bariatric surgery

So sorry I just saw this but would like to weigh in, lol. Pun intended. I had a lapband. It was NOT worth it. I ended up having to have it removed due to complications. I never really lost any weight with it but I certainly vomited alot. I have learned that for me the best way to lose weight is to go slow and sure and do things that work for me. I've been dieting all my life and at 60 I finally have lost 84 pounds. You can do it.

I don't want to knock anyone who choses to do surgery. That is a very personal decision and I think it takes alot of courage to do it. I just want to let you know it isn't always all it's cracked up to be. Please be very careful and only use surgery as a very last resort. Even after the surgery you can end up gaining alot of the weight back if you aren't careful and you are left with the health issues that go with the surgery.

I wish you the best of luck whatever you decide but please do your homework and talk to people who have had the surgery and are a few years in. See if they managed to maintain the loss. Most of the people I knew that lost did not keep it off. Some kept part of it off and some gained most of it back.

I had VSG 3 1/2 years ago. At my highest weight, I was 386 lbs. Before I ever had surgery, I chose to find a good therapist to help me sort out the issues that got me to where I was. In my opinion, you don't get to be that big simply from bad food choices and laziness. I considered my weight a result of disordered eating and I KNEW that if I didn't work on the emotional/mental part, nothing I would do physically would work long term. I was in therapy for a year before I considered surgery. I made sure I was ready to accept that it was a tool, not a fix, and that I would still need to put in a lot of work for the rest of my life to stay successful. It was worth it to me. I knew the risks of surgery, but I also knew the risks of going into my 50s being morbidly obese. Surgery helped me save my life. It helped me to be able to live a much better quality of life. I watch what I eat, and I am active now. I have not had any major issues or complications. The thing to remember is that surgery in and of itself will never be the answer, but it can be a part of your tools and checks & balances to keep you on track, healthy, and successful. If you don't think you can commit to making a lot of change, surgery might not be right for you.

I recommend following myfitnesspal' method of counting calories and learning those smaller portions for a period of at least 6 months before you make any decisions. By following it, that means you need to stick with those calories though and not go over. I have a feeling if you do that, you will see enough results that you will change your mind. 11 months ago I was 258lbs (I'm only 5'3"). I am now 162.1 lbs (97.9lbs down) by doing exactly what I told you to do. I still have about 25lbs to be in a healthy weight, but I finally established a healthy relationship with food in these 11 months that overeating is not really an issue anymore.

With that being said, my mom had gastric bypass. It was crucial for her immediate health and has pretty much saved her life. That is not without side effects though. She is down about 150lbs. She has a very limited diet that she can eat. She cannot have sugars or carbs (any thing white, some wheat does ok). She can only really consume a certain about of oz of food at a time. She's had issues with nutrient absorption even with all the vitamins she has to take. She also had to have skin removal surgery and that recovery was horrible. I am very grateful that she got the WLS so that she could live a longer life, however, in my opinion that should be the only reason to get it done.

If you need any motivation or support, friend request me on here. I keep my diary open to friends. You'll see I eat what I want (bacon, cake, sugars, etc) just less than I used to The most important thing is finding out what your issue with food is. If you don't fix that, no weight loss surgery will. Many people have had WLS and gained back most or all of the weight from not fixing the issues that caused the weight gain. WLS is definitely just another tool in your weight loss tool box, not a solution.

Thank you Creatureofch