Question:
Should I diet instead of surgery?
I need your feedback on this one! My doctor requires that patients lose some wt prior to surgery to show that they are committed to wt loss after surgery. I have lost 20 lbs in just over a month by eating right and a little exercise. I lost wt before ..lots of it...w/ dieting..kept it off for a very long time, too. I gained it back about 3 yrs ago due to some awful things happening all at once. I went into a depression and ate and ate..you all know the story! Well, anyhow, my daughter says that she knows that I can take this wt off w/o surgery as I have before. Only trouble is that I know I can lose wt but I eventually go off the diet..little by little. then I am back to "square one" again. I guess maybe I have answered my own question, huh? Anyone had thoughts about this kind of an issue prior to surgery, too? If so, what did you do about it? Thanks! — kathy S. (posted on May 26, 2000)
May 26, 2000
Kathy, I think everyone on this site identifies with the
"lifetime" of ups and downs, peaks and valleys, in the struggle
to conquer the battle of weight loss. There came a time for me when my
body and my emotional health just said...ENOUGH!! I had the surgery, am off
my diabetic medications, have dropped one of my BP medications, and my
joints feel better today than they have in over 5 years. Remember that
your family loves you and has some very natural anxiety about the surgery
you're planning and that's the reason they're encouraging you to take the
diet approach again...my husband felt the same way. Right up to the moment
we were walking through the door of the hospital, he was telling me that I
could still change my mind...then he was able to let it go. You have to
help the people who love you most to understand the physical and emotional
pain of all the past months and years and how impossible it is to
anticipate a future filled with that. Be patient with your
family...they'll come around and then you all will share a whole new life
together. Best of luck!
— Diana T.
May 26, 2000
Kathy,
I turned 40 last year, and, too, have had some very successful
weight losses (and regains!) I just couldn't do it anymore.
The thought of having to work so hard only to have it come back
on (as it always did) did me in. I just don't have the energy
to do it the way I did when I was younger and didn't have a
family to care for. I am 4 months post op- down 61 lbs.
The surgery isn't easy, but the eating afterwards is. Even
if I want sweets (which I don't too often) I can't eat the amount
I ate before. My energy is back, my life is busy-but I can
keep up better! Trust me, this surgery REALLY is a great tool-
the best one I have ever had!!! Good Luck!
— M B.
May 26, 2000
Well let me say this there was no way I could lose weight before WLS. My
doctor at the VA said to do it now and she was cofident that I would lose
weight. She was right I went and got my surgery on 2/9/00 and my weight
was 481 lbs
now I am at 370 and feeling 100% better, I say the hell with waiting this
surgery saved my life. Been losing weight up and down for 25 years, I knew
that I couldn't lose and keep it off. NOW I DO good luck.
Richard J.
— Richard J.
May 26, 2000
Should you diet rather than have surgery?
Well, that all depends on your goals. Do you want to gain
weight or lose it? If you want to gain weight, then by all
means go on a diet. You will lose for a brief period of time
and then gain it all back and then some. (Fat always finds
some new friends out there to bring home with it after you
diet!) However, if you want to lose weight and not find it
again, surgery is the best strategy. You will still have
to plan your eating but it will be nothing like dieting
is now. Good luck!
— [Deactivated Member]
May 26, 2000
Hi, I am 10 weeks postop today and have lost 48 lbs. I am 55 years old, and
even though I knew my health was really getting bad, I didn't realize how
bad it was until I started feeling better. In only ten weeks my energy and
vitality has returned I have completely turned my life around by having the
Gastric Bypass (RNY). My blood pressure has returned to normal, I no
longer have acid reflux, My joints have stopped hurting and I am almost
ready to have a repeat sleep study to see if I still suffer from sleep
apnea. I feel 100% better and only have 70 more lbs to lose. I am so
happy I went through with the surgery, I have had no complications and the
only regret I have is that I didn't have it done sooner. I did what you
are considering and just tried to struggle through by dieting and not
facing my failing health issues. I no longer suffer from asthma and have
so much energy its unbelievable. I am still fighting my insurance because
I was denied but even if I have to pay, I am sure with all my heart and
soul it was the right thing to do. I know it is a hard decision to make
but you have to do what is best for you. I wish you Good Luck in your
decision.
— Jeanie W.
May 26, 2000
I, too, have lost weight many times over the years and always regained it
all plus more. I have lost about 30 lbs the past couple months because my
surgeon also requires weight loss before surgery. I started thinking why
have surgery if I can lose weight like I've been doing just eating healthy.
Well, sure I can lose weight but I am 100% sure it will ALL return plus
more. For me, that answered my question and my surgery is next month!!
Can't wait!!
— Denise K.
May 26, 2000
I know how you feel the decision is up to you but I am tired of gaining it
back. I am going for the gold no matter what the outcome. I have to try.
Good luck and God bless.
— MARILYN H.
May 26, 2000
Should you diet instead of wt loss surgery? Hmmm. My doctor gave me a list
of things to do before surgery. One of them was to lose 10-15 pounds.
Which I did, in the first 2 weeks. But it was 6 weeks before my pre-op
appointment. When I weighed in I had gained 4 pounds. I had been completely
compliant with everything else he had asked. I felt all the shame, guilt
and humiliation of failing at "a diet" yet one more time, even
though I know this is a phenomena beyond my control. I think the research
of morbid obesity shows diets don't work. And continuing to do the
samething over and over again, expecting a different outcome, is insanity.
Fondly,
— merri B.
May 26, 2000
Hi Kathy:
I noticed that you have had plenty of responses. This is a great site. All
of the people here are so nice and caring and HELPFUL. Well to give you my
opinion. We all know it is not healthy to yo yo diet. We all know every
one of us can loose weight(HAHA) we could write a book on it. But as you
said the minute you get depressed or let your guard down, well hello
weight. I have been a size 12 to a 26 and I am in an appeals with my
insurance company. Look at it this way if you get the gastric bypass, its
bye be weight forever, no more all kinds of sizes in your closet. But it
is your decison you will be the person to live with what ever decison you
make. I do advise you to pray about it. Converse with the wonderful people
on this site and then compare the pros and cons. You will come up with a
decison. Good luck
— Kim W.
May 26, 2000
It is very natural for your family members to try to get you to try dieting
"one last time". They love you and are fearful for you. But at
some point in time you have to ask yourself, how many more times is
"one last time". Becoming a healthier you is not only beneficial
to you but to your family as well.
— Paula G.
May 27, 2000
Kathy, Before my surgery, my cousin (who is also overweight)questioned my
decision for wls. I wondered why she felt she seemed to be so against it
since we had grown up together and she, of all my friends and family,
should have understood the pain my obesity was causing me. I finally asked
her why she was so against it. She told me that she had remembered another
cousin's wls (over 20 years ago and just didn't want me to get
"sick". My response was to simply tell her that I was already
"sick". I'm a diabetic with high blood pressure, neuropathy in
my hands and no life (to speak of). I've been "overweight" for
better than 30 years, have tried every diet in the book and I simply don't
have another 30 years to continue to try to lose the weight via
conventional methods. I want to be around long enough to meet my
grandchildren someday. She was just concerned for me, but she's a big
supporter now. Another "aquaintance" told me when I told her I
was losing weight because I'd had wls, "Oh, shoot, cj, you could have
done that yourself...look at all the expense and time you've wasted".
I was a little dumbfounded at her response, but I asked her if she honestly
thought that I hadn't tried to lose the weight (and/or keep it off) in the
past 30 years? We all know what we have to do in order to lose the weight,
but years and years of yo-yo dieting only hurts us in the long run and our
bodies really do begin to believe we "weigh what we weigh" and
won't cooperate with us anymore when we try to lose. I think of my wls as
an adjustment to my body that will finally allow my body to respond to my
weight loss effort the way that it is supposed to. Someone once said that
the reason they were overweight was because their stomach was too big and
their small intestines were too long. I liked that and if you think about
it, (in my case, at least) it's true. You probably can lose the weight,
Kathy, by going on another diet and only you can decide if you want to try
that. I can only speak for myself, but this surgery has given me a new
hope that I haven't had in a very long time. Good luck and God bless. cj
— cj T.
June 6, 2000
We've all dieted ... and dieted ... and dieted ... and gained it back ...
gained it back ... gained it back plus fifty ... or sixty ... or a hundred
pounds. Before I got pregnant with my second son in early 1990, I lost
almost 100 pounds in less than 9 months. I gained back 153 over the next
ten years, and lost anywhere from twenty to fifty pounds repeatedly during
the same time period. The best way I've heard the "diet versus
surgery" argument put was from my surgeon. He told me that, of 100
people needing to lose the amount of weight we morbidly obese people do
(like 100 - 150 pounds), probably all of them could lose it with diet and
exercise; HOWEVER, only THREE of those 100 people would keep it off for
longer than one year. In other words, dieting alone for the morbidly obese
has a FAILURE RATE of 97%. No wonder we're so fed up, p***ed off, and
generally cranky by the time we get to surgery! I had an open VBG on
4/17/00, have forever lost 52# in the seven weeks since, and have
absolutely no regrets! Don't let the turkeys get you down ... follow your
own heart!
— Cheryl Denomy
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