Aided vs unaided weight loss

wildchild83
wildchild83 Posts: 8
edited October 1 in Health and Weight Loss
Has anyone here used surgery or pills etc to lose their weight, not the way i would go but interested to know if anyone went that route and their results?

I think if i lose my weight by excersing hard and changing eating habits im less likely to put it back on.


are most people here losing weight by exercising and changes what they eat or does anyone do meal replacements shakes etc? Do any of them work?

Replies

  • Lindyteach
    Lindyteach Posts: 72 Member
    I have been on here for 9 months. I have exercised and eaten healthily and had slow and consistent weight loss. This is a great tool / support. I find it easy to use. It's free. It works. What else do you need!!! Cheers!!
  • SimplyDeLish
    SimplyDeLish Posts: 539
    I've lost by counting calories...eating what I want, when I want it...just in an amount that fits into my daily calorie target. I believe in a healthy lifestyle - one that you can live with for the rest of your life.

    Diets don't work...or we wouldn't still be overweight after gone on countless regimes. For you to lose weight once and for all, your lifestyle has to be sustainable and maintainable.

    My best advice...eat healthy, move your body, and have a positive mind set.

    Here's to you reaching your goals!
  • fastbelly
    fastbelly Posts: 727 Member
    I don't mean to judge those who seek aids to lose weight. At least they are doing something about it vs the millions that don't even think of using anything. However I'm of the opinion that if it can be done without chemicals or risky surgery that's what we should at least try first.

    I've been here for only a few months and through a combination of eating healthy and exercise I've lost 72 lbs so far and trust me if I can do this so can anybody!

    I wish you good luck on your journey whichever path you choose.
  • wildchild83
    wildchild83 Posts: 8
    SimplyDeLish you couldnt have said it better i think i tried a diet once and never again, i find it make me thinks of food too much.

    fastbelly well done 72lbs is an awersome amount you have lost by eating health and exercising.

    Ive noticed a lot of people on this forum who have done the "natural" way of weight lost have lost more then those doing diets etc
  • TiDinzeo
    TiDinzeo Posts: 309
    I've been here a little over 5 months. In that time I've watched what I've been eating and exercised and I've lost 52lbs. I did briefly consider diet pills and surgery, but never seriously. From what I've heard, diet pills can be harmful and surgery is a very drastic step when for most people, calorie counting and exercise work just as well, if not better without the shock to your body.
  • kyle4jem
    kyle4jem Posts: 1,400 Member
    I've lost by counting calories...eating what I want, when I want it...just in an amount that fits into my daily calorie target. I believe in a healthy lifestyle - one that you can live with for the rest of your life.

    Diets don't work...or we wouldn't still be overweight after gone on countless regimes. For you to lose weight once and for all, your lifestyle has to be sustainable and maintainable.

    My best advice...eat healthy, move your body, and have a positive mind set.

    Here's to you reaching your goals!
    Here! Here!

    You've summed up my philosophy in three lines. :flowerforyou:

    I think for the majority of us that have struggled with weight issues throughout or over a long period of their lives, that should be the mantra we all chant daily

    **eat healthy, move your body, and have a positive mind set**:happy:
  • kyle4jem
    kyle4jem Posts: 1,400 Member
    Has anyone here used surgery or pills etc to lose their weight, not the way i would go but interested to know if anyone went that route and their results?
    Thankfully, I have not required gastric banding or bypass and while some pills are known to work, they also require a heck of a lot of determination and will power to stick to a calorie-controlled meal plan as well as an exercise plan otherwise their effecacy is as good as zero!
    I think if i lose my weight by excersing hard and changing eating habits im less likely to put it back on.
    You got it in one!!! This is the only sustainable way to lose weight sensibly and have any realistic chance of managing your weight and well-being in the future.
    are most people here losing weight by exercising and changes what they eat or does anyone do meal replacements shakes etc? Do any of them work?
    Everybody's different. What works for one person may be a disaster for another. There are some MFP-ers who have successfully folllowed proscribed weight-loss programmes which include meal replacements but I think it takes a HUGE amount of will power and sacrifice and personally that doesn't work for me. Likewise, I couldn't do 60min daily workouts every (other) day... it just doesn't fit into my current way of life.

    For long-term sustainability you have to learn to eat well and exercise more and most important of all... BE HAPPY :happy:
  • hhan
    hhan Posts: 74
    I had gastric stapling done about 25 years ago. I don't recall what weight I was at the time but I would have had to be obese to have qualified for the surgery. I do recall I was buying size 22 clothes at the time. I consider myself very fortunate that my surgery went without a hitch and I've never had any medical issues associated with the procedure. In those days they didn't cut away any stomach they just stapled accross most of it leaving a small opening for food to pass through into the sectioned off part of the stomach. That meant that your entire stomach kept functioning. I nearly backed out of the surgery, and would have if prior examination by a physician had not shown that I needed a gall bladder removal as well. Given I knew they had to open me up anyway, I figured I might as well go through with it.

    I don't know exactly how much I lost, but the smallest I remember being was a size 16. There was no pre or post operative counselling back then and while I lost weight initially, I slowly put it all back on over the next 15 years. My partner is polish and his measure of being a successful provider was to feed everyone up as much as he could, and he wouldn't take no for an answer. These days I stand up for myself and fight him every day over serving sizes. You'd think he'd get the message, but I reckon the provider role and how he measures that, is so ingrained in him he feels it is a slight on his manhood to refuse his portion sizes. My stomach no doubt stretched because I can definitely eat as huge a serve as anyone else who hasn't had the procedure. The 10 years after that return to size saw me add even more.

    Last year I finally decided to give dieting a diehard go and since then have dropped 99lbs just by controlling what I eat and exercising. I'd definitely advise anyone considering surgery to really give diet and exercise a fair go first. Be honest about what you eat because even after surgery you have to change your lifestyle to keep the weight off. I know quite a few people who had the procedure I did, as well as many lap band recipients. All have slowly regained their weight, some with some very major health issues that they directly attribute to their surgical intervention.

    I'm not sure how true it is but I have heard a weightloss surgeon say that gastric weightloss surgery patients tend to lose muscle mass due to the rapid weightloss and starving themselves, and as the weight returns they end up with extremely high body fat (usually over 50%). If you opt for the surgery then make sure you make fitness a priority and don't just rely on starvation to drop the pounds. You want fat loss rather than weightloss, and that requires dietary change just as much (probably even moreso) than those who aren't starving themselves due to surgical intervention.
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