Did anyone try a last-ditch effort at weight loss with diet/exercise?

[Roudoudou 4]

I'm just curious if prior to getting sleeved, any of you tried dieting and exercise one last time. I'm pretty set on getting the sleeve, but also feel I owe it to myself to try to give the "traditional" way of losing weight another try.

Did any of you try this before you eventually got sleeved? What was it like? What were your results? Did it reinforce your decision to get the sleeve?

Thanks!

[ToDream 18]

I've considered it. Then I realized that the last time I dieted WAS my last ditch effort. 15 years of dieting is enough chances for me to make this decision.

[sleeve 4 me 910]

YES! I really thought I could lose weight during options (3 month classes) and not have the sleeve...I lost 12 lbs. and then gained 10 lbs. back only confirming the need for the surgery.

[kellyw74 258]

I CAN and HAVE lost weight. I know i can do it, i've lost over 100lbs 3 times!! I just can not keep it off.

I have lost 55lbs pre-op and am not scheduled for surgery till May 9th. I know that i could never keep my weight off long term if I don't have the surgery.

I need that restriction. That is what is going to do it for me. Everytime i diet, I fail! Because I can not control myself long term because i am always hungry!! If I psycially can not eat large quanties of food, THAT is what will work for me. AND hopefully, i will be one of the lucky ones that will lose the hungry sensation!!

I am not a person that has head hunger and i am not a grazer that eats all day long. I just eat too much at one time. I will not be able to do that any more. This is what will work for me long-term and that is what I need. Not another diet.

Kelly

[Rootman 1,101]

Like many others I too dieted and failed. It's too easy to slip into old habits and snack / graze all the time. What's the harm in ONE glazed donut? Well TWO can't be THAT bad for me can it?

The physical restriction does it for me.

[marymoon 18]

Yup. Struggling with my weight since puberty, I started researching WLS seriously back in 2006 or so but wasn't really enchanted with the idea of a lap band or rny. I kept pushing the issue to the back of my mind until I saw pictures of myself from vacation in October 2009 and realized just how heavy I had let myself become. I thought very seriously about going to Mexico and getting a lap band but like you, thought I owed it to myself and family to try it to lose weight naturally more time with all my heart and soul.

I started seeing a bariatric PCP and a nutritionist and by June 2010 had lost 60lbs easily! The the hunger kicked in and I couldn't control it. By February 2011 I had gained back 40lbs - 2/3rds of the weight I had lost and I was miserable. I realized that my weight had been and would continue to be a lifelong struggle unless I had extreme medical intervention. Atkins, Weight Watcher and pills, all things I had tried in the past, simply was not going to get the job done.

Im now day 4 postop and don't regret having VSG a single bit. My only regret is the time wasted trying to lost the weight 'one last time' the old-fashioned way. That, and I wish this had been an option for me when I was much younger so I could have enjoyed my 20's and 30's much more in a healthier body.

[Foxbins 625]

Yup. I went to The Biggest Loser ranch in Utah for a month (which cost almost as much as my sleeve eventually did). I worked out six hours a day, five days a week, and about two hours a day on Sat. and Sun. and stuck to their diet of about 1000-1200 calories (they give you 1200 a day but I did not always like the food and didn't eat everything that was served). I admit that at the end of the month I was in great cardio shape and much stronger but I had lost only 13 lbs. There was a guy there from New York at the same time as me who was trying to decide on diet/exercise or RNY and he lost 30 lbs in 30 days and was terribly disappointed. I figured that there was no way I could exercise six hours a day with a full-time job and decided to look for alternatives. I found out about VSG in December 10 and had my surgery in Jan 11.

[sarahh1828 4]

That's what I'm doing right now. My family was freaking out about surgery, so I told them I'd give it one last ditch effort. If I don't lose at least 3 lbs a week for the next month, then I'm having my surgery. If I lose more than 3 lbs a week consistently for over a month, then I have to call off surgery. That was the promise I made to my mom.

I can't help but secretly hope I fail at the diet and exercise. I'll let you know how it goes.

[doggz109 41]

Yup. I went to The Biggest Loser ranch in Utah for a month (which cost almost as much as my sleeve eventually did). I worked out six hours a day, five days a week, and about two hours a day on Sat. and Sun. and stuck to their diet of about 1000-1200 calories (they give you 1200 a day but I did not always like the food and didn't eat everything that was served). I admit that at the end of the month I was in great cardio shape and much stronger but I had lost only 13 lbs. There was a guy there from New York at the same time as me who was trying to decide on diet/exercise or RNY and he lost 30 lbs in 30 days and was terribly disappointed. I figured that there was no way I could exercise six hours a day with a full-time job and decided to look for alternatives. I found out about VSG in December 10 and had my surgery in Jan 11.

Wait....let me get this straight. You lost 13 lbs in a month and another guy lost 30 lbs in a month and you were both dissapointed??? I just can't understand that at all.

[Chicadee 10]

I had lapband surgery scheduled back in October of 2007 and I chickened out using the justification that I didn't need surgery and that I could do it on my own. Well here I am back again and even heavier.

I do have to say I am glad I didn't have the band but I should have done this a long time ago. The sleeve wasn't an approved procedure for my insurance until November of last year.

[Foxbins 625]

Wait....let me get this straight. You lost 13 lbs in a month and another guy lost 30 lbs in a month and you were both dissapointed??? I just can't understand that at all.

I was not disappointed in the weight loss--I was disappointed that it was not a sustainable way to live in the real world. There is no way I could exercise six hours a day plus hold down a full-time job and have any kind of life outside exercising and working...plus I should mention that I regained the weight over the next year. Also, I think, from what he said, that the Brooklyn guy was expecting "Biggest Loser" results (like 50-60 lbs) in a month and that's why he was disappointed. I have wondered if he went home and had a bypass...

[Bryn 3]

When I started this process back in august I said I am gonna do all i can to lose as much weight as I can; and if I lose a considerable amount of weight, I will back away from the surgery. I lost a total of 14lbs. I changed my diet

Completely. I would lose, then gain every month; not knowing what I was doing wrong. So now my surgery is around the corner and I am ready for this major change more than ever

[ybnormal 21]

I'm at this stage now and I'm embarassed to admit it. I'm telling myself that I'm just preparing myself for surgery by learning how to sip sip sip and chew chew chew but the reality is that I've begun drinking Water (a gal. a day now *LE GASP!*) which I hate with a passion, cut my diet soda intake down to one glass (over ice...gotta wean myself off this stuff, it's the nectar of the Gods to me!) a day and a couple cups of coffee (down from my 18 - 24 shots of espresso a day).

I've also totally changed my foods. In my mind I've already had the surgery and am teaching myself how to eat and drink. Now, this sounds silly, but I tell myself these things in order to prepare myself and maybe make the reality of it easier when the time comes.

Have I lost weight? Hell if I know! LOL

Renee`

[Roudoudou 4]

Thanks for all of the responses! I also am doing this for my family and for me, but a big part of it is to prove to my family that I really need this surgery. I already know I need it! But like Ybnormal said, it can't hurt to have this preparation for life after surgery. Pre-surgery boot camp!

Foxbins, thanks for sharing your story about going to the Biggest Loser ranch. I've often thought that if I could just be in an environment like that, I'd lose the weight with no problem. But there's something deeper at work with the seriously heavy. I wonder why it is that so few of the obese are able to lose weight permanently. Is there something physiological? I'm going to do some research but of course welcome your thoughts.

[mandems mom 3]

Thanks for all of the responses! I also am doing this for my family and for me, but a big part of it is to prove to my family that I really need this surgery. I already know I need it! But like Ybnormal said, it can't hurt to have this preparation for life after surgery. Pre-surgery boot camp!

Foxbins, thanks for sharing your story about going to the Biggest Loser ranch. I've often thought that if I could just be in an environment like that, I'd lose the weight with no problem. But there's something deeper at work with the seriously heavy. I wonder why it is that so few of the obese are able to lose weight permanently. Is there something physiological? I'm going to do some research but of course welcome your thoughts.

I feel for you...I know how family pressures can get to a person. Just be careful with the commitment you've made to them. What they have to understand is that it's really not that difficult to lose weight....we've all done it on various fad diets. Keeping it off is the problem for most of us, so even if you reach the goal that's been set for you, there's nothing to say that 1 month, 2 months, etc you won't be right back where you were or worse..and then you have to wait to get back on the doctor's schedule if you finally decide to go through with the surgery. Good luck to you!