is it impossible to do this?

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  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,709 Member
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    Impossible? No. Does it take consistent disciplined effort? Yes.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • dopeysmelly
    dopeysmelly Posts: 1,390 Member
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    It's not impossible and yes, it's difficult to keep it off. But ANY sustained loss of weight is a good thing for your health. Even a 5-10 lb loss is a good thing, so don't let the big numbers scare you. And even if you go the surgery route, my understanding is that it's also a life long commitment to diet and exercise.
  • kristalynnep
    kristalynnep Posts: 3 Member
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    My Regular Care Physician told me almost the same thing. I had been planning on having weight loss surgery, but decided a month before that I wanted to do it on my own, and canceled. She told me I will fail without it, and pointed out that I've never lost the weight before, so what makes you think you can do it now? I'm changing my lifestyle so I can stick with it. I started at 360 pds. I've lost 38 so far, it may not be much but I feel great. I eat clean, count calories and go to the gym at least 6 days a week. I absolutely believe you can loose the weight without surgery. The only person who can determine your success is you.
  • jenncornelsen
    jenncornelsen Posts: 969 Member
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    MrM27 wrote: »
    What??? Who's your doctor? This guy?

    662027.jpg

    lol i automatically start doing his voice in my head
  • LBuehrle8
    LBuehrle8 Posts: 4,044 Member
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    kristalynnep wrote: »
    My Regular Care Physician told me almost the same thing. I had been planning on having weight loss surgery, but decided a month before that I wanted to do it on my own, and canceled. She told me I will fail without it, and pointed out that I've never lost the weight before, so what makes you think you can do it now? I'm changing my lifestyle so I can stick with it. I started at 360 pds. I've lost 38 so far, it may not be much but I feel great. I eat clean, count calories and go to the gym at least 6 days a week. I absolutely believe you can loose the weight without surgery. The only person who can determine your success is you.

    Yay that's awesome, way to go!!
  • cdn_beaver
    cdn_beaver Posts: 130 Member
    edited April 2015
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    How much weight do you have to lose? Your doctor has some weird opinions on weight loss. I've lost over 100lbs in 2.5 years eating keto (low carb, high fat, moderate protein) and have about 20 more pounds to go til my goal weight. It's possible but requires a lot of effort and self control.
  • crazyjerseygirl
    crazyjerseygirl Posts: 1,252 Member
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    We
    kodijhill wrote: »
    So is it really impossible to lose weight without surgery? That's what my doctor tells me they say because the stomach sends out hormones that make u stay fat over a extended amount of time of being heavy I just don't see why it's impossible all doctors I've gone to say well u can try as hard as you like but you will need the surgery anyway so might as well do it now it's very discouraging

    well, consider this.
    If the stomach is sending out hormones, does this surgery remove the whole stomach?

    My guess is they are talking about Ghrelin (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghrelin) which makes you hungry, not fat. Big difference.
    Basically it turns on during fasts, and turns off when the stomach is full shrinking the stomach will make it fill sooner.

    Of course we can ignore hormones! Once a month my body is flooded with HOLY CRAP HAVE LOTS OF SEX AND GET PREGNANT NOOOOOOW hormones and I've been ignoring those for ages...except for that one time.

    If you can control your other hormones, no reason you can control this one.
  • sandryc79
    sandryc79 Posts: 250 Member
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    kristalynnep wrote: »
    My Regular Care Physician told me almost the same thing. I had been planning on having weight loss surgery, but decided a month before that I wanted to do it on my own, and canceled. She told me I will fail without it, and pointed out that I've never lost the weight before, so what makes you think you can do it now? I'm changing my lifestyle so I can stick with it. I started at 360 pds. I've lost 38 so far, it may not be much but I feel great. I eat clean, count calories and go to the gym at least 6 days a week. I absolutely believe you can loose the weight without surgery. The only person who can determine your success is you.

    I agree with this and it seems very realistic. Awesome job on the 38 lbs loss! I find your commitment to changing your lifestyle inspiring! :)
  • CrabNebula
    CrabNebula Posts: 1,119 Member
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    isulo_kura wrote: »
    I lost 135 pounds without surgery. Why don't you prove them wrong

    Me too. B)

    I dunno why you would sign up to have your guts irreversibly rearranged and have to be on vitamin supplements the rest of your life than just...I dunno...eat less and seek out therapy, if necessary, to find out why you are eating so much in the first place and how to stop. That seems a lot cheaper and a lot less taxing.

    It isn't a quick fix. WLS has many of its own risks and complications. Personally, I found them completely unacceptable when there are other options if I was honestly willing to work at them.

    Your doctor wants to sell WLS, that seems apparent enough. If he believes his own BS or not, who knows.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    edited April 2015
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    You CAN do it!


    Here's my outlook on the whole thing.


    1.) You are morbidly obese which puts you at severly higher risk of poor healing and complications as far as surgery goes. Going into an ELECTIVE surgery like this should only be done as an absolute last resort.

    2.) Once you have the surgery you will be FORCED for the rest of your life PERMANENTLY to consume small portions of food. It is PERMANENTLY altering your body to consume less calories; when you could be eating less calories WITHOUT it.

    3.) It can cause vitamin deficiencies and you can only eat small portions for the rest of your life. Worth it when you could just eat less now and develop healthier habits?


    I dont know.... for me... i would just rather eat less (you'll have to anyway), lose the weight, and elect to spend my money on skin removal once i'd reach my goal than spend thousands of dollars to have someone surgically and permanently remove my ability to enjoy certain foods later in life (especially because you're my age! we're young, come on!) . Lastly, i see no reason to risk having a potentially dangerous surgery unless it's NECESSARY.
  • Zedeff
    Zedeff Posts: 651 Member
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    @stevencloser and @jenncornelsen
    stevencloser wrote: »
    People who do get surgery face the same failure rate, maybe even higher.
    jenncornelsen wrote: »
    this totally depends on the study. i have seen some where the percentage who regain the weight is 90%. 20% is the most positive i have ever heard!

    [citation needed]
  • jenncornelsen
    jenncornelsen Posts: 969 Member
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    Average Weight Gain After Gastric Bypass Surgery

    The average excess weight lost following laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery is almost 70% (in other words, at 100 pounds overweight the average patient loses almost 70 pounds). And many patients have seen results of well over 80%.

    "Most patients keep at least 50% of their excess weight off after 10 years."
    But once you reach your low point (called your “nadir”), will you start heading in the opposite direction? Unfortunately, it's very likely.

    As many as 80% of patients eventually gain a little weight back after hitting their nadir.1 In addition, the more time that passes following surgery, the more likely patients are to gain some weight back.2

    On average, patients who gain weight back see about 8% of their old weight return within 5 years of surgery.3 So if a patient is one of the 80% who gains weight back, was 100 pounds overweight and lost 70 pounds from surgery, on average she can expect to gain back about 8 pounds.

    The good news is that most patients (about 80% of morbidly obese and 65% of super obese) keep at least 50% of their excess weight off after 10 years.2

    - See more at: http://www.bariatric-surgery-source.com/weight-gain-after-gastric-bypass.html#sthash.lLasEYrA.dpuf
  • jenncornelsen
    jenncornelsen Posts: 969 Member
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    so they almost all gain. but not much. they source i had seen before did not state that it might only be like 10lb. it simply stated 80% gain. so its actually quite positive the numbers i suppose!
  • Zedeff
    Zedeff Posts: 651 Member
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    What you posted does not in any way support your earlier comment. Gaining 8% of weight loss back is not the same as saying that "90% of people regain the weight they lost."

    Here's a fun fact: 100% of people who don't have surgery weigh more than they did at their nadir.
  • jenncornelsen
    jenncornelsen Posts: 969 Member
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    Zedeff wrote: »
    What you posted does not in any way support your earlier comment. Gaining 8% of weight loss back is not the same as saying that "90% of people regain the weight they lost."

    Here's a fun fact: 100% of people who don't have surgery weigh more than they did at their nadir.

    if they don't diet or exercise right? or are u agreeing with her dr?
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    edited April 2015
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    Zedeff wrote: »
    @stevencloser and @jenncornelsen
    stevencloser wrote: »
    People who do get surgery face the same failure rate, maybe even higher.
    jenncornelsen wrote: »
    this totally depends on the study. i have seen some where the percentage who regain the weight is 90%. 20% is the most positive i have ever heard!

    [citation needed]

    "Long Term Weight Regain after Gastric Bypass: A 5 year prospective Study"
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18392907

    "Weight regain was observed within 24 months after surgery in approximately 50% of patients. Both weight regain and surgical failure were higher in the superobese group. Studies in regard to metabolic and hormonal mechanisms underlying weight regain might elucidate the causes of this finding. "


    "Long-Term Results of Primary Vertical Banded Gastroplasty"
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25519773

    "One hundred fifty-two patients (39 %) out of 227 patients (58 %) with long-term complaints underwent revisional surgery. Main reasons for revision were weight regain and vomiting/food intolerance."


    "Long-term results after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding: a mean fourteen year follow-up study"
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25066440

    "Average follow-up was 13.6 (± 2.0) years (163 mo) and 99% of patients with complete follow-up. Two thirds of patients reached an excess weight loss (EWL)>50% at some point after LAGB placement. However, due to insufficient weight loss or complications in 53% of patients, the LAGB had to be removed or converted to a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass."



    these are just a few i've read. But it seems like most weight loss surgeries require revisions because the patients did not maintain weight loss or suffered complications such as vomiting, nutritional deficiencies, device failures, etc.


    As i stated above, if diet/exercise can be controlled and maintained, why even go through the surgery? Or... why not atleast try? If surgery is NEEDED, fine. But i'm not convinced it is in most people. It's a business, and i see no reason why they would try and recommend the methods above first. After all, it's cutting into their salary.
  • akiba254
    akiba254 Posts: 209 Member
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    Do you have a specific medical condition? If its just metabolic syndrome or something then definitely diet and exercise will work.
  • Zedeff
    Zedeff Posts: 651 Member
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    @rainbowbow thank you for posting actual studies but these aren't exactly compelling.

    For starters, the lap band (Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding) is not a conventional bariatric surgery. When we consent patients for lap bands we tell them that >33% of people won't lose weight and >33% of people will have a complication resulting in band failure. So you wonder why anyone would have it? The answer is that it's safe and easily reversible. It's an expensive non-commital option, but at the expense of higher failure rates.

    Regarding the second link (vertical banded gastroplasty), this is an old surgical technique that is abandoned in many parts of the world. I don't think anyone in my country (Canada) performs VBG surgery any longer; hence it's not a great result to argue against bariatric surgery.

    The first study you linked pertains to gastric bypass which is a common and conventional bariatric surgery. It says that a half of patients regain some weight with a mean weight regain of 8% of their loss after 5 years. I think you will find that this is actually far superior to weight maintenance after losses from diet and exercise.
  • kodijhill
    kodijhill Posts: 116 Member
    edited April 2015
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    Ok so
    kodijhill wrote: »
    So is it really impossible to lose weight without surgery? That's what my doctor tells me they say because the stomach sends out hormones that make u stay fat over a extended amount of time of being heavy I just don't see why it's impossible all doctors I've gone to say well u can try as hard as you like but you will need the surgery anyway so might as well do it now it's very discouraging

    Ok so it's a regular doctor and it's the second one I went to first time ever seeing her I told her how I've been losing weight etc I have my stuff together she just didn't believe me she said I quote it doesn't matter how hard you work you cant loose weight but most likely you will gain it all back so I think you should consider surgery in the near future and she went to say I probably need a sleep study Becuz I most likely have sleep apnea which I no I don't remember this is first time meeting her. She then went going on about how it would take a year to even get surgery etc I heard the word surgery 15 times or more and she didn't care one word about how I exercise 4-5 days a week and she tells me well are u staying away from carbs I said yes and she said what diet to you follow I said I don't it's a life style change I'm changing my eating habits and eating less moving more she didn't like that said I Gould try a diet plan. I've done them all she then said how long have u been overweight I said since I was 3 she then said surgery is only option an that I can try doing what I'm doing but if she doesn't see results in two months she says then we will look at surgeries she almost made me feel like she was In control of me not myself. This is the second doctor in the same building who said surgery and any ailments I went in for was because of my weight which wasn't always true. But it gets discouraging when I'm busting my *kitten* yea it may be coming off slow but it's coming off and all I hear from doctors even relatives is I need surgery the only thing I have is a slow thyroid. Yea I have about 100+ pounds to lose but I know I can do this and I know it's not going to come off over night I'm on the right track but I guess I'm tired of people telling me I'm going to fail unless I take half my stomach out

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