powaqqatsi

The more I research this, it seems that most weight lost is due to the extreme pre-op and post-op calorie-restricted diets. I have read many people on these forums talk about appetite coming back (I thought the ghrelin-producing cells were removed!), ability to eat large volumes of food still, and generally weight loss stalling or at least slowing to 1-2 pounds a week. I can lose 1-2 pounds a week just exercising and grinding a program like Weight Watchers. I got interested in this procedure when I heard about the appetite reducing properties and thought that, coupled with the inability to eat large volumes of food, would help me not just lose my 100 pounds of extra weight, but KEEP it off. I see so many people talk about regaining half or nearly half of what they lost, or the hyper-vigilance needed to watch what you eat, not drink during meals, make sure enough Protein is ingested, and vitamins/minerals too. It sounds to me like I'll have to be just as careful about watching what I eat and exercising as I would be if I lost weight the traditional way. It's all got me wondering what is the point of the surgery? Is it just to lose part of it faster? Is there something I'm missing here? Hoping for guidance, and thank you!

BMWSistah, I definitely think counseling could be beneficial. I'm going to see if my surgery center has some recommendations. I love your last paragraph, by the way. I told my husband I was 100% likely to be diagnosed with diabetes eventually unless I was able to drop this weight. There are risks to the surgery, but health problems from obesity are an inevitability. Take a chance...I like it!

This is along the same lines as a thread I started. It's called, "What is the real point of this surgery?" You can look it up on my activity feed if you want to see what people have to say to my query. I'm in pre-op and still pondering whether to have the surgery. Trying to think it all through exhaustively. I think what happens is that people do regain some amount of weight, but you really have to be going out of your way to TRY to gain back all of the weight. Whereas, conventional weight losers have almost a 100% chance of regaining all the weight they lost and then some.

Michigan Chic, This statement right here is what I keep coming back to. My husband, who loves food and loves to eat, but can easily turn food away, just doesn't really understand what I go through day in and day out. I heard one person call it "brain chatter". That constant nagging in our heads about wanting to eat, thinking about food, etc. I have read where people talk about what you say...feeling more "normal." That's how I felt, back in the 90's when the "real" Accutrim was out there. I would take one of those on days that felt stressful or like I might have a problem watching my intake and for that day, I felt like my relationship with food was...normal. I ate when hungry, stopped when no longer hungry. I wish there was something that would give me that feeling all the time. I just want a normal relationship with food.

To Jenny above, You don't sound bitchy. I was actually scared to ask this question in the first place, thinking I might offend someone. But the honest truth is that I'm torn over whether to do this or not. I am terribly addicted to food and thought this surgery would be the answer. Now I'm not so sure. You say that after surgery, you are the same person inside who must still face triggers. Then my question is, if those addictions must be managed and triggers avoided after surgery, why not just face them INSTEAD of surgery, and lose the weight a little more slowly? I'm so very happy for all of you who, for perhaps the first time ever, have finally achieved meaningful weight loss. I hope to achieve it too. I've had ups and downs with my weight since I was little and I gained all of my 100 pounds of excess weight in 4 years of graduate school. Well, 3 kids later, and I still haven't faced down this weight and won. I'm really feeling desperate, but just don't want to do something drastic, just because "everyone's doing it" and the happy shiny people on the TV commercials make it seem so great. I want something that will be a tool for a lifetime, not just for a few months to a year. I wish I could post this same question in the veteran's forum, but it won't let me. I would love to hear from people who are 5 or more years out. The trouble is, because of human nature, I may not hear from many people for whom this hasn't worked that great for that far out. Thank you all for your input and again, I am very happy for you and wish you continued success.

You say you are trying to put yourself on a level playing field. That is exactly how I was thinking of the surgery when I first learned about it. But is seems like I've heard of so many people who end up the same...craving bad foods, eating too much. It's disheartening. I just don't want to go to the expense and possible risks of the surgery to end up where I am now, which is....food cravings, eating too much, being hypervigilent.... Trying to really understand what to expect, long term really.