Showing Great Restraint !!!!

I. have seen a few people that have had the sleeve on the revision board that have had surgeons leave more stomach  and having to be re sleeved.. 

I have also wondered if in the next two years we will be seeing more revisions based on the bigger sleeves we are seeing. 

I am truely grateful i got my sleeve when i did and that i still only can eat just over 2 ounces of protein with 2 tablespoons of veges... when im eating properly

 But I also know how much damage i could/ can do with a small sleeve, resulting in regain ...  I think part of being able to get back to goal was/ is also because of the size of my sleeve.

When I read some of postings on the VSG and Main Forums, I just shake my head and say to myself, that success is slim with some of the posters. The sleeve is just a tool, along with exercise, mindful eating, journaling and tracking one's food intake, and support.

I could probably eat alot of crap food, but I choose not to, because when I started this process, I told myself that I was going to follow medical advice to the best of my ability. Getting the sleeve was my last chance for a healthier life and an opportunity to get rid of sleep apnea, joint issues, prediabetes, and an assortment of other ills. I also eat healthy, because I need to have good food to fuel my workouts. I can't imagine going back to the way that I ate before, although, some of the head issues are still present.

At four weeks out, I was in the hospital with complications and couldn't eat or drink anything. There isn't anyway that I could have packed away 3-4 ounces of food at that time. I could barely eat one ounce of anything at that time.  I am a year out and eat 2.5-3 ounces of dense protein, with some veggies, if I have some room. I have added some fruit into my diet, but I don't eat simple carbs.  I definitely can eat more, but more often, than not, I choose not to. My sleeve capacity also seems to change from day to day, and seems smaller in the AM.
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The sleeve is only a tool, and a very powerful one, if used correctly. Many people don't realize that success involves a complete change in lifestyle and behavior

Gail

I think this trend that you all are reporting on (which I have also noticed in the five short months that I've been on the forum) is just indicitive of the sad state of our society. 

People want an  "easy way out" so they jump right in without a second thought.  Please don't misunderstand me, WLS is BY NO MEANS an easy way out, but I think many people mistakenly think it is.  I met a friend of a friend a few months ago that had an RNY four years ago and she told me flat out that she didn't research her surgery and didn't want too much information because had she thought about it too much, she wouldn't have done it.  My jaw dropped to the floor. 

It is odd to read some of the posting that goes on, that's for sure. 

I was terribly  concerned when I first started that my surgeon's program was too 'liberal' early on because it started with 1oz of pureed protein on day 3 (it's largely the same as the Cornell Plan) instead of having liquids for 2-3 weeks post-op. My surgeon's plan, however, always emphasized measuring, not eating to capacity, protein first with a few bites of veggies if tolerated, drinking protein rather than eating if liquids are an issue, not progressing your diet to the 'plan' but rather to your personal tolerance level if that is BELOW plan, etc.  

At 3 weeks, we were allowed to go to start with 1 1/2-2oz of 'soft' protein, then progress to 2-3oz dense at 3 months out.  At 6 months, in theory, the plan calls for 3-4oz of dense protein. At 3 months we were allowed 1 serving of complex carbs (1 1 1/2oz) a day if we had room, and NO starch, at all, until 6 months.

I'm 8 1/2 months out and can still only tolerate 2 1/2oz dense protein, and maybe a couple of bites of veggies. My sleeve was 36F (not sure if oversewn, but I woudl guess so).

Just as a slightly gross aside, Dr. Kim did DS  for a number of years as his primary surgery in Mississippi before relocating to Florida. The practice was right near the various casinos.  At a support group meeting I attended, he was asked about the pre-op liquid diet. Dr. Kim answered that along with shrinking the liver, another reason they want a liquid diet pre-op is that before liquid diets were required he had DS patients that would go out for a last 'hurrah' at the casino's the night before surgery and who would come in with stomach's still full of 'buffet.'   His point was that WLS patients didn't get where they are generally, due to making intuitively smart or healthy food and eating choices and that structure before and after surgery is important.

I find it sad that so many of us need to take a break or even leave permanently the main VSG board.  I too am making fewer and fewer comments there.  I just can't take what I see happening on the board and find myself having to take a break.  On the other hand, I also see a number of excellent, educated people stepping right up and giving good advice to the newbies.  So maybe this is just the natural turn of the wheel.  It is their time, their turn.

I am only 6 weeks out but I don't think I *ever* had a good sense of "full".  My doctor said to "stop eating when you're full" not as permission to eat the last morsel *before* I felt discomfort, but as his standard warning to not push myself to the point of damaging my sleeve.

I think it is quite scary for most compulsive overeaters to eat a fixed amount of food and trust that it will be enough.  At least, it's scary to me!  I say before every planned meal, "please make this food be enough."  Maybe 2 ounces *won't* be enough, but I have to trust that I can eat again in 3 hours and remember nobody died of hunger between breakfast and lunch.  Then, I eat and feel a tug of regret when it's over and a worry in the back of my head that I don't feel satisfied.  Fortunately, since surgery I wait for 20 or 30 minutes and see that 2 ounces was plenty and I relax until the next meal.

My program's information was good and thorough, but doesn't begin to touch on the addictive component of my eating.  If you're a hard-core food addict like me, advice to distract yourself when food thoughts appear just doesn't cut it.

A program on a sheet of paper can feel a lot like a diet, and we've all tried dieting.  Post-op, our hunger and capacity are reduced, so it makes following a food plan easier.  But I think we also need to be talking about how this isn't a diet, this is about a transformation of our relationship with food.  I feel lucky that I came to surgery with some good tools already in my toolbox, but I can tell a lot of these folks didn't.