Why do you say it is harder further out?

Hello fellow sleeves! 

I am a newbie revision from the band to sleeve on 1/6/14.  I have been reading and reading a lot of posts, blogs, and searching websites.  And I have noticed a lot of sleeve's post it gets harder the further you are out from surgery.  I don't understand.  Maybe I am just slow....but how is it harder?  Our stomach is still the same size, right?  I mean it does not get bigger, does it?

  Please tell me what is it that makes you say it gets harder down the line.  I am truly curious.

Thanks

I'm a band to sleeve revision too.  I can't tell you the exact science behind it all but the farther out you are, usually you become more lax with the rules and usually you can eat more in a sitting.  The whole point is to have the will power to not eat until you're full and just be satiated but like I said, it does become harder to control yourself.  You can imbibe more...not saying that you SHOULD but that is usually what happens to a lot of sleevers.  You have to make the most out of your first year and train yourself to not get lax on the rules.

I've been lax on the rules and I had a small regain.  I know that personally I thought "all in moderation" was okay but it really isn't if I want to continue to lose.  It is harder now because I wasn't so strict with myself so I'm sort of trying to teach myself these new habits without the added benefit of really good restriction and less hunger like I had immediately post-op.  What I can say, is that the sleeve makes it a lot easier to jump back on the horse and get going.

Don't worry too much about it...just worry about now and making those positive lifestyle changes so you won't have to worry about it later.

Ok!  I get it now.  We just can't get lazy!  LOL  I know I lost more weight getting my lapband out over 3 weeks ago vs getting it put in over 6 years ago!  :)

Thanks!!

Your capacity does increase over time. For example, when I was initially cleared for dense protein post op, I was able to eat 1 oz or less at a time. a couple of months later, I was able to eat 2 oz at a time. Currently, at 7 months out, I can eat 3 oz at a time. This is due to swelling going down, scar tissue loosening up, and general healing. I do not over eat, so I know that I am not stretching my sleeve. The majority of the time, I do what is commonly referred to around here as "under eating my sleeve." I eat until I am just starting to get full, then stop. I do not stuff myself, but I am still able to eat more over time... It's just part of the process. The tricky part is keeping calories low while sleeve capacity increases. Even though I am making good food choices, the fact that I can eat more of it at a time means more calories per day.

Now here's the REALLY tricky part... Once we use the "honeymoon phase" of the first 6-7 months while sleeve capacity (referred to as "restriction") is at its absolute best, many of us get close to our goal weights. NOW, we have 2 things working against us. The ability to eat more, thus causing the scale to move slower, and the fact that the last 20-30 pounds are the hardest to get off.

It's not that we can suddenly go back to eating like we did post op. It's that we have to walk the delicate line of not overeating our sleeves and thus stretching them out to an even bigger capacity.

The GOOD news, however, is that the portion of our stomachs that are used to create the sleeve is the non-stretchy part. The stretchy part, or the fundus, was removed. So what we have going for us is that it is really difficult to stretch the sleeve post op. Don't get me wrong, it can be done with repeated eating to over-fullness, but it is very uncomfortable.

I hope that helps :)

ETA: Rereading my response and seeing Frisco's response below, I feel the need to clarify that I'm NOT AT ALL saying that the sleeve cannot stretch out. What I was saying is that the new anatomy of the sleeve works in our favor... IF we treat it well.

Chrissy W, that was great! 

This info is priceless for me.  I went into the Lapband with my eyes closed thinking it was magical....NOT the case!  I want to love my sleeve and use it to my full advantage and not push the envelope.  This tool is awesome and I just want to know how to keep it nice and safe! 

Chrissy, thanks for your post. I knew our nerves were severed when Dr cut down the stomach, but I didn't know the portion left with us was non stretchy.  I don't want to overheat, of course, but it is a comfort to know stretching what we have left is that easy to do. 

Oh, it can stretch. Just not as easily as the fundus could. Always take care NOT to eat to over-full!

I am still pretty new myself, but there are a number of reasons that it gets harder further out. Here are some things that come to mind right off the bat:

• While your stomach basically stays the same size capacity does increase from the amount you are able to eat right away. I can still eat very little, but it is more since the first month out since the swelling from the surgery has gone away. I imagine it will increase a bit more over the next year or so, too. I know other WLS folks capacity often tops off around a cup (give or take a bit) after a couple years or something like that. All people are different, though, so it depends. One of my OH friends, for example, who had surgery two weeks after I had surgery can eat 3-4 oz of dense protein. I typically can only still eat 1.5 oz, sometimes 2 oz.
• Another thing that may fall under the category of being "harder" is that as you lose weight it comes off slower the farther you are out from surgery. Mainly because our BMR goes down because we don't have as much weight on our bodies, so our calories deficits get smaller.

I'm sure there are other reasons, but there two things come to mind.

Thank you LosingSarah!

Hello,

I am 2.5 years out and my capacity has increased from 6 months to the next.  I can eat about 4 ounces of dense protein.  The further out we get and like me, I did hit a maintenance point and started to bring back bad carbs into my diet.  Those carbs slide right thru our sleeve.  I know someone who has a sleeve who was able to eat a BK Whopper with medium fries at 3 years out, no lie!  Apparently some VSGers can eat that much.  I'd be afraid I'd bust a gut!!!

Some sleeves are made smaller/bigger than others too. 

I'm battling a regain and for me, it was as simple as this.  Grazing can cause serious weight gain.  And when we start to eat foods we really should be avoiding then it's a double whammy for sure ... happy hour, ****tails, appetizers, etc ... stuff like that. 

This is why it's important to not lose sight of the big picture.  This is a lifestyle change ... forever.  Scary word for me but it's true.  We cannot go back to our old eating habits ... WLS is a tool that we have to use wisely and even more so as time passes.

There are a lot of successful people who lose all there excess weight and keep it off but most of them really have to work at it & be on top of their game.  So this is why I know that long term success is attainable but we have to work at it.