Do you woo?

I've been bouncing around a few different "communities" for awhile (general weight loss, macros, body positivity, etc.) and I never quite feel like I belong in any.

Now that I've had surgery, a weight loss surgery forum seems to be the most obvious...but I'm a bit discouraged by some of the woo I see. Am I the only one?

By "woo," I mean claims that are made without any real scientific evidence to back it up. Or, a pragmatic approach to life in general. I've definitely googled the crap out of surgery, but I've always relied on my health team as the main source of info. When there's inconsistency, they win. They put me on a three-week diet consisting of shakes that have artificial sweeteners; I assume they had a damn good reason and didn't look for alternatives that were "natural" because artificial sweeteners are evil.

It disturbs me to see people posting their google search results as fact, and that in turn being consumed by others who don't seem to question the info. Is it against the etiquette of this community to call out misinformation or to point out when someone's information is of dubious origin and perhaps shouldn't be taken as fact?

I don't aim to be a douchebag [most of the time :p], but there's SO MUCH bad information out there. :/

Pretty sure that's just the Internet in general. No one here claims to be a medical professional, and most often what's posted is simply what has worked for those folks.

On the same token, I even take what my Bari center tells me with a grain of salt (ie: consume carbs, and I don't consume carbs). For every study someone posts you can also use Google to find a study that says pretty much the opposite.

*Shrug*. I don't believe there's any one "right" way to do things.

Thankfully this is one of the most woo-free WLS sites I've encountered. Which doesn't mean we don't all have to do our own due diligence, but it's better here than most places, imo.

Ultimately we've all got to find the places that best meet our needs. At least people here know what pubmed is :)

From the beginning, I seek out people who've not only lost to goal, but have maintained it for more than 5 years.

Nearly everyone loses in the first year (although, I've known people who haven't!) -- and many lightweights even meet their goal or 100% of their excess weight within the first year -- since losing 100 lbs is almost a given in the 12 months after WLS. You almost have to work not to lose that first year.

What IS amazing are people who continue to lose in the 2nd and 3rd year -- after the WLS honeymoon is over. People who maintain that loss --- not just for a year or two --- but 3, 4, 5, 10 and beyond. And, not to be forgotten, are people who lost, regained some, and beat the odds again!! --- losing it and finding their maintenance spot once again. THESE are the rare people -- and THIS is the advice I heed.

So, no, I don't rely on my health team as my main source of info. The great majority of them have never been obese, expect only 60% of excess weight to be lost after WLS, and further expect a 20% regain in the first 3 years. They also have no idea how someone must eat after having been obese, how certain foods can trigger us, nor do they understand that we will never ever be normies. More, the belief that we can eat like "normal" people when we reach maintenance is exactly why so many people regain some or even all their weight a few years out.

In three years, I've seen it time and time again. Maintenance is infinitely more difficult than losing.

I decided that if I was going to rearrange my intestines and have 80% of my stomach made blind -- I wasn't going to settle for still being obese when all was said and done. So, I found vets who had already figured this path out, and listened to them.

That's my "woo" and I'm sticking to it.

Love this! I come to this forum for real life experiences and I know that experience will differ for folks, but like said my health team has not idea what it's like to be obese and the food issues that go with that. I plan to keep coming here for a very long time. I'm a year out from surgery this month (12 month follow-up is tomorrow) so by no means an expert, but I am so grateful for all of the tips, encouragement, answers, etc. that I have received from the vets on this forum.

Kat, you rock!!!

Amen Sister! Woo to you!

How do I pin this? I think this is one of the best pieces of advice I've found on this board or any other. Makes soooo much sense! Love this!

This is one of the least woo forums I've seen. Just avoid the women's beauty tips and you should be fine.

Please don't try to sell us essential oils now... ;-)