Friend says...you can do this without surgery...just do the same type diet

Ok help me here....My friend says to just do the same diet and my blood sugars will drop because of no carbs....She says Biggest Losers do it all the time! She is telling me I'll lose the 60lbs I need to lose that way....Why spend the money when I can do it on my own..She knows I'm not a rich person with money to toss around lightly but I have 6 comorbidities!! Am I right here??? This surgery is the only way??? Do I need a different friend for now?  Does anyone else go through these crazy questions and doubts?

Sherry, Is you friend overweight?  I think that if everyone of us here could have done it on our own ,we wouldn't be here and would have never met one another. When I first started working at the hospital I too thought the same thing. I even gathered all the info about the post op diets and tried it out.  Believe me it just doesn't work that way. Without the surgery there is no way one can live on so little food. Our stomachs are just too big and you have terrible hunger pangs. If It would have worked I would have been the first one to tell you. You don't need a different friend unless she continues to bring you down. This is a decision that only you can make. And the decision is only for your benefit  and not for anyone elses . Without the tool the results are just not there. We all go through crazy questions and doubts. We wouldn't be normal if we didn't. I trust that you will make the appropriate choice for you. Rita

It's easy to lose weight on a short term basis, we've all done it.

CAN you do it on your own?  Only you know the answer to that.  Lance Armstrong wins the Tour De France all the time, could you?  Could your friend?

Weight is such a personal issue, yet it is one that most people feel it is quite OK just to offer up what they think as fact.  The fact (as I see it, LOL at myself) is that it is something we all have to decide for ourselves.

Thank your friend for her input, tell her you've made up your mind (if you have) and appreciate her support.  You may have to thank her several times, but eventually she'll get it or give up.

Sometimes people MEAN well, but are still very annoying...that's just life.

I completely agree with Rita and Deb. The fact is that 95% of dieters fail....if weight is loss, it's regained and usually with additional pounds. 5% evidently can lose the weight and keep it off, but the rest of us will regain. These are medical statistics, not just my thoughts.

I think your friend doesn't understand and probably hates to see you go through surgery. That can be understandable, but this is your life and your comorbidities. Only you can make the best decision for your situation. Best wishes on your decision and journey to better health.

Ok, I'm grinding my feet into the ground and standing on my decision! (I think).  The way I see it is that I need to do this quickly and there is no other way to do that but the surgery....I don't have a year to lose most of this weight....The illness's I have need to be addressed ASAP....Yes, the friend is overweight so that may be the reason for her "non-encouragement". We always ate out together. I am so glad I found this web site. I would be in a closet crying if it weren't for being able to actually discuss these things...I'm not a nut case...I promise.  Sherry

I went to a WLS seminar several years ago.  The surgeon talked about a couple that the wife thought they wanted WLS.  The wife went through with the surgery.  The husband decided he would just eat the same diet she did.  He caved in after a very short period of time.  He called begging for a surgery date.  He said he couldn't live on so little food and was starving.  You cannot eat the way we do without the surgery.  Your ghrelin levels would be off the charts trying (and making) to make you eat large quantities of food. I don't think you necessarily need a new friend.  Your friend is probably just uninformed about the benefits of WLS.   I too started with many comorbidities.  I am already off my BP meds.  I went off during the first week post-op.  Except for one day when my pressure was up I have remained in a very low, healthy range.  I hope to get rid to my CPAP machine in the fall. Good luck with your decision. Denise

I have been low carbing and no sugar for months now and lost 3 pounds.  I am diabetic so I couldn't have those other things.  I was sleeved on Monday and on Wed morning my sugar was 117.  Hasn't been above 130 since and no meds.  If a person isn't diabetic, then they do not understand how it works.  Tell her it is your life and you will do what is best for you. Ohhh, and I am down 12 pounds in 6 days.   Good luck.

I am doing it on my own right now trying to reach my pre-op weight loss and trust me, I need this tool.  I do okay some days but others, well, there is a reason I reached 350.  Yeah, you might could lose it but can you keep it off or will it come back with friends.  I wish I would have done this years ago when I only had 60 lbs to lose instead of yo-yo'ing my way to where I am now.

When I told my parents that I was going to have surgery and they began to protest (more out of habit than real thought) I just said "the fact is, I will be unable to walk (I have a bad ankle) soon, that will result in even more weight gain and an early death.  I'm willing to take the risk."

Strangely enough, that pretty much talked them down.  Now, friends are different, especially eating buddies.  Her argument sounds like it's about saving money-and if that's the case, don't sweat it-you are worth it.    You can always make more money, but only if you are alive to do it and healthy enough to work.

You are also investing in the kind of future you want to have.....a healthy, active one vs. 6 comorbidities if you don't lose the weight.

You tell "your friend" that you know someone who is trappd in the vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting... IT'S ME!  I do the whole "Atkins" thing about 2 to 3 times per year...  i lose about 60-70 lbs in abou 3 months time then I do go off diet, then I balloon again and i know it's time to do atkins again when I feel my shorts are too hard to button.... So it truly sucks to know that you do have control over what you eat but then you try to be a regualr human and you give in to your weaknesses (aka anything that tastes bad-assed), then you're trapped in an ongoing war with yourself. This is about you....your decision....your progress, your success...  the external world is truly external....you're doing this to help yourself...  so live long and do the right thing and tell that person if they need an opinion then tell them that it's unwelcome and to shove it. I got big love for us chubby people.... T.