Question:
How long will surgery (RNY) be a tool?

I know that our window is between 6-12 months. My question is will surgery be a tool that we will have forever or does it lose it's usefulness after time? The reason I ask is that I see a lot of posts from long term post-ops who are looking for diets. Having lived a lifetime yo-yo dieting it concerns me that if for any reason I gain back a few pounds years down the road, will it be any easier too lose then it would if I hadn't had surgery?    — jerzeygirl71 (posted on November 5, 2002)

November 5, 2002
I have actually heard that the window is more like 12-18 months. 6 months seems like a very small window...and I really don't know that many morbidly obese people who have lost ALL their weight in that time frame. I think the tool can be used our whole lives, if we take care of it. If we start filling ourselves with junk and stretching our pouches, then I am sure we can make it where it doesn't work too well for us, but I do know many people pretty far post op that have managed to maintain their goal weights. I also think exercise is a big key to it. The ones who don't have to struggle with diets as much, seem to be those that have a religious exercise plan that they stick too. I think this surgery is what we make of it and how we choose to take care of ourselves! Good Luck! (open RNY 7/23/02 -82 pounds)
   — Shawnie S.

November 5, 2002
I'm 8 yrs postie. I do what I did AND I have good surgery, done right. Or at least the 2nd time. LOL! You have to have both. A good surgery, done right AND a good post-op plan you can live with it. I cannot diet. I avoid milk & sugar, and take protein supps & vitamins. That's all I do that's "odd". I eat normal fat, normal carbs (tend to avoid white ones, but not obsessively), normal foods, small portions. But I do not graze. So far, so good. If this is all I have to do, I can keep doing this.
   — vitalady

November 5, 2002
I think you hit the key word in the question. TOOL. This is only one tool to help you get healthier and lose the weight, it is up to us to learn to eat healthy and exercise. Some people say they did this so they wouldn't have to be on a diet for the rest of their lives. I think that is the wrong attitude to have. You have to learn to eat right (obviously we were not eating right before) and exercise. I think the surgery helps you get to a certain point, but you have to do the rest. People who regain weight have learned to cheat their new system....you could eat every couple hours if you wanted to....they start eating the same old things (HIGH CALORIE, HIGH FAT FOODS) and guess what? It catches up to them. Good Luck.
   — Sharon H.

November 5, 2002
The surgery will work as a tool for you for the rest of your life if you use it properly. The "window of opportunity" refers to the period of most rapid weight loss. According to my surgeon, at about a year, we start absorbing more calories - not all but more than in the first 12 months. Therefore, the losing slows some. But if you have used the year wisely and learned new and better eating habits, yes the tool will work forever. I know that my loss has slowed dramatically and I was hoping that the speedy loss would continue a little longer, but it hasn't. I am also hungry some now. But, having said that, I don't eat the high fat, high caloric foods I did before surgery and I don't eat sweets at all. I don't even eat sugar-free candy as it is very high calorie and non-nutritioius. I try to make my calories count. Occasionally, I do have a sugar-free ice cream treat but even that is rare. My one weakness is sugar free popsicles and I eat at least one a day. When I feel the need for something crunchy, instead of eating a bag of chips like I used to, I eat a few barbecued soy nuts - they are wonderful and very high in protein. So, even though I am not losing a lot of weight now, I am very conscious of what goes into my mouth and what it will do for me healthwise. The whole thing is about making wise choices. And the wisest choice I ever made was to have this surgery. Open RNY 11/29/01 -156 pounds
   — Patty_Butler

November 5, 2002
While the "window," or period of steady loss varies, I suspect that the habits you acquire during that period have at least as much to do with how long you keep losing and how well you keep the weight off as does the surgery itself. I'm not certain, but I think I've stopped losing at any significant rate--down to 185 from 348. I think the new habits we pick up, including exercise on a regular basis, are the biggest factors involved in keeping the weight off.
   — Chuck O.