Still eat unhealthy after surgery

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ascrof
ascrof Posts: 34
in Food and Nutrition
So i just wanted to hear what other people thought about this. I work with all women at my job, and most of them have either a lap band or have had bariatric surgery. So all of these nurses very severely overweight before their surgery and now most have lost near 100 pounds. My observation has been this: You spend your life eating foods that are terrible for you and in massive quantities and this is the reason why you are fat. And now you eat the same crappy food but in small amounts. I'd like to know the long term outcome of health related disease after these surgeries. For example, are their labs still terrible and is their risk for heart disease and like diseases the same as when they were obese?

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  • TexasNurseMom78
    TexasNurseMom78 Posts: 897 Member
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    I cant speak for other, only for myself. So, this is what I say. I had lap band in feb of this year. I have lost 65 lb. I eat 1200 cal a day and eat back about 1/2 my exercise cal. Overall I eat well. I am a night shift RN. There are days when I eat "crap", but I think taht everyone does to some extent. It is a lifestyle change to have this surgery. I am off my BP med and my diabetes mad. I had labs 3 mos post op and all were totally normal, which they werent before surgery. Dont know if thats the answer you were looking for, but tis what I had to say. And, Do I feel judged by people who know I had surgery when they see me eat something they think I shouldnt? yes! Do I appreciate it! No! We all slip sometimes. Its what you do overall that counts. And exercise is a big part of it for me as well. If I dont work out for a few days, I dont lose any weight that week.
  • BethanyMasters
    BethanyMasters Posts: 519 Member
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    My guess would be that they would still have health issues. As important as portion sizes are it's not the whole thing. The nutrition aspect is extremely extremely important for overall health.

    And if they are not actually learning how to take care of themselves properly if their surgery is ever undone they will most likely gain it all back.
  • jlm7183
    jlm7183 Posts: 7 Member
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    Most programs have follow up visit where healthy foods are encouraged, and yes in much smaller amounts. The surgeries are meant to be tools to weight loss for quicker progress and are definitely not meant for everyone. A patient who has a bariatric surgery and then goes back to old eating habits will only see temporary weight loss (much like norma yo-yo dieting) and then will probably end up at a similar weight as pre-surgery. You are correct, there are some nutritional risks with surgery in that each patient must follow strict supplement regimens FOR LIFE in order to supplement such a low calorie diet with needed vitamin B12, calcium, etc. Also, B12 injections are needed with the gastric bypass surgery because of malabsorption of typical oral B12 post-surgery.
  • knittnponder
    knittnponder Posts: 1,954 Member
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    I don't know about labs and stuff but I do have a SIL and a MIL who have both had weight loss surgery. Neither of them have done very well with controlling what they eat post surgery and in fact I've been a little shocked at some of the stuff they consume. In both of their cases there is an underlying emotional issue that should be dealt with but hasn't. The SIL was supposed to have counseling and did it for awhile but then instead of binging on food she turned to alcohol. Now we're two years post rehab and she's doing better in all respects but while she was in rehab she was forced to do some soul searching via counseling. Not trying to paint with a broad brush, just pointing to two cases I'm personally involved with and how it's worked. Fortunately it seems that both of them recently have taken an interest in more than just "being skinny" and are choosing to try to be healthier.

    I also have a male friend who had the surgery but his entire focus was on losing weight to be healthier and stick around for his wife and kids. He's got the adjustable band thing and has continuously gone in to have it adjusted because he didn't want to go to slow or to fast. He has taken a few years to slowly lose the weight but he's done it by making healthy choices and working hard.

    I think the surgery is a tool like anything else but if you don't make good choices you'll end up back where you started or close to it. My SIL and MIL are both still considered obese. They lost vast amounts initially but regained most of it back and are only now slowly shrinking again.

    Probably didn't answer a darn thing you asked but apparently I had something to say! lol
  • LesliePierceRN
    LesliePierceRN Posts: 860 Member
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    As an RN who deals with bariatric patients, I can tell you that I see only a small percent that these surgeries are a solution for. Most didn't have the discipline to take their own weight and health into their own hands and think that surgery is a magic bullet to make them skinny. I've had patient after patient come in after bariatric surgery to have knees replaced d/t their weight, and they're over 250 pounds, many over 300. Surgery is not a magic bullet, it only works in unison with discipline. If you don't have discipline, don't even bother with the surgery. I've seen people die from these surgeries because they didn't eat right afterward.
  • ascrof
    ascrof Posts: 34
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    Just want to thank everyone who responded to my question. And as a Mental Health Associate and Nursing student i'm also around people with weight and psych issues. I guess it just bothers me that insurance is paying for these surgeries and the real reason for the obesity is not being addressed. And by no means am i judging these people, i was 60 pounds heavier and could barely breathe last year, but i addressed my reasons for turning to food. And i watch these people comment on how clean i am eating as they order soft food like mashed potatoes covered in butter because "they go down easy" and they don't deal with dumping syndrome.
  • ascrof
    ascrof Posts: 34
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