VSG and Weight Regain 3

8 Things I’ve Learned After VSG & Weight Regain

September 27, 2017

I had the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG) surgery three years ago. Since that time, I have learned so many valuable things about living life after VSG and weight regain.

8 Things I've Learned After VSG and Weight Regain

4 Things I've Learned From My VSG

These 4 things I learned made me become a successful a weight loss surgery patient. It taught me to think differently from the obese me to now the thinner me.  I felt so much better now from where I was over three years ago.

Always eat slowly and chew-chew-chew your food

Before having surgery, I would scarf down my food and not even chew what I was eating. A very important thing that I've learned living with the VSG is that I have to eat very slowly. When you don't eat slowly, the food will get stuck and you will feel very uncomfortable and may even get sick.  You also have to make sure you chew your foods thoroughly so that the food will go down without any pain.

When having surgery, make sure you take your vitamins on a daily basis

I was someone who never took vitamins when growing up. Now, since my surgery, I make sure I take vitamins on a daily basis. If you do not take vitamins every day, you can start having medical problems.  Please make sure you take them every day. They aren't a suggestion but a necessity.

Always get your protein in

Getting your protein from your meals will make you feel full longer and will make you lose your weight or keep you maintained once hitting your goal. I usually eat between 80-95 grams of protein on a daily basis.  Always follow the rules though from your bariatric surgeon.

Try to get in at least 2-3 exercise days in a week

While being obese, I was never able to walk a long time without having issues with my back. For successful weight loss, try to exercise or walk at least 2-3 times a week.  (Also make sure you check with your doctor before starting any exercise regime.)  Exercising or walking will make your heart healthier and will be successful in your weight loss journey.
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4 Things I've Learned From Weight Regain

The awareness of how to avoid weight regain is important. Once you get to a goal weight you're comfortable with, you have to start a maintenance plan so you don't experience a weight regain. These are the things I've learned since I started to have a 32 pound regain.

Always track your food and exercise every day

Once I felt comfortable at my goal weight, I stopped tracking and returned to eating the foods I shouldn’t have. As a result of not tracking, it was one of the reasons I started regaining. Since seeing my doctor, I'm back to tracking every day again and doing a lot more walking. I track everything I put in my mouth along with my walking routine. ALWAYS track even if you are not eating the right foods. It will give you a sense of how you are eating and exercising.

Stay within your protein goals

Once I felt comfortable with my weight loss, I didn't focus on eating protein like I was. Protein provides satiety. Lowering your protein intake is one of the reasons you can regain. You aren't as full so you eat. When I regained 32 pounds, I returned to focusing on reaching my goals of how much protein I ate daily. I am back to having between 85-95 grams of protein in my diet again.

Losing weight after regain is so hard to lose once you get to a certain point

The 32 pound regain came on very quickly. It took me about six months to realize what I was doing to my body with this regain. When I saw my doctor, she wanted me to lose at least 10 pounds in a month. I started to watch my protein and getting in my walking again while tracking everything. By returning to my healthy habits, I was on track every day. However, when I weighed myself, I didn't see any difference in my weight at all. At all, nothing. It was very upsetting and frustrating. Eventually, I did lose but it was at a much slower rate than it was originally when I lost weight after VSG.

Never throw out your clothes that are too big or too small for you

I thought to myself that I would have to get back into higher size clothes again. When I started to have the regain and tried on my clothes, I just put them in a corner of the closet.  Once you lose the regain you will be able to try them on again and you will not have to buy more clothes.  It’s always a great feeling when you try on the clothes in your closet and they fit again.  So never throw out any clothes you are not able to fit into again.
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Since I gained 32 pounds back, I had to retrain my brain to watch and track everything I put in my mouth. Since I started tracking, getting in my protein, and walking, I have lost about 15 pounds of my highest regain. I feel so much better. It has taken me a lot longer to lose this weight than my first year of weight loss surgery.

If you see that you are starting to have some regain, please start seeing what you are doing and change it for the better, track everything and you will see results.

It is such a great feeling when you try on clothes that were too small for you when you regained some of your weight and you then lose it and they fit you perfectly. This is what I did and I have seen the results.  I feel great.  I still have a little way to go but I now know what to do to lose it and keep it off completely.

dennis

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dennis Veneigh had Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG) surgery on Nov 12, 2014. Since then he has lost over 175 pounds. He attended the 2016 ObesityHelp National Conference at Anaheim California. Dennis loves his life as a successful VSG post-op and is dedicated to paying it forward for other weight loss surgery patients.

Read more articles from Dennis!