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Bariatric surger the only option

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Okohme
Okohme Posts: 152 Member
in Debate Club
I made a lot of headway in dieting and exercising and almost stopped when I first read the 95% stat. You know what I mean. :/
So, not to beat a dead horse but here's this topic again, sort of.
I've done a lot of reading on the issue of metabolic damage and one of the things that really stood out to me was the whole "The NIH recognized bariatric (weight-loss) surgery as the only effective treatment to combat severe obesity and maintain weight loss in the long term."
I've seen that reiterated in a number of ways, sometimes omitting the portion about sever obesity. Is it just me, or does it seem somewhat suspect that the ONLY recognized method is a dangerous, invasive surgery? I'm not saying it doesn't work, I know people for whom it HAS worked. But the ONLY method......?
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Replies

  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    DisruptedMatrix wrote: »
    What is the first 95% stat? :o

    That 95% of people who lose weight gain it back, if not more.
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
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    zyxst wrote: »
    DisruptedMatrix wrote: »
    What is the first 95% stat? :o

    That 95% of people who lose weight gain it back, if not more.

    That state came from a low protein diet study in 1959. The stat is still high at 80, and that's because people tend to give up on the eating habits that caused the weight loss in the first place.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    edited November 2016
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    Jimb376mfp wrote: »
    I'm a 68 yo who was overweight from my late 20s. I lost and regained many times.
    in 2012 When I got up to 376# I considered WLS but was afraid of it and the aftermath.
    I joined WW Jan 2013 and have lost -145#. I have changed my lifestyle and know I can live this way the rest of my life. I'm still losing (slowly) and have not gained back any weight during the past four years.
    IT CAN BE DONE but it's not easy. I agree with @JoeCWV and @ElvenToad and their POV.

    Totally brilliant :flowerforyou:
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    edited November 2016
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    GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    I know several people who had bariatric surgery. They all gained the weight back. The surgery reduces the size of your stomach and limits the amount of food your stomach can hold at once, which naturally forces you to eat less. You still have to learn effective habits because you can stretch it back out, meaning you wasted all that money and time for nothing.

    All weight loss, surgical or otherwise, relies on continuing positive habits after the extra weight is gone. You can take the time to learn them as you lose or you can be forced into a situation where you have to learn them immediately. The conversations I have had with those who gained it all back showed that they didn't take time to fix the mental part of it and that when they lost the weight the second time they made sure to fix how they saw things and approached food the second time around.

    I know three people who had the surgery. Only one has been successful at maintaining her loss.

    She's the only one who from the start acknowledged that she had to make sweeping changing to her whole lifestyle and relationship with food and worked hard to do just that.

    The other two started looking for ways to game the whole thing as soon as they could. They were just looking for a quick fix and never acknowledged the part they played in their problem.

    Similar story here. I know four people who've had it done (various types of procedures). It's been about 3 yrs since the most recent one I know about and none have kept it off.

    One ended up back in the hospital with systemic organ failure. He recovered and is mostly back to normal, health-wise. The best explanation the doctors were able to come up with was a combination of malnutrition and a low-grade infection from surgery that turned into much more as the months passed. This guy either did not get any advice on how to eat after surgery or he threw it all out the window from day one. Hard to tell.

    Two went the more common route of losing about 60-70% of what they needed to get to a healthy weight and then started putting it back on when their stomach stretched back out and they weren't so careful about their diets anymore, although they will tell you they are still eating the way they were. It is obvious that both are now eating much more volume at a sitting than they were even remotely capable of months after surgery. We're talking at least 3x more - which is why the weight creeps back on. One of these two was just prescribed a doctor-recommended VLCD because his weight is starting to cause heart issues.

    The fourth went the route of losing everything he wanted to lose, and gaining every bit of it back. This guy used to be an athlete. More than a hobbyist, but not a pro. A bicyclist and very lean and muscled - the last person you would have thought would have 1) gained enough to be morbidly obese, 2) had surgery to lose it given he knew how to lose that weight already, and 3) gain it all back again. Then, although we didn't know this at the time, he decided to do something about the fact he was unhappy with his marriage and ready for a change. Guess what - now that he had plenty of motivation, he dieted and exercised the way he already knew how to do and was down to healthy and well muscled again pretty quickly. Then he divorced his wife, who had stuck with him through the whole mess for a younger woman. :headdesk:
  • panda4153
    panda4153 Posts: 417 Member
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    You are correct it is not the only way to lose weight and keep it off. I think that it probably comes down to how often it occurs though. Please also keep in mind it is specifically saying severe obesity. I think everything should be looked at in context. Your statement "The NIH recognized bariatric (weight-loss) surgery as the only effective treatment to combat severe obesity and maintain weight loss in the long term." is stemming from some very specific studies, but of course most weight loss places and practitioners leave that part out. There is also a ton of anecdotal evidence that we all have, hence the I knew someone who....(insert did/did not) I would like to know more about what context that original statement is being made in and the details around the studies before forming my opinion about that statement. Its possible that traditional methods of WL for severely obese fail at such a high rate that it is deemed ineffective. Not because it doesn't actually work but because so few are successful with it. That of course comes down to personal accountability which is a whole other debate. You also mention the health risks of surgery which are very valid. However, its possible that in cases where surgery is truly warranted other health risks outweigh those. Surgery is definitely not for me. However, while at one point in my life i was in the obese category, I was never severely or morbidly obese. I did not worry about not waking up because the weight on my organs was too much. I do not feel it is my place to discount how surgery could help individuals in that case.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
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    My boss had this surgery back in February this year and immediately dropped 20 lbs. He never increased his motion and never changed his eating habits. He is now at the same weight he was before trending heavier.

    At the same point - my team and I moved into a new building with a small gym. We stopped taking lunches and instead workout daily and then eating at our desks. We have all lost weight and establishing good habits which have a much higher chance of succeeding long term.

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