Why The Sleeve Works and Is Easy For Me

[Scooter]

Since it has been about 5 months or so since my surgery, and I have been good most of the time, when I took a vacation this last week, I gave myself permission to eat whatever I wanted, drink whatever I wanted, etc. This kind of attitude will kill a person who is dieting on willpower alone, but my willpower is worn out right now. So, just like when I was a kid on vacation, I ate whatever I wanted. I ate until I was full, any food I wanted - lost 1 pound anyway! I just cannot eat enough to gain weight right now.
This is the point I have always failed before, and reversed months of hard dieting and deprivation by getting on the wrong track. My momentum would always swing the wrong way. My emotions would weaken me, my resolve to be good would fail, the lure of food and its comfort and joy would always win out. Then I would gain it back and be incredibly upset with myself, and look at the months of hard work ruined, and the monumental task in front of me, and what would I do? I would keep overeating to feel better! Then, several months later, I would be irritated enough with myself to start over.
Compared to that, the sleeve throttling me is easy. Once I get full I have no desire to eat. (I have finished half a bowl of noodles for breakfast - I'm done) I just don't want to eat anything else, whereas before I would just eat and eat and eat. When I'm full, no food in the world tempts me. It is great, and by comparison to my previous life, and compared to all the people out there who struggle to not eat that 27th bite of cake, I am on easy street.
What does this portend for me 2 years out? Who knows?
If I gain it all back 5 years from now, I hope to post about it. (280)

[cycleoldlady]

Sounds like you are doing well, I think it is important to get used to not eating crap tho, the odd wee bit might be ok, just be careful.

[barrbdoll]

Thanks for posting... I feel pretty much the same way... I had my surgery April 16th and have lost over 100lbs. Has this been easy?? YES!! At least for me it has! Prior to having this surgery I would eat just to eat.. I lacked the control needed to stop and push away the plate. My sleeve has given me back that power to say NO... I'm full and just like you said... I have no desire to keep eating like before.. It's funny because I have some friends that feel weird eating in front of me and I always tell them.. You could be eating a steak and lobster tail and I wouldn't have any issue at all.. It's the God's honest truth! 90% of this journey is mental.. At least I think so... I am thankful that I really didn't have any food vices before surgery. I wasn't a huge sweets eater, wasn't a fast food junkie, etc... It was the portion sizes and the grazing that I had issues with. I just enjoy food and guess what?? I STILL enjoy food but now I have the one thing I didn't have before.. CONTROL!!! Plus, I firmly believe that our bodies just get to the point where they are comfortable being "FAT"... I would try diet after diet to lose only 30-40 lbs and then gain it all back over the course of time. My body needed to be shocked and this surgery did it!! I am such an advocate as my sleeve has changed my life! I was always a happy and confident girl.....even at my heaviest but losing this excess weight had completely changed my life!! I feel AMAZING!!!! Like my best years are ahead of me!!!

[isandie]

this post totally resonated with me. i'm almost a year out, and i can tell you, it's easier and easier to get away from the good habits the further you get from the surgery...but i still have the CONTROL i never had before to STOP when i'm full.
my struggle has always been sweets...and i continue to struggle with it now. that's the thing i see as a challenge in the long run.
i too hope to remain posting on this forum, regardless of what happens 5 years from now, if nothing else to be helpful to the sleevers behind me!

[cowgirljane]

I wouldn't use the word easy, but I know what you mean. The surgery has made it POSSIBLE is more how I see it.

I have been experiencing return of hunger which is little scary, but i remind myself that normal people do get hungry. IT is not that out of control hunger and I don't need to panic about it...lol. Learning to live with normal hunger, keeping on my plan is working so far way better then it ever has before!

[barrbdoll]

I wouldn't use the word easy, but I know what you mean. The surgery has made it POSSIBLE is more how I see it.

I have been experiencing return of hunger which is little scary, but i remind myself that normal people do get hungry. IT is not that out of control hunger and I don't need to panic about it...lol. Learning to live with normal hunger, keeping on my plan is working so far way better then it ever has before!

My hunger is coming back as well but just like you said... NOTHING like before.. but the feeling is there at times... If I keep myself busy I don't really notice it but if I am just sitting around I tend to think about it more.. so... maybe more head hunger than anything..... I try to eat something every 3 hours or so just to make sure I am giving my body what it needs to continue to burn. Before when I was 332lbs I didn't see a light at the end of the tunnel.. About 6 weeks after my surgery I realized that I was finally going to be able to shed the excess weight! Having that realization and seeing that "light" is an incredible feeling!!! I feel like I have FINALLY WON my weight loss battle!!!!

[BraelynsGrammy]

Easy??? It's the hardest thing I've ever had to do. That's all I am going to say.

Good job on not gaining weight on vacation. I go on vacation in 3 weeks. I hope I have the same good fortune.

But easy?? I just don't get it.

[ECRU]

Easy??? It's the hardest thing I've ever had to do. That's all I am going to say.

Good job on not gaining weight on vacation. I go on vacation in 3 weeks. I hope I have the same good fortune.

But easy?? I just don't get it.

I'm with you..... EASY???? SMH

[Scooter]

To those who don't think it is easy with the sleeve, I guess we have different experiences. Before, to lose weight, I had to struggle 18 hours a day to stop the overwhelming desire to overeat. I worked out 4-5 times a week, I ate huge amounts of vegetables, and I lost and regained over 15 years. Every damn miserable day for every painful hour I was awake, I wanted to eat and eat and eat whatever I could, and not doing it required a monumental effort. I had to drive by 30 fast food places, all of which sold something I wanted. Every convenience store and grocery store held goodies I wanted. Every family dinner was filled with temptation. Every airplane ride was miserable, fitting into the rides at the amusement park was a squeeze, playing with the kids was exhausting, going to Christmas dinner parties was a chore, and eating was the solution to every problem in the short term, and being healthy was a relentless, all encompassing effort.
Now, I can eat what I want, be full, and lose weight. What could be easier? When I follow the plan scrupulously, it isn't really much trouble compared to total immersion into weight loss, and I lose even more. Worst problem I have now is if something tastes really good, I just can't have much of it.
It is like I used to be addicted to food, and I have been cured.
I am free at last.

[marilynlw]

It is like I used to be addicted to food, and I have been cured. I am free at last.

I sure hope is it this way for me but I will do it even if it is hard. After 64 year of being obese it will probably be really hard on me both physically and mentally but I have to do it and I will succeed.

[Truffles]

I would have to agree that this has been relatively easy post-op for me, too. I think the mental game prior to the surgery was harder on me.

[barrbdoll]

To those who don't think it is easy with the sleeve, I guess we have different experiences. Before, to lose weight, I had to struggle 18 hours a day to stop the overwhelming desire to overeat. I worked out 4-5 times a week, I ate huge amounts of vegetables, and I lost and regained over 15 years. Every damn miserable day for every painful hour I was awake, I wanted to eat and eat and eat whatever I could, and not doing it required a monumental effort. I had to drive by 30 fast food places, all of which sold something I wanted. Every convenience store and grocery store held goodies I wanted. Every family dinner was filled with temptation. Every airplane ride was miserable, fitting into the rides at the amusement park was a squeeze, playing with the kids was exhausting, going to Christmas dinner parties was a chore, and eating was the solution to every problem in the short term, and being healthy was a relentless, all encompassing effort.
Now, I can eat what I want, be full, and lose weight. What could be easier? When I follow the plan scrupulously, it isn't really much trouble compared to total immersion into weight loss, and I lose even more. Worst problem I have now is if something tastes really good, I just can't have much of it.
It is like I used to be addicted to food, and I have been cured.
I am free at last.

AMEN SCOOTER!!! I couldn't have said it better myself!!!!!

[BraelynsGrammy]

To those who don't think it is easy with the sleeve, I guess we have different experiences. Before, to lose weight, I had to struggle 18 hours a day to stop the overwhelming desire to overeat. I worked out 4-5 times a week, I ate huge amounts of vegetables, and I lost and regained over 15 years. Every damn miserable day for every painful hour I was awake, I wanted to eat and eat and eat whatever I could, and not doing it required a monumental effort. I had to drive by 30 fast food places, all of which sold something I wanted. Every convenience store and grocery store held goodies I wanted. Every family dinner was filled with temptation. Every airplane ride was miserable, fitting into the rides at the amusement park was a squeeze, playing with the kids was exhausting, going to Christmas dinner parties was a chore, and eating was the solution to every problem in the short term, and being healthy was a relentless, all encompassing effort.
Now, I can eat what I want, be full, and lose weight. What could be easier? When I follow the plan scrupulously, it isn't really much trouble compared to total immersion into weight loss, and I lose even more. Worst problem I have now is if something tastes really good, I just can't have much of it.
It is like I used to be addicted to food, and I have been cured.
I am free at last.

Ok I have to agree that when you explain it like that it is easy. I'm jealous that I still have my food addiction and it's something I am working on every day! That is the hard part for me.

[Bluegrass state]

Yes, I think the hardest part for me is that when something tastes really good, I can't eat much of it at all. That's a great thing, but a terrible thing at the same time. I do admit that I miss eating sometimes. But, I chose the sleeve so that I COULD eat whatever I basically wanted, just not a ton of it. It helps me to have that control...which is something I think everyone who has been overweight has had trouble with..

[B-rizzle]

I agree that it is a lot easier not to eat than it was before I had the sleeve. In that, I'm not sure if it's the actual surgery that keeps my cravings at bay, or just my sense of dedication. The fact that I invested my own money (self pay), and actually let someone go inside my body and remove 80% of my stomach really does work as a motivator to not fail. If I failed at this, after spending all of that money, then I would go into a deep tunnel of depression, and I just don't want that to happen. I honestly believe that I can eat more than I should be able to, and my metabolism is currently frozen. In the month of September I lost 16.2 lbs. In the month of October I lost 3 lbs. One month I lost 3 lbs. This is a tough stall, and I am not wavering. I am sticking to my guns and eating right. I need to lose 25lbs in the next 35 days to reach my goal of 100lbs in 6 months. That looks like it's going to be close to impossible, but even if I don't make it, I know I will be closer than I am now.