Is it difficult to keep the weight off with the sleeve?

I know folks can lose a lot of weight with the sleeve but is it difficult to keep off once you have lost it?  I have heard that some folks that are out several years have to eat very little calories and work out daily to maintain. What has been your experience and how far out are you? Also, some folks have said they made life changes after their surgery such as watching fat content, calories and working out often. I'm curious as to how folks are able to do that post surgery when they weren't able to do it pre-surgery. What is it about having the sleeve that enables one to be more successful watching cals and fat and exercise when one had difficult prior.

I'd have to say that it's because of a decrease in overall hunger.  Some people have no hunger after the surgery at all.  Some have hunger, like I do, but it's is SO much less intense than it was before.  I don't feel driven to eat like I used to.  I've also had counseling.  Many people who have been successful keeping the weight off have worked on their heads probably even more than their diets.  Once you start losing weight, you're able to do so much more physically, and you have so much more energy that exercise is no longer the horror that it was before.  It feels good to eat less.  It feels good to be getting smaller.  It feels good to exercise and get fit.  It's a snowball effect.

Do you still have to watch your diet?  Of course you do.  So does every other "normal" weight person out there (well, almost every one, lol).  Calorie requirements vary from person to person at maintenance depending on their metabolism, their physical activity, etc...

I hope this helps,

Jane

I had my VSG 6 years ago and addressed some of your questions in my post below about VSG vs. DS. But the short answer is, yes, I've made life changes, and you will need to as well, regardless of which surgery you choose. I don't count calories anymore, but I think it's about 1800 or so. I don't worry about fat. I work out 5x a week but not hard core--it's for my health and to strengthen my bones.

Your question about how I can do this now and couldn't before surgery is a good one. Some of it IS making that decision to be healthier. It's habit for me now to reach for protein first, then veggies. But, believe me, there is nothing that I don't eat on occasion. It does help hugely that our stomachs are permanently small. 3 oz of protein and a few bites of veg still fills me comfortably. Plus I am not as hungry as I used to be. I have never been able to maintain this long, so the surgery DOES help.

Lizanne

I second every single word from Lizanne's answer.  Every word is true for me as well.  I am not really completely sure what all the reasons are that I can do this now and before the sleeve, but not having gnawing hunger and having a smaller capacity is a huge game changer.  These changes in turn have allowed me to work on getting my habits and thought process about food straightened out.  I eat about 1500 calories a day, sometimes more, sometimes less.  I am only 5"1" and weigh 105 lbs., so this amount of calories is about right for someone my height and weight with or without the VSG. I do work out now, about five days a week, but I maintained my weight when I didn't work out too.  I work out moderately, nothing crazy, never more than an hour at a time.  I do it more for my health and bones and muscle tone than weight loss.  Sure, there are many people that regain but there are plenty of people that do not, if you seek them out, you can see what most of them have in common.  You will find that most of us stay motivated and engaged in our maintenance.  Most of us do not just "live our lives and forget about it", we work at it every single day.  This is true for my skinny friends who have never had surgery too.  In order to keep your weight loss in this society, you have to work at it no matter what operation you choose.

I honestly think the hunger reduction and the small capacity, as Elina said, are what makes it much easier for me to maintain. And somehow, I can eat around 1800 calories a day and not gain an ounce. I am not really sure how that happened to be honest because I "THOUGHT" my metabolism was more sluggish and I'd be stuck eating 1000-1200 calories a day to maintain. Maybe that's because in the past I have maintained on 1000 cals a day. Did the VSG reset my metabolism? Part of me thinks so but I'm no doctor or metabolic expert by any means. THANK GOD that's NOT the case and I can eat more than only 1000 cals. I also exercise 3-4 days a week for about 45 minutes moderate exercise. I'm 5'4" and weigh between 120-124 lbs on any given day. That is my "weight range". But I've only been maintaining a year so I'm not an expert at all. I just know in the past, when I lost a bunch of weight, it was really hard to maintain because I felt very hungry alllll the time. It was torture. I would finally give up after resisting as long as I could.  I am not anywhere near as hungry as I was before surgery. I also eat full fat/low carb/high protein but I will admit I don't eat much red meat at all because I'm not a huge fan. I prefer chicken or shrimp by a long shot.I eat full fat cheese, mayo, and regular butter and eggs. I just don't particularly care for red meat but I do occasionally eat hamburger patties when I want something different. I do eat complex carbs. I don't eat much sugar or simple carbs though, but I do sometimes. I was diabetic when I was sleeved and I just know that simple carbs and sugar aren't good for my body. 

I've had this same nagging question as I sit here in my pre-op ponderings.  A relative asked me that very thing when I informed them of my decision...all I could say was that I WASN'T 100% sure it would be this different this time around- I mean, it IS possible I will screw up and be one of the many that regains.  But I hope this surgery will level the playing field a bit so I have a much better chance of successfully getting and keeping it off.  And I hope to use my fear of failure in a healthy way to stay focused and motivated- to always be cognisant that it can happen to ME, too, despite having this great tool at my disposal. 

I am nearly 2 years out and work at this every day but as others have stated having a much smaller stomach and huge decrease in appetite have changed my life. If I eat badly for a few days I will gain weight. I am not super human, I had a baritric procedure. So I get my butt in gear, clean up my eating and the weight comes off soon because I have never let it get to a scary amount.

You will hear this a lot: I had surgery on my stomach, not my brain. My head has to be 100% in the game for this to work. Not have the nagging appetite I used to have makes a world of difference. For example, this afternoon i thought it would be nice to have "a" french fry (my coworker was eating them) and then I thought "Nah" who cares. Same with all the leftover Halloween candy everyone brought in today. Same "Nah, who cares". Before surgery I would have never been able to do that.

Losing weight was the easy part for me. I couldnt/didnt do it before surgery...because of the volume of weight I had to lose. Losing 200 lbs seemed impossible. I made a big change in my diet (high protein and low carb) and saw success. Once I lost the first 100..I knew the next 100 was possible if I followed a few simple rules. I have been at my goal weight (middle of my bmi) for 8 or 9 months. I stay there only by still weighing/measuring my food. I didnt get to be 200 lbs overweight by being hungry. I know that for the rest of my life I will have to make good food decisions. For me it is a bit like a "diet"... I will have to think about what I eat and be aware of what I am eating for the rest of my life. Let me just tell you it is much easier after surgery. I made the best decison having vsg and have never had a regret.

What makes is easier after the surgery?  What is it that enables you to be able to "diet" when it was difficult prior to surgery? I'm trying to pin point this because as someone that has not had surgery I can't relate because if I was able to diet or manage my food I wouldn't be 300lbs. I know there is something on the other side of this surgery that helps some keep the weight off and others not.

Your stomach produces a hormone called ghrelin, which causes hunger.  When they remove part of your stomach, your ghrelin production decreases, so you don't get as hungry.  Some people don't get hungry at all, some get a little hungry.  Also, when you are hungry, because your stomach is so much smaller, it takes much less food to fill you up.  As a result, you are able to eat much less without feeling hungry all the time.

You still have to monitor your food because with such a small volume if you don't you could become malnourished.  Also, some foods travel through the stomach faster.  People call them sliders. If you choose to eat sliders, like ice cream or liquid calories, you will get hungry much more quickly after eating, and eat again more often, reducing your weight loss.

If you look at the diets of people *****gain versus those who don't, the people who lose the most and keep it off eat small portions, starting with dense protein and then low carb veggies if they have room.  They measure out how much to eat because they don't want to overeat and stretch out their new stomachs.  They don't drink with meals because it causes the food to travel through the stomach faster, so you will be hungry sooner. They don't consume liquid calories.