Applied to VSG Program - Have some General Questions for Y'all

Hi!  I'm new to the group.  Have just applied to be considered for VSG.  I know it's a long road before the surgery.  I have some questions:

1.  Why is it OK to eat as little as 500-600 calories for months post surgery, but it's not considered healthy to do that otherwise? 

2.  Does anyone regret altering their body via surgery when they may have been able to lose the weight if they had just stuck to an eating plan long enough?  (I've started over and over and over and over and over ...)

3.  Did anyone here lose so much weight following the pre-surgery path that they decided not to have surgery after all?

I'm just at the point where I've tried so many things, I've lost hope.  I'm 56, 5'4", and 240 lbs (BMI 40.2).

Thanks for any responses ...

Laurie

Laurie - you and I have very similar stats.  I'm 52 years old, 5'3" and was 235 when I started the 6-mo. pre-op process.  You can see my progress in my ticker below this post.  

1.  I think this has been answered.  You have more than enough fat stores to keep your healthy while you are losing weight.  In addition, you will be under medical supervision and taking additional supplements to ensure that you are getting healthy levels of all vitamins and minerals.  

2.  No way!  The thing is I could never stick an eating plan long enough to get close to a healthy BMI....never!  And even if I would have, I would have immediately gone back to my old ways of eating and would have quickly gained the weight.  The surgery is actually a good tool for maintaining this drastic weight loss for the rest of your life.  

3.  I've known people who did lost lots before and kidded themselves that they could do it "this time" on their own.  Never worked.  Only delayed the inevitable by a couple two, three or four years. 

I am preop, surgery is on Monday. I will skip number two. :)

1. It isn't okay to do that forever, this is a medically supervised diet plan for most people. I have regular check ups with my doctor and blood panels to make sure I am staying healthy. 

3. I have lost 31lbs presurgery. For about two weeks I reconsidered, then the weight loss slowed down and I got super frustrated. I talked to my doctor (not surgeon, but my primary care physician), and she said it is quite common for people to lose a fair amount of weight while prepping for surgery. She has had some patients cancel their surgery because of that, but the vast majority regain that weight and have to start over. 

Erin