My Response to a Post here WLS

If you  tried everything you could try and have not met your expectations,  have surgery if you can!

 This here is an endless sea that ends up swallowing your life - the years when you should have the most opportunities and successes

  Most of us post-ops have been there, done that ,and are still currently doing it again.  I am in WW - it helps me tremendously, BUT I wouldn't have had half a chance without WLS - I've done it pre-op ya know? 

If it helps ya, I'll name the diets or healthy lifestyles I've tried:

Richard Simmons Deal A Meal (the most success I've ever had.  I lost and maintained about 40lbs - I scrutinized what I ate and exercised like a maniac - a real maniac
Weigh****chers
Jenny Craig
2 M.D. Weight Control Programs with Phentermine - took pills briefly, I was way too jumpy and couldn't sleep
Bohemian Diet (liquid) - No Success!
Atkins - I was Queen of the Induction phase - lost it fast and gained it even faster then I just couldn't do Atkins Induction anymore without falling ill
2 year one on one weekly visits with nutritionist and group counseling at St. Lukes Obesity Clinic in NYC  - I couldn't lose a single pound during that period.
3 Weeks hospitalized in a Leptin Weight Loss Study at Rockefeller University Hospital in NYC - On liquid diet during that period - my iron dropped and they had to release me from the study.
Slimfast
Dexatrim/Accutrim
Various Natural diet supplements, meal replacement shakes, fat burners etc.
Overeaters Anonymous
Group therapy for Compulsive Overeaters
Individual psychotherapy for Compulsive/Binge eating
Hypnosis - great relaxation.  My last hope and a ton of money - $150 per session @ 15 sessions - I didn't lose a pound!
Countless diet books, self-help books on eating, tapes, CDs, programs online to stop eating
In my early 20's I've had a few episodes where I went without eating until I almost passed out or had dizzy spells

What a torturous life thinking about it now.  I had some fun in between of course but life now, wow it is so new, so different.  I believe that every thing happens the way that it is supposed to happen BUT I know for sure if I were a "normal sized" girl years ago, my life would have been very different.  Now I find myself trying to "catch-up".  Pre-op I was still an adolescent when it came to  lots of  things in my life like dating and intimacy.  It is so sad when you are in your 30's.

Do Not get me wrong, WLS is very far from perfect.  I've had my share of issues ( a practically non-working band for the first 3 years and other minor complications).  You know though that I would not change this experience for anything in the world.  I too would go under the knife again if I needed to revise to another WLS.  I never want to be fat again - that sucked for me!!!  We are so cheated out of life when we are obese.  I want to get everything I'm supposed to be getting - I want to be feeling everything I'm supposed to be feeling this time around.

Diets just don't work for most people.  ONLY 2 to 3% of people who lose weight with diet and exercise alone keep it off.  I tried and wasted my good years trying to be one of those people AND I didn't have a chance.  I should have been having fun instead of burning time trying to diet.

Okay so you MUS****ch what you eat and exercise after WLS.  Every healthy and fit person does that.  WLS is not about being lazy - it is not about taking the easy way out.  WLS is about giving yourself a chance.

Yes there are some people ( 2 to 3%) who lose weight and keep it off.  Many books are written on this.  I think I have most of them .  I wanted more than anything to be one of them.  I tried, I really did.  These people do not miss the mark.  They watch what they eat and exercise every single day and if they drop the ball, they pick it up the very next meal or day - they work harder.  They become emerged in the world of exercise and diet - working in areas like personal training, diet coaches, aerobics teachers, WW  and other diet group leaders, etc.  

Every day I'm fighting for my life.  I don't want to be riddled with obesity diseases.  I wanted a chance NOT to become diabetic like most of my family members.  I want a chance to live.  When you tried it all and tried it long why not Weight loss Surgery?  BUT not without RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH 

Did I mention how FREE I feel

II had WLS three years ago and I work very hard to this day to keep my weight in check and it is a constant struggle.   You have to change your lifestyle or the weight will return.  I watch shows on TV like Biggest Loser and I wonder if these folks keep their weight off?  

The best advice I can give someone is:  Do whatever it takes to NOT GAIN ANY MORE WEIGHT!

It sounds simple but it's amazing how many people I know who tell me that they thought they were so fat when they weighed. . . . 150 pounds. . . . .  and now they weigh 280 and they are overwhelmed with the task ahead.  My wakeup call was at 230. 

The time is NOW - you are missing out on too much living.    I remember after losing my weight, I wanted to make up for the five years that I had lost being obese.  Three years after the fact, I'm still trying to catch up on lost time.  

There are all kinds of approaches to WL that work.  It's all about motivation - sustained motivation.

Great post.

You tried a great many things, some of which were very expensive, I'm sure.  I can relate to trying alot of different diets, in particular.  I even went on diets which had nothing to do with losing weight, in an effort to find an answer to why I overate.  They didn't solve anything.

Back in 2004, when my husband had different insurance, I had an opportunity to get WLS.  I chickened out, because I was too scared to get my insides rearranged, to go through a risky surgery (all surgery is risky), and even more afraid of the regimen I'd have to go through and the changes in my eating habits that I'd have to go through as well, like not drinking and eating at the same meal, staying away from sweets and fatty foods, etc.

I've tried about 20-25 diets in my lifetime, before I gave up on "dieting", which I define as going on a food plan which is highly regimented and restrictive to lose weight as quickly as possible.  The main attraction of WLS for me was that the weight would come off quickly, if you followed exactly the food plan they would provide for you afterwards.  With my track record of not being able to follow diets in the past, I didn't feel it would be worth to go to that extreme just to lose weight, when there were still gentler, easier ways available, that didn't involve regimented dieting.  Diets just don't work for me.

I see you tried OA for a while.  I currently belong to OA, and have been following their program seriously since 2006, and am currently slowly losing weight, weighing myself once a month, as they suggest.  I eat three moderate meals a day with nothing in between, eating mostly healthy foods, with occasional moderated "treats" around 3 times a week.  Even though I don't do this perfectly, I'm very comfortable with the results, because they are easier for me to follow and live with than a post-op WLS diet would've been. 

I am also seeing a good therapist who is helping me to understand why I started overeating and bingeing in the first place.  It was from my childhood experiences that I ended up in food addiction.  I just don't feel WLS is the answer for me to that problem.  I need patience and the help of a Higher Power for that. 

I'm sorry that the other ways you tried didn't work for you.  That's why, I feel, that there are so many ways to combate this problem available.  Because everybody finds their answer with a different approach than others do.  We aren't all the same, and I'm trying (with God's and my therapist's help) to change my personality along with my eating and exercise habits.  It's hard, but I'm making slow but steady progress, myself.  I'm glad you found an answer that worked for you, and didn't give up on yourself.  I never will, either.

Denise Phares/kitties4

Hi Denise!

Long time no hear from.  Glad you are doing fine and losing weight.

I just wanted to say that there is no way to know what a post-op diet is like when you are pre-op.  First my exerience with the Lap Band and an adequate fill is that I am not hungry.  Believe it or not, hunger is half the battle - it is very physical.  Pre-op I used to think that my issues with binging and compulsive overeating were all emotional, psychological.  The great news was that I was actually physically hungry and when that was turned off with my band I could actually breathe and make better choices. 

Now the other 50% that is the compulsion, the addition.  Those are the things people like me and you get to continue to work on for the rest of our lives.  I did a ton of work on this stuff pre-op  And I continue.  I still refer to my OA books (I have a ton), I would still go to a meeting if it strikes me.  I go to Weigh****chers every single week.  I read the dieters prayer book.  The think is Denise I get to do this in a healthy body.  I am free . . I am telling you, I am free and there is no feeling like it.

This WLS thing isn't magic, we STILL have to  "follow a food plan" and exercise.  It is not a free ride, it is just a better one.

Hey, I got to the point where I was winded when I walked up steps, my back hurt, my knees hurt and cracked and creeked with every single step I took,  I was developing insulin resistance - next stop was the triple threat:  diabetes, hypertension (borderline), and high cholesteral(high tryglcerides - which is also a sign of diabetes to come).  I couldn't wait for OA or any other thing to save me - I spent years there AND the people went up and down and sometimes never down - I never went down even with a food plan.  I needed a surgical intervention and what a blessing it has been.

Best,
Leila

Leila, I'm glad you are happy with your lap band and you certainly have lost a lot of weight. Congratulations on your success.

However WLS is not for everyone and it's a choice we all have to make for ourselves. I am much happier with the changes I've made in the my eating, I'm losing weight although my goals have changed and I'm not eating to lose weight but choosing to eat healthier food. I'm not hungry and I'm eating 3 good meals without needing any snacks. I would not have done well with the post surgical diets - particularly chewing the heck out of food till it has no flavor. I tried following the rules after attending a seminar and realized that I would hate to eat that way for the rest of my life. Losing weight shouldn't be torture, eating should be a pleasure done in moderation.

I've been a member here for awhile and a lurker for a longer time and I've seen many people who were first successful with WLS only to return a few years later with large regains and even heavier than they were prior to WLS. WLS doesn't fix every problem. After the honeymoon period it can get very tough for some and I feel so sorry for those who had surgery without success.

Skylar

Skylar,

I love, love, love food.  I enjoy every single bite.  Eating is pleasurable for me post-op.  I don't deny myself.  I am able to eat like a normal healthy human being.  You wouldn't know I had the band if we sat down and ate dinner.  Again like I told Kitty you can't do a post-op diet when you are pre-op.  There are different stages to our post-op eating to. 

You have to be WILLING to make changes under any cir****tance to achieve your health goals whether pre or post op.  No sense undergoing WLS if you have no intentions to work what you have.  It is not a free pass, you have to pay for it with healthy food choices and exercise.

Good luck with your eating changes.  Weight loss surgery IS NOT for everyone .  It's for me though!!!

I absolutely agree with everything you've written!

My feeling is for a person who is under age 40-ish + 100 pounds up (nothing magic about that, really, just a guideline) really should ask him.herself:  have I really tried as hard as I could to establish good habits:  Eaten quality food in reasonable amounts?  Exercised, even a little, every day?

If s/he can really say that yes, they have for more than 6 months fairly consistently, and the scale does not move, it is time to look into surgery. I fully understand that if a mid-aged person is 100+ up, the chances are extremely small that the weight will change significantly.

I believe this b/c otherwise, if good habits are not in place and you know you are not capable of following rules, WLS will drop weight initially only; eventually it will come back up. The stats I heard from this local surgeon:  75% will regain - 25% will be successful.

So the odds with WLS are much better, but if one thinks that WLS is the final answer - it isn't. Dieting and self-control/monitoring goes on forever.

We fatchicks tend to think, oh so WHAT...I'm fat. And being fat really is getting more "acceptable" as more of us climb the scale. But as for me...I'm with you, if for no other reason, my joint & mobility issues are so precious - I'd do ANY thing to not be more obese than I am this minute. If I were SMO, all the more reason!

I would love to have WLS, I'm struggling to stay on plan, and I'm sure I'd struggle afterwards with emotional eating issues, but I thing I need the surgury to succed, and all my doctors seem to think so too. The only thing holding me back is OHP won't pay for it, and I can't afford it. I'm trying to appeal the insurance decision, and until then keep struggling to stay on my plan.

I'm glad you've been so successful and you feel that great free feeling!

Good Luck Heather.  I hope all your dreams come true.

In the meantime, can you get into a program like Weigh****chers or TOPS?  I don't know much about TOPS as there are none in NYC.  I think though that either of these programs will help you to be accountable.  I go to WW every single week for the last year and a half and it helps so much to have to go in and weigh.  I found the greatest group leader who runs a fantastic meeting, wonderful support, some friends.  It feels real good.

Best,
Leila

I've gone to WW a couple times in the past, and it seemed to work. My problem is that it's too expensive for me. I don't have much to work with, so I'm trying to do it on my own. I've heard of TOPS and that it's less expensive and I think we have one around here, I'm just not sure I'd have the time to go...and I'm not just saying that, I'm a single mom and a full time college student, and when I'm not in school I have my 5 yr old...pretty sure I couldn't bring her to the meetings, and childcare is too expensive.