Recent Posts
I'm 12ish years post sleeve as well and looking for a reset. I hope you get lots of replies!
(VSG - 10/20/2011)
HT: 5'9
Age: 28
Sounds like an option! I appreciate your feedback! 
It is not cheap but Weigh****chers has a great plan and they know what it takes to lose weight. They do have an online program. It took me several years to lose about 30 pounds and to learn their healthy new approach to food. Start by reading their book, The Shift. It will change everything you think you know about weight loss.
Real life begins where your comfort zone ends
My sleeve was 17 yrs ago. Once again, I want to get back on track with healthier eating. Is there a particular website, or app where I can easily remember or relearn how much of what types of foods and drinks to take in and maybe a way to keep track of them? Thank you.
Pizza, buns are definitely slider foods. Eat the burger on a lettuce wrap with cheese if you want but no bun. Same with the pizza, and pasta, potatoes, rice, bread, soda, alcohol. I do low carb and lost all my regain. I don't do processed foods and have cut out all sugars and flours. That is what works for me. I realized once I started regaining very quickly after surgery that surgery alone was not going to fix my food issues. I had to have a very hard look at my eating patterns - I could not moderate certain foods - mostly sugary and carby foods. I had to accept I am a sugar addict - this was not easy but I now have 3 years of sugar sobriety under my belt and I am not going back. For the first time in my life I am not binging, I am not dieting or restricting and my weight has stabilized and I only have one size of clothing in my closet. If this sound like something you would like to learn about check out Dr, Vera Tarman's book Food Junkies - she is a Toronto doc specializing in addiction and food addiction in particular. I belong to her website that is very active and has tons of podcasts and supports.
Highest W 312 Referral W 252 Surgery W 237 CW 156 Height 5'6" 
You had the VSG correct? You need to focus on dense protein first and then if there is room a few veg. Your stomach restriction isn't gone - you are probably eating foods that slide through and that you can eat in volume so you think you have stretched out the stomach. TBH what they leave isn't that stretchy.
My advice is to measure out 3 ounces of dense protein like chicken, steak, whatever protein you wish and eat that first each meal. If you don't feel full add some veg - no drinks with that and no carbs like rice potatoes, etc. In a few days you will see that your restriction has been there all along - you probably got off track by eating foods your shouldn't. If you are eating sugar/processed foods and a lot of grains those have got to go.
Hey Paula,
Thanks for responding. I am also in Toronto.
Yep. Had the sleeve.
Yes, it has been a lot of slider foods, but even something like pizza or a burger - I am now finding within the two months of being off track, I can eat more pieces or eat the whole burger pretty quickly - when the months prior, I would sometimes not be able to finish the burger or just have two pieces of pizza max.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think burgers, pizza and say pasta are slider foods. I would get nauseous prior if I ate too much of those foods and even threw up on a couple of occasions from getting the foamies. I assume those days are over now.
I am getting back on track now - did a really good shopping of meats and other protein.
I will update as to how things are going.
Thanks!
You had the VSG correct? You need to focus on dense protein first and then if there is room a few veg. Your stomach restriction isn't gone - you are probably eating foods that slide through and that you can eat in volume so you think you have stretched out the stomach. TBH what they leave isn't that stretchy.
My advice is to measure out 3 ounces of dense protein like chicken, steak, whatever protein you wish and eat that first each meal. If you don't feel full add some veg - no drinks with that and no carbs like rice potatoes, etc. In a few days you will see that your restriction has been there all along - you probably got off track by eating foods your shouldn't. If you are eating sugar/processed foods and a lot of grains those have got to go.
Highest W 312 Referral W 252 Surgery W 237 CW 156 Height 5'6"
Before you contemplate more surgery can I sincerely suggest you read the book "Food Junkies" by Dr. Vera Tarman 2nd edition. This is a book about sugar addiction and how to abstain.
I too had VSG in 2011 - weight loss lasted less than I year and I started to regain and lose just like pre-surgery. I binged and restricted and got deeper and deeper into the bad food again.
I read Food Junkies and FINALLY recognized that I had a food/sugar addiction - just like alcohol or drugs, sugar lights up the dopamine in your brain and you are in trouble. I joined the website that Dr. Tarman has and learned that I was not alone. I learned I could not do moderation and that one bit of sugar led me to a binge over and over again. This isn't an issue of willpower but rather what sugar does to the brain. There are many many bariatric patients on the website that like me were told to moderate all food. That doesn't work for many like me.
I started abstaining from sugar back in 2018 after gaining a lot of my weight back. I would go many months and then relapse. I kept fighting the desire to be "normal" and kept convincing myself that I could moderate. I have now been totally sugar free for over three years. I had to limit grains as well as grains are so processed and turn into sugar in our system. I lost most of my regain (10 pounds short of my goal) and for ONCE in my life my weight is stable and has been for a few years now. I no longer have 3 different sizes in my closet. I can wear clothes I bought several years ago because surprise - they still fit. For once in my life I have food peace - no cravings, no food hangovers, etc. etc. I do not feel deprived and for the first time in my life I feel in control of my eating.
I would highly suggest you give this way of eating a try - more surgery is not going to fix anything if you have a sugar addiction. Check it out and see if you recognize yourself.
Highest W 312 Referral W 252 Surgery W 237 CW 156 Height 5'6"
Thanks for your replies, everyone! I have Notifications turned on, but didn't get a single one letting me know anyone had replied until Dawnie's this morning. Anyhooo...
So I ended up doing some research on Semaglutide (one of the newer medications being used for diabetes and obesity treatment). After reading and reading, and looking at SO many patient reviews and experiences (particularly post-VSG people), I decided to go for it. It's amazing how the tiniest little injection works so well... for me, I started feeling the effects immediately. The day I did my first injection, I could only eat maybe a cup of chicken Caesar salad that night (usually I can put down a lot of salad) .... just filled up SO fast. Food noise is gone, appetite is gone -- I literally feel like I did in the first months after my surgery--able to eat anything, I just don't want to. I'm not constantly thinking about what's next. Not going through my head what's available at home to snack on after dinner, and whether or not I need to stop at Dollar General for junk food on the way home. It's amazing.
My thinking is this: My sleeve is still there, it still works great IF I eat what I'm supposed to. Using this to help re-train my thoughts and habits to get where I need to be is showing me that; it's teaching me again to watch for my full signs (hiccups), stop when I'm full (and full does NOT mean stuffed where you can't eat another bite), and not take a break for a few minutes and start again. Between this, and knowing what I know now about sugar addiction, and what my danger situations are, I think is going to keep me from gaining it back again in the end.
Anyway....that's where I am now. Oh, I lost 15 lbs the first month and have been hovering there the last 3 days, but we all know how that goes! :D Thanks again everyone!
HW 258 SW 246.4 CW 166.8 GW 160
(reflects loss from all-time high weight in November 2009)
Hi Dawnie! I actually remember you from back then...not specifics, but your name at least! Posting a separate update below. :)
HW 258 SW 246.4 CW 166.8 GW 160
(reflects loss from all-time high weight in November 2009)
