Diet and Exercise vs. Surgery. Thoughts?

This thread is going nowhere, but I just want to add one more little comment because I see people continuing to say that the "natural" way requires watching your food and exercising, whereas the surgery way is just a quick fix that leads to malnutrition.

Even those of us who have had weight loss surgery need to eat healthy and exercise! We work just as hard as you do! If we don't, we regain, just like everyone else. It's that simple.

So you know someone who had surgery and eats junk food and doesn't lose the weight. That doesn't mean all weight loss surgery is bogus! That means the person hasn't been able to change their eating habits. Same thing would have happened if they hadn't had the surgery.

This is not a quick fix or an easy way out. It requires a full commitment to change to a healthy lifestyle and it's lots of hard work. I had gotten to the point where I just couldn't face another failure. I had tried and failed so many times, I was afraid of trying anymore. Now I'm succeeding....so far...but I live in constant fear of failing again...what if I can't lose these next 50lbs? What if I **** up and regain everything in 5 years? Frankly, I'm terrified because I can't fail again. I just can't. I don't know what I would do if I did. I'm working with a whole team this time to help me get fit and stay fit -- my surgeon, a nutritionist, an ED therapist, and a personal trainer. I'm working my *kitten* off. DO NOT BELITTLE MY EFFORTS JUST BECAUSE I HAD LAP-BAND SURGERY. My weight loss is just as valid as yours.

There, now you've made me angry.

kudos to you. i co-sign this

I don't have a direct experience of surgery, but I have read about it and It takes a great amount of courage, efforts and sacrifices to undergo surgery.
Which means that if I had done it, I would brag about my weight loss for sure. I feel an equal amount of admiration for those that lost a lot of weight with diet and exercise only and for those that had surgery.

I do have the feeling that the surgery is being "sponsored" in a way and that people are being pushed in that direction even when it wouldn't be completely necessary, but that doesn't detract from the efforts and achievements of those who had surgery.

I had surgery in May and have lost 70lbs of 130. I have only told 5 people about the surgery- it is obvious from many of the moronic, hateful, and narrow-minded posts why I have limited it so. The past 3 months have not been easy, not only have I literally been working my *kitten* exercising 2 hours/day 6 days a week, I am dealing with all the mental and emotional reasons for my eating. I was in therapy for a year prior to surgery to try to address those reasons (and since you don't know me, you have no idea what kind of hell that has been) and I continue to be in therapy to address all the issues that are coming up as a result of being thinner and having my "safety" and "comfort" taken away for ever. EVERY SINGLE DAY has been hard.

There are a lot of assumptions here about fat people- mainly that we are lazy and stupid. And those of us who have hard surgery are more lazy and stupid than the rest apparently. I'm stunned that fellow fat folk can be so hateful towards others. The surgery helps me eat less, but I still make THE CHOICE to eat healthy. I can't eat much, but I could chose to eat crap. I don't. I could chose to not exercise. I am at the gym 6 days a week. The surgery has allowed me to gain enough control of my life that I can address all the reasons behind the weight. We all know that being fat isn't just about food.

I have lost and gained weight so many times in my life and I just couldn't sustain it without the surgery, because when I became scared, I could always go back to the safety of fat. I can't anymore.

I also take anti-depressants. If I weren't such a pathetic lazy person I wouldn't need those either right?

Come to it- I must be pretty pathetic to need therapy as well. If I were a "normal" person I could cope with life without needing that kind of support.

Goodness! Now that I've written out all my weakness it is clear to me I am too lazy and stupid to live!

Great- you were able to lose weight without surgery. I congratulate you. But that doesn't make you a better person than me nor does it make your success any more remarkable.

Get off your high horse, focus on your own fat *kitten* and if you have something to say, try making it encouragement rather than tearing others down.

I am desperatly trying to lose the weight to have surgery & I don't care about your opinions. The fact of the matter is everyone has to do what they believe is best for themselves. After 43 years of being obese & trying everything in the book, I'm tired. And I'm tired of being tired, in pain, uncomfortable and discriminated against. I want the weight off as fast as possible because when it's gone
I promise you it will never come back. Only exercise I can do now is walk but I want to run & jump & dance and that's exactly what I plan on doing. :bigsmile:

I think for those who have medical problems where they can not exercise and have major health issues it's necessary. But I also know of several people who either had it done or are getting it done who didn't want to do the work. One lady in particular lived off hot dogs. Every time I saw her she had someone grilling 4 to 6 hot dogs for her for one meal. She had the surgery and lost over 100 pounds, had her knees replaced then put it all back on again. She now needs to get her knees replaced again. Dr's wont do it unless she looses the weight again. I asked how do you put the weight back on if your stomach is reduced to the size of your thumb and she said its easy. Eat constantly and eat fatty foods.

Then another friend is getting it done but her dr. says she has to first lose 60lbs. My feeling is if you can lose that much weight why not keep it going and lose it all naturally. Her reply to me was she didn't want to have to wait that long and didn't feel like exercising.

My 3rd friend was very sick because of all of her weight. She couldn't exercise without having a great deal of pain. She had the surgery and is now walking every single day. She didn't get the excess skin removed because to her it was enough for now that she can walk again and do things with her kids. She exercises every day in her home and walks a couple miles every day.

Everyone is different. Its not for me and I would never have it done. I've seen and heard all of the things that can go wrong as a result of the surgery. Many people have life threatening infections and end up with gallbladder problems, kidney or liver problems and end up back in the hospital. Watch the weight of the nation on HBO and you'll see many different stories on there. I do feel that some people turn to the surgery as an easy way out because they don't want to do the work. Some not all think its the magic cure but then find out they still have bad habits that will just pack the pounds right back on. A lot of insurance companies still do not cover for gastric bypass surgery. I feel everyone considering it should have to see a nutritionist as part of pre op and post op treatment just so they know how to eat healthy to maintain and keep the weight off. Too many times Dr's give the treatment but not the maintenance required or should say the tools to continue after you leave the office. Whatever the person's reasons for getting it done its their reason and for themselves and if they maintain it great. If not then thats their loss.

This thread is going nowhere, but I just want to add one more little comment because I see people continuing to say that the "natural" way requires watching your food and exercising, whereas the surgery way is just a quick fix that leads to malnutrition.

Even those of us who have had weight loss surgery need to eat healthy and exercise! We work just as hard as you do! If we don't, we regain, just like everyone else. It's that simple.

So you know someone who had surgery and eats junk food and doesn't lose the weight. That doesn't mean all weight loss surgery is bogus! That means the person hasn't been able to change their eating habits. Same thing would have happened if they hadn't had the surgery.

This is not a quick fix or an easy way out. It requires a full commitment to change to a healthy lifestyle and it's lots of hard work. I had gotten to the point where I just couldn't face another failure. I had tried and failed so many times, I was afraid of trying anymore. Now I'm succeeding....so far...but I live in constant fear of failing again...what if I can't lose these next 50lbs? What if I **** up and regain everything in 5 years? Frankly, I'm terrified because I can't fail again. I just can't. I don't know what I would do if I did. I'm working with a whole team this time to help me get fit and stay fit -- my surgeon, a nutritionist, an ED therapist, and a personal trainer. I'm working my *kitten* off. DO NOT BELITTLE MY EFFORTS JUST BECAUSE I HAD LAP-BAND SURGERY. My weight loss is just as valid as yours.

There, now you've made me angry.

Well said. I was just about to say something similar. We all know the reasons why we (or others) are obese. Some people can find the strength and motivation within themselves. Others need more help in one form or another. One of those forms is surgery. What I think most people do not realize is that WLS is not a quick fix at all and you still have to work hard to lose and maintain that weight loss. WLS is just a tool and like any other, if you don't use the tool properly it won't work. I had Lap band surgery as well. The weight did not just melt off on its own, it took me 3 years to lose 70 of the 80 pounds I needed to lose - cardio 5 x week, yoga, pilates, support meetings, getting my diet just right. It took a lot of time, energy and work. Surgery is not for everyone and not a decision I came to lightly, but at that point in my life it was the right thing for me. It was just another tool to help me get to where I wanted to be.

From what I have personally witnessed, WLS failure (not mechanical or problem from surgery itself) is usually because the patient was unable to make permanent and sustainable lifestyle changes. And the primary reason they do not make that change is a lack of post-surgical support. The problem isn't availablilty - every WLS program offers post-surgery meetings with support groups, nutritional and psychological counseling, etc. The problem is it isn't mandatory like all the pre-surgical stuff. You have to really want to make lifestyle change in order for any weight loss program to work. WLS doctors all tell their patients this, they can't force them to listen. Look at people who join WW, lose weight, and then gain it back as soon as they stop logging their food and/or going to meetings. Smaller scale, but kind of the same thing. If you don't change the head, you'll never change the body.

here's my 2 cents worth - I think for the truly morbidly obese (ie those 500lbs & over) surgery is probably the only way to Start the journey to getting to their healthy fit weight - when you need a crane to lift you out of bed - exercising is probably not going to happen - so surgery and modified diet to get you started and get you to a point that you can continue the modified diet and incorporate the exercise to continue and keep the weight lost off. However I also agree that until you recognize and own the reasons why you gained weight in the first place and take the steps to change those reasons you wont keep the weight off.

And from what I understand even if you choose surgery you still have to lose a certain amount (100lbs) I think before you can even have the surgery - you have to prove the committment I guess.

I dont have a problem with folks that have the surgery, more power to you. BUT recently I was watching the show " My 600 lb life" about people that have the surgery and their struggle over 7 yrs + ( its on you tube if you search it) frankly its a brutal program.

I was thinking of surgery, mostly because I felt lazy, and I looked at them, and the exercise they HAD to do, and the calories they HAD to maintain ....and I thought...um...why dont I just do that? Im scared to mess with my body, it has enough problems. lol

Of course for those that are so heavy, they know they are dying, and surgery is the way to try to save them, but ultimately they must do the work.

I think that if a person was at risk of losing their life and couldn't move because they were so overweight, then surgery would be the best thing for them. But if not, I don't think it's a good idea because to me that's just not healthy. A healthy way to lose weight is to learn which foods are right to eat, exercise, and eat foods that are not so great for you in moderation. With surgery what is going to keep them from going back into the same eating habits and lack of exercise that got them heavy in the first place? I'm happy for anyone that loses weight but I think the best way is through hard work, not a surgical knife.