Not trying to be so negitive but..

markeeley

At 400 pounds I made the choice to skip gastric bypass and lap ban surgery. with hard work I have lost 100 pounds to date. But I kind of get upset when I hear people who had this surgery talk about how much weight they have lost, when they took the easy route.
No problem at all with people who had the surgery if it was vital for health and life.
I also had my own mother go through with this surgery. I had to hear her talk about how much she has lost and how fun shopping for clothes is now. Two years later, her weigh is climbing back up ..

What does everyone else think?

ChantalGG

I think you are amazing to do it this way. People will have so much more respect for you.

mvandommelen

I think if you work hard to take off the weight, you appreciate your journey more than those who had the surgery. When you remember the hours spent working out, or the diet changes you made, you never take that for granted. When you work hard for anything, it is always worth it in the end. Keep working hard, bc when you reach your goal, you will never allow yourself to gain it back because you will remember the battle to lose it! Keep your head up!

kimbux

Congratulations on your weight loss..... I have to agree - I, too, don't agree with weight loss surgery (and am sure someone is going to HATE me because I said that). I can name 3 friends who have had the surgery AND gained back all their weight plus some over the years. I also had a realtive GAIN 20 lbs to be eligible for weight loss surgery only to have the surgery go terribly wrong and nearly die.

Bottom line - NOTHING is better than exercise and hard work.

Keep it up - you are going to be a star :happy:

TDGee

This can be a hotly debated topic here. Congrats on your successes with the choice you made. I'm going to sit back and watch the poo storm build now.

SueInAz

My best friend made the same decision you did. Since she is already pre-diabetic, she chose a low carb (Atkins) way of life. She lost over 100 pounds 5 years ago and has kept it off.

I know quite a few people who went the surgery route, too. The problem with the surgical options is that they FORCE people to eat differently for awhile, but don't teach them to actually eat better. Once their stomachs stretch back out, a lot of them go back to their old (bad) eating habits and the weight comes back on. I actually feel more sorry for them than anything else.

That isn't to say that a couple of them haven't kept the weight off years after their surgery, because I know of two who have, but they also made a commitment to exercise and eat better when they decided on the surgery.

Of course, I also had one friend who actually died during the surgery from a bad reaction to the general anesthetic. It's definitely not without its risks....
Edited for typos!

faith12207

I think you are amazing to do it this way. People will have so much more respect for you.

Agreed and well said.

gel91

You done the hard way yeah, but it's also the smart way.

Being healthy is nothing unless you work for it, then you can really appricate every second of hard work that goes into you feeling that great. Knowing you're the only reason you are feeling that way!

MayMaydoesntrun

I think you may be a tad judgemental...

I've not had the surgeries or had to lose 100+ pounds, and I commend anyone, no matter how they did it, for doing it.

ilike2run

i agree--kudos to your for taking the route that has THE best chance for success!!! at 285 lbs, my friend spend 3 years appealing to her insurance company to pay for lap band--the repeatedly denied her. She finally started putting all that energy into healthy eating and exercise!!! She lost 135 lbs!!! No surgery necessary...it is the long hard road but with the greatest reward!!! Keep it up!!!

Nomomush

I think there are 100 ways to get to a destination. The journey you pick is your journey not anyone else's. I think if someone knew that you opted not to have the surgery and they did and they knew what you were trying to do, then they should be considerate and refrain or limit the amount of conversation they are have with you about it...if they knew how it makes you feel.

As for the journey you picked...kudos to you girl. This is the hardest journey in our life and you will be thankful for the it soon. Keep it up. The rewards will be tremendous and you know you did it the good ol' fashioned healthy way.

kenzietea

I have never considered it an option myself, and I do see exactly where you are coming from. The problem with these surgeries is many times the men and women who get them still don't learn the eating and exercise habits you need to stay at your healthy weight, and the weight does come back on. Look at Carnie Wilson, she lost all the weight and looked great for a while, but is obese again. I don't think it is the easy way out necessarily, but I don't always think spending the money and having to go through a difficult recovery is always the best choice.

LillysGranny

I think that it might take you longer to reach your goal, but when you get there you'll actually know how to live like a healthy person and you will maintain your weight. None of us appreciates anything that we didn't work our butts off for....ask anyone with a teenager!

rudegyal_b

the slimband ads on mfp dont help

bomomar

I think anyone can take the easy way out, but, it is so much more rewarding when you put in the hard work. I think you will do better in the long run because you know how much work it is and wont want to go back. If you have surgery its easy to let it go and say it's ok I can just do surgery again. I also don't think surgery of any kind is a good idea if you don't have to. You are doing it the right way. Great job on the 100 pound mark that is awesome. You are awesome.

cbrick143

my mother had surgery as well (last summer), and just about every time I speak with her, she has to mention how much weight she has lost - it is frustratingly annoying, especially since she never truly tried to lost any weight on her own. Kudos to you for putting in the hard work to reach your goals! Keep up the good work!

ohwhataday

I commend you for doing it the 'hard' way! Great job! And I feel like that's much more of an accomplishment than with any surgery, no offense to those that have had it. But I feel like most of those people will gain some amount of it back. You really have to be mentally prepared.. I could imagine.

bcattoes

I think you are 100% correct. Doing it the harder way is best unless it is a matter of life and death, because doing it slowly teaches you how to maintain your weight once you've lost it. Losing it quickly does not, which it sounds like your mother may be finding out. I hope for her sake that she can learn good habits now to prevent gaining all the weight back. From what I've heard most people who go the surgery route also have to deal with a lot of unsightly skin because of the rapid weight loss. You are less likely to have that because your skin will have time to adjust as you lose more slowly.

Your weight loss so far is very impressive!! Good luck to you!

grassette

Good for you for finding the alternative to surgery. It takes a long time to recover from surgery, and sometimes there are side effects that you never recover from. And the life style changes learned in the self-discipline needed to diet will help you over the long term. Not taking the easy way out is what you needed, what you decided, and don't let anyone else throw you off course. As Mother Teresa used to say: "It's between you and God; never between you and other people".

av8rblond

I agree..if you had to work to get the pounds off then I am sure you are more likely to not regain. I would be interested to see if there is a long term study to see after 5 years what peoples weight was. Did the people that had lap band really keep losing pounds or did they plateau and then climb again?

I respect everyones decision's for their own lives, and appreciate that both bring their own sets of challenges but I must admit I think the surgery is a bit of a cop out.

calimari

I understand where you are coming from, but I would not say that the surgery is the "easy way out" either. I have known a few people who have had this surgery - for two, they have been successful, but they have had to remain vigilant about what they eat to maintain where they are at. They are forced into a lifestyle change AFTER the fact, whereas you are CHOOSING a lifestyle change instead. For two others, they died of complications from the surgery. One was a girl who was very heavy all thru school. I saw her at our 20 year reunion - she looked beautiful - had a handsome man on her arm - he took me aside & told me he was going to propose to her the next month, at Xmas. He did, they got married, she got pregnant - and then complications from the surgery - she and the baby died. So, no - I don't think she took the easy way out either.

We all get to this point differently. We have all tried different approaches with different levels of success or non-success. We all lead different lives. You take pride in knowing what you are doing is the healthier way, albeit more difficult way, to lose weight. The others might seem to be taking pride in taking the "easy way" - but you don't know what is in store for them down the road. Be gracious and let them enjoy their success as well. It never hurts to smile and say "Yes, I know - I'm enjoying buying some new clothes too."