Bounceback After Goal with VSG? Your Opinion?

It appears that many successful maintainers recommend dropping weight about 10 pounds below goal to save room for bounceback.  It appears that this would be weight regain on the same number of calories that the individual was previously maintaining on.  Now most of the people recommending this seem to have had RNY.  So is this unique to RNY when the malabsorbtion becomes less effective?  There was one post I found where someone said this didn't make sense with VSG - that we should get to goal and then figure out the maintenance calories (no need to drop lower). This makes sense to me, but what is your opinion?

Bounce back isn't an absolute going to happen thing. Normally what happens is you start adding back your treats after you reach your goal. And then foods you missed, and then let's see if my pouch will like this... Then you "bounce" 10-20 pounds. And hopefully, you catch it there and go back to the basics, limit calories, carbs, and eat protein first to take it back off. 

I had RNY. But there really is zero difference between the two surgeries as far as goal weight, bounceback, or regain.

I reached my goal weight 3 years ago, and had zero bounceback. But I weigh all my food, and log every bite. I always know exactly where I am on calories, so I never battled regain.

No one, NO ONE hits a low weight and then gains 10, 20, or 30 pounds eating exactly the same calories. No one. People start gaining because they reach goal and start eating more. Portions creep up a tiny bit for each meal. There's an extra bite of this, an extra snack. 100 calories a day is ten pounds in a year. And 100 calories is a nothing amount of food. Three pats of butter. A half a tablespoon of peanut butter. One slice of toast. It really is that easy.

So you can reach goal and maintain there, if you are really strict, without regain. Most people are not strict. They have focused on eating and weight for so long, they wander a little off plan. They stop exercising as much. It's incredibly easy to do. And if someone claims they are gaining without eating more, they are fooling themselves. I'll bet money they don't use a food scale to weigh their portions.

Everyone can avoid regain. But human nature being what it is, the vast majority do not. So the best advice is, lose an extra 10, 20 or 30, depending on how high your goal was. I almost guarantee you'll be glad you had that extra cushion.

By the way, my doc's goal was 250. My own was 225. I've been very happy at 190-195 for over 3 years now.

This is just what I needed to hear. I've heard so much about bounce back that I thought Maybe it would just happen no matter what. I didn't like the idea of it being out of my control. And I've been undecided as to how low my weight should go. Thank You

Theoretically, I suppose it might make sense for some (but certainly not all) RNY patients when malabsorption lessens, but for VSG I think the only way to gain is to eat more calories. In my mind, that's called regain.

Quite honestly, using the term 'bounceback' to describe weight gain implies something biological and unavoidable has happened or will happen in the future - you know, like an elastic band contracting or a boomerang coming back. Same largely goes for lessening exercise, which is another reason people give for weighing more. Might be true for athletes, but not for the former obese. We regain when we eat more. Or at least not true from what I've seen here and in my own life.  

But with that said, I'm a firm believer in taking your weight as low as possible for as long as possible because us former fatties can and often do eat more as we get further out from surgery, especially if we do not continue to weigh and measure. We like eat!

I also think it's a good idea to continue weighing and measuring for at least a year into maintenance so that you have a firm handle on what's normal food intake. Personally I don't weigh and measure at four years out (kudos to Grim and others who do), so I use my scale as a guide. If my weight creeps up, I know I'm eating more. Then I cut bac****il I lose weight. Plain and simple. 

And similar to Grim, my surgeon did not set a goal but I wanted to reach 135. I revised that to 125 before starting maintenance, but dropped down to 115 while adding back calories. I continue to maintain at or below 115. 

I went lower with my target 7 pounds below goal. Hitting goal triggers dropping cals to lose back down. I have flirted with goal weight several times over the last 4 years. Went over once, but a hernia and tons of acid had a large part of that. Currently 15 under, and recently decided to make my new target weight 13 under. 

Here's the way I see it.  Bounce back is NOT inevitable, however figuring out maintenance can be tricky.  So it makes sense to me to lose a bit more than goal, just so you have a few pounds to play around with while figuring out maintenance.  

At 30 months out, I thought I was cured of obesity.  I had lost to eight pounds under goal and maintained effortlessly for about a year.  I put the scale away and only weighed at the doctor's office.  I did not make any changes to my eating, but was not tracking at all.  I had expected bounceback at 18 months and had not had any happen.

I laughed about the first three pounds and then a month later about another three.  The next month I started to worry and when I had gained 14 pounds I got the scale out and went back to Weigh****chers.  It has been a struggle since.  I weigh daily and track with My Fitness Pal.

I believe that loss of malabsorption did make a difference to me, but know it is my job to keep my calories at a level where I do not gain.

Thank you all!  This is very helpful.  I am under goal a bit and I haven't raised my average calories much because I'm okay with the amount I'm eating right now (average around 900).  It sounds like I should stay where I am with calories for now.  

White Dove, I am weighing daily for the first time on my life.  The scale always scared me until now, so this is a new experience.  Last week I went through my first time of going up almost a pound, then dropping down under where I started.  Getting used to and understanding the "ups" is going to take time, but I did feel somewhat okay because I am tracking calories and knew I hadn't been crazy.  I REALLY want to get it right this time, so I'm listening to everyone and learning!

My body followed that...I was losing..wanted to stop but everyone adviced me to get lower.  I did ..and I had a hard time to stop losing. I got too thin, my body fat % dropped and I neither felt good or looked healthy. 

The feeling bad was an issue. I was weak and hadvproblem maintaining my BS... So I gave myself permission to eat anything I could tolerate to gain some weight... But then I could not stop gaining... 

I wanted to gain 10 lbs But ended up with 20-25 lbs gain.  Then it was hard to relose it. 

In retrospect - I wished I stoped losing prvrather try to learn to maintain when I reached the weight and size that was good for me. 

Some people lose and maintain. Sometimes losing too much may give you a false sense of security " I can allow some weight gain - so I can eat some foods off the regular menu..."

I think when we start being ok withnseeingnthe scale going up...we may start ignoring it... That's how I regained 25 and not my planned 10...

A few months ago I got back to my original goal...and since in was in a losing mode..part of me wanted to keep losing...but the adult part of me decided to maintain. I picked a range 5 lbs..my body weight can fluctuate within 5 lbs in every 2-3 days. Then there is the weekly average that I try to maintain within 2 lbs.  And when I see the average weight creeping up - I adjust my eating.