gastric bypass / starvation mode??

k9bloodhoundSARgirl

This is a tough one. There is not one answer that is good for everyone. I'm facing the choice of surgery right now. A little background: I have about 140 lbs to loose. I have lost weight before, but had the issue of keeping it off. So the answer everyone today jumps on is weight loss surgery. Most of my friends and family believe I should do this and the doctors all believe I must do this. I also am 37 and have no medical issues related to obesity at this time.

So with that being said, all the doctors think that this tool will help me to loose the weight. Will it help me to maintain it...well that is something for the future. I also believe that is the bigger issue here. While there is huge amounts of money to be made in the weight loss industry, there is very little to be made in the maintenance of the weight industry. Therefore the help is not there. Yes, some programs like weight watchers touch on it, but it is not being addressed properly.

I feel that a lot more emphasis needs to be on the actual maintenance of the weight. Don't forget maintaining weight is a major part of your life time wise. Weight loss is generally only up to 2 years of your life.These discussions needs to be done right away before, during and after the patient looses the weight. It needs to be talked about always. Example: What is your goal weight? Approx how many calories do you need to maintain that weight. How much exercise do you need? What will you do when faced with stress and how will you deal with it? How much will you gain back before you must loose again? Very few ask these questions.

Getting back to the topic at hand, because gastric bypass is essentially a major restriction of calories and well if you are a candidate for it you have plenty of fat, I don't think we need to concern ourselves with starvation mode. Yes the metabolic rate will drop a bit, but that should be least of our concerns. That little bit of drop in metabolic rate is not going to effect overweight patients too drastically. There are some studies out there from Oxford University and Rochester University that did actual tests on this.

JewelsinBigD

im a nurse and take care of the aftermath of gastric bypass patients .. the aftermath being a ton of complications that take place . anyone i know personally or through being a patient looks like crap. they dont eat right and they typically do not exercise . their bad habits typically do not change or they try to adjust themselves to continue bad habits such as eat crap in small amounts and still not exercise. most of them gain the weight back too. i was 300lbs and i did it the right way. my way never worked. i found out the right way does work - eat healthier and exercise and drink plenty of water. thats all it takes

nurse here also, dont work with them all the time but i do see patients who have had them, and i agree so many complications cosntant blood tests to see what nutrients the patient is missing, often times they become anemic and lack so many vitamins, yes i have seen good turnouts but more often i see patients slowly increase weight after a few years. they tend to stretch their stomachs out again to almost what it used to be. i think in extreme cases it may be needed for those morbidly morbidly obese where its a live or die situation, but if its jsut due to laziness i dont agree with it

I have a friend who did this surgery and is gaining it back - she got down to very good weight - but since has put 40 pounds on. I thought about it but my husband said absolutely not - and I think it was the right call.

MrsB123111

I know several people who chose to go with Gastric instead of doing the work it takes to lose the weight. The don't look healthy at all!!! they thought it was an easy fix... started loosing their hair and they looked deathly because their bodies don't absorb the nutrients.

And I know several that have lost the weight maintained and not only look healthy and physically fit but are. There are many who are now running 5ks, marathons, and competing in triathalons. I don't know a single one who "didn't do the work to lose weight" it is not an easy fix, it takes a LOT of work.

As for loosing their hair many people do 3 mo. after major surgery it's due to the anesthesia not the surgery itself. Some bypass patients lose hair because they choose not to eat a protein forward diet and don't get enough in, but that is a slim minority.

As for not absorbing the nutrients, they don't from food but they supplement with a vitamin regimen that keeps them on track, it in no way makes them look "deathly".

One should really educate themselves before speaking.

I had bypass almost 3 years ago. I am now eating between 1500-1700 calories a day. When you first have the surgery, you eat a very small amount... Like 600-900 calories. This is just for your pouch to heal. Eventually, your stomach stretches slowly, you add more foods to your diet and get sick less... and by that time, the idea is to be involved in a lifestyle where you do not gain the weight back.

I workout 4-5 days a week and log all my food and take my vitamins. I never lost my hair, I never had complications, I never went into "starvation mode". If you follow the plan, as it's intended, you will succeed. Those who don't, will gain it back. Many people find that when they aren't getting sick from the foods they aren't supposed to have, they can just go right back to old habits. A HUGE part of the surgery is figuring out why you got to the weight you were, addressing it, and trying not to repeat your mistakes.

annwyatt69

If the "starvation mode" thing is true, why don't gastric bypass patients go into starvation mode?

Who says we don't?? I'm a year post surgery from gb and my metabolism is so slow and my weight loss stopped at 8 months out--I hit normal BMI at that point and to "ward off" starvation mode, I pick one day a week and try to double my calories with healthy fats, and good high calorie foods, while cutting back on the cardio.
I see too many gb patients gain while eating only 1500 or so calories a day. Our bodies get used to the low calorie and want to hold on that fat storage. I never believed the eat to lose, but you do have to feed your body.

LFSACRE

i like this it is all too true.
I am 4 years 7 months out from surgery i have gained 30 lbs but I know I have slowly added in more snacks (healthy but should not need ) I have to make the decision not to eat things i should not and not to over eat things that are good for you.
GB is not an easy way out but a tool to help you learn what you should be eating and exercising.