weight loss and 2nd guessing wls.

I am planning on having weight loss surgery , but lately have been 2nd guessing it. I was wondering if any one here was ever close to getting it and backed out at the last minute? I am just waiting to hear if I'm approoved or not and if I am and I decide not to have the surgery or wait for a while longer , I am scared that I will not be able to get approoved again. How did this work out for you? thanks , lisa

Hi Lisa, There are several members here who came VERY close to having the surgery, and opted to give it ONE last try the 'old fashioned way'. Check out some posts and read some profiles to get more a feel for what we've been doing weight-loss wise here on the non-op board. I toyed with the idea to have WLS... but ultimately I made the decision to do it myself. I tricked my mind and my body into thinking I had WLS. Put myself on the post-op diet and everything. And I still follow the post-op diet... quantities and all. I've even experienced the non-op version of dumping syndrome. It has definately worked, I'm down 93 lbs with 17 more to go. The most important thing to remember is no matter how you do it... it's a lifelong change. It's a decision you have to make deep down to change your ways of life forever. Good luck with your journey, I hope you find the site as helpful, informative, and inspirational as I do! --CJ 250/157/140

Hi Lisa, Well, I never even got as far as a consult with a WL surgeon because I knew all along that I didn't want to assume the risks of the surgery. It took me years to get fat & it has taken me years to reverse it, but I did. You have to do what is best for you. Are you willing to assume the risks? It seems that most people do well, but, those that don't do well can really suffer. I am not saying this to be mean or scare you but these are thoughts you've probably had yourself. You didn't state how much weight you have to lose, either. I think that is a strong factor in whether or not to have the surgery. I finally made a profile so if you'd like to see how I began my journey, feel free. I'm in no way trying to belittle those that choose WLS. It just wasn't right for me. Best of luck to you, Juli

I also got very close on having it, as in having just been desperate about my weight and wanting to do something about it, and it seemed that WLS was a way out. Fortunantly I decided to try to lose weight without WLS, and I am very happy about my decision. In 2. january 2006, in the beginning of my weightloss journey I was around 403 lbs, but 5 and a half month later I have lost 81.5 lbs in all. I am Icelandic and here as in other north-european countries there is an organization that originated in Denmark in the 80´s, and they have a program I follow, and that program is really working for me. I dont want to tell you too much about it since I have gotten some very hard critics on message boards when I talk about my program, that I am on this organizations payroll and that I am trying to promote it etc. etc. so I have decided to not tell anything about it on message boards. I just want to say that this weightloss is without a single minute of physical exercise of any sort plus the food-plan in this program allows you to eat large amounts of all kinds of food (except anything with sugar), a lot of vegetables and fruits, so it has been very easy for me to follow it, since I can always make something I really want to eat. I hope I didnt say too much to get critizised again, but I wont be surprised if I get a slap on the hand for saying that I dont exercise and that I lose weight, even when it is simply the truth. I am very careful of not critizising WLS too much on this board, since it is mainly WLS orientated, except this board. But I wont hide my opinion that WLS can work for some people but it doesnt work for many others, and those others are simply too many to ignore. I think that to truly solve a weight problem you have to go to the root of the problem, finding the cause of why someone is eating too much. Most of the time the overweight has nothing to do with a big appetite or lack of self-control. It is in most cases an emotional problem, the obesity is simply a symptom of a hurt soul that uses the food to dull the pain. To solve a weightproblem by shortening the digestion system is in my eyes similar as sewing shut the mouth of an drunk to make him stop drinking. If people dont face their emotional problems then they will continue abusing food when they recover from the WLS or simply turn to other substances (drugs, alchohol) to dull their pain. It is also my opinion much more serious business messing up the digestive system in the way WLS does. WLS can cause and causes many times chronic malnutrition and that is only a few of the side affects the surgery has. Well I said I wouldnt critizise the WLS but I did, shame on me I just want to say, look closely into what WLS really has to offer. It has side affects, some pretty serious ones, but it has changed many lifes to the better, and most people dont get any side affects at all. You have to decide for yourself what you really want. Is your weight making your life miserable enough that you would be willing to go through WLS with the possibility of medical problems. In my case I feel very good about my decision to lose weight the ol-fashion-way. It was a little bit hard the first weeks and month, but now it is actually very easy, and it only gets easier, because I am always reinforcing the habit of eating healthy food, that is making me lose weight, that is making me feel so great and filled with energy plus it actually tastes so good!! The thing that also made it easier was that I decided that this was not a diet, it was a lifestyle change, so instead of flirting with the thought of how this and that junkfood tastes and how great I would feel to stuff myself with it, they became food I dont eat EVER. It is the same as if the drunk that is trying to stop drinking would always think how good it feels to be drunk, and that he will start drinking as soon as he gets his life together. It is for sure that he will never be able to stop drinking that way, because he would always be flirting with the thought of getting a drink and therefore constantly struggle with his craving for alchohol, and that struggle would make him fall over the first bottle that gets in his way. he will never quit drinking if he doesnt make the decision that he will never ever drink again. It is the same with food: If you are constantly thinking of how good it feels to eat this and that, and what you will eat when you reach goalweight and stop dieting, then you will fall over the first creamcake that will come your way. You wont succeed untill you decide that this is not a diet, but how you will eat for the rest of your life!!!! It is very simple: You have two options, it is either to eat whatever you like and as much as you like and be overweight or to make a lifestyle change and lose weight, get to idealweight and maintain it. It is a very simple decision and you cant for sure have both ways!! Either eat as you want, be overweight and accept it or change lifestyle and lose weight. The sooner you make the decision the better. Take care, Heidrun