[mollyboo]

I'm 5 ft. tall and 210lbs., double what I should be. I've tried and tried. I'm scared to death of surgery. Is it possible to do this without it? It seems like most women who lose 1/2 their size need the assistance of surgery. Can I do this without it? Have you?

[Lovely]

This has been discussed frequently lately.

You will likely want to read: This discussion. And. This one.

Of course it's possible to lose weight permanently without surgery. Just check the maintainers section of the forums, and read up on their methods. Plenty of people have done it.

That doesn't mean that it's the only way, and some people find they need surgery to use as a tool for their weight loss.

There's no right or wrong. It's individual. It's very possible either way.

[Jen516]

I'm 5'9" and I weighed 290 in August of 2010. That gave me a BMI that's slightly higher than yours. I've lost about 70lb so far and I plan to lose another 40-50. Not half my former size, but pretty darn close. I did not have surgery. I'm 33 years old and never lost any real weight prior to this instance -- in fact, I was pretty hopeless that my situation would ever change.
What worked for me? I completely changed the way I eat with a focus on being healthy. I eat healthy foods in reasonable portions and at reasonable times. I eat 3 full meals and 2-3 snacks instead of constantly grazing throughout the day. I stopped drinking soda and eating fast food (those are the only two things that I absolutely don't allow now and really I don't even crave them anymore.) I log and calorie count all my food. It was time-consuming at first, but now seems like second nature. One sorta "cheat" I did have: I ordered frozen food for the first 8 months of my loss. I used a complany called BistroMD, but there are others. For me, it took away the difficulty of deciding what to eat and how to make it. It taught me portion control and refined what I expected food to taste like. It also convinced me that it's worth seeking out really nutritious food like veggies and lean protein because they are so much more filling. I get more bang for my buck that way!
For me, it was an all or nothing sort of approach (not that I haven't slipped up here and there). My mind-set is that this is a completely new way of life -- it's not a diet. It's how I'm going to eat the rest of my life -- healthy!
So, I guess my (lengthy) point is... yes, it can totally be done. You're here getting info and feedback, which is a great first step. There are lots of supportive chickies around here to help! If I were you, I'd start by logging everything you eat. Get a food scale and weigh out correct portions. And drink LOTS of water. Best of luck!!!

[SMSDREAMER2007]

I just want to ditto what the other two said YES IT IS POSSIBLE! I am 5'10" originally weighed 320 lbs now about 6 mos later I weigh 267 and am continuing to go DOOOWWWNNNN. Calorie counting, low carb, balanced diet, lots of tea and water. You can do it!! If I can do it with PCOS, you can do it I know you can! But not till you are totally ready. For a long long time I thought I'd have to have bypass and didnt wnat it and thought I'd be forever fat I now know it was because I was not ready to lose the weight, even now I freak out I wonder who I will be when I am skinny, My fat is like a security blanket, I can block out the world with it (weird I know but true). Now losing it I am breaking out of my mold and meeting the world again and its freaking scary!

[linJber]

Read the other threads. Then know that we are all in this together. Make visiting this site the first thing you do every day, and the last you do before going to bed. Get all the support you can from everyone in here. Read our stories and take our successes, and failures, too, as your own guidelines for what to do and what to avoid.

We are living proof that you can do this without surgery if that's what you want.

Lin

Edited to say - don't think of losing 100 pounds - set mini goals of 10 or 15 pounds. Heck - anyone can lose 10 pounds! You just have to do it a few more times!

[kaplods]

I had a rheumatologist tell me that the only way I would lose weight and keep it off was through surgery. He sincerely believed it, and almost convinced me.

My gp and I had discussed wls, and decided that with my health issues it wasn't a good idea, because of the risks involved. The rheumatologist told me that we could "find a surgeon willing to do the surgery."

I didn't want to find a surgeon willing to do the surgery despite the risks, because the surgeon wasn't the one taking the risks. That would be me.

I have had a really hard time losing fast. When I try to cut calories too low, I always end up bingeing. So I decided to make small changes that I was willing to make even if it resulted in no loss, and keep making changes until it eventually did result in weight loss.

Yes I've lost 91 lbs, but it took me several years to do it. Still, those were years I didn't spend gaining (I spent most of my life losing and gaining, and very rarely maintaining).

[Arctic Mama]

Not only is it possible, many of us do it without bypass! I am 5'3 inches, and my highest weight was somewhere in the 270's. Through diet, exercise, and ruthless persistence (I never, ever give up. No quitting while I'm alive to win!) I'm down to 190 now, and going lower every month. It can absolutely be done, it just takes finding what works for you.

Bypass is one tool, but not the only one. I personally wouldn't go for surgery without several years of trying other plans first, due to the side effects of gastric surgeries that persist beyond the procedure, itself. Such a conclusion is one that you and a doctor can draw for yourselves, but as for me, surgery would have been completely unnecessary and dangerous.

Calorie restriction and modification of dietary intake, plus some moving around for health and wellness, and you WILL shed your weight. For me, at least, the calorie restriction comes from food journalling and planning my meals, rather than from making my stomach smaller to feel full. But the end result we're going for - eating less calories than we burn - is the same. How you get there is a very personal, individual thing!

[lottie63]

I agree with the ladies here, but also suggest therapy if you have binge or emotional eating type issues.

Why we stay fat, It's not always only physical.

[Lori Bell]

Of course not. Anyone can lose 75-100 pounds on their own, though not everyone is willing to give it a committed 100% effort though. You have 3 choices...not one. Either, put your nose to the grindstone and get the weight off now, by following some sort of a low calorie eating plan, *or* think about it for a few more years and gain a bunch more weight, *or* make an appointment with a Bariatric surgeon and get that ball rolling. All choices will be hard in the long run.


Just a note: "Thinking" about it fine, but I "thought" about it all the way to 333 pounds.

[Curvaliscious]

I started the one thread that the OP linked to. For now, I'm doing the weight loss on my own. Why? Because, for me, this is a head and heart thing. Cutting out my stomach isn't going to take care of the problem.

What works for me: Counting Calories, allowing myself to eat the foods I like, but all the while fitting it into my calories.

You can do this!!

[linJber]

You're making great progress, Curvaliscious! Keep up the good work. Like it's been said over and over - no weight loss program is easy. In fact, I think, for me, surgery would be the hardest road to take on this journey. I,like you, would rather do it without surgery and deal with the mental issues along with the physical ones as I go along.

Lin