Contemplating surgery

I'm new to this forum, and have so many questions. I'm 57 year old and woman and am 80 lbs overweight. I work out a total of 3x a week, and with a personal trainer once per week. I have proven many times that I can lose weight, losing 60-80 lbs when I can stay on track. My problem is that I can't seem to maintain the diligence that is required to maintain the weight loss. So I slack off and before I know it, all the weight is back on. My question is, if I have weight loss surgery, will it help me keep the weight off? I can't seem to maintain those good eating habits. Will having a small pouch with VSG surgery help me?

As I am sure many others will chime in, VSG does not guarantee permanent success. The doctors fix our stomachs but not our brains. There are plenty of ways to sabotage the surgery and limit our success.

What VSG has given me is hope. At my point in the process, it is nearly impossible to eat more than about 3 oz of protein without feeling terrible. I dont tend to feel hungry between meals anymore. The rules are fairly simple: protein first, low carbs (for me), lots of water, exercise. But, I still track everything, and certainly cannot eat whatever I want. It feels very much like a diet, but I am finding it fairly straightforward and manageable.

You need to look inside yourself and see if you are really ready to commit to such a big step. I have found my therapist an invaluable ally in this process to help me figure out what's eating me - something, I think, that will be critical to my long term success this time.

I would recommend you learn all you can. Go to physicians seminars. Read everything you can from both successful people and those who have failed. *Understand* why people have failed to arm yourself with the tasks you need to perform to be successful. Gather a support network of caring friends, family, and support professionals. Do these things and you have a good potential for success.

Good luck on your journey.

Laurie

Ps, we sleevers don't have pouches - that is a result of RNY. We have fully functioning, albeit much smaller, sleeve-shaped stomachs.

Thank you Laurie. I will be following your advice!

Hi,

I had the same problem with dieting and gaining the weight back.  I could lose weight as long as I was diligent on my diet, but once I slipped, I'd gain the weight back SO FAST.  I was afraid of the surgery, and it felt so drastic, so I waited on committing to the surgery  until I was 64 and having serious limitations in my mobility and quality of life.

I am so happy I did it.  I've lost 110 pounds in 6 months (50 pounds pre-surgery and 60 post)  I find that I am no longer driven to eat.  Eating is more of a chore now than a drive.  I enjoy eating but I don't feel driven by a desire to eat.  It is such a relief to be free of those drives. 

The process is not easy.  I still need to be diligent about my food choices, or I could easily defeat myself. The process of getting used to my new tummy was "not fun" but not terrible.  Sometimes it is frustrating to only be able to eat such a tiny amount.  But all and all, it is so wonderful to have my health and mobility back.  I'd do it again in a second.

Best of luck on your weight loss journey. 

Carol

I'm only a month out, but that overwhelming desire for food just isn't there anymore.  I still have head hunger sometimes, and just want to sit and eat a cheeseburger and fries (aka pity party), but that passes and I'm once again quite happy with the food and the amounts that I can eat.  I don't know how slow or quickly I'll lose the weight, but what I DO know is that I won't gain it all back next week....something that was a fear in all of my pre-surgical attempts at losing weight, and was what I often did.  I feel calm about it for the first time ever.  So yes, it will help you keep the weight off if you follow your plan and eat right.  Not many people, thin or heavy, can eat burgers, fries, shakes, etc...on a regular basis and keep their weight at a good place.  It doesn't mean you can never have a burger again, just not as a regular part of your diet.  If you look at this surgery and what it can do for you realistically, you can achieve your desired results if you do the work.

Jane

My history is just like yours. Weight up and down and up again. This is the first time I have felt confident enough to get rid of my fat clothes. I have just reached the smallest size in my closet and can hardly wait to donate them. I had surgery at age 61 and wish I had done it earlier. If I had done it sooner I may not have developed high blood pressure. I now require half the meds I was originally taking. Good luck with your own personal decision making process. Everyone has their own story, but you need to be happy with your decision.

I'm 55yo.  When I was 30-31yo I lost 113.5 pounds through diet and exercise and then gained it all back plus over 50 more.  There were much smaller losses and regains over the years. 

To paraphrase a previous poster, this very small stomach of mine, which had the major hunger hormone-producing part removed, gives me HOPE that this time I can sustain my weight loss.  My portions are much, much smaller, and my food choices are limited because my sleeve can only tolerate so much at one time and some foods not at all.

HOPE does not equal A GUARANTEE.

****HOWEVER****  one can regain weight even after a VSG or RNY.  I don't know stats on the DS.  If one eats the correct types of food in the correct portions, the results can be life-changing.  If one decides to start eating once again the foods which made them obese in the first place, especially foods which triggered overeating, it's risky behavior which might make the whole plan collapse for them. 

Exercise is another important factor in losing the excess weight and in maintaining that loss.

For me personally, since I haven't elected to reintroduce my trouble foods into my eating plan, my results have been terrific.  I purposely do my part to keep the ball rolling that my surgeon started through his good work. 

I don't dream of eating pizza again or pasta or any of my old troublemakers.  I don't look for allegedly weight loss-friendly substitutes for those foods, either.  It is completely not worth it to me.  That's just how I roll. 

Then again, I don't dream of being 357 pounds again and back on track toward a slow but sure early death, either. 

Food has become fuel to me, and I can't begin to describe what an enormous blessing that is.  I am beginning to experience a life freed from the prison of my excess weight which I built around myself, every stinkin' pound.

Each of us has to make this choice.  If one is going to have +/- 85% of one's stomach surgically removed, one might as well follow through and use the sleeve as the excellent tool it was intended to be.

Absolutely do your research.  Go to seminars, go to bariatric surgery support group meetings, use the search function on these forums.  There are many forums here which could be of interest to you as you build your knowledge.

Many thanks to all of you *****sponded to my post. Your candor and willingness to share your personal experiences is most appreciated. I will take it all to heart. Good luck on all your journeys!