Does anyone ever feel like we took the "easy way" out?

[G.A. Reynolds 1]

I decided that I need to have my weight problem fixed. I also decided that 20 years from now, when I'm 65, I won't care how I did it. This was great decision for me and no guilt what so ever.

[johnm 0]

Just wait til your 1 + years out and actually have to watch what your doing or it starts to creep back up, , , then ask your question of "taking the easy way out" . . . I have to actually diet now and exercise like a bumbaclat all the time just to maintain my weight, no not lose it (that would be great!!!!!) but to actually prevent it from going up. . . it's so easy now on just 1000 - 1200 calories to gain weight. . . .very irratating. . .

Hi Thinoneday, I am waiting to get the sleeve in April and I am having daily second thoughts if I should go through this. Is it true that it is that difficult to keep the weight off after one year? It sounds pretty worrysome to me and it is the first time I have heard about it. Can you expand on it just a little and may be explain why it has become much easier to eat so much more with time?

I would appreciate any information you can provide to help me make a better decision. Thank you!!

[luvthe8r 4]

I agree with John and would love to hear from thinoneday or anyone else who is a 1 year + about what is probably going to happen 1 year down the road.

I have read a lot of posts from those that are 5 days out or 3 months out, but I am not finding a lot from those 1-2 years out. Don't know if they don't need to be on the forums for support anymore or just have moved on...

I lost 80 lbs on a popular diet last year. Kept it off 9 months and then gained it all back and then some. I am a self pay and don't want to spend the money if the sleeve "tool" virtually stops working after a while.

I am not a pessimist...just need to know....and I an not looking for sugarcoating...just honesty!

Thanks...

[swizzly 901]

This is a huge ranty topic for me, so I will spare you all the long ALL CAPPED emphatic response LOL.

This is my single question back to anyone who says I took the easy way out: Why should I NOT take the 'easy' way out?

Seriously -- this is not a rhetorical question: Why not?

Fat is not a moral failure; I didn't do anything Bad or Wrong, and I don't 'deserve to be punished' by doing it the "hard way" over and over and over again.

The end.

[NJMOMof2 17]

This surgery was NO JOKE!!!!! It was a tough recovery and so much to learn to do. You have to do the same thing that every other person does. The only difference it that you get full quick and stay full longer. You have to work JUST AS HARD as other people who have not had surgery. You have to steer clear of foods and exercise!!

We got this surgery because we took getting healthy seriously....seriously enought to dissect parts of our stomach and go through surgery! Don't make light of your brave choice.

[Shanny 70]

I know I didn't take the easy way out. I failed at every diet I've ever been on. I was always able to lose 20-25 pounds then nothing. And when I gained it back, it was 30-35 more. I even did the Phen-Phen. I made myself vomit. I did Weight Watchers and laxatives...nothing I did worked. Part of my depression was how discouraged I was because I couldn't keep the weight off. But this time I'm doing it with the supervision of my doctor, a nutrionist, and a therapist. I feel like I have a chance at success here! I did something drastic because something drastic had to be done. I know that I mutilated my stomach in order to save my life. There's no way I can go back now. If I do, it'll be kicking and screaming. I'm fighting this disease of obesity with everything I have, and this time I'm going to win!

[dragon 1]

When I had my children, I needed c-sections. I heard several comments about "taking the easy way out." And, in some ways, it's probably true. I had no labor pains, and I didn't find the recovery to be all that painful;

You know what? Good.

The kids who were born naturally don't wear shiny gold ribbons on their chests. The women who go through labor aren't better mothers, and are no more "real women" than I am. I avoided some pain, and did what was required for my particular body to be healthy. Good for me.

There is a word for deliberately and repeatedly doing what is hard and inneffective when something effective and easier exists - foolishness.

Bring on the "easy way".

[Susanne 32]

There - dragon, I agree. It's the easier way -- AND WHY NOT?

I don't know why everyone wants it to be "just as hard" when it isn't. I failed the other way because it was MUCH harder than I could do or handle. So what? I have other talents

I am bilingual, I just got a BS in Computer Information Systems (with HIGHEST honors I might add) in a foreign language while working full time, I have a successful marriage to my husband for 12 years now, I have a nice home, I have friends and family who love me and who I love, I am smart, I relocated to a new country for my man and successfully found my way here, I found an awesome job (first try).

So self-control when it comes to food is not my forte, whatever -- skinny bitch, if you can put the other shit I have down to your name, you can come back :-)

[SFOTraveler 42]

I agree that this isn't the easy way out, but I too have felt that way. But then I remind myself that I NEEDED this surgery. Before, I was unable to turn down a piece of bread if it was on a table in front of me at a restaurant. Now that piece of bread means nothing to me because I know that if I eat it, I can't eat the Protein that my body needs. I also know that the bread is junk. It won't fuel me, it will just satisfy a momentary craving.

But that is the point. This surgery FORCES us to get our act together. Never before could I turn down food. Never before could I monitor my portion sizes. Never before have I lost 40+ lbs in just over 2 months. This surgery is amazing, and now I have chosen to talk about it to anyone who is interested because it truly is amazing!

[MlkPas 5]

Two things:

1. HIGH FIVE FOR THE "EASY WAY!!" Why on earth wouldn't everybody cure their obesity as easily as possible if they had the option? To me this is a total no-brainer!

2. I'll be one year out in a week and I'm still losing. I still have great restriction although I get hungry sooner than I did earlier on. I work out 6 hours a week (2 sessions with a personal trainer, 2 one-hour "boot camp" classes, 2 tap dancing classes) because I love it and it makes me feel great. I'm wearing size 2 bottoms and size 4 tops. I can easily lose weight on 1100 calories per day, and I can maintain on about 1500-1600 per day, which seems like a lot given my small appetite. I can see that I could regain some or all of the lost weight if I grazed all day and didn't exercise, but I have every confidence that isn't going to happen because I have great eating and exercise habits in place. I still weigh daily and track my exercise and every bite and every sip on www.fitday.com and plan to do that forever. I know that I still have the disease of obesity even though it's in remission, but I can't begin to describe how much more normal I feel, even with my tiny tummy, than I ever felt before my surgery.

No guilt, no regrets, just a whole lot of gratitude!!

[Tiffykins 673]

I agree with John and would love to hear from thinoneday or anyone else who is a 1 year + about what is probably going to happen 1 year down the road.

I have read a lot of posts from those that are 5 days out or 3 months out, but I am not finding a lot from those 1-2 years out. Don't know if they don't need to be on the forums for support anymore or just have moved on...

I lost 80 lbs on a popular diet last year. Kept it off 9 months and then gained it all back and then some. I am a self pay and don't want to spend the money if the sleeve "tool" virtually stops working after a while.

I am not a pessimist...just need to know....and I an not looking for sugarcoating...just honesty!

Thanks...

I can answer these questions with my experience. I just passed the 21 months out point. I'll be completely brutally honest with you and anyone that asks me.

I have been maintaining my weight loss VERY EFFORTLESSLY at the age of 34 for almost a year. I have a 5lb bounce around on the scale any given week. I can tie it to my indulgences of high sodium foods, and my "girls nights out" with copious amounts of alcohol. I do not ever get in any formal exercise and have NOT for a solid year. I've had spurts here and there of working out at home for a week to 10 days, but nothing consistent at all. I honestly I do eat anything and everything I want. Here's the kicker, I don't want to eat a lot of junk food. Why? Because my body runs best, I feel best physically when I feed my body a nutrient dense, Protein full diet, BUT I eat Cookies, chips, pretzels, rice, bread, Pasta all in moderation. Of course, about 85% of the time, I eat Protein first, but sometimes all I want is some veggies. I do not count anything other than protein and calories now. I keep white carbs in moderation to some degree, but if I want mashed potatoes and gravy, guess what 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes and a little gravy didn't make me FAT, 4 cups of mashed potatoes with gravy on top of a 12oz ribeye with mac-n-cheese, 3 dinner rolls, and 3 glasses of sweet ice tea made me fat. Moderation is the key. I will add that I have zero metabolic issues, nor is my body sensitive to carbs. I do not get the "eat a carb, crave a carb" nor am I an emotional eater. Therefore, going into this, I feel I beat the curve quite a bit. I was a volume eater.

The sleeve will work just like any other weight loss surgery works. RNY and DS can be considered failures as well. Not one single weight loss surgery is bullet proof. So, a tool working long term is only as successful as the person using the tool. Just like a hammer to a nail. You can choose to keep your eyes open, steady your arm, and aim with precision as you go to drive that nail in with just a couple of dings, or you can wield that hammer blindfolded, with a swagger in your swing, and you'll more than likely miss the nail, hit your finger or dent the wood. Make sense? ? ?

I will add that I am eating the same amounts currently that I was eating a year ago, but that quantity is double what I could at 2-3 months. The sleeve matures over time. There is minimal stretching. When I say double amounts, I was able to eat 2oz dense protein at 2-3 months out, today I can get in about 4-5oz of dense protein with a couple bites of veggies. You can cheat any of the surgeries, and the sleeve can be eaten around. I know the tricks, I employ them on occasion. Drinking warm fluids or having a glass of wine with my meal relaxes my stomach, therefore I can fit a bit more in, a bit more = 1-2 ounces of mashed potatoes, or mac-n-cheese on top of my chicken. To this day, I can NOT eat an entire chicken breast without stretching my meal out over 40 minutes. I can barely eat 1.5-2 poached eggs. What I'm saying is that there is a max capacity to the sleeve, but the restriction you have the first 6 months will change, ENJOY that time, maximize your weight loss, and become diligent with changing your lifestyle.

Any weight loss surgery success is defined by either compliancy or complacency and with some mechanical failures on the other surgery types you can find that a specific tool "didn't work properly". It's a choice you make. No one else, the surgery doesn't fail UNLESS it's not performed properly because there is nothing mechanical to fail with the sleeve like there is with the band or RNY. The other issues can be metabolic issues, or carb sensitivity, or some people lose differently. Stoma and pouches stretch, malabsorption of calories, fats and carbs stop after the adaptation process occurs in the intestines, and then RNY patients are having to rely on restriction only with a stretchy pouch, a blind stomach left behind making ghrelin at a higher level vs. Sleeve patients. With the band, the list of issues with it are long, detailed, but the reasons the band can and does fail are numerous. Pouch stretching, not being able to get a decent fill, then there's the physical issues with the band itself.

I can go on and on. But, I know plenty of VSG'ers that are 2-4 years out (mainly on obesityhelp.com) that share my opinion on weight regain with VSG, their experiences are pretty similar to mine. There are several out there maintaining fairly effortlessly as well, and live a life of moderation. I've seen 20-40lb weight regain on a couple of patients that are 3-4 years out, and every time, they admit, I quit eating the proper foods, life happened and I turned to my old friend for comfort, or they just gave up and expected to eat ding dongs and hos hos without consequence. Most naturally thin women I know don't eat packages of hos hos on a regular basis. Most naturally thin women do watch what they eat, and do not shovel shitpots of craptastic food into their body without consequence. At least none of my naturally thin friends can eat like I did pre-op and not see weight gain.

If you have any other specific questions, please feel free to contact me. I'm extremely open and honest.

[lash44 313]

Is sleeve surgery “taking the easy way out”? This question really got my juices flowing and thinking. For all of us who endured the agony and anguish of bariatric surgery, we recognize there is nothing easy about this most important matter.

Let see, how easy this is? 25 intelligent reasons for making our choice.

1. Exercising and working out with little or no results (life long)

2. Yo-yo dieting with little or no results (life long)

3. Heart disease

4. Respiratory problems

5. Stroke

6. High blood pressure

7. Elevated cholesterol

8. Diabetes

9. sleep disorders

10. Gout

11. Discrimination (on the job, in public, airline seats, etc)

12. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)

13. Amenorrhea - absence of menstrual bleeding (gals)

14. Impotence (guys)

15. Cancer

16. Psychological problems

17. Kidney disease

18. Liver disorders

19. Economic factors (cost of associated illnesses, food, clothes etc)

20. Insurance issues

21. Osteoarthritis (a degeneration of cartilage and its underlying bone within a joint)

22. Social problems – (family, friends, dating etc)

23 Gallbladder disease

24. Pregnancy complications

25. DEATH

The dictionary defines “easy” as:

1. Not hard or difficult; requiring no great labor or effort:

2. Free from pain, discomfort, worry, or care:

Our lives have been anything but easy.

As always, comments welcome.

Lash

[luvthe8r 4]

Tiffykins, thank you, thank you, thank you.... that is the information I needed to hear!

[Estella 11]

My surgery is next week and that is what I am struggling with right now. I know its surgery and a major one at that, but this part of me keeps asking why I am taking this route instead of losing the weight on my own. I sometimes feel like I'm cheating but then I remind myself how many times I've tried and failed and the statistics of how many people that lose it without surgery and gain it back. *sigh* and of course it doesn't help that I know people who think I am taking the easy way out.

It's not the easy way, it's the only way for 95% of the population. You mentioned statistics, so here it is:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070404162428.htm

According to this research 95% of diets fail. Just to compare 70% of VSGs succeed. Simple as that.

[lash44 313]

Tiffykins,

You are so right, well put.

Thanks

Lash