thinking about weight loss surgery

redheadedgal

I am in the process of having weight loss surgery. I have done everything, now just waiting for insurance approval. I started this journey last January and keep being on the fence about it. One week I'll count calories and think "i can do this, I don't need no stinkin' surgery", then I fall off the wagon and hate that my jeans are too tight and then I am ready for the surgery, right then and there. I have 140 to 160 pounds to lose to be not overweight, to have a healthy BMI. I will say the other times I did MFP, I didn't know about the forums. Knowing about these now and seeing people that have lost the kind of weight that I need to lose is soooooooooooooo inspirational. I love to hear stories about weight loss and if anyone would share theirs with me, I would love to be friends with you and share motivation.

Cmandy67

I was wondering if you wanted to know about the alternative my friend tried instead of weigh tloss surgery. She lost the weightshe needed and kept on going and did not need ths surgeruy afterall.

redheadedgal

The alternative? I didn't think there was anything other than diet and exercise, and hard work and willpower.

farmers_daughter

Alternatives....yes. Gimmicks, and and "one little trick" blah blah blah....I'm not judging anyone here I'm only repeating what I've seen and heard first hand experience people go through.

The surgery fails you every time.

Once you believe the surgery will "finally be your answer" and you will work hard after you have it done. You have failed yourself.

It's a temporary unbelievebaly costly fix. Key word. Temporary.

I have moments like you when my pants are so tight I want to cry....but nothing absolutely nothing except hard work and determination and constantly teling yourself "no" to bad choices will get you the results you want.

There are too many people that show off how good they look on here but what they don't understand is that not everyone is the same, and for you OP, you maybe similar to me, we have to work 10X as hard as the one person who "screams and yells at you that it takes hard work, see I did it" she/he will never know what a LONG hard struggle is to acheive a 5 or 10 lb weight loss.


OP - You can do this, it takes a MENTAL overhaul though.

teesams21

I started the weightloss surgery process myself. To lose the required weight (8-12 lbs) presurgery I joined MFP. BY the time my first follow up visit came to see where I was with all of the requirements ( about 3 months later) I had lost 25lbs. Needless to say I kept on going and did not do the surgery. And quite honestly when people ask me how I did it, it is the best feelinf in the world for me to be able to tell them I did it with good old fashioned hard work and will power. I am now about 12 lbs from my goal weight (total lost 79) and it will be a year next week. Good luck to you!

Cmandy67

You may think you've tried everything ...like her ...but she found a good program that not everyone knows about. Message me.

I was wondering if you wanted to know about the alternative my friend tried instead of weigh tloss surgery. She lost the weightshe needed and kept on going and did not need ths surgeruy afterall.

sarahertzberger

In my honest opinion, if you get the surgery but haven't had to try to eat better, or exercise then, it would seem to me that eventually the weight would just come back on after the surgery if you can's stick with eating better or less, or working out. It would just be bad if you ended up getting the surgery and then after a year your weight went right back up. I would say just try it give it 6 months and push yourself to see what you can do, try your hardest to prove it to yourself. You can do it!!

Momf3boys

Only you know what is best for you. Don't let people tell you that surgery is the "easy way out". I have witnessed many friends have weight loss surgery and work their tales off to lose the weight...sure, there are folks out there that think it's a quick fix but you have to work at it, it gives assistance to you. There are ways around weight loss surgery...meaning, you can have surgery and still not follow what you are suppose to do and it won't work. Everybody is different. Try to stay positive and everything will work out in the end. Remember this...Thin feels better than food tastes!!! You can do it...no matter what you decide to do, you can make it work. :happy:

1stday13

I am in the process of having weight loss surgery. I have done everything, now just waiting for insurance approval. I started this journey last January and keep being on the fence about it. One week I'll count calories and think "i can do this, I don't need no stinkin' surgery", then I fall off the wagon and hate that my jeans are too tight and then I am ready for the surgery, right then and there. I have 140 to 160 pounds to lose to be not overweight, to have a healthy BMI. I will say the other times I did MFP, I didn't know about the forums. Knowing about these now and seeing people that have lost the kind of weight that I need to lose is soooooooooooooo inspirational. I love to hear stories about weight loss and if anyone would share theirs with me, I would love to be friends with you and share motivation.

I was where you are right now. I finally made my decision once and for all. ( Just recently) I started back on MFP 25 days ago. Do me a favor & go to my profile & read my story, Sounds a lot like yours. We all have to decide what is best for ourselves. Friend me if you like & or feel free to message me. Good Luck in your decision whichever it is :flowerforyou:

Cmandy67

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x4grRXo7W4&feature=youtu.be

Hbazzell

please check out gainsthroughloss.com

angelams1019

Bump! Switching computers!

onefatwife

My husband had the gastric sleeve back in October and is doing great. It comes with struggles and you have to have tremendous willpower. He was at the point, he could not do it on his own. It has been one of the best things he has ever done. I think you need to really ask yourself if you can do it own your own. My husband is 37 and is more active now than ever. I personally, am trying to loose the weight on my own. I'm not nearly as big as my husband, but feel I need to give it everything I've got before even thinking about surgery. I'm proud of my husband for eating right, exercising and having willpower. Good luck in whatever you decide.

monkeypantz

When I was at my heaviest I thought of weightloss surgery, but I didn't go down that route but took the following advice:

1 - The Key is wanting it bad enough, then the willpower will follow.

2 - No one said it was easy and you have to take one day at a time - eventually a week will past by and you'll start to see the difference already, then a month etc....the small scales victory will then help motivate you more to shift the rest.

3 - The first 3 days are the hardest, but take time to think about all your actions then and once you've conquered that it's slightly easier to conquer the next day, then the next etc.

4 - (and to me the most important point) Surround yourself with people who love and support you and have a Positive Mental Attitude about getting healthy.

beebee70394

I thought about getting the surgery too...but I didn't do it. About 4 years ago I took a photo of my daughterinlaw at her baby shower. I was bigger than her and she was 8 months pg. I decided then and there I was going to have that surgery. Instead I tried eating less. I used a smaller plate, I always took half of what I ate out in a go plate so I could have the meal in two sittings instead of one. I drank loads of water. I lost about 35 pounds in 5 months. No one noticed but I did. My clothes were not as tight. I managed to keep that off. a year later ww online. Lost 56 pounds in 8 months. It sounds slow but it really was not that hard and with ww points it was easy to follow. I gave up after that and gained some of it back. I guess I was just not ready to be fully committed. Last February I tried ww online again and this time I lost 78 pounds in 9 months. I feel great. all together I have lost 112 pounds over a 4 year period. sounds slow but believe me it is the way to go. MY friend had the surgery, she lost 98 pounds in a year and then gained it all back plus some. she is now slowly loosing pounds with me. I have heard so many terrible stories about the surgery and I personnally know 3 people who have had it and have all gained all or most of their weight back.
If you get a support group going you will loose weight. You are worth the effort. I have a group of 6 friends on a private facebook page and we are there for each other. You can do this without the pain and danger of a surgery. think about it!
I think it all boils down to how much you eat rather than what you eat. having surgery will not teach you how to eat. it is just a quick temporary fix.

MDixon26

Weight loss surgery is a serious commitment. I see some people on here refer to it as "the easy way out" or a "quick fix" that doesn't stick. It all depends on the person, and in my opionion the surgical team you go with.

I was very much on the fence about having WLS about a year ago. I decided to go ahead with it and do the 6 month prep work of diet and exercise, if I followed it all and didn't felt like I lost enought weight I would go through with it. I joined MFP, started logging, and exercising, and lost about 13lbs. I didn't feel like that was enough. I wanted to be healthier and I was scared, terrified, of how bad my health was.

I went to my doctor and he referred me to a specialist. I spent months doing prep work, continuing to exercise and eat healthy, and learning about the surgery and lifestyle required after surgery. I would never, ever, say it was an easy way out. Does it make losing weight easier? Absolutely! Does it make the weight just fall off of you with no effort required? Not from my experience. My surgeon very carefully explains in a new patient seminar that WLS is a tool, one you use to aid in weight loss and not a magic bullet.

For myself, I knew I could keep going and exercising and eating right and things might work out just how I wanted, but I wanted that "tool" to help me. I do not regret it for a single second. In the end you have to make the choice that is right for you, only you know if you can change your lifestyle.

wibutterflymagic

In my honest opinion, if you get the surgery but haven't had to try to eat better, or exercise then, it would seem to me that eventually the weight would just come back on after the surgery if you can's stick with eating better or less, or working out. It would just be bad if you ended up getting the surgery and then after a year your weight went right back up. I would say just try it give it 6 months and push yourself to see what you can do, try your hardest to prove it to yourself. You can do it!!

This is my opinion. I have a friend that did the surgery and in the hospital she said to everyone "Do whatever you have to do NOT to have to have this surgery". 150lbs may seem like a lot but it's not really. The surgeries are so life altering that I can even comprehend it. My friend has a background in the medical field, is extremely intelligent, totally understood the surgery is not a quick fix and is following her diet plan set up by her doctors and her hair is thinning. It's noticably thinner. She has to be extremely careful how much she eats or she becomes very ill. I really feel for her. If you can lose the 25lbs for surgery then you can continue to lose. I think you would be much happier with yourself knowing you lost the weight the healthy way instead by surgery. You've already lost a decent amount of weight! YOU CAN DO IT!! That's why everyone is here to help and support one another.

sadie003

thanks everyone. l am not going to have surgery. l can do this!