I also have failed with teh WLS. i was 290, got to 150 and i cant believe how much i gained back from pregnancy and nto watching what i eat.i feel like a huge failure and partly like i am meant to be fat. so i have pulled out old pictures of me to help me motivate myself and i am going to try this again. I am going to get back in the saddle and lose the weight again!
I also had Gastric Bypass and have found myself slowly gaining a bit back. I started at 336, got down to 229, and am currently at 239....where I've been for over a year even though I've tried a few diets to no "lasting" success..After 2 months of weight watchers, I had finally gotten down to "lowest weight" (-10lbs from where I am now) and then the holidays rolled around and I gained it back..I'm seriously considering the 5 day pouch test, since I feel like my problem is not so much that I'm choosing poorly, but that I'm able to eat more than I should.... It's so frustrating though. Some days I feel like just throwing my hands in the air.
naomi-my surgeon says that the average weight loss is 50% of your excess weight. While you're struggling-you certainly seem to be in the "average" category. So-I wouldn't say you've failed or your surgery failed-you've lost over 100lbs! That's fantastic!
Unless you had plastic surgery/lipo-you still have all the fat cells you started with. They may be smaller, but they're there. And they WANT to get bigger (darn them!). So-do a pouch test, try some new diets (looks like WW was working for you) and know that at least you are healthier than when you had the surgery.
I was reading on another WLS board that a surgeon had said that he could fix stomach issues but he couldn't fix head issues. I think that sums up WLS very well. It's too bad that surgeons do the WLS and then the patients are left to fend for themselves without proper guidance and support. I'm going for an information session in March and then it will probably be another 4-5 months til surgery after I have several appointments including seeing a nutritionist and a social worker. Too I think that there are unrealistic expectations about goal weights. For my height and frame 125 lbs would be a 'normal' weight for me. Will I ever achieve that? Even with WLS probably not. I'll be overjoyed to reach 160. It's just like any other weight loss tool, every day is a new day, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep trying!
Jen - let us know about how the information session goes. many surgeons will refer patients to other professionals. lots of us end up in therapy [although i'm very disturbed that ChubChub has been turned away from so many supposed therapists].
but there's a lot of truth in what you say. there's LOTS of support for, say, the first year after surgery, but for those of us who are much farther out, there's almost nothing. that's one of the reasons that we have this forum on 3FC.
And Goldilocks - while you're right that sometimes the surgery simply doesn't work, there have been MANY advances since the mid-90s, so i'd be skeptical if that 1998 book was about a person who had a surgery that was used today.
I also have failed with teh WLS. i was 290, got to 150 and i cant believe how much i gained back from pregnancy and nto watching what i eat.i feel like a huge failure and partly like i am meant to be fat. so i have pulled out old pictures of me to help me motivate myself and i am going to try this again. I am going to get back in the saddle and lose the weight again!
many of us have regained all our weight I lost and gained 100 lbs in over 20 years ..stress eating of food addiction?
i have to start again tommorrow..gained 20 pounds since sept after I had lost 30. now i have 100 to go....................
Not sure about the whole food addiction thing. I think there are physiological reasons why we crave, why we can't "stick" to certain plans that restrict our calories -- more than likely spikes in our blood sugar from eating carbs. I notice I don't have cravings when I eat protein and vegetables, but I do when I eart carbs (not the kind found in vegetables, but the kind found in grains and sugar.
For myself I couldn't possibly over eat on pure protein or raw veggies. I can over eat and keep eating anything that is made of sugar and flour and fat. That stuff just slides right through me where if had a steak I'd be full for hours but I could easily eat the same number of calories in chocolate and keep right on going. Calories like that are empty, they don't fill you up, that's why we keep eating. I do believe in food addiction and I think it is the hardest addiction to beat. We don't need to smoke or drink alcohol or do drugs but we do need to eat so it is so much more difficult to control the addiction. It is wrapping the brain about what to eat and how much and listening to the body say that it is full that is the hard part.
glad you're doing so well with the sleeve, fell - please understand, though, that what works for one person may not be the best choice for others. In this forum, anyone who's had any type of WLS is welcome to post, but we ask that people respect the choices that others make. we're not walking in each other's shoes and we don't know the whole story.
having said that, there are people who do extremely well with the band. and anyone who's looking into any of the surgeries has to do their research, look at all the possibilities, talk with their docs, and decide what they're willing to do and what they're NOT willing to do.
I'd think long and hard about a band. Bands provide the slowest weight loss, the least weight loss, the highest regain, and the most mechanical problems. They simply aren't safe long term. A safer surgery type long term is the sleeve.
I'd really like to see your data to support this comment please.
Hey Chubchub- I guess you aren't around anymore but if you do happen to come back maybe you'd benefit from a structured eating plan like medifast where you only have to worry about making 1 meal a day while eating 5 pre-packaged meals?
Hi:
I am sorry that you feel so alone right now. Almost two years ago I was so ready for surgery until I found out our insurance won't cover it; it took me 18 months to work my way back to a new eating lifestyle again. I just kept eating and ignoring my weight gain because I was disgusted.
I tell people that I've lost over 600 pounds during my life; the problem is that sooner or later I gain it back because we were "comforted" with food-and I used to binge eat!
I will keep you prayerfully in mind. Do not give up on therapy-you just need to find the right person! It is not an easy road. Try to keep positive. We are here!
I have seen countless studies that show that lap band has slower initial weight loss and the exact same general long term results as bypass with regard to percent of weight lost.
Hi everyone, I have just joined and I have also gained weight and am desperately trying to do the 5 day pouch test. I am on day two and just liquids and have put a small amount of fruit in my protein shakes. I am not starving but cannot stop thinking of food. I had roux n y in May 2003 and had complications and spent 8 days in intensive care. I lost about 105 pounds but gained about 60 back in 2007 when I broke my ankle. I have lost 12 pounds since last June when I retired and now I need a knee replacement and am having surgery on my first knee on April 21st. I also have some questions about Aspirin. I have read we should not take it but my surgeon puts patients on it for a month after surgery. Should I tell him I need an alternative? My surgeon moved to FL. but I left a message with his previous group but have not heard from them. Thanks for listening everyone and maybe once I have good knees again I can start walking again and stop thinking so much about food.
