Better than bypass?

First, I want to say that NO, this post is not about the Sleeve being better than the RNY procedure. I think a decision on which procedure to have is a personal one and everybody should make that decision for themselves.

HOWEVER, I will say that a lot of people come to the boards to make a "Help me decide between sleeve and RNY" post. It seems like a lot of pre-opers are concerned that they will not be able to lose as much weight with the VSG as the RNY.

Well.... I had to drive 90 minutes to the hospital where I had surgery today for a 3 month follow up with the surgeon's office. I met with his PA and he was floored by the amount of weight that I've lost since surgery - which is close to 65-70 lbs since May 13th (depending on which records you look at!). At one point he said "You are losing even more weight than our bypass patients! What have you been doing???"

I think it goes to show that you can do amazing things with the sleeve if you find a program that works for you and really stick to it. All surgeries are a tool! I personally choose to go the 650-750 calorie, less than 20g of carbs route. I have chosen to go with this plan rather than the more liberal plan that my surgeon's office gives to post-op patients. If this plan weren't working for me in the long term (no loss for longer than just a typical stall), then I would change something. So far, so good!

To be honest, the more people that are surprised by my loss and the more support group meetings that I go to and see very few "vets" there and none that have hit goal, let alone maintained.... it makes me believe that my surgeon/weight management clinic's office has very low expectations. I feel very fortunate to have done a lot of research on my own and to have found this site. Hearing the perspectives/plans of all of the successful people on these boards helped me to decide what might work for me. If I had just gone with what my surgeon's office suggested and with their expectations... who knows where I would be today!

ok... long rambling post - OVER! :)

Nikke, I always enjoy hearing your perspective and I also enjoy your updates!  You are such an inspiration!  Congrats!!!

Thank you!!

Would you mind posting a day or two of what you eat?  I've not had surgery; very curious as to what you eat/drink.  Thanks so much.

Sure, no problem. There is not much excitement or variety at all in what I eat. I've always been the kind of person that has eaten the same thing everyday... and then maybe every couple of months I find something new. It works for me, so I just keep at it!

Breakfast @ 7AM - 3 small Jimmy Dean turkey sausage links w/ shredded reduced fat cheese 

AM Snack @ 9:30 - 1 oz beef jerkey

Lunch @ 12 - 2.25 oz of chicken with shredded reduced fat cheese

Afternoon Snack @ 3 - 1 oz beef jerkey

Dinner @ 6 - 1/2 butterball turkey burger w/ shredded reduced fat cheese

PM Snack (maybe) - Dannon Light and Fit Greek Yogurt

This is what I had yesterday and what I have on most days. Sometimes I'm lower on calories (650ish), depending on the cheese that I buy. Although I always buy reduced fat, sometimes the different cheese will have more/less calories. It works out to:

Calories - 723

Protein - 99.3g

Carbs - 19.7g

Fat - 28.2g

In between all of that I have gotten up to drinking 100 oz of water a day. Ugh, it's a lot of "work" lol

I totally agree with you!  I went for my follow up at my centre and the dietician said i was way above average for their patients.  They told me 1% of their patients get to a normal BMI and they are happy with 30% EWL.....i know i would never be happy with that!

I feel so fortunate to have found this forum and the support and wisdom of the people on here or I am confident I would not have done as well as I have.

Congrats on your success so far!

Thanks! Congrats on your success as well!! 

Honestly, I think it's a shame to be happy with 30% EWL. The VSG (and any of these surgeries) have so much potential. 30% EWL for me in the beginning would have still left me well into the morbidly obese category!!

First, Congratulations, YOU are making this happen.  Second, it is stories and results like yours that keep me coming back even when I just want to give up and move on already.  Third, I hear this on a weekly basis, both here (PMs) and in real life.  I know that this program works because of many things, not least of it is the experience of people just like you and what their own doctors and nurses are telling them.  Even the doctors that recommend a very different approach have a hard time when confronted with  results such as yours.  I am glad you found this site too and I am glad that there were people here who could give you a choice.

On another note, I hope you will believe me when I tell you that you will stall.  It happens to almost all of us.  When this will happen, the very worst thing that you can do is increase calories.  Just push through it, keep your protein up and your calories down.  Keep drinking water.  Don't let your mind play tricks on you and don't switch things around when the going gets tough "just to see what will happen".  What will happen, is you will break your stall early, but lose less weight in the long run.  Just stay the course right until you post your GOAL post so we can all cheer you.  I know you can do this.

Oh and I forgot to mention, you are welcome to give me advice back anytime you like.  You are a ROCK STAR!!!!

Thank you for the kind words. I don't blame you for wanting to give up and move on! I know that I've gotten a lot of great information from you and from others and I appreciate that you didn't give up and move on before I got here lol! I've gotten a lot of great information and inspiration from many different people. I realized during the supervised diet that my body responded really well to watching carb intake and eating a lot of protein... so it only made sense to continue it on a smaller scale post-op!

YES... I have stalled and know I will again. Well, what I consider to be a stall is at least 7 days of no change. I've had it happen 3 times since surgery, but that should show people that even with 3 (at least 7 day) stalls in 15 weeks, the losses can still be great! They can be super frustrating... I actually just had one last week. But, I kept doing what I was doing before and the only thing I increased was water. After 7 or 8 days or no change... I've lost a freakish amount of weight in the past 8 days (9.4 lbs). I don't think I lost that much on liquids. Just goes to show that they do break eventually!

No worries... I'm not much of an experimenter... even with food. I eat the same thing day in and day out. It's pretty boring to most people but I've always eaten the same thing over and over! If it's not broke, I'm not going to fix it... too lazy lol!

Thanks again! I wouldn't be a rock star without so much encouragement from all of your over the past 9 months!

I eat pretty much the same things every day as well, with the exception of adding in protein shakes on my meatless Fridays or on days when I'm running a lot.  (Today I had to plan for two shakes because of my schedule, but it might end up being three.)  I don't think it's laziness!  As you say, it ain't broke, so ...

EDITING because I forgot to add how proud of you I continue to be!  You are indeed a rock star and an inspiration.