Why do people consider weight loss surgery cheating?

RonnieLodge

I am scheduled to have a gastric bypass on May 24th. I have family and friends making snide comments about my decision. And I keep reading online posts about how weight loss surgery is so horrible because it is cheating.

I've seen and endocrinologist and several other specialists and all are agreeing that it is a good idea if I have weight loss surgery because it will change my hormone composition.

I see weight loss surgery as a tool...you still have to follow a strict diet and exercise program if you are going to be healthy. You have to be extremely diligent in taking your supplements and protein intake. You can never eat sugary or fatty foods again. It's not as easy as people think.

IMO, WLS is not cheating, I consider it to be people electing to give themselves a lifelong eating disorder. But that is just my opinion and like buttholes, every body has one.

Snide family & friends.......tell them to stfu.

As you have said, to you this is a tool. You have consulted with your medical professionals so you do what you want to do.

lovinmamaxo

I only think it's cheating when people hoop and holler about how great it is that they lost a big chunk of weight without acknowleging the surgery being the main reason. Similar to me taking credit for walking 37 miles into work when I drove a car. I know people I work with that have lost 150 lbs after surgery, but act like they did it on a treadmill.


Own it. If it's part of your process at getting healthy, then who cares what they think.

I agree with this. It's not cheating but it is a weight loss enhancing tool and I think it's a little annoying when people have WLS and go on about how they lost weight without being honest about everything that went into it. If you want WLS go for it and to hell what anyone thinks. If they think you cheated, so what. You'll have cheated your way to a great body and better healthy. They can deal. But when asked how you lost weight don't get all, "I just ate right and did pilates."

I had WLS i had the gastric bypass on March 5th 2013 my highest weight ever was 401 lbs! It's definitely not easy and i am honest about my surgery. I do take credit for all my weight loss while it is a "tool" we have to work the tool to make it work it's not magic weight loss. I also lost 104 lbs PRE-OP! I worked hard for every single pound i lost. I have lost 167 lbs to date and am now 234 lbs only 80 lbs until my goal.

ersopher

I think that those of you who do not know the facts about obesity and what it really does to a person should read up on it. You have an opinion sure but do you know the facts. try looking it up. Try finding out why some obese people "should just use will power". Find out why that is not the only factor for most. Try researching it some instead of throwing out that they should just "Stop" eating so much or "Just" get on a treadmill. It's so not the easy way out. They work just as hard or harder after having WLS. Its a tool a forceful tool to help with the process of losing weight. At least they are doing something about there health and it doesn't effect you personally so why do you care! Most people don't say they had it bc of the comments I'v read here. Why have someone who doesn't know you trash your choice to become healthy ANY way you can! Anyway I say do it live it own it and F*** everyone else.

ItsSlimpossible12

Well, it does effect me personally, so am I allowed to have an opinion? The psychological testing requirements to get this surgery done are A JOKE. I am the only person in a family of 4 who has not gotten lapband surgery. And guess what? I'm the only one that DOES have PCOS. Yet, somehow, I am managing to work my *kitten* off and lose the weight. It is slow going, but it is happening. My family? They all laugh at me when I say I don't want to eat something or can't join them until later because I have to work out. I literally get made fun of and "I don't know where you came from" every time I talk about going for a run or signing up for a race. They still eat total and complete crap, just a smaller amount of it. And sometimes, not so much smaller amounts of it because they eat to the point where they are puking at the table at restaurants because they eat too much for their synthetic bands INSIDE THEIR BODIES to handle! My dad literally lives on saltines and vanilla ice cream. That doesn't sound healthy to me. After doing research on this and how to HELP my family get the correct mentality, a lot of WL surgery patients do not have the right mental frame of mind before going in to this and they gain the weight back and cause themselves MORE health problems than before they got the surgery to get "healthy."

These are just family members. I won't even get into others I know with terrible experiences with WL surgery. A friend's mother that nearly died and is still in the hospital on a monthly basis due to gastric bypass. Or the horror stories and statistics I ran into while doing research trying to find the right way to help my family gain the proper, healthy mentality.

Can weight loss surgery be a good tool for those who will actually use it as such? Yes. Is it most definitely a tool that is used properly at all times? No. The opposite is true. And, not all of these stories are not from the same physician, same type of surgery, etc., Until restrictions and requirements are imposed on these procedures and it isn't just about doctors making complete BANK on this, consulting with your doctor doesn't mean squat.

I usually don't get involved in these forum "fights" but this is a topic I feel VERY strongly about. I have watched people slowly kill themselves because of WL surgery. If the medical community and its patients want people to take WL surgery seriously, they need to impose stricter requirements and evaluate these candidates.

I am a firm believer in to each his(her) own. Do whatever it is that works for you. But DO NOT put people down who think weight loss surgery is a dangerous joke and who try to talk you out of it because they are worried about you. Because we have our reasons for having that frame of mind. We love you and we want what is best for you. And while you may think this is the way to go (likely because it is, in fact, easy - ask yourself, if you can lose the weight in order to have the surgery, why can you not continue those habits to lose it at that rate to get to where you are), we have good reason to disagree with you.

lloydrt

It may work for many, others like your family , abuse it.........

I chose not to, but I know its a tool for some and thats great for me, anything to help peole get fit

also, I noticed a recent photo of Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christy, and he doesn't look as if he has lost any weight........so, it all depends on your frame of mind

great that you are able to lose it on your own, but try not to be so harsh on people who have had the surgery

Urban_Princess

There are some people who really need it. Those who are morbidly obese and cannot lose. My old roommate was one of those people and to her I would say it is a quick fix because she doesn't really try to lose weight and eats horribly (2 x 591ml bottles of pop daily, fries, pizza pops, frozen meals, doesn't like walking, etc). But if you genuinely tried and there is something holding you back like genetics, disease or an injury preventing you from exercising then it may be a good solution for you. Just don't deny that you have it.

Last year I was the heaviest I ever was coming in at 238 lbs. Growing up I was always athletic and fit so I knew I could go back to that and had that same mentality as I did when I was younger. Personally, I want to work for it. I just want get down to my ideal weight and say "holy shmoly, I did that. I can do anything". I don't think a WLS would help me because I'm finding good results through diet and exercise alone.

A lot of people don't understand some of the causes of obesity and the downwards spiral that can occur with some people. It is hard to change some people's mentality and they think that they cannot do it. For some, it literally takes counselling, moral support and confidence boosting before that person walks into the gym. So to say that WLS is cheating and that this person should just eat less is really bad. If your doctor recommends it (and truly recommends it) then I think they believe you are ideal. But if you can find results on your own and you have tried other solutions that work, I would stick with that before going under the knife.

Lives2Travel

I don't think it's cheating at all. Just another option that makes sense for some and not others. There is no right or wrong and certainly no one size fits all in weight loss.

ersopher

I don't think it's cheating at all. Just another option that makes sense for some and not others. There is no right or wrong and certainly no one size fits all in weight loss.

Nicely said!

llc7511

I had gastric bypass surgery a little over 3 years ago. I've gained 5 pound back after losing 110 (because of a crazy work schedule (75-85hr/wk) & not exercising for 6 weeks). I still need to drop the 5+ another 10. Now that I've lost it I've been doing 5k's & 10K's. planning on trying a half in May!! I'd never have been able to accomplish what I have without it!! Not cheating at all...I'm happy & healthy & that's all that matters!!!

jjbowersock

I've been trying to lose weight by following a 1200 Calorie diet, no soda, occasional chocolate to calm the cravings, smaller portions (change my plate size), more veggies and fruit and have been doing this since October 2011. Been on WW and Sensa and who knows what else. I have since only lost 17lbs (that I have kept off) and bounce between 200lbs and 210lbs all the time. I am now to a point where I am considering WLS but am going to give a new doctor a try first and then see where else we can get to. You don't always get to where you want, even over a large period of time doing everything you should. I even go workout at least 3 times a week with a personal trainer and still am not making any progress. It is horrible to be stuck when you try so hard. Depression sets in and WLS might be the only relieve to get you moving forward.

Do what you need to do to get healthy!!!

lizfiz50

For some people, it's the last resort after everything they've tried has failed. For others, it's an easy way to lose weight. It varies for each person. One person I know in particular, did the surgery, lost the weight, but still eats bad foods. Her son is 5 and weighs 90 lbs at least. She swore she would never let his weight get out of control. Because of her example, he had McDonalds in his vocab when he was 1 and was eating fast food at 6 months. It's possibly because of the way her dad overindulged her, but she hasn't taken accountability.

Jessica_Mujahidah

I personally think WLS should only be for people who have tried everything before and are committed to healthy eating.

A good friend of mine had the sleeve, she lost over 50kg in one year and guess what? She never ONCE at a healthy meal because she claims "the sleeve makes it hard to eat healthy". So, she lives on doghnuts, ice cream, crackers, cheese.... all the junk that got her fat in the first place. She has never once exercised either.

So yes, she cheated. She wasn't prepared to make a LIFESTYLE CHANGE, rather she paid for the easy way out.

For people with medical issues etc such as PCOS (and I'm hearing ya girl, I'm struggling with it too), I think this is a perfectly acceptable TOOL to help you lose the excess weight and be healthy.

EDIT: This so called 'friend' also regularly feels the need to comment on my slow weight loss! I refuse to talk about weight, food etc with her now because she can't see that she is lazy and didn't have to lift a finger to lose her weight, while others are struggling with illnesses that make it extremely hard to shift the kg.