Is anyone using any form of weight loss surgery in their weight loss journey?

chelseajgilbert
chelseajgilbert Posts: 8 Member
edited November 18 in Health and Weight Loss
This is a question for those with quite large BMIs (Like 45+) and wondering if anyone has looked to using bariatric surgery as a tool in their weight loss journey? For many who look to it, it's because weight loss has always been really hard and they need an extra hand for it. I'm considering and just want to know who out their is succeeding, or not, with it and why they chose it. Thanks.

Replies

  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    I had the surgery a few years ago and along with dietary classes and supervision the surgery was truly transformative.

    I waited a long time before choosing surgery. I balanced the risks and went for it.
  • chelseajgilbert
    chelseajgilbert Posts: 8 Member
    ^^I have been doing the counting calories thing, I just have physical limits that don't allow me to workout like I need to be able to.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    chelseajgilbert wrote: »
    For many who look to it, it's because weight loss has always been really hard and they need an extra hand for it.
    Be aware that everybody loses weight the same way: by consistently eating less than they burn. Surgery doesn't change the way one loses weight. Surgery just makes you unable - for a while - to eat enough to maintain your weight. Weight loss happens when one stops eating too much. Not eating too much can be hard. But it isn't extremely hard if you do it right. You just have to take it seriously, like work, or raising kids, or managing an illness, or any other task that is demanding and long term.
    chelseajgilbert wrote: »
    ^^I have been doing the counting calories thing, I just have physical limits that don't allow me to workout like I need to be able to.
    You don't have to exercise to lose weight. But you have to take weight loss seriously. Counting calories is efficient if you do it right.
  • Miss_Hattie
    Miss_Hattie Posts: 49 Member
    I am in the prep mode to have bariatric surgery. Maybe within the next month? If you have type 2 diabetes, make sure you choose one of the methods that may rid your diabetes right after the surgery or in a day or two. Not all of them have that capability. That's the #1 reason my doctor wants me to have it. The ensuing weight loss is a bonus I will gladly work for.
  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
    I considered asking my doctor when my BMI was 35 and I'd had two recorded FBSs over 99. In the end I just didn't want a lifetime of that degree of restriction. I just couldn't fathom it. So I've been doing it the old-fashioned way instead and pound by slow pound, I am now almost 60 lbs. down with 25-30 to go.

    I think there is a WLS group here...try a search. They're around somewhere!
  • mainecasey1
    mainecasey1 Posts: 12 Member
    I am in a bariatrics program. I started the program at the end of January. I haven't had surgery yet, but from my last visit with the nutritionist, it sounds like I am getting closer to a consult.
  • mainecasey1
    mainecasey1 Posts: 12 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    chelseajgilbert wrote: »
    For many who look to it, it's because weight loss has always been really hard and they need an extra hand for it.
    Be aware that everybody loses weight the same way: by consistently eating less than they burn. Surgery doesn't change the way one loses weight. Surgery just makes you unable - for a while - to eat enough to maintain your weight. Weight loss happens when one stops eating too much. Not eating too much can be hard. But it isn't extremely hard if you do it right. You just have to take it seriously, like work, or raising kids, or managing an illness, or any other task that is demanding and long term.
    chelseajgilbert wrote: »
    ^^I have been doing the counting calories thing, I just have physical limits that don't allow me to workout like I need to be able to.
    You don't have to exercise to lose weight. But you have to take weight loss seriously. Counting calories is efficient if you do it right.

    Not everyone in a weight loss surgery program is there just because they struggle with eating less. Actually, most are medically necessary because of other comorbidities that they have and often, physical limitations (whether associated with the extra weight itself or related to other medical conditions beyond their control).
  • sweetirish
    sweetirish Posts: 70 Member
    I feel as though there are a lot of misnomers out there about WLS and how it's "the easy way out". As someone who's still pre-op I can tell you it's not. There's a LOT of work involved and most of it is in the psychological sense. After surgery I have to have a new coping mechanism in place. I can't just "have a bad day" and eat whatever I want. I have to stick to the program or I'll get physically sick. I have to come up with another way to deal with the bad day other than my pizza and Chinese food... or heck, even cheese. And you can still enjoy the foods you eat, you just have to do it sparingly. You can order that ribeye...but it will take you several meals to eat it (which means you get to enjoy it several times - BONUS). Unfortunately foods high in fats and sugars will cause dumping syndrome which is when your food goes through the pouch too fast and hits the intestines without much digestion and the sugar/fat hits your system all at once.
    It's a process. It's why some people who go through the surgery end up having some other addiction afterward - they transfer their coping mechanism from food to say smoking or alcohol. I'm still cultivating a go-to when I find myself feeling anxious. Exercise won't cut it for me. I need something meditative and I've found coloring, crocheting, and crafting can help me just zone in and focus on that. Gardening has been a fun distraction during warm weather as well. And I can bring my projects out to the garden and sit on my swing.
    My train derailed there a bit.
    This was the hardest decision I ever made. I've lost weight on my own before and it was tedious and I'd eventually get sick of it or "fall off the wagon". If I do that after surgery, not only will I get sick, but I'll have wasted tens of thousands of dollars and at this point, almost a year's worth of my time and doctor appointments. My surgery date is May 8th and I'm ready. I'm nervous and I have my anxieties around it, but I'm ready to take that step. This isn't going to FIX my issues... it's a tool to use.
  • Miss_Hattie
    Miss_Hattie Posts: 49 Member
    Any one here from Fort Wayne, IN area? Very good info tomteboda. Maybe that's why they require some weight loss up front..... that some will get on a good roll and opt out of surgery. I've gained and lost and re-gained so much, I dread it. My diabetes BS readings get so out of control even when I'm eating right. So I'm having a type of surgery that should help rid my body of the excess sugar almost immediately. I take 3 pills a day along with 3 or 4 shots of 2 kinds of insulin. I have good insurance but it is hard for me to afford all the meds. I'm hoping to start the class portion of prep in a couple of weeks. I've lost large amounts of weight in the past on my own, but always regained it....and then some.
  • ruqayyahsmum
    ruqayyahsmum Posts: 1,513 Member
    imbailey78 wrote: »
    this is how i look at it after down 130lbs with another 100 to lose. surgery will help but you will no longer be able to enjoy food. eat sensible count calories and if you ever want to pig out and eat a 16oz. ribeye and a baked potato you can just know you will pay for it later in the gym and the rest of the week calorie wise. this calorie counting stuff actually works try it for a month.

    I enjoy my food just fine thanks

    A 5oz steak is my fave in resturants. More than enough for me

    Im 3 years post and get sick to the back teeth of people telling me surgery lost my weight for me.
    That line of staples didnt get me out of bed at 5am to hit the gym
    That line of healed staples doesnt make the choice of what goes in my mouth. I can eat EVERYTHING

    During a hospital stay last year with a blood sugar drop to 1.1 they had me eat 2 rounds of toast with jam, a whole cheese salad sandwich, 6 biscuits and orange juice. No problems

    What surgery did was give me my life. I was slowly dying, had been given 5 years to live. I spent 8 years refusing surgery trying to go it alone, tried so many doctor prescribed pills, diets and exercise. No results

    First thing the tier 3 programme did (im uk, we have to prove worthyness) was show i had several autoimmune diseases, checking my medical history showed them my gp had to have seen them on blood tests but ignored it to the point my joints were being destroyed.

    The surgery itself gave me back those years i was going to miss out on. Medication has got the conditions mostly under control but i live in pain from the damage

    But surgery and mfp mean i can do so much more. It made my son possible, its made hiking with my son on my back very possible and no walking stick in sight!
  • Allgaun
    Allgaun Posts: 222 Member
    I don't think there is anything wrong with getting help when you need it. My brother had a weight problem his whole life. He was on WW several times, had a personal trainer and joined a gym. He was still almost 350 lbs., guesstimate.

    He had the sleeve. He lost about 150 lbs. He is still very cautious about what he eats and it's been about 4 years. He is still fighting his addiction to double stuffed oreos and Dunkin Donuts iced coffee. He now makes sure to eat his protein before anything else. Surgery doesn't remove cravings or make you smarter about what foods you eat.

    Let's be real, none of us got overweight by eating a well balanced diet and exercising. Some of us, probably, have a better chance of succeeding than others by adjusting our calories and adding some exercise, others have a life long battle with weight and need to lose a lot of weight for health reasons. Whatever road leads to a healthier life is the right road.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    chelseajgilbert wrote: »
    ^^I have been doing the counting calories thing, I just have physical limits that don't allow me to workout like I need to be able to.

    Exercise has many benefits in additional to help creating a calorie deficit, and I think everyone who can exercise should exercise, but it is not needed in order to lose weight - you can create a calorie deficit via diet alone.

    Also, many people make the mistake of trying to do too much too soon. Can you walk to your mailbox? Start checking the mail a few extra times per day. When I lived on the second floor I was purposely inefficient - I'd make one trip for the mail, one to take out the trash, and one to take out the recyclables. The point of this is not burning calories, but to slowly increase daily activity.

    I have knee issues and had to slowly build up their strength. I started walking 20 minutes, and am now up to 75, plus hills. I also do knee strengthening exercises almost every day.

    I brought a roommate to the gym once. He was disappointed that he couldn't do whatever he thought he should be able to do on the elliptical and never went back. Whereas I accept myself where I am, and work to progressively increase.

    For decades I had challenges with my lower back. Once I finally got that under control, my knees acted up. Now that that seems to be managed, my hip is bothering me. I just roll with the punches.
  • wcgenius
    wcgenius Posts: 12 Member
    I had a band fitted about four years ago. By last Christmas I was the highest weight I've ever been. I put too much faith in the band being the magic wand. It also didn't sit right with my generally cranky personality and I fought it - and this is from someone totally signed up, did all the 'pre' stuff...diet, meetings assessments and I genuinely thought I was going in with my eyes open. My first band fill and I struggled to swallow a small mouthful of milk. I think it was that early on that I thought - what have I done to myself? There is a whole world of difference between 'I'm curbing my food because I want to' and 'I'm curbing my food because I have to'. I didn't appreciate that difference and didn't really think about how being forced not to eat would make me feel. I hated the fact that chocolate was easier to eat than chicken, that fatty foods went down easier than a salad. And consequently liquid calories went down like a dream. I'm pleased that the band is slowly being phased out as a WLS option.

    Whilst I was going through that a friend of mine had a sleeve. She lost so much weight, more than me. The pair of us out at a meal was pretty funny - I would be going to the toilet with my 'productive burps' (which could happen even if I was super careful), whilst she sat there 'dumping' bright red and looking like she was about to pass out, throw up, explode down the loo, collapse or all of the above. Fun times. She has also since put a significant amount of weight back on.

    I guess my point is that - if you want to over eat after surgery, eventually, you can. If you're the type of person that doesn't like to be dictated to, don't do it - I can not tell you how much I resented not being able to eat things that were actually healthy foods! If you are an emotional eater and haven't dealt with that side of things - don't do it. If anything you'll become more emotional because of the added complications it brings and you'll find a way to stuff those calories in. I can personally vouch for wine.

    I knew, at Christmas, that I just had to grow a pair. I knew I was miserable, well on my way to serious illness and had to take responsibility for myself and stop looking for something else to do it for me. It really has been a revelation and I have now lost 38lbs since Jan (still a long way to go) - and I've done it through eating right and lifting heavy things. And I've done it. Me. The band is still there but, it's no help at all, in fact, it's a hindrance and as soon as I'm at a good weight I'll have it removed.

    I'm not writing this to actively discourage anyone and I've read stories of people totally turning their life around which is fantatsic but, I regret it. I wish I had realised that it was still all on me. It was still all, and only, down to me. Although I would nod in agreement and say I understood, secretly I thought it was going to take some of the effort from me - and it didn't. I wasn't in the right place at the time.
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