Weight Loss Surgery Advice

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I don't expect to look like a swim suit model at all. Loose skin is inevitable I understand that. I just don't want to look like I'm 100 years old all around my entire body because of it. Please help ):

The "loose skin" issue has nothing to do with making your body look older.

No matter how old one gets, you won't get anything like the loose skin I've seen pics of (well, unless you lost a large amount of weight also).

my sister in law got it...she is to never have a soda or beer again....SCREW THAT !

I lost 150, was 326 at 5'3".....I did it by putting the fork down & exercising. Baby steps...I took my time, I took a few years, I retrained myself to discover what "normal" is for me. I don't feel that the surgery changes the issues in your head that cause you to overeat and become morbidly obese. A lot of soul searching & self help are needed to change and imporve you, not a surgery. I just turned 37 & had a body lift surgery 4 months ago, it wasn't absolutely "necessary" and I could live with spanx everyday, but I was able to do it and I did.
Things are differant with age, and I had a vicious pregnancy where I was enormous & it was hard to have the skin bounce back from that.
Best of luck to you, find it within yourself and you can do it

Hi there! I was 3 days from surgery and backed out the best decision I ever made. Yes I went to all the classes and met with a dietician for 6 moths did it all. Met with the surgeon twice had all the insurance work done and then didn't do it. That was 9 months ago and today with hard work 3months of a not losing I am down 70 lbs. My wife did have the surgery and looks great with no major problems. No just last month her aunt did it and had lots of problems and almost didnt make it remember there are risk its for sure not a easy road. Feel free to friend me if you'd like. Good luck

My advice, don't get the surgery, it doesn't teach you how to eat properly on the way down, which makes it incredibly difficult to sustain the weight loss. Don't be in such a rush that you need to take drastic steps. Change your eating habits now, slowly incorporate exercise. Almost all of your weight loss is going to come from a change in your diet, not from the gym. It will be much better for you in the long run if you diet down properly. Your body and your skin will have more time to adjust to the weight loss as well.

There is a co-worker of mine, who wanted to get the lap band. I tried to talk her out of it, and tried to get her to just eat right and exercise, which I was trying to do at the same time. She was a little bigger than I was, and we lost weight at about the same speed. She may have lost a little faster than me, of course, but I didn't have to go through surgery, and I was able to eat real food. When you have the lapband or gastric bipass, you first have to eat this watery baby formula tasting stuff for a couple days before the surgery. Then you are only able to eat such a tiny amount of food, I think only liquids at first, or risk vomiting up the excess food, and possibly even choking to death on it, (or so I've heard, you can google that to be sure). You risk surgery related complications and infections. Not to mention, fewer and fewer insurance companies are covering this type of procedure, and I'm sure it will be even less once Obamacare goes into full swing. I just feel it's unnecessary, personally. I mean, if you can lose the weight with a little bit of work, and eating a little better, why go through surgery? Yes, you may lose it a little bit quicker, but I don't think it's that much of a difference in the amount of time. You can spend the extra time it takes losing it, or you can spend the same amount, and continue gaining it. Losing weight doesn't have to be a race. With all the excess weight you have, you should be able to eat a reasonable amount of food to be satisfied. Or you can have surgery, and only enjoy some chicken broth. Lol. It's really quite simple. Move more, eat less, literally. The more time you spend up off the couch, the more calories you'll burn. Whether it's cleaning house, walking, dancing, preparing meals...anything. You'd be surprised how much those calories add up. I have a bodymedia device, and I love it. I remember last year, at thanksgiving, I burned like 500 calories just cooking dinner! Lol. And maybe cleaning some, too. Good luck to you. Whatever you choose, I hope it works well for you.

I'm not the MOST motivated person right now.

Honestly, that doesn't make you a great candidate for weight loss surgery. I've not had it, but from everything I've heard/read, it's not at all easy, and you need to be just as motivated to put the work in yourself as you do without the surgery.

Be prepared for some loose skin however you lose the weight. It's not inevitable, but some amount is quite likely. Losing slower will hopefully help, but it won't prevent it happening altogether. Losing the weight will still be absolutely worth it, and you have age on your side.

That sentence stuck in my head too when I read it.....the physical part of weight loss can be easy compared to the mental aspects of it at times. You really have to look at the pros and cons of a major surgery and see if you are willing to risk it if you are not 100% sure that you can completely change your life to accommodate a procedure that is not easily reversed. I had an uncle and a really good friend who both had the surgery and did not change anything about their lifestyle and each has had to have 2 additional surgeries to fix things due to complications. But I also have a third friend who went to the group counseling and followed it to the T and she is doing really well keeping the weight off with no complications at all. I lost weight through dietary changes and exercise because I was getting high blood pressure and I do have loose skin, but that a lot of working out and time have both helped and it really is not that bad...then again I am 12 years older than you and had 2 C-sections so the middle is what it is. Just think it through because this is a huge decision and best wishes either way you decide to go.

If you have not tried it yet I would try losing it naturally first and if you do not have success then look into surgery. The thing to remember about surgery is not matter how uncomplicated it is things can always go wrong and there is always a chance of death just from the anesthesia alone. As some posters have said above to even with the surgery if you do not learn to fix your current habbits you will end up right back where you started. Weight loss is not as impossible as it feels, I have found it is even more attainable with the help of MFP because it gives you hard numbers to work with and its not just some theory you are trying to stick to.

This link outlines a "diet" that I hope you will find followable. All you have to do is start logging and maybe think about starting some exercise too, I would just start with some walking if you are not currently active.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13

If you have an questions or need help feel free to friend me. Best of luck to you

I had considered it. My diabeties doctor was actually pushing me towards it. Instead, I joined metabolic research center- their program is high protein, low fat and low carb. You eat a lot of food at first but it was real food that I cooked supplemented with protein drinks that are yummy. I lost 30 lb in about 3 months and have since lost another 20 but have been slacking lately. My doctor was thrilled with my weight loss and now recommends this program.

You are young so I wouldn't worry about saggy skin- if you lose slowly, it should rebound fine. The saggy skin is a problem with rapid loss though.

I read a lot about the emotional toil the WLS takes and that is what talked me out of it.

Good luck with whatever decision that you make!

I have not had weight loss surgery, however, I have several very close friends that did opt for the surgery.

The first friend was about 10 years ago, she was close to 500 pounds, and that was after losing the weight required before they would even consider her for surgery. In about 6 months she was down to just under 300 pounds, and things were going very well. Suddenly she got very sick, and they found that during her surgery they had nicked one of her other organs, but because of all the other side effects of the surgery and sudden weight loss it went unnoticed and untreated. She had a major infection and had to undergo several additional surgeries. This is highly uncommon, however, this is just one complication that could happen.

After those surgeries to fix the "nicked" organ & infections, she did very well for the first 18 months with the diet restrictions (which are very limiting). She got to a weight she was happy with and gradually started eating a bit more here and there. It didn't take long before she gained the weight back because in the end she went back to her old eating habits. Keep in mind this was 10 years ago and things have changed some, especially with the Lapband that is available.

My next friend became skeletal. He had the lapband procedure and followed the diet religiously and was looking great. Once he had the band removed he was so terrified of gaining the weight back that he began restricting his diet even further. It was very scary and his wife ended up doing an intervention of sorts. He is now at a healthy weight, eats correctly and sees his Drs regularly.

Another friend had lapband and he did super well. Once the band came out, he gained about half the weight back, but as he realized what he was doing, he made lifestyle changes to his diet and exercise. He is doing very well and recently told me it is what he should have done to begin with.

Another girlfriend of mine had lapband done 3 years ago. Initially she dropped about half the weight she wanted to lose very quickly. Then started having health issues due to diabetes. They had to remove the band because she needed to be able to eat a healthy diet to get it under control, REALITY CHECK HERE... the Dr said HEALTHY diet.... what that says is that the restricted diet that you have to follow after the surgery is not healthy, at least that is what I get out of that!

Sorry I am being so long winded, but from all of these experiences with my friends, it has made me very cautious of weight loss surgery, especially once you find out that in the long run the only thing that really helped any of them was a healthy diet with a moderate deficit and exercise. So when you see and hear people say weight loss is all about calories in/out-a deficit, it really is!

Best of luck to you, please make sure if you do decide to do the surgery that you think long & hard, you do lots of actual research, ask questions of your Doctors and see the councellor before during and after.

I have not had the surgery myself, but my aunt and one of my coworkers had the lap band. I've know two people who had gastric bypass. the lap band seemed to work better granted they did exercise and made healthy food choices they lost their weight gradually. Versus the bypass excess skin and many complications. But I would do my research with LICENSE PROFESSIONAL before you make any decisions. Good luck to you on your journey.

Take a look at the results of the surgery. You are limited because of the procedure as to what you can eat. It is kind of a mandatory crash diet. It forces you to eat only certain things while your body learns to deal with the after effects of the procedure. Isn't it just simpler to just go on a diet. It costs a lot less, and if you lose weight more gradually, the loose skin issue should not be an issue. The MyFitnessPal app on my phone has been very effective for me. just set a goal and stay under it. It is tough at first, but for me it is kind of a game to figure out how I'm going to stay under my limit each day. You can still have pizza for dinner, but if you only have 800 calories remaining that day, you can only have 3 slices instead of the 4 or 5 I would have eaten in the past. You can still enjoy life, I was recently in Florida for a few days, and I totally blew my diet while there. I just went back on my diet and within a few days have lost what I gained in Florida. That isn't an option with surgery.

Don't you have to lose a certain amount of weight on your own before you can get approved for the surgery? You might want to take that opportunity to see if you can just continue losing the weight through diet without the surgery.

I've seen people initially lose a lot of weight, but eventually old habits creep back in and they gain weight back (that may differ between lap band vs. gastric bypass). When you couple that with the chance of complications from the procedure I would think twice.

That being said, if other health issues are exasperated by your weight, then it might be more important to get the weight off in a hurry. Either way, you will have to make serious changes to your diet, the only difference is whether it is forced by surgery or through willpower.

I seriously thought about the surgery. I started at 363 lbs. I am now 314. I know this is a journey and I accept that. I have a friend that did the surgery. She had to eat shakes for like 6 months. is that anyway to live? I didn't think that was the way I wanted to go and I am glad I didn't. I am going at my own pace and that is fine for me. I would suggest really doing some soul searching to see if that is really what you want to do. Good Luck with your decision!

You are definitely going to get very opinionated answers on this question. Especially, the "my friend", "my co worker", "my sister" responses. I am proud to say that I have had the lapband done. Is it a quick fix? Hell no, it isn't...and anyone thinking it is or will be has been badly mistaken. That is why any qualified doctor will put you through a series of tests to make sure that you understand this from the beginning.

I exercise every day....I don't starve myself. I don't drink soda, not because the band won't let me. I don't drink it because it isn't healthy! My whole mindset has changed. I now understand the importance of what goes in my mouth and how much hard work it takes to exercise off putting something bad in my mouth.

You have to be the one to decide that this is something you can live with and use to the best of your ability. You will not get malnourished and starve if you do things like you are supposed to. It is not designed for that purpose and to those of you who think it is, you have been sadly misled. Genetics play a huge role in whether or not you are going to have sagging skin...and that will happen if you lose great amounts of weight (regardless of whether you have the surgery or not.)

You are young...take control of your life now!! Don't wait until you have serious medical conditions that make it harder for you. Embrace your life and go with it