Are most of you happy with your decision to have this surgery?

"Eating normally" is very difficult, as many of us who were obese have a very distorted view of that.

The most successful WLS veterans who maintain their weight loss still follow a very strict eating plan and measure/log all of their food. Meals are dense protein, maybe a bite of veg, very few carbs. Thanksgiving dinner, for example, would probably be three or four ounces of turkey and a few green beans. No mashed potatoes, no dessert, no alcohol.

The surgery was just a tool to help me make the major shift from living to eat to eating to live. Four years out, I am still finding my new normal. All of the things that were my normal would put me right back where I started. This was a major commitment to addressing my disordered eating. Having VSG was a lifesaving gift that enables me to live a healthy, active life as long as I follow the guidelines.

I absolutely eat like a normal healthy woman. I had WLS in 2003... don't recall at what point I was able to eat like a normal person (vs an obese person or a WLS patient) as I have been doing so for many many years.

I had RNY in 2007 so going on 12 years.

A tablespoon of mashed potatoes, corn, stuffing, sweet potato, cranberry sauce, green beans and slice of turkey. I add a tiny amount of gravy and enjoy my Thanksgiving plate.

I do the same with Christmas and Easter. I am stuffed on my small sample plate and enjoy everything on it.

There are days when I start to regret surgery, but then I try to imagine my life still being obese and am so glad that I am not going through that anymore.

There are many people *****ally need the surgery, but will never have the opportunity to actually have it. They are not able to because of financial reasons, or they have too many other health issues to be able to have surgery safely.

I am thankful to have had this opportunity to live the rest of my life as a slim person.

nope - don't regret it at all!

I would say at this far out (four years next week), I eat about as much as my "light eater" skinny friends do. I doubt anyone can tell I had WLS anymore. At restaurants I'll often order an appetizer - or split an entree with someone - or eat half my entree and take the other half home. Or have one piece of pizza rather than half the pie. Same as a lot of women. No one questions it.

Thanksgiving I focus on the turkey and vegetables (maybe a couple ounces of turkey) and just have a tablespoon or two of everything else.

the first few weeks or months can be tough - you have more restrictions, and some things don't sit well with you. But you get through it.

I would do it over again in a heartbeat. It has been the absolute best decision I have ever made for myself. It truly gave me my life.

19 years post-op and would do it again. The only thing I regret is not sticking to the correct eating habits around year 6-7. That put me on a path of regain that I'm now having to fix. I know there will always be some people out there that aren't happy with WLS, but I encourage everyone who has over 100 lbs to lose to highly consider it.

"Eat Normally". What does that mean to you?

If it means pulling up a chair and eating a plate or two piled with mashed potatoes, stuffing, marshmallow yam bake, green bean casserole, and a slice of turkey, followed by a desert plate...no, you won't be able to eat normally.

It it means having a serving of turkey with some veggies and a spoonful of mashed potatoes and a spoonful of dressing...yes...as long as the spoonsfull of potatoes and dressing are a special holiday treat and not a regular occurrence.

The post-op program lasts until you reach goal weight. Then you go into maintenance mode which allows you a bit more freedom, but still restricts your eating. If you go back to your pre-op eating habits, you'll likely regain most or all of your weight back.

You've got to wrap your ahead around the fact that the surgery is a tool...but you have to change your eating habits for life.

I am thrilled I had the surgery. I made the mistake of going off-track for an e tended period of time. Stopped losing weight and did not reach goal. Maintained loss for a while, then started to gain weight. Struggled for a long time and just got back on track this past December. Losing weight now, and hope to reach goal this Fall. It is a struggle at times, but so worth it. I love being able to move about, to sit anywhere I want to, to buy clothes at any store. To look in the mirror and feel proud of myself!

I am sure there are people out there *****gret having the surgery, but my only regret is everything I missed by waiting so long.

You mentioned things like feeling normal and Thanksgiving. The feeling normal is something I worried about, and it has been hard sometimes. However, I think people who are a year or so out are probably closer to "normal" than an obese person. I am almost five months out and have only eaten out a few times, always having soup. However, yesterday was my first restaurant experience that felt fairly normal. We went to my favorite restaurant to celebrate something and I ate two large scallops (which was all that were served), about 1/4 cup of mashed potatoes (about half of the serving), and a few bites of zucchini. (About 1/4 of the serving). I should mention that some people wouldn't touch potatoes, but I am using the carbs as a rare treat approach. Otherwise, I know feeling deprived will eventually lead to regain for me. Anyway, I asked them not to bring bread and there was a brief moment of feeling bummed because this place has the best bread and fresh butter ever, but then I completely forgot about it until just now. What I did not anticipate about this surgery is that I rarely feel like I am missing out because the urge to eat is pretty much gone and, while have recently started experiencing some pleasure from food, it is nowhere near as rewarding as it used to be. I know that may sound like a negative, and there is no way to really even explain how different it is, I think it is something that has to be experienced. For me, it is a change that I absolutely love. Thanksgiving might suck a bit when it comes, but most days are not Thanksgiving and on those days I feel happy and relieved to not be fighting hunger and cravings.

this is just my experience, but I hope it helps!

I would NEVER discourage anyone from having the surgery. However. I regret my surgery because I've had nothing but complications literally from day 1. I've had 5 surgeries because of complications and getting ready to have my 6th one in 4 days at Cleveland Clinic because I now have candy cane syndrome. I almost died when I had surgery #4 which was sleeve to bypass revision because I almost bled to death. For me, the complications have been worse to deal with than the problems I had before surgery. It's just my own experience but I would never tell anyone not to have the surgery because the chances of them having the problems I've had is 0.