Dieting Club: 50 - 100 Lbs Community

Hello,

I am not a big fan of weight loss surgery because it doesn't teach you how to control your food. People get the wrong message in my opinion when they do weight loss surgery because they do not know how to use food properly. If you don't know how to use food properly before the surgery and when you get it removed more than likely gain it back. When I started my journey I wieghed 250 as well. I am 5'4" and I now wiegh 141. I didn't have any type of surgery or did any crazy diets. I eat whole foods of lots veggies and fruits, lean meats, low fat or fat free dairy, and whole grains. I wiegh and measure everything I eat and write everything down in my food journal. I know if I can do it anybody can. Once you get used to it, it's like second nature to me. You can start making a couple of changes at time. You don't want to over do it because you would just set yourself up for failure with too many changes. You could start taking what you eat now by cutting it half. Then you can you could start adding other things in such as fruits and veggies. I am not trying to discourage you from the surgery, I am just letting you know it can be done with out surgeries and diets. Diets don't work. Lifestyle changes do. Any way if you would like some help this is a great place to start.

Amber

I am also a Navy wife and I will tell you that I looked into both lap band and gastric bypass in depth. At first I was all for it because I thought it would be a "quick fix" to my lifelong weight dilemma. And with our health insurance willing to cover it, I thought, why not?

After attending the initial orientation meetings at two different certified "Centers of Excellence" and gathering all the facts, I wanted to see if I could really live with the lifetime diet restrictions that would be required after the procedures to lose the weight and maintain the weightloss for life as laid out in the programs by the dieticians. It was pretty much a lean protein, low fat, low sugar and carb plan (once you get past the initial phases).

Honestly, I couldn't do it. My cravings got the best of me and I didn't last 3 days on my own. That is how I knew surgery wasn't for me at that time because no doctor or dietician would be around to slap my hand in the middle of the night as I reached for cookies. And the lap band would not stop me from eating the cookies, waiting an hour and eating more cookies. And unless "dumping" occurred, the gastric bypass wouldn't either.

I decided to try appetite suppressants to take away my cravings. I know that there are a lot of opinions, both for and against them, but for me they worked. I needed help in curbing my appetite so that I could make the right food decisions. What I didn't expect to happen so fast was for my mind to be renewed and the lightbulb to come on.

Now, for you to truly grasp what I am going to say next, I must give you a bit of background. I loved to eat. I loved to eat everything. I grew up "clearing my plate" then polishing off my dessert and still going to bed with a large bowl of ice cream and extra cookies in a napkin every night. Fast-forward 25 years later and I am a morbidly obese adult.

I am only a month in, but I will tell you that I no longer look at food the same way. I have experienced a total mental shift towards what I put into my mouth. It is no longer a "will power" thing or a "daily committment" thing, it is simply how I do life now. It's hard to explain so I keep trying to retype this reply but basically, food has lost its luster and excitement to me. That is how I know for a fact that I will not slip back into my poor eating choices ever again. I stopped taking the appetite suppressants six days ago and my cravings have not returned at all. And I know they won't because they are truly gone.

My point is this: You have to be at this place mentally before going into surgery for it to be a total success. Of course the doctor, his staff and the dietician will be there to support you but what about when you are alone? Are you ready to make the right decisions then? Are you really ready for the permanent lifestyle changes that will be required for you to be successful after the surgery? If your mind is already renewed to this point then my guess is that you probably don't need the surgery either. If your mind is not completely renewed yet, then you will probably rebound even with the lap band in place.

Another point that stuck with me from the lap band orientation was the rate of success. With the lap band the majority of people only lost up to 50% of their excess body weight.

Example: if your current weight is 250 lbs and your ideal weight is 125 lbs, you are only expected to lose 62.5 lbs to be considered a success; but you would still weigh 187.5 lbs

For me, I would still be 193 lbs and have a piece of plastic inside of me that may have to be replaced sometime in my future as they can't guarantee it will last my lifetime.

Sorry for being so long, but I wanted to be as thorough as possible in helping you to make the final decision.

http://exchanges.webmd.com/bariatric-surgery-exchange

This is a link to the bariatric surgery exchange. You may find answers to your question there as they are also people who have had or are going to have the surgery.

Thanks Amber, that is some good tips for people who read this information. Now! I'm 5'4 as well. Now I weight 237, I was 261. I went on Weight Watchers and it was working for a while, my weight was going up and down. Still going to watchers meeting. I feel lose right now, its hard for me to get started again. Can you or anyone help me get back on track?

Lola

getting motivated - or re-motivated is a very personal thing. Only you can make you can back on track. I would love to help you out, but unfortunately can't. They only thing I can recommend is to revisit what got you started in the first place and see if that doesn't re-light the fire for you.

Lola,

Sheryl is right. You have to get yourself motivated and that is hard for a lot of ppl. What keeps me motivated is the fact that when you don't change your life with food you're just killing yourself slowly. I also want to me here for my son and be able to do things with him. We have started bike riding together to help get me and him in shape. He is going through a growth spurt and he is eating a little more so I make sure he gets more exercise to burn the extra calories. If I was the way I was now I wouldn't be able to do the bike riding with him. He is an only child so he doesn't have anybody to play with besides me so I try to make it constructive. Also my husband and mother in law have major health problems because of them being obese. I don't want to have to go to doctors and take meds all the time just to stay alive. I want live a healthy life and not go to a dr unless it is it necessary. This maybe a harsh way to look at it but that is what works for me. You just have to find what works for you. Good luck and keep posting.

Amber

Hi Navywife32000!

I have to respectfully disagree with blondie454u (Amber) and dada1j and here's why:

I was lap banded on 4/8/10. I have the clean your plate mentality and for awhile in high school and college I was a binge eater. Later in life I was an all you can eat girl and at 5 ft 9 in I swelled to 259 pounds. I have tried EVERY weight program out there and most of the diet pills. Every time I succeeded in the short run, but either the plans at the weight loss centers became impracticle for my lifestyle (I work 12 hour shifts in a high stress environment) too expensive, or there were side effects from the weight loss supplements that were not good for my health. The weight always came back.

I have to say that the lap band system DOES teach you a proper relationship with food. If you force yourself to eat beyond satiety, then there are repercussions, for me it's a very bloated uncomfortable feeling that can get downright painful. There is also the chance (which I have not experienced) of productive burping. Basically throwing up. If it doesn't fit in your smaller stomach it has to go somewhere and that's out! YUCK! It is the same with fried foods and I have avoided them because I don't want the indigestion that can accompany it.

The support of the surgeons office, the nutritionist and counselor has also helped.

When I eat the right foods, I feel better, physicially. When I eat the wrong foods, I get uncomfortable, bloated and downright painful which doesn't go away quickly. For me that is cause and effect and incentive enough to eat, but I have learned the hard way, but onward and upward each time.

Sure, as Amber said most people can change by just adjusting one or two things at a time and "eating better". To me, it wasn't enough. You can easily george yourself on healthy good food and still gain weight! For me, I needed that brick wall to say, stop eating, enough, your body doesn't need anymore. For me the lap band does that.

The lap band is definatly NOT a quick fix, and it takes the determination of a lifetime and you must remember that it is a tool, not a magic pill.

I've heard a lot of people say the diet restrictions are very harsh w/a lap band. I have to tell you that is a misnomer, a myth and not really the truth.

You have quantity restriction with the lap band. Instead of eating a whole bagel, you'll eat half. Instead of a whole baked potato, you'll eat half. Instead of a 12 ounce NY strip youll have 1/3 of it. Instead of a 18 ounce milkshake youll have 6 ounce. Think of it more like the way people ate in the 1950's before the supersize portion mentality hit. In fact I bought a cookbook from the 1950's and have seen how distorted todays portions really are. It was truly eye opening.

The only hands off foods post lap band are carbonated beverages. The carbonatin can stretch the stomach and it can be very painful. Soda is bad for you anyway, and honestly post op hasn't been something I wanted. Other then that, I can eat anything I can tolerate, I just have to chew it really well and only small amounts at a time.

My surgeon told me at my last appointment that people that are unsuccessful with the lap band are people who drink their calories as in milkshakes and such. If you stick with solid foods there is minuite chance of failure.

To touch on the success rate; dada1 is in error.

With the lap band the majority of people lose up to 60% of their excess body weight in the first year and continue to lose weight and reach their ideal within 3.5 years. The success rate 7-8 years post op is equal to gastric bypass and sleeve.

Surgeons reccomend weight loss of 1-2 pounds a week which if you do the math is 100 pounds per year.

You DON'T want to drop all the weight in 3 weeks or 3 months, because that is a surefire way for your body to react and to hold onto fat and also an indicator for gaining it back as well as loose skin.

This is a tortoise race, not a rabbit race.

Sorry, but I am VERY passionate about this!

Hugs,
Heather

think one thing is for sure-you have to the right mentality for it. You need to be ready to leave all the bad eating habits behind for good. I have an aunt that had gastric bypass and 2 friends that had the lap band-all 3 of them lost lots of weight and all 3 thought -well now we skinny we can eat. So 3.5 years later they all gained back and some more on top of that......

It's true, as I said above the lap band is a tool not a miracle cure. You can sure as heck cheat the band and some do. Some get discouraged and have the band deflated and go back to eating the way they have in the past. Some, with gastric bypass tolerate the dumping syndrome so they can feed their food addiction.

I too know many that have had both, some have succeed and some have not. The majority have succeeded. It is a mindset and it is work. You have to figure out for yourself if your worth that.

No matter what, no one thing will "fix" the problem, but with support and tools, your "mindset" and all CAN DO IT!!

Hugs,
Heather

Pray tell us where you get these appetite suppressants?

Hi thanks so much for writing in - would love to know how you are doing now.

I feel the same way as you explained in your letter. I have started changing my lifestyle and the wake up call and motivation came from knowing I was going to do the lap band surgery.

I felt that if I am to succeed on the lap band surgery, I need to start changing my lifestyle before the surgery.

I am going to meet with the councellors and surgeon in a months time.

I am very apprehensive, scared and a bit guilty that I have chose surgical procedure.

But you explained it - so well,

Wish me luck


Devorah D.

Hi Mikiva, We see only you comment on a 2 years old post. If you want a discusion to be started, copy you profile text to a new discusion. I'm sure all the blogers would have constructive comments on you great journey up to know.

I believe that you can do it without the lap band, you are certainly have a good start.

I need some help on my eating ideas with any one who has has the lap band. I lost 60 pounds and now i am struggling to continue. I have a hard time eating first thing in the morning my pouch just won't hold very much. then about 10am i can eat. I also can't eat meat very well but i am not a big meat eater and never have been so i am at a loss as what to eat to get my protein. maybe some one can help me. thanks

dada1j, I swear to God, that is probably the single best response to the weightloss surgery dilemma that I have read. You did what needed to be done. You didn't take the easy way out. You took it upon yourself to try a different route, the suppressants worked and you weened yourself off of them when you felt ready for the next step of being "on your own".
I guarantee the weightloss will be slower than with surgery. But that slower loss also gives you and your body to better learn and respond to changing phases throughout your journey.
Cudos to you and your choice. I am glad that you posted here.
Welcome.
kim