[jiffypop]

check out the exercise thread on the WLS forum..

frankly, i was STUNNED!!!! and feel free to add your two cents as well!!! the more the merrier!!!

[Jen]

I guess they are treating the thought of exercise as a joke?

I am not dissing anyone who has had weight loss surgery but sometimes I really wonder if some of the people who have had it really did everything they could to lose the weight? Don't anyone go nuts on me but sometimes the attitude about WLS seems like it is now a common way to lose weight instead of a method of last resort.

Anyway you know that a lot of people will still gain back the weight even with the WLS, sad but true.

[jiffypop]

oh jen. i wouldn't dream of going nuts on you. you raised some of the very very key questions about the WLS. and my real life sister, peachie, is making me NUTS on some levels because she thought that this would be EASY and that she woulnd't have to pay attention. but she's finding out how WRONG that attitude is.

VOW just recently had a lap band placed, and she's doing OK with it.

but believe me, i know from real hard experience that many of us who had the WLS really and truly DID exhaust every single possibility. i was bedridden and on oxygen. i had no other choice. and my sister was heading in the same direction. our diet and exercise histories ran several pages.

the center i go to has tossed out people who weight 600, 700, 400 pounds. why? BECAUSE THEY'VE NEVER DIETED BEFORE!!!! and they ARE viewing this as a quick fix. no responsible surgeon would touch them, assuming they could get insurance approval [and they generally can't without a documented diet history].

we are told that we have an 18 month to 2 year window of opportunity to lose the excess weight after the surgery, and it's up to us to develop those good diet and exercise habits that will help us maintain our losses.

sorry to have rambled on so much. i usually confine this kind of discussion to the WLS forum...
that's one of the reasons i started the thread. but i do know this: peachie is finally understanding what goes into this... and she DID log a lot of walking at BJs [one of those warehouse markets like costco], and it DOES count.

i just thought it hilarious that they both centered their activities around FOOD, for heavens sake... when neither of them can actually EAT very much!!!!!

[SuchAPrettyFace]

I get angry when I hear about people who are *gaining* weight just so they can have gastric bypass.

Whereas here I am, trying to lose another 10# before April so I WON'T have to have gastric bypass.

[looosingit]

Jiffy - you are always so eloquent in your posts! Plus you have a quirky sense of humour!

Jen - I don't think that most people would treat WLS as an easy way out for weight loss. The surgery (in Canada, at least) is particularly difficult to get....it is a major surgery, with major risks.

I think that the most important thing is that people do what they need to do to take care of their health. No matter what method people choose, to be successful you have to adopt a long term healthy way of living. Exercise & healthy eating. Sounds so simple, doesn't it???

[rochemist]

I think I need to tell Meg that I love her today, what a better inspiration for the WLS board than to have Meg log in with her excercise and dinner choice

Me I think I will do some Yoga and eat some dinner afterward. If I clean my kitchen too my excercise wil be over the top

Thanks for sharing your ESH Jiff, it brings more understanding for sure.

Miss Chris

[jiffypop]

thank you ladies... as for meg.. she's the best. she hesitated about posting on our board, but she quickly understood what lots of WLS patients don't get: no matter how we do it, no matter which path we choose, we ALL have to make the right [for us] food choices. and EXERCISE.

and get rid of the stress eating, emotional eating, binge eating.

and on top of all that, she posted a wonderful protein bar recipe... good food in it, not the junky chemicals.

[Jenaya]

Jiffy, I am glad you posted your insights at this forum. It is important for all of us to be aware and sensitive to the struggles. Thanks for sharing. There really are no quick fixes.

[jujubeee]

My Dr recently referred me to their 6 month weight management program. During the 1st meeting they discussed how the majority of the people are there because it is a requirement for the insurance companies (or this clinic, I'm not sure which) before they can have their weight loss surgery. He said that just because you get the surgery is no guarantee to you will lose and keep the weight off. Then he asked for those that are going in for a SECOND WLS to raise their hands AND SEVERAL PEOPLE DID!!!! I was astonished, I didn't even think that was possible.

In the month I've been going I've seen numerous people that are just going through the motions and intentionally not trying because they want the surgery. There are others who are giving it their all in hopes of finally being able to do it before they have to resort to surgery.

[dowsx4]

My sister had the weightloss surgery and she has not exercised at all and is not attempting to re route her eating and i fear she will be one of these that regain all their weight. The majority if her meals are carbs and very little protein. But if i try to talk to her she says i am losing just fine and she doesnt need to change anything that as long as it doesnt make her sick she can have it. I really hope she catches the exercise bug soon so she doesnt blow her one opertunity.

[Jen]

OMG I can't believe people going back for a second surgery!! I don't think that they should be able to do that. Sure any dr will do it for the right price but getting insurance to cover a second surgery is absurd. No wonder rates are sky high everywhere.

[glynne]

My husband shows me articles and such about the weight loss surgery. I think he thinks that would solve all my problems. It is so frustrating because he is so clueless about my weight problems. He hears what he wants to and doesn't try to understand. He didn't have a weight problem until he hit his 40's then he gained. His dr put him on a 1000 cal diet and he lost the weight (about 50 lbs) and has kept it off now for about 4 years. Now, he thinks he has all the answers. Sometimes he trys to convince me that all I need to do is like he did and that will take care of it. He doesn't understand how there is a difference between men and women in the weight battle, or even that what works for one person may not neccessarily work for another. It is a personal thing. I guess the bottom line for me is that weight loss surgery isn't going to help me unless I change my habits. I am not at a point where I have to do the last resort thing. So, I figure that if I have to change my habits anyway, then I can lose the weight without having to go to the extreme of weight loss surgery. I just have to figure out how to change the habits without falling back into old bad habits after a while.

Thank you for listening ~ Gayle

[Jillegal]

Each person is a different individual and nobody's personal experience is exactly the same as another's - which is why I find annoying generalizations along the lines of Dr. Phil (what he calls brutal honesty and what I call bullying) so hard to stomach (so to speak). Yes, the simple truth is that ingestion of more calories than our body is able to burn will result in weight gain. HOWEVER, someone who may have struggled with their weight for several years may have done significant damage from yo yo dieting resulting in complications making weight loss almost impossible while eating very little (note Jiffy's signature of her weight on an 800 calorie diet). Just "moving more" can be impossible for someone bedridden, medications can negate weight loss, crippling emotional problems, etc. etc. can impede ideas of "sh*t or get off the pot". We're constantly saying not to get down on ourselves, yet we allow diet gurus to bully and taunt us ("do you always want to be known as the fat girl"??) with shallow psycho-babble aimed at a general population. Hmmm, I seem to be off track here but had to get another Dr. Phil snark in.

Okay, back on track - WLS. Yes, I agree it should be a final resort and yes I agree there are cases where it is the only solution and yes I agree noone should go into it with the idea that it can be done again if the weight is gained back (anyone who would think of willingly re-submitting to major surgery in lieu of exercise and change of eating habits is in need of professional help in any event). Hey, I just realized I'm not back on track yet...the thread was about the WLS exercise thread!! Yes, what delicious irony (excuse the pun) that an exercise thread has morphed into a food thread written by people who are trying to do more of the former and can only do less of the latter!

[Jen]

Jillegal, I agree with you that there is always going to be people that cannot lose weight no matter what they do for whatever reason. I think though that these people consist of a very small percentage of overweight people and that generally the majority would lose weight through exercise and cutting calories.

[Jillegal]

And I agree with you there Jen - that's how I did it One of the reasons I'm so grateful for THIS forum is reading all the differing experiences of the members. It makes me so much more aware of issues and options, but with a personal touch. I find it so helpful to know what people are going through, how they're going through it and especially to hear about goals and successes - it's so darn uplifting and motivating!