE. You still have to "diet" the rest of your life (hopefully in a manner that is a "lifestyle change" not fad diet), the difference from before WLS is that you can STICK TO the diet now (whatever diet you choose). That is the "magic" of WLS - the mechanics of losing weight are still the same as everyone else here. You just have a little help with "motivation" or "self-control" you didnt have before ...9 -
The cardinal rule of WLS - protein fills you up and carbs "slide" - is a complete and utter fallacy where my tummy is concerned. Sure, enough protein makes me feel full, but I feel fuller on, say, the same amount of rice or pasta. Do I then maybe have a snack later? Sure - but I do it regardless of the macronutrient I ate before.
While I can't stuff myself the way I did before surgery, I CAN eat what looks like a "normal" sized meal when I sit down with friends or family. Restaurants usually leave me with some leftovers to take home, buffets are pretty useless for me, but I'm not eating a tiny mound of tuna & mayo on two water crackers and calling it a day.
When I say I do not feel the effects of this surgery anymore, I mean it 100% - including the stick-to-itiveness that it should provide for a permanently dieting lifestyle. There is no help from it.
In one of the support groups I used to attend, there was a girl who had the VSG and who ate a 3oz piece of broiled chicken breast and a cup of green beans for lunch and dinner every single day for a year+. She turned down invitations to go out, etc. and lost over 100-pounds by doing so. Even post-surgery, that was not a life I was willing to live - and thank goodness I wasn't, because I met my now-husband about a year-and-a-half after my procedure, because I was able to put myself out there... and agree to Starbucks dates and experimenting with non-Chinese Asian food!
Admittedly, in the end, all blame for the sleeve's "failure" to work its not-magic rests on my shoulders. The only way for me to approach weight loss now is to act as though my $1,500 mistake never happened, because if I rely on it, I will get nowhere fast! You say that the sleeve acts as a "permanent" diet pill, but I beg to differ. It is oh so temporary. The best thing it did for me was to give me a quick taste of knowing what I look like in a mirror while wearing L/XL tops. Finally, I have an image of my skinnier, healthier self to work toward.
I've come back to the realm of the dieters, the WLSers, the VSGers, because it's time - and because everyone should have the opportunity to see all sides there are to see.
So, @aylajane , thank you for the advice and pep talk, but I really must insist on going at this the "old fashioned way."5 -
Lol - I was not saying you had to eat protein and no carbs or any prescribed way at all, I was just trying to illustrate just how easy it is to "undo" the sleeve's effectiveness with bad habits (grazing, drinking/eating together/ etc) and mainly relying on "restriction" to tell you when to stop eating - because that absoltely does nOT work in the long run (or short run even for some people). Eat whatever way you like - the point is that weight loss with or without the surgery relies on calories out more than in, so sleeve or no sleeve you have to make good choices and and figure out a sustainable way for YOU to do that.
I too enjoy plenty of carbs - and protein fills me up but does not "satisfy" me. Fat satifies me better but i will continue to eat my arm off regardless of not being "hungry" until I "end" with carbs. After a long time resisting I finally realized that it does not mean I have to eat a whole sleeve of cookies - It means I use my brain to design the meal I know I "should" have (and which I will enjoy) and then I end my meal with a sweet flavored cough drop, a small cookie, etc - some small carb. Then I am able to stop. That is what worked for ME. I highly doubt that is appropriate for anyone else.
Sorry if I sent you off on the wrong foot - the reply was in response to someone saying they are no longer fortunate enough to not feel hunger anymore after their VSG and "thank god for the restriction stopping me". I was trying to point out just how wrong using "fullness" to indicate when to stop eating can be. "slider" foods that dissolve easily will allow you to consume many times more calories than protein/dense foods - not that you cant have them, but you should be aware of that and not think that because your stomach is so small you cant possibly eat enough to gain weight. That wasnt what you voiced here, but that was what I was responding too and I thought parts were appropriate here too so I just copy/pasted.
When I said the sleeve acts as a "permanent" diet pill, I also said, like real diet pills, it loses its effectiveness over time. Anyone on a diet pill "permanently" will eventually eat as much as they started out with after they adapt. Anyone with a sleeve has a tool but it is very very very easy to get "around" it, and whether consciously or not, most people start behaving in ways that do that after time. "Permanent" diet pills do not guarantee long term success with weight loss any more than VSG does.
I am glad you are figuring out what works for you - sometimes other points of view (even when not directly appropriate or relatable to your situation) can spark an idea in your mind that sets you off on finding something that IS helpful, so reading other's experiences/ideas/what works for them is not really a waste of time... That is the only reason I offer my views/opinions/experiences - not implying everything or anything I say will work directly for you.
I wish you the best of luck 5 -
These are very helpful and well written posts! Thanks so much for warning me. I am just a couple of weeks out from my sleeve surgery. But I have been on this weight loss merry go round for many years with intermittent success and regains. I think its important not to beat yourself up, its so easy to fall into that trap and then get depressed over this or that issue. It seems you have to write out your meal plans and food diaries for life to see what is really going into us with all the relevant information about the foods. I am wondering if returning to the support groups would also help get back on track, or maybe the 3 of you can buddy up on line. Tring to do it by yourself seems like a very lonely road to me. Big hugs and best of luck too.2
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I too am ashamed to say that after having lost 147 pounds following my VSG in 2011, here I sit nearly 5 years later having gained 50 pounds back. I did great until about year 2 then littke by little I started eating slider foods then I stopped exercising as much. Throw in there a less active job (gained 25 pounds in last year alone after changing jobs) and here I am. I started back in track today to get these 50 pounds off and would like to lose an additional 25 on top of that but I'd be happy with just the 50 to be gone again. And yes now it is just like before WLS with trying to lose. I know what to do, I just have to keep myself motivated to get it done.3
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TenshiDuck wrote: »Hi, all,
I figured I would post in case anyone else out there is lurking and too ashamed to post. Of all the surgeries, it seems like VSG has the lowest regain out there - just my general observation from looking across boards for all different kinds of bariatric options. In fact, that's one reason I chose the VSG. It seemed guaranteed to succeed.
Well... it hasn't. At least not for me. I know all the catchphrases - work the tool, it's not a magic solution, etc.
At one point, about a year after surgery, I was down about 100 pounds and kicking butt... around then, I began to stall. Stalling led to lost motivation. Lost motivation invited the return of bad habits. Bad habits brought the weight back. I have topped out at about 10 pounds below my heaviest recorded weight, and finally made the decision to try and get control of my life again.
However, as far as I am concerned, it's as if I am doing this weight loss thing without ever having had any type of surgery. The sensation of restriction is completely gone - the only time my body reminds me that most of my tummy was removed is when I eat just a little too fast and get an air bubble under a bite of food, which forces it back up and out in a most unfriendly manner.
I'm not necessarily looking for advice - I've read it all! - or condolences, or even "go get 'em!"s. I just wanted to put this out there so that, maybe, another VSGer who is facing the shame of regain knows that he or she is not alone.
Or perhaps I am alone?
Either way, I'm back on track and 'sweating for the wedding!' Hubby and I got married courthouse style in January of this year, but we want to have a ceremony/party with friends and family, now! My goal is to lose 100 pounds by September 2017.
Thanks for reading. We got this.
i think you should see a therapist weight loss is very mental too get to the root0 -
every post i see is the same you gained weight back because you went back to old habbiats if your not mentally ready you will fail
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I still have not reached my goal, although I am 14 months out from surgery. I have lost about 85 lbs, but still have nearly 100 to go. I was highly motivated when I was losing the required weight to "qualify" for surgery. I did pretty well when I was healing and stuck to the plan. Each week following surgery I was faithful to the small changes as I learned to eat again. 6 weeks after...when they called the diet Maintainence, I thought I had it made! I really wish that I had added foods over 6 months instead of 6 weeks. I am lacking the motivation to do what I thought would be easy. I just figured that my quantities would be less. I didn't realize how hard it would be to focus on high protein, low carb for a year or longer. Does anyone have help with this? Short of starting over...
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i was fat my whole life so the surgery i look at it as a 2nd life in my first life i look at all the foods that made me fat so in this 2nd life i elimniate all them and eat right it isnt easy but my new life is way better then my previous life so thats my motivation1
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I am glad to see this thread. I am 3 years out and have put almost 30 lbs back on after losing 120. No big mystery - I took my eye off the ball, starting adding snacks and alcohol back into my diet, and started eating when I'm not hungry. I've just started getting back on track - purged the house of all the crap and did a big shopping trip to stock up on 'good' stuff. This week has been okay but my son is away at camp so I've only had to think about myself.3
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Exactly what I am going through! I have to own that I went into this thinking VSG was the fix for me. I remember saying "I will NEVER gain this weight back!" I have every excuse mentioned in the post above and more. I have gained 78 of the 119 pounds that I lost. UGHHH!!! The truth is I can stop the regain right now, at this very moment! I can quit having my pity party and feeling sorry for myself because I failed. The truth is I can begin succeeding right now, at this very moment. The struggle is real, and I do think the therapy suggestion is a good one for me. Here's to getting back on track!4
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I've looked back at my diary (hand written because I didn't have access to MFP then) from my post opening sleeve experience. I had my sleeve on April 26, 2010. A year later I had already began regaining some of the 108 pounds I had lost! At the two year mark I was up a total of 80 pounds! The problem, for me, was that I returned to eating the same way I always had! Processed, high carb junk, that I rationalized as being okay because I couldn't eat much of it (so wrong!)! These foods only left me hungry, and unhealthy! Once I eliminated these foods, and began actually cooking real food, the weight has steadily come off, and it staying off! I'm down almost 160 pounds now (actually have plastic surgery coming up in two weeks!!)!! I know I would not be here if I had not chosen to change what I put in my mouth! It's a choice we all have to make! Best of luck in your plight, and how you choose to deal with it!10
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I feel like I could have written so many of the post I just read. While I hate what everyone has gone through with the weight regain, I am glad do see I am not alone with it. Trying to get back on track now and get back in control. I do believe I have read some inspiration and motivation in your post. Thank you all for being open and honest about your struggles and regains.3
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Thank you for your post! I enjoyed reading it along with all the comments. I am 4 years out and didn't eat consciously for the past year and am now deciding to get back to the basics again. I just recently attended the Obesity Help conference and the event greatly inspired me to try again as well. All the best to you & all out there.1
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I'm back on the program. After 2 1/2 years i'm gaining again. Creeping back, 20 lbs back, and I never lost all the weight with GS. I have not gotten under 200. Dr. told me I wouldn't. That was a negative thing to tell me. BUT, I'm back at logging my food and jumping back on the program. Met with nutritionist yesterday. I need to feel like I can do this. Going to focus on getting in my protein first, leaving the chips and crackers alone. I think the old calories in calories out may apply too. Though I have been very inactive with some knee issues. I think when some of those gained lbs come off that will help. Today I'm feeling like I can do this. I do feel restriction, so I need to listen to it. Agree with posts that it's easier to load up on the crackers and sweets. Sleeve will hold lots more of those calories. So today riding out hurricane conditions and logging food. 3
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You are NOT alone. And reading these posts have been very helpful for me so I appreciate you putting it out there!
11/22 will be my 3 year anniversary for gastric sleeve. Like most of you, the first year was awesome! I lost about... 95 the first year. Then stalled. Then I was exercising a lot, hurt my knee, got lazy, started eating things I shouldn't... Started to get motivated again, hurt my back... gained about 25 back. I have been on Phentermine the last few months and I am about 10 lbs away from my lowest weight since surgery. But I still need to lose about 80 lbs
It is CRAZY how easy it is to gain back. CRAZY.
Last November (2 year mark) I had a scope done. Surgeon told me my sleeve looked the same as it did at the 1 year mark -- slightly stretched but still plenty of restriction. Then proceeded to tell me that there is a high failure rate for sleeve patients. Then recommended maybe I do a Duo Duenal (SP?) Switch. Ugh. I don't want to do another surgery. So I am back at it. The scale is moving very slowly.4 -
This is a thread I wish I had read 7 months ago!! I actually have explored a revision (which would be the second for me... since I had a failed lap band). During the nutrition phase, something clicked in my brain and I pulled up my big girl panties and admitted that I really had never done what I needed to do to make the sleeve work! I ate like I used to, I felt no restriction and blamed the "damage that the band had done" on my failure. One month ago I left the nutritionist's office, mad that she questioned what I was doing (didn't she know I knew it all??). I cried for an hour and then decided to set off to prove her wrong til next appointment on Nov 1st!! I would show her!!!
I stopped drinking 30 min before/after eating. Chose bulky protein first (not shakes or yogurt), incorporated carbs (vegetables not cheezits) and added fruit. By doing this I would show her that I never felt full and still didn't drop the weight...... a month out I am down 16 pounds and actually never have felt hungry because I could actually feel satisfied.
Tail between legs time next week. Happy to go and admit that I was wrong!! Add me as friend if you ever feel in same boat on your journey.
Amy6 -
I'd like to add to all of this that there is no "cardinal rule" of WLS. Some people get full on solid protein, some people get full on shakes, some people have more restriction than others, restriction varies even with the type of food we eat, the list of how many things vary for each individual is endless. I'm three years out and things are still changing. I can eat a certain food for months then all of a sudden it doesn't agree with me. There are however some things that are pretty true across the board. You have to keep your head in the game. It's super easy start down a slippery slope, and yes I did slip a little bit, but I also checked myself and got back up and I am doing great now. Also, we signed up for this, we agreed to this, and we knew we have to make changes and yes, even sacrifices. From my experience, the people who have had less success post surgery are the people who didn't do what they were supposed to do, or understand that the changes we have to make are not temporary. I am continually making changes to what I eat, how I eat, how and when and how much I exercise. I feel like I am the poster child for trial and error. There are continually going to be changes and adjustments. This is life post surgery. I hate to sound like a b!tch, but I wish I could just shake people who don't get it. It's simple. Do what you are supposed to do, which includes changing your lifestyle permanently.7
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I haven't regained; am still slowly losing (3# this week; 10# since beginning of August), but have had a very long stall, due mostly to my love of a glass of wine in the evenings. !!!
My breakfast has remained unchanged since the start: a Pure Protein chocolate shake, sometimes with PB powder, chia seeds and 1/2 banana; other times just straight. I typically down a protein bar on my evening commute (Pure Protein or Quest) - altho I've proven to myself that these significantly slow my weight loss. Lunch is a good sized salad with some meat added to it; it takes a couple of hours to eat. Dinner is usually a stir fry with meat or tofu and a whole lot of veggies; I take a half cup scoop out of the wok for me, and serve it with rice or noodles for the kids. I sometimes will have 1/2 - 2/3 of a scrambled egg as a mid-morning snack, with a tsp of cheddar cheese, instead of meat on my salad. And Greek yogurt - I definitely do better on the days I remember to have one of those! Finally: fruit. Right now I'm eating a small apple every day. No soda, not once - and I was a diet coke addict.
I started dehydrating foods early in the summer, to reap the benefits from my vegetable garden. It's amazing how a small amount of dehydrated anything can fill up a sleeve. I especially love zucchini chips, and pineapple. I typically have almonds available, too.
I don't keep any processed food around, and don't buy it when we're out. Watch the movie, "Food, Inc." (try your local library) and you'll likely start eliminating processed food from your family's options, too!
I recently changed jobs and now have a sit/stand desk, plus I bought a cheap balance board to stand on. I try to stand an hour in the morning and another in the afternoon - it's definitely helped. My FitBit has been a wonderful motivator, too.
It's a lifelong commitment, and I'm still learning - but I still really believe I can work with my sleeve to live a longer, more healthy life. Certainly the choices I make are healthier: protein, veggies, fruit in that order. Always.
Good luck, Everyone!! Would love if some of the folks who posted in this thread months ago could come back and give us updates!
Edited to add:
I forgot WATER! I never go anywhere without my water bottle any more - can't believe how big a change that has made in my life!!1 -
I am almost 2 years out from my lowest and I'm up 10 and starting to panic. I've started logging food again. It has me realizing the days I think I've done well aren't the best days after all. I continue to swim 3-4 times a week, enabling me to continue exercise especially when something hurts and that must be helping.
I just know if I went back to the Dr. the first thing they'd say is start logging food again. So, yes, although the restriction is still there with the right foods, I'm back on MFP.1 -
I'm down FOUR POUNDS since I started logging at MFP again, three weeks ago. I'd been stalled for MONTHS. YAY!!4
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To me it sounds like you need to return to your clinic for support...and don't wait to do it. If your clinic cannot support you with these issues you need to find a better clinic. I would say as soon as you get 20 pounds past your goal weight established before surgery take it as a signal that you need professional help. This would include an appointment with your bariatric surgeon, your dietician and your team's psychologist. They want you to succeed. Thanks for posting about this subject. But remember, the results of this process are UP TO YOU. Sorry if that sounds harsh.2
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