Thread: Last ditch attempt before surgery

F2TG,

Good luck with your programme.

I am amazed that in 4 months, I've shifted 5 stone. I didn't think it was possible. And now I know it is definitely do-able. It's a case of finding a good programme and putting one foot in front of the other. I've seen people do great on SW and on vlcds. For me the clarity of a vlcd means I stay on track in the weight loss period. Alizonne also has salads and veggies - so is good training to eating somethings and not others.

I also agree with Feynman - that we need different ways of eating and living. In fact the weight shedding is the easy bit - the real important bit is transitioning into an everyday eating and activity/exercise - a way of living that supports us staying at our preferred weight. The stats for maintenance are poor for almost all ways of loss - surgery, clubs, vlcds etc. The issue is not the shedding, it's making maintaining as important as the weight loss phase for however long it takes to make it second nature. And when it is second nature, we still need to be alert to upticks in weight.

There are lots of good resources to choose from: slimpods, marisa peers, hypnotherapy, John Briffa, paleo eating, the Gabriel method and much more.

Good luck and enjoy the journey,

Ali

Originally Posted by suzie290304

I had surgery 4th jan and can eat normally, I would tell your niece to go back to her provider if she is over 6 weeks post op as she should be on normal food, if anyone is thinking about wlsurgery they have their own forum that used to be on hear but got too big so it is now wlsurgery .com just don't make assumptions until your research has been done and what better way to do it then from people who have had it done. X

WLS surgery isn't for everyone. If the thought of the operation, or any operation, terrifies you there is little point in looking at the successful cases as you know you'll never be taking that route.

As they say at the beginning of Supersize Superskinny "it isn't what you're eating, it's what's eating you" that caused the problem, food is just our coping mechanism of choice. So although the WLS will make you drop the weight, ultimately it won't sort out the issues that caused you to get overweight in the first place.

I would never attempt to convince anyone that WLS is wrong, I just know it isn't for me.

Originally Posted by tranquility

As they say at the beginning of Supersize Superskinny "it isn't what you're eating, it's what's eating you" that caused the problem, food is just our coping mechanism of choice. So although the WLS will make you drop the weight, ultimately it won't sort out the issues that caused you to get overweight in the first place.

I would never attempt to convince anyone that WLS is wrong, I just know it isn't for me.

Thats true my weight went up with my depression. I comfort ate and did not want to leave the house so did no exercise with no motivation. My emotions are just as much to blame for my weight gain as the stuff I ate. Breaking the chain of junk food = feeling better is no easy feat. The thought of change long term and never going back to something you have used for a extended period for happiness to something which is hard work is a scary prospect.
If my weight loss starts to stall I will look into WLS. I know it works for some and I would never encourage others not too. But for me considering how linked my eating and mood was it probably would not been good as a first option. But I have not ruled it out in the future.

Thanks Ali-I've not heard of some of the resources you recommended, I'll look into them and huge congrats on your loss. For me, I know that maintenance will be the hardest part as it is something that i've never been able to do before. I have nothing against weight loss surgery or anyone that has it. In fact, I think it shows a great deal of bravery so hope it didn't come across that I was discouraging anyone. I just don't think it's right for me at this stage. I would use it as a last resort. However, I do think it's a lot to go through for something that doesn't have 100% success guarenteed and as others have said, it doesn't change your mindset. At the moment, Cambridge is working for me. I also think that given that I work in the field of psychological therapy (which doesn't necessarily mean that I find losing weight and keeping it off any easier than anyone else) , I'd personally feel a bit of a fraud for not trying other means of weight control first.

Originally Posted by tranquility

WLS surgery isn't for everyone. If the thought of the operation, or any operation, terrifies you there is little point in looking at the successful cases as you know you'll never be taking that route.

As they say at the beginning of Supersize Superskinny "it isn't what you're eating, it's what's eating you" that caused the problem, food is just our coping mechanism of choice. So although the WLS will make you drop the weight, ultimately it won't sort out the issues that caused you to get overweight in the first place.

I would never attempt to convince anyone that WLS is wrong, I just know it isn't for me.

I always say that if you can do it yourself then great, but people are assuming that you will never be able to eat normally again and that's wrong. If you looking into wlsurgery which people on this thread have. I will always advise to do your research and no it's not always a bed of roses as shown on wlsurgery.com i would never say people go for this or that. It was my personal choice after a lifetime of being big and may not be everyones. When people are saying this is how wlsurgery is it's wrong and it's like me saying you will always be starving with slimming world. X

Yes Suzie. I think what you can and cannot eat after WLS depends on the type of surgery you have and the diet advice given by the professionals...but this thread wasn't intended to be about what you can and can't eat after surgery or to scaremonger or to say tat WLS is wrong. It was just about considering the option of whether or not to do it if this last ditch attempt doesn't work. My mother had WLS about 4 years ago. She did it in order to increase her life expectancy after a lifetime of unsuccesful dieting. She had a gastric bypass and had to follow a liquid diet a few weeks before and after surgery, progressing gradually up to mush before getting back to eating normal food. She has lost about 2 thirds of what she needs to and has maintained it for the last 2 years. She's fitter and healthier and does more exercise but she still eats pretty much the same things in smaller portions. However, certain foods (like red meat) do make her ill. But she has no regrets. WLS has therefore changed what she can eat slightly and the amount but this for her hasn't been a bad thing. However, once it's done there is no going back and if you opt for a bypass you need to take vitamins for the rest of your life (and maybe with if you have the sleeve too) which is why it's such an important decision. It worked in helping her lose weight and increase her quality of life which has been great for her and she is happier but i'm not sure her mindset has changed as she seems to have replaced what she can no longer eat with increased amounts of alcohol and compulsive shopping and so I don't feel that surgery has helped her to address why she has the need to do these things in the first place. WLS works for some people and not others (e.g. Carnie Wilson of Wilson Phillips or Alison Hammond from Big Brother/This morning). Everyone is different and not everyone overeats for psychological reasons. People need to do what is right for them and WLS is just not where i'm at....for now anyway.

My aunt is in the process of getting WLS... and she has to lose weight with a conventional food diet (ie eating healthy/calorie counting) before they'll give her it. Weight loss surgery is not a cure... and a very risky thing to do if you aren't going to put your heart and soul into it - thats why they need you to lose some weight by yourself before hand.

It will not work for someone who thinks its going do all of the work for them. Gotta get your head in the right place first. Hope you find a way to get the weight off without having to resort to surgery x

I've got alot of weight to loose still. I was scheduled for gastric bypass last year in sept. I truly thought it was what I wanted for over 3 years. Yet when on the pre op diet I finally decided to try again myself. But 120% as we all can say we've 'tried' but my opinion is I didn't try as hard as I could until it came to the point of surgery. Im glad I've changed my mind, an lost 3.1stone on slimming world since October 2011 had a few gains but I'm glad I can still eat naughty food an been limited from my own will power. Good luck I hope you dont need the surgery, I feel soo great loosing the weight myself xx

Well said Aligal!

I dislike the word ''diet'' I don't believe any diet works. It's about changing your lifestyle for the better! I personally wouldn't opt for WLS. I know somebody who had it and she has put herself in hospital numerous times because she wasn't following the after surgery plan she was supposed to - stupid woman. Everybody is different, Slimming World is the one for me but I have known people who haven't have much luck with it. It's all a mind thing, once your head is in the right frame of mind it's easy, the hard part is getting yourself into it!