Weight loss surgery - does anyone REALLY need it?

[sookie]

Obesity can definitely decrease your life expectancy. Even if someone looses a significant amount of weight, the likelihood of keeping that weight off is approximately 3%.

For the morbidly obese, this surgery can increase quality of life greatly. For either the RNY or the band - the goal is to teach healthier living (smaller healthier portions) and exercise.

 

[LisaInNc]

Smaller portions for sure. I had a weight problem. I know what I am saying. It's hard but you have to decide who you want to be. Is food more important that a longer life?

I eat half a sandwich, half a burger. It's all I need. Maybe not all I want but I can maintain a healthy life on half of what most restaurant portions are. I am referencing restaurants because most people can relate to that.

Caribba's to me is a great example. I can order and entree split it with my daughter and we STILL have enough left over for a lunch the next day. Just because they serve it to you and it tastes good, it does not mean you should be eating it. That is after NOT eating the bread no matter how good it is.

I simply cut everything I get in half. I eat the first half, if I want more I have to wait. It will be there for lunch tomorrow.

I have not had a full size burger or a full sized deli sandwich in over 8 years. It was not easy at first but now I know. I can comfortably live on just that amount of food.

Getting your brain to accept that is the hardest part because it is screaming for food. It's screaming that you need it, you are entitled to it or whatever thing we tell ourselves before we do something we should not be doing.

There are portion guides, I think that protein should not be bigger than your fist. When you eat that much it's all you NEED. You are going to tell yourself that you re not full. You don't have to be. You just ate enough to be healthy.

I know this is not something most people want to face but it's the truth. As Americans we eat too much.

Lisa

 

[dawnball]

I'm asking because I really don't know....

Is there truly anyone for whom diet and exercise won't work and therefore they have to have weight loss surgery in order to lose weight?

The point of weight loss surgery is to physically limit the amount of food one can take in. Food can also be limited just by not eating it. So why is surgery needed?

Clearly there are people who haven't been successful with diet and exercise.

There are a lot of tools for weight loss. Exercise, caloric restriction, psychology, pharmacology. Weight loss surgery is just another tool. Some of us need a few tools, and some need more. IMO, the trick is discovering which tools each individual needs.

Weight loss surgery helps on several fronts:

A feeling of physical fullness. Most people rely on a feedback loop to stop eating. When you've eaten enough, you feel full and satisfied. Some people who are obese have lost (or never had) a sense of fullness. They don't get a feeling that they've had enough to eat - they stop eating when their stomach can no longer expand far enough to eat more. Without a sense of "I've had enough", they have to count calories at every meal - and it's impossible to be accurate in all situations - it's also difficult to know what the "right" number of calories is (more on that later). Weight loss surgery can mean that the feeling of physical fullness kicks in at 3 ounces or a cup instead of 4-6 cups of food.

A hormonal sense of hunger or satisfaction. The science here isn't as clear. Gherelin makes people hungry. People who are or ever have been obese tend to have higher responses to gherelin. No one's really sure if that tendency encourages people to become overweight, or if being overweight causes the altered reactions. Either way, weight loss surgery can discourage the production of gherelin, so you feel less hungry. Gherelin is part of that eating feedback loop.

Decreased absorption - not all WLS has this effect, but it means you can eat more food than you could if you absorbed it all properly. This is a bit of a double-edged sword, because it means that you have decreased absorption of the nutrients you need and the ones you don't. For many people this is a BIG win, because of adaptive thermogenesis. If we take 3 women with identical bodies (height, weight, body fat percentage, activity level) - the one who's always been 150 lb needs 2000 calories to maintain her weight. The one who used to weigh 168 needs 1800 calories to maintain. The one who used to weigh 190lb needs 1500 calories to maintain.

 

[Robinrs]

ok this is going to sound harsh but perhaps some honesty is in order. I did not suggest counseling I suggested a support group. Over eaters anonymous or a gastric bypass support group. If there is not one why not start it?

I am happy to hear your new resolve It sounds like you have a lot of excuses. about why it didn't work before. You HAVE to get real with yourself. You have to, it's your health and once you have the surgery if you don't get the protein and water you need you are going to have bigger problems down the road. My friend that had the surgery explained it to me this way. She said for the rest of her life she has to be careful she altered her body in a way that was not natural and because of that she has to watch everything she eats every single bite counts.

You can't NOT buy ice cream and cookies? Why not? I would expect your husband and son to fully support you in this process and if you can't be around them I would hope they would love you and your health enough NOT to have that stuff around. If they need it then let them go out somewhere to get it. Keep it in the trunk of your husbands car, something drastic.

Why not tell them, not to let you eat that stuff under any circumstances?

You know what you need to be eating, make sure they do too and make sure they will call you on it if you veer off.

I have an allergy to a food I LOVE. It I eat it it's not going to kill me but just make my life unpleasant for a bit. If my family even sees me taking one bite of it they are all over me. They love me and want what is best for me. We don't have it in the house because why put it under my nose? They understand.

Lisa

I definitely agree with Lisa about the ice cream, etc. I just took over the care of my elderly autistic uncle and he came to me with a weight problem and borderline diabetes. I got him on Meals on Wheels for diabetics and after a year of better eating and walking every other day he had lost 50 pounds and was taken off all of his diabetes protocol. The doctor thanked me!

At the time my son was 19 and loved to eat like a kid his age. I gave him his own separate mini refrigerator and a space in his room to put snacks. We are to NEVER eat the no-no foods in front of my uncle and he only eats was is available to him. If I wanted something bad I ate it in my room or at work.

The bottom line is I did the shopping so they ate what I brought home. No one NEEDS junk food, they just want it so they can go get it for themselves and not store it at home. I have a MAJOR lactose intolerance so my family monitors that, also. I once ate my sister's mac and cheese one Christmas and got very ill for 2 weeks. I love mac n cheese but you know what, NOTHING is worth that. My family understand and they never ask for it. My son buys individual sized Stouffer's mac n cheese and never eats it in front of me.

It takes a VILLAGE to get back on track. I'm sure your family loves you enough to make YOU a priority and help you with your goal.

Good Luck!

 

[evaready51]

Thank you, now up to 140lbs off since 10/14 2014. Going to Disney on 25 days, my husband & I have been menu planning. I will eat an appetizer, he'll have an entrée. We are so excited!!

 

[lauradis]

With the increasing obesity rates, nearly anything a person chooses to do in order to address their own problem should be considered a positive. Some people choose to change their lifestyle. Some follow commercial weight loss programs. Others turn to weight loss surgery. If someone feels that surgery is the best approach for them, I'm not going to question it. More power to them for making a solid attempt to be healthy!

Obesity is the number one long term medical problem in the usa and the most costly to treat.

Our bodies are so very complex. There's no explaining how my 112-lb SIL has type 2 diabetes--the ONLY one in the entire extended family--or why my skinny little step-dad had cholesterol in the 400s, even with medication *his brother was over 600!* While my 350-lb sister has BP of 110/70 and perfect cholesterol. She also has rheumatoid arthritis, passed down from my very slender grandfather. In my family, most of the women are heavy and most of the men are not. But we share equally in depression, thyroid disease, cancer, sleep apnea, and heart disease. Our bodies are strange and wondrous creations.

Every woman in my family at 35-40 yr olds gets type 2 diabetes common factor is being 50 + over weight for most of their adult lives. Im the only one over 40 that isnt a diabetic (yes that is bragging, I deserve to brag for all the hard work over the last 25 years)

Morning, for those that have fallen off the rails, here is the 5 day pouch test link: http://bariatricfoodie.blogspot.ca/2013/04/the-5-day-pouch-test-cottage-cheese.html
I'm 5 yrs out in July and have not gained any more than I've lost. It's a daily struggle to keep those food demons out.
Someone also talked about transfer addiction. Anything is possible if you don't find the trigger. I know I'm an emotional eater. I know my triggers. It is a daily struggle, but my VSG is keeping me true!
All the best to everyone!

Amen to that one. my food demons are chips. Not just one the whole bag.