Last ditch attempt before surgery

[Fat2ThinGirl]

Hi WeMITTs,

I have been here before but hope that this will be the last time. I've been overweight since I was a kid and over the years have managed to eat myself up to over 30 stone! I'm on the waiting list for a gastric sleeve/bypass but I'm ambivalent about the op. I think I'd feel better about myself if I managed to lose the weight without it, but also don't want to die stupid or develop an obesity related co morbidity. I should have a date for my op in the next 3 months.

I've decided to give the Cambridge diet one last go (against my doctors advice as they say that such diets promote binge eating and weight gain). However, with the amount of weight I have to lose, a conventional diet just won't bring the loses I need to keep myself motivated.

The docs also said that evidence suggests that only 3% of people with a BMI over 50 manage to lose weight and maintain their new lower weight without surgical intervention. I would like to prove them wrong. I've lost large amounts of weight before on this diet (and with the support of minimins) and so know that it works as long as you stick to it. I really hope I can do it this time...it will be quite some feat if I manage to acheve it and i'll save the NHS an arm and a leg too!

I hope to hear from others that have lost large amounts of weight, without surgery to help spur me on and realise that it can be done. If you also have a lot to lose, I hope we can support each other.

Ellie

 

[suzie290304]

Hi good luck in your journey to weight loss, unfortunately I wasn't able to keep the weight off so had a sleeve jan 4th. But do know of other people while waiting for surgery lost alot of weight and decided they didn't need the op. Just don't think of yourself as a failure if you do need it but if you can do it on your own then great. Wish you all the success with what ever you choose is right for you x

 

[Nicky6]

good luck.
I too have thought about surgery but would love to do it myself.
Ive tried a few times and mangaed a few stone off but its always come back on.

It shows how much you want this as you keep trying and dont give up.

good luck.xx

 

[Bun]

I have a lot to lose too but want to lose by re-educating my eating habits rather than by surgery or food-replacement plans so that I have a template for the future. It's really not easy and I've basically written off so many of my favourite foods but it's working so far with 9lbs lost so far this month.

Good luck x

 

[tome]

9lb is a great loss!

How are things going? Are you using any particular diet?

 

[Bun]

It's 10lb now after today's weigh. No, I'm doing it myself this time and sticking to around 1500 kcal a day or 1800 kcal on a Wednesday if when I go to Aqua Aerobics. I haven't touched chocolate this month and just stick to healthy meals where I can but have had the occasional meal out which was richer than what I'd cook at home. I think once you've got it in your head to do it that's it but surgery scares me and so does becoming infirm before I need to be and these things are spurring me on to be good.

How are you getting on?

 

[JLStretton]

Hello there and welcome aboard, there are some absolutly great stories on here, and if you need that bit of extra push it will defo help the people are fantastic on here.

The odds maybe againts you but it will make it even more the sweeter when you do it, be it with or with out surgery as by having the surgery you still have to want to do it or you will find ways to eat and gain.

I have lost weight the old fasioned way so to speak and just ate more sensible and exercised, yes it was hard to start with but with determination and help from here I have got this far, still a way to go but I know I will get there, slow and steady there is no rush and the thing I told myself at the start that still stands is be happy with whatever loss you get in a week be it .5 of a pound or 7 pound, because at the day if you get losses each week you will get to goal, it's not a race and it has taken us years to get the size we are so try not expect results over night.

I wish you all the very best on your weight loss journey.

 

[tome]

Hi Bun, it sounds like we have much the same approach. I am mainly calorie counting, with around 2000 calories a day. I'm also walking a lot when i can. It seems to be working all right for the moment. Although i've eaten some chocolate you must have super willpower

It sounds like you are doing very well, and have a good plan sorted out.

 

[Bun]

Hi Tome

To be honest I don't really know where it's come from but I hope it sticks around I was given a huge Viennese Whirl today with a best before date of 13 April from my boss who finished for his holiday today. I've told myself that if I've lost my first stone before it goes out of date I can eat it - and if I haven't my other half will get it! I wasn't well last weekend so haven't been able to exercise this week but feeling much better now so I'm going to up the exercise and hopefully start losing more meaningful amounts from this week. Maybe I'm being too restrictive on 1500 calories but I saw my doctor this morning and she didn't say to up it but I feel it gives me a little more leeway at weekends when my boyfriend is here and we're less strict.

I'm proud of myself for not using feeling rough as an excuse for cracking open the biscuits last weekend. Shows a new me could be emerging!

 

[Fat2ThinGirl]

Thanks for the warm welcome and good luck wishes everyone!
Well done on your loss Bun!
James-you have done incredible! What an inspiration. I really hope I can do it without surgery. I'm not sure if I will be able to stick to a VLCD all the way but I plan to commit to 12 weeks and go from there. Lost 12lb at my first weigh in! Woop woop!

 

[JLStretton]

Well done on a fantastic loss.

 

[Pipaluk]

Welcome back to the forms and well done on your first loss, that's great! Keep it up.

The docs also said that evidence suggests that only 3% of people with a BMI over 50 manage to lose weight and maintain their new lower weight without surgical intervention. I would like to prove them wrong.

I think it's nice that you would prefer to lose the weight by yourself, most people who go for surgery do it thinking it's an easy way out of dieting. It's a long and slow process, it's all about changing your life style. Which is why I dislike the word ''diet.'' It will be nice to hear how you get on, so keep us updated! x

 

[feynman]

Just wanted to offer you some encouragement. I went to my gp and asked to be refered for surgery. I had a bmi of around 56. I was refused as our area no longer offer this without some sort of 'other attempt first'? Anyway I was refered to something called the live well programme. Basically I meet with a gym instructor once a week and we do a session at the gym and she talks to me about my diet/how I've been etc etc. I also joined SW, tbh mainly because my mum and sister had and they were nagging me. I have lost a lot of weight before (around 7st) and 'know' everything I need to know about a healthy diet, It was just not eating that was my problem! Anyway, it's been going great. The livewell programee has ended now as it was only for 6 months, but I'd never have got myself into a gym without it. And sw has been fabulous. You honestly really never have to be hungry. Its like a revelation to me to be able to not be hungry and lose weight! Every diet I've ever done involved calorie counting/being hungry and your gp is absolutly spot on, it just doesn't work long term.
I really feel I have got my head around it now. 'Diets' don't work, you need to 'CHANGE THE WAY YOU EAT FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE' sorry for shouting but I really feel it's not until I accepted this that I realised where I was going wrong. To that end you need to find a way of eating healthily that is sustainable forever, otherwise you're setting yourself up for putting it back on and feeling crap about it. The single biggest thing thats stopped me dealing with my weight for so many years, was not the difficulty in losing it, but the fear of loosing it then putting it back on. For me SW is fab, as I don't view it as a diet. This is it,now this is how I eat forever, this is normal. Sure there will hopefully become a time when I'm not trying to lose, and can relax a little more, but honestly this is not diffuclt, I'm never hungry and if I need to eat, I do.
There are loads of different 'diets' and it's really tempting to go for the ones that will loose the most weight the quickest, but try and think about being in it for the long haul. Find something that works for you, that you can live with forwever, because the truth of it is, only when you do this can you keep it off.

Goodess that turned into a right ramble. Sorry, anyway I hope you see what I'm getting at. I wouldn't good for surgery now if they paid me all the money in the world as it would never have sorted my head out. I had to do that and honestly you will feel so much better if you can get there on your own. Good luck x

 

[jean10]

I second above rant,I too have looked into surgery,too many horror stories and mind set cannot be changed by a knife.
my niece went down this route and has lost the weight but liquidisers fish and chips does not do it for me,nor does the thought of not being aable to eat properly again.
so helpfu
Caring and sharing on here,good luck and believe in you xx

 

[suzie290304]

I second above rant,I too have looked into surgery,too many horror stories and mind set cannot be changed by a knife.
my niece went down this route and has lost the weight but liquidisers fish and chips does not do it for me,nor does the thought of not being aable to eat properly again.
so helpfu
Caring and sharing on here,good luck and believe in you xx

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

 

[AliGal]

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

 

[tranquility]

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.

 

[xMariex]

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.

 

[Fat2ThinGirl]

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.

 

[suzie290304]

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