Gastric Bypass/

i dislike the way people pick words apart. her surgery was a sucess. she got too comfortable. after a cerain amount of years post op, your body slowly starts to react the same as it used to. im sure what she means by "the right way" shes meaning shes trying to reteach herself. it irritates me how many people call weight loss surgery an easy out. or a diet for lazy people. you dont know what a bypass patient has gone through untill you are one.

I had the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass on January 9, 2012, I have lost almost 150lbs and continue to lose. I have no regrets. I have had no problems. The real secret is in your head, not your stomach! You must be ready for the surgery. You must be willing to make a lifelong change. You need support from friends and family. I strongly suggest you seek a Center of Excellence for Bariatric Surgery and follow their program prior to surgery. Yes, it includes a psychological evaluation, but if you don't have your mind right, you will fail. Join the support group at the Center and attend the meetings. Every morning, look in the mirror and remind yourself what you are doing and tell yourself how much better you are for what you have accomplished yesterday! BE HONEST! This surgery is not something to be taken lightly. It demands you make life changes. It is a tool that will help you, if you let it. I wish you all the success if you try this road. If you ever want to chat, I will be happy to respond!

I know 3 women that had it done. two are re-gainin the weight rather quickly, but one got obsessed and is getting sickly looking and scary.

I had mine done 2 years ago. I lost 198 pounds. It is a real struggle once you can start to eat normalish portions so myfitnesspal is a huge asset.

I had my surgery over a year ago and lost 145 lbs. I recently gained 20 pounds because I was eating the wrong things, but have now lost half of that. I have not regretted the surgery for a single moment. It saved my life. It is not the easy way out...but it is life changing. My cardiologist told me it was the surgery or a wheelchair and early death.

After I had my surgery I had to move for work and lost my entire support system but I have still persevered. I do exercise and try to be more careful about what I eat. I have been blessed with a supportive family and some supportive friends.

If you have never been morbidly obese, it might be difficult to understand.

Most of us are here because we are wanting to lose weight or maintain the weight loss we have had. My goal is to be healthy and watch my grandchildren and great-grandchildren grow up. Getting to go to Disney World with my children and grandchildren is something I thought I would never be able to do.

I am now healthier than I have been in 30+ years. Life is good.

I had gastric bypass a little over 2 years ago. it's not an easy way out - it's just a tool. If one fails at this, then it is them failing themselves, not the surgery. Head hunger is an everyday occurrence. Once out a few years or more, we become comfortable and start picking up bad habits again just like any other person. Quite a lot of people do not agree on surgery and that is fine with me.

I was over 300 lbs, had diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, high cholesterol, tiredness, my ankle hurt from just trying to carry all the weight, foot surgery that was caused by weight problems, no energy, not wanting to do anything cause it was too hard to carry the weight around or I was just too tired to do much of anything. Seat belts on planes don't fit and you have to ask for an extension - your fat hangs over onto the person beside of you and I was lucky enough not to have to pay for an extra seat. I couldn't tie my shoes and to put on my socks was even a struggle as well as yes, wiping your butt. To walk a flight of stairs was a challenge and walking even into a store, I had to hang on to a basket for support. :embarassed:

Why was I overweight to begin with? I weighed 135, then I was in an auto accident - then another one 5 years later with a semi truck. I have permanent injuries from both and I lost my job, couldn't pay my bills and just went into a deep depression that I just sat in my house and ate. When one can't walk from injuries, then one can't exercise due to pain. Yes, I became lazy and fat due to medical problems. :sick:

I had surgery as a life saver. if I didn't, then I probably would not be here today. I feel for overweight people cause I have been there. I lost 113 lbs, and gained back about 23 or so and I never reached my goal weight. It's a struggle everyday to keep on track. I use MFP and I use a FitBit.

I am healthier today - I have no more diabetes, no more high blood pressure, no more high cholesterol, lost a gallbladder to stones though, no more heart problems, no heart disease, have 20/20 vision back that I had lost due to diabetes blurring my eyes, no more medications to take, no more insulin, I walk between 1.5 - 3 miles per day, my ankles don't hurt, I have energy, I walk into stores with no basket holding, I can sit comfortably in a plane seat as well as regular chairs, and other than problems that comes with old age like arthritis, I'm healthy.

Yeah, I'm still overweight - but you know - I'm happy I am healthy.

And yeah, I would do it all over again if I had too.......surgery saved my life but definitely it's not the easy way out. Kudos to all that has had it to get healthy and Kudos to all that hasn't had it and is losing weight for their health! I applaud all! :bigsmile:

Anyone want to add me on MFP or my Fitbit, please do..we all need help of any kind....

I need some help!! I cannot seem to be able to drink any protein shakes. I am 4 weeks out and have only lost 19lbs and I feel like if I were able to get the protein I need I would be losing faster. Is this normal?

To all the nay-sayers and those who say "just do it yourself." I wish that you could have lived a week in my shoes.....And I know several of you have. But i'm not you and your not me. Instead of downing us or trying to talk people that need the surgery out of it, why not support us and applaude us in the the effort to lose weight and be healthier? And yes several patients do gain weight back after surgery, but when YOU dont spend 3 hours on the treadmill or bicycling or whatever everyday to maintain YOUR weight, guess what YOUR gonna gain wieght too!
So please stop downing us for using the too we used! I dont down you for what you use!

Very well said sir. Spending 20 hours a week in a gym is not "the natural way", there's nothing natural about that. Taking exercise classes or watching videos at home? Nope, sorry, not natural. People need to quit judging others and worry more about their own selves.

Soo. wait. working out, getting active, and eating right isn't te natural way - but surgery is? Don't think so. sorry.

That isn't what they are saying. Being physically active in a natural way means to become and remain physically active over a long period of time , i.e. all day long. Not spending "30 minutes a day 3 days a week" in a gym or aerobics class. Have you ever noticed that as we (people in general) have "progressed" our jobs have become more sedentary? There is a higher percentage of people who sit for the majority of their job than ever before. 100 years ago, people in general were more active and therefore obesity wasn't as widespread. Doing the 30 and 3 thing is more about stroking one's ego than anything else.

For every horror story about weight loss surgery there are 100 success stories that you don't hear. You need to decide for yourself if this is your destiny. I did not have Gastric Bypass but had the Gastric Banding done in Aug 2011. I have lost 97# since then. No, it's not the "easy" way out. There are lots of ways to "eat around" the band. You can still saboutage yourself. If you don't get your head straight about your relationship with food no surgery is going to work. I would suggest attending several seminars, asking lots of questions and doing your research before you ever make your first appointment. It is definitely not for sissy's. I still have to count calories, exercise, and make the same life changes that someone without the band has to make. WLS should be looked at as a tool, just like an eliptical or a gym membership. It's another tool in your arsenry again the enemy, obesity. It doesn't work if you are committed. Alot of people go into this thinking that this is the answer. It's no more the answer than sitting an exercise bike in your living room and thinking that just because it is there you will lose weight. You have to use the bike, not as a clothes rack, just like you have to use your 'weight loss surgery tool". Feel free to friend me if you have other questions. And, please no haters. We are all on the same journey. I just decided to take it with a different tool than you did.

I had gastric bypass August 16, 2012. There are days I vomit what I eat but right now it is about trail and error. What I can eat and how much? My major issue is eating to much...and I would vomit it right back up. But so far I am excited about my losses.

I was going to have the sleeve done, I had to have 6 mos of exercise and meet with nutritionist and go to a support group. I lost 50 lbs and decided not to do the surgery. Through the support group there were too many people who were going to have the surgery revised or were there to lose the weight they had regained since having the surgery. I'm no longer in the program but still losing the weight. The main thing I learned is that it is not "the answer", you still have to control what you put in your mouth.

I know someone who had it done twice. The first time, more than 20 years ago, she out-ate the surgery and gained all her weight back. She decided to have another bypass done about 10 or 11 years ago. The risk was so great that she had trouble finding a surgeon to do it. Sure enough, there were complications. and she nearly died. There were ongoing problems with leakage of stomach contents into the abdominal cavity for months afterward before they finally got everything fixed. She seems to be doing OK now, maintaining a normal weight.

Please share with me a little bit about your journey. I realize we all are different, but you had bypass like me and have had your own set of struggles. I thought that perhaps I couldn't loose because I got off the program a few years back and started eating the junk again. I have seen weight come off in two weeks. Maybe it isn't a lot but it has come off. My cloths are looser and I can fit into other cloths I haven't been wearing. Any suggestions? What are you doing now and how did you get the weight off after bypass? I really need a good success story so I can believe it is possible for me. Thanks, Judy in Virginia:happy:

I am 30 years old and had gastric bypass a year ago september. Best decision of my life. I was 270 and right now I am teetering between 124-128. I really would like to be 120. The doctor said to expect to be about 135 for my size so i guess I am okay there. It is just hard to get out of the mindset that I need to loose weight (that's the mindset for the last year) and I eat a ton. I went on here and at 1 pm today according to fitnesspal I am over my calories recommended by 100. Since I only absorb half of what I eat (I had RNY with Hernia repair) I am wondering if I can even use that as a guideline or kinda feel my way through. I have been eating like I have and continue to loose weight. According to what they said I should only take in 1,500 calories. Mind you I do cheat every now and then with peanut butter m&m's (Fun size for portion control) so I am wondering if I should just watch what I eat and be happy where I am or do I push to be the 120lb person I want to be?

I asked my GI doctor about it and he said if you have no will power it will not work for you. I have more will power on MFP than I ever have .