Anyone ever decide against surgery after successful 6 month insurance diet?
I know I'm jumping the gun a bit here, and I also know I've done well on diets before but failed spectacularly...
But I'm doing really well right now on the 6-month insurance diet, and I almost feel like I could do this. I do have 150 lbs to lose and am only down 17 in three months, but the process doesn't seem so bad at the moment.
So could I hear from anyone who knows anyone who has stuck with the diet instead of going forward with the surgery, or anyone who tried and later got the surgery anyway, or anything else in a similar vein?
Thanks,
Audrey
But I'm doing really well right now on the 6-month insurance diet, and I almost feel like I could do this. I do have 150 lbs to lose and am only down 17 in three months, but the process doesn't seem so bad at the moment.
So could I hear from anyone who knows anyone who has stuck with the diet instead of going forward with the surgery, or anyone who tried and later got the surgery anyway, or anything else in a similar vein?
Thanks,
Audrey
Are you on a liquid diet or a food diet?
I won’t say you will fail. You could succeed.
I would empower you to use your own past as an example. What happened? WHY did diets fail you before? Most likely it was some mental/emotional/behavioral reason, am I right?
The thing that makes WLS an effective tool is the following (and they play out differently from person to person):
1. Some of us are physically incapable of backsliding, at least for a time. In the beginning, EVERYTHING made me sick. When it didn’t anymore I had lots of restriction. By the time I could eat poorly, I kind of didn’t want to anymore.
2. By virtue of the fact that you had surgery (and maybe took heat because of it) you have extra incentive not to fail (or at least to keep trying).
3. Your incapability to drown issues in food sort of forces you to examine what you used food for in the first place. That self examination is totally possible without WLS. But it’s almost a given after WLS. If a person goes through this process and gives absolutely no thought to their food demons, I am pretty sure they’ve been lobotomized by mistake.
But let’s set all that aside for a moment. Yes, it was all profound and deep but set it aside!
Why do you consider “going it alone" a preferable choice to having surgery? Are you scared? Are you ashamed? Is peer pressure getting to you?
To me, finding the answer to that will uncover whether or not you should have surgery. If you are scared, you need more information to make a definitive decision – one way or the other. If you are ashamed, why? Because you are taking a step to improve your health? Society will never validate what you are doing for yourself no matter if you diet or have WLS. Someone will always be drinking the hater-ade and telling you that you will fail, aren’t doing it right, taking the easy way, ______ (insert your favorite skinny ***** snark here).
If peer pressure is the culprit, I would empower you to remember that YOU are the one who has to live in your own skin. Not the rest of the world. If what you do bugs them, let that be their worry to work out on their own.
So, I have a challenge for you. In one succinct sentence, tell me why losing weight traditionally is any better than WLS. Then argue the other side and tell me why WLS is better than traditional weight loss. If you can get both sides of the argument clear enough in your head to summarize in one sentence, then you’ve got the information you need to proceed with a decision.
If not, you got some work to do missus.
I won’t say you will fail. You could succeed.
I would empower you to use your own past as an example. What happened? WHY did diets fail you before? Most likely it was some mental/emotional/behavioral reason, am I right?
The thing that makes WLS an effective tool is the following (and they play out differently from person to person):
1. Some of us are physically incapable of backsliding, at least for a time. In the beginning, EVERYTHING made me sick. When it didn’t anymore I had lots of restriction. By the time I could eat poorly, I kind of didn’t want to anymore.
2. By virtue of the fact that you had surgery (and maybe took heat because of it) you have extra incentive not to fail (or at least to keep trying).
3. Your incapability to drown issues in food sort of forces you to examine what you used food for in the first place. That self examination is totally possible without WLS. But it’s almost a given after WLS. If a person goes through this process and gives absolutely no thought to their food demons, I am pretty sure they’ve been lobotomized by mistake.
But let’s set all that aside for a moment. Yes, it was all profound and deep but set it aside!
Why do you consider “going it alone" a preferable choice to having surgery? Are you scared? Are you ashamed? Is peer pressure getting to you?
To me, finding the answer to that will uncover whether or not you should have surgery. If you are scared, you need more information to make a definitive decision – one way or the other. If you are ashamed, why? Because you are taking a step to improve your health? Society will never validate what you are doing for yourself no matter if you diet or have WLS. Someone will always be drinking the hater-ade and telling you that you will fail, aren’t doing it right, taking the easy way, ______ (insert your favorite skinny ***** snark here).
If peer pressure is the culprit, I would empower you to remember that YOU are the one who has to live in your own skin. Not the rest of the world. If what you do bugs them, let that be their worry to work out on their own.
So, I have a challenge for you. In one succinct sentence, tell me why losing weight traditionally is any better than WLS. Then argue the other side and tell me why WLS is better than traditional weight loss. If you can get both sides of the argument clear enough in your head to summarize in one sentence, then you’ve got the information you need to proceed with a decision.
If not, you got some work to do missus.
RNY Gastric Bypass 1-8-08 350/327/200 (HW/SW/CW). I spend most of my time playing with my food over at Bariatric Foodie - check me out!
No. Because I have lost weight in the past **** pounds) and failed to be able to keep it off. What the surgery has given me time to do is actually change my habits, which I did not do with my previous weight loss. I was still eating junk, just less junk. With surgery, I eat what I'm supposed to, and eating "off my plan" is just not an option for me.
It's not necessarily about losing the weight either...I think it's about being able to maintain the loss. With surgery, and changing my habits, that is a probability; not changing my habits made it definite I would fail.
I still could fail with surgery, but it has given me a tool (restriction and malabsorption) that I did not have without.
It's not necessarily about losing the weight either...I think it's about being able to maintain the loss. With surgery, and changing my habits, that is a probability; not changing my habits made it definite I would fail.
I still could fail with surgery, but it has given me a tool (restriction and malabsorption) that I did not have without.
Christy
Weights: Surgery 317 Current 242 GW ???
Weights: Surgery 317 Current 242 GW ???
Wow, thanks Audrey for the question! Thanks Nik and Christy for the responses! I just had my last visit with my dietician for the 6 month pre-op and have been waffling even though I didn't do that well. You both said just what I needed to hear! I am very grateful for this website!!
Tina
Nothing will work unless you do.-- Maya Angelou
Nothing will work unless you do.-- Maya Angelou
If I had been able to diet successfully for six months I definitely would have considered it.
IN the three years prior to RNY, I lost between 30-50 pounds with diet and exercise on three separate occasions, and gained it all back plus 5-10 pounds each time. I'd lose 10 lbs the first month, 6 or 8 the second, then eek out 4 the third....then at some point I would backslide, get frustrated, etc.
The difference for me now is I am NOT HUNGRY - I don't have a problem with portion control or that insatiable craving for carbs constantly. If I can have a bite of something, I am happy. I wish I could have accomplished that pre-RNY, but for twenty years, I didn't.
Plus, exercising is So much easier now that I am 60 pounds plus down. Running is easier, and I am doing more everyday, and I have none of the injuries that plagued me all of the last three years - stress fractures, sprained ankles, aching body, etc.
Not to say that you couldn't do it - you could. But its hard. If it were easy there wouldn't be weight loss surgery.
IN the three years prior to RNY, I lost between 30-50 pounds with diet and exercise on three separate occasions, and gained it all back plus 5-10 pounds each time. I'd lose 10 lbs the first month, 6 or 8 the second, then eek out 4 the third....then at some point I would backslide, get frustrated, etc.
The difference for me now is I am NOT HUNGRY - I don't have a problem with portion control or that insatiable craving for carbs constantly. If I can have a bite of something, I am happy. I wish I could have accomplished that pre-RNY, but for twenty years, I didn't.
Plus, exercising is So much easier now that I am 60 pounds plus down. Running is easier, and I am doing more everyday, and I have none of the injuries that plagued me all of the last three years - stress fractures, sprained ankles, aching body, etc.
Not to say that you couldn't do it - you could. But its hard. If it were easy there wouldn't be weight loss surgery.
A grad school colleague was approved for surgery and cancelled it two weeks before her surgery date. She only had a 3-month prep, which she did not take particularly seriously since she knew she was not REQUIRED to lose any weight before surgery, but she was nervous about the surgery and decided to try "one more time" on her own. That was in 2006. I saw her a few months ago at the store (but she did not recognize me, LOL!) and she is the same weight (or perhaps even somewhat larger) that she was 5 years ago. So much for the "one more try"...
Lora
Lora
14 years out; 190 pounds lost, 165 pound loss maintained
You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.
Audrey,
I am going through the process and so I have had that feeling a couple of times. However, when I look at women who are much larger than me, I always say....."that is going to be me 10 years from now."
What I am saying is that you know what your worst looks like and what your best is. You know how much you can do on your own and whether or not a tool like WLS will be helpful to what you ultimately will be in control of anyway.
For me I know I can lose the weight on my own, but the WLS tool will help me maintain the efforts that only I will put forth. WLS is just a support, friend, tool, etc.... You are right. Everything else associated with weightloss you will do on your own.
I am going through the process and so I have had that feeling a couple of times. However, when I look at women who are much larger than me, I always say....."that is going to be me 10 years from now."
What I am saying is that you know what your worst looks like and what your best is. You know how much you can do on your own and whether or not a tool like WLS will be helpful to what you ultimately will be in control of anyway.
For me I know I can lose the weight on my own, but the WLS tool will help me maintain the efforts that only I will put forth. WLS is just a support, friend, tool, etc.... You are right. Everything else associated with weightloss you will do on your own.
I didn't have to do a 6 month insurance diet, but during my 2 week preop diet I lost 25 pounds and I wasn't hungry and it was actually super easy for me and it left me thinking hmmmmm can i do this on my own? HELL NO, how long would I survive on a liquid diet before I cheated? I lost 80 lbs with WW and gained it back.. because you always go back to your old eating habits but with RNY even if you can go back to the old foods you loved you can't go back to the old portions! No way would I be able to get this weight off this fast and hopefully.. keep it off forever! good luck
yup!!thought the same thing. i have lost alot of weight in the past . once i went from a size 22 to a size 8 . i lost 87 lbs in 3 years . kept it off for 3 years . one day of binging and i never stopped. food is my comfort... after gaining the weight once more. i got frustrated and went on the atkins diet. lost 76 lbs in 6 months . yes, i said it . 6 months . great for someone doing this on my own.. i blame my weight gain o not being able to take care of myself. it always been everybody elses turn.. having surgery will almst be like a vacation for me and i seriously mean that literally . i weigh more now than i ever have . this round im older and im tired of trying and failing over and over . so the portion control is going to so much to help me ... one thing about WLS . i am not going to let his surgery fail me . or i fail it . im going through this for a reason. i know u r losing weight . but do u think u can stick to it ??? i know i can. but just for awhile. what ever you decide. i wish u luck ... im sure evrybody has felt that way ..
I thought about it. I had lost about 28 pounds and told my PCP I was thinking about putting off surgery. He said " you will probably gain it back". I knew he was right. I decided if I got down to a particular weight prior to surgery I would cancel. Needless to say, I did gain a few pounds back, knew he was right and had the surgery.
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