BariatricEating.com: Not What You Want To Hear...

[blashlee 509]

Came across this article on FB today. It was exactly what I needed to see. I've gotten comfortable with the fact that I can still indulge in small amounts and not see any weight gain or experience dumping. Well, that's NOT a good thing for someone like me, because it will simply continue and then eventually I will see regain. I don't want to waste all the hard work I have put in and everything I've endured to take my health back into my own hands.

Having said that, some parts of this surgery might strike chords. Please remember that I didn't write it LOL so don't attack me if something makes you feel some type of way, especially that last header/paragraph. That's a sentence we all probably will take issue with, but please try to keep things in context...

http://www.bariatriceating.com/2015/05/not-what-you-want-to-hear-bariatric-nos/

Don’t eat bread! That latte has 35g sugar! No macaroni salad. NO tortillas. No rice.

It won’t last without change
There is no delicate way to say this. We have always set ourselves apart from other bariatric groups in that we don’t look the other way while post ops continue to eat the bad carbs. We try and bring them back to the bariatric reality. We coax you to knock off the Pasta, rice, tortillas or bread and often people get mad or try and justify it. For years we’ve watched people blow through this surgery and they all have the same story. Everyone thinks they are ‘Different’, that they can handle the bad carbs and the sugar (they don’t get sick!) and ‘because they have lost 100 pounds in 7 months they must be doing something right’.

The first hundred pounds is the surgery
Hate to keep making the same point, but your surgery did it, not you. Remember that you are not driving the car for the first year. Eating the same foods that grew you to 300 pounds, but in smaller amounts is not a good long term plan as eventually you will be able to eat larger portions. Ask yourself why eating the same bad carbs would be a good plan. No doctor has advised you to eat the same way post op as you did pre op. Post ops pick this up somewhere, latch on to it and defend it, often to the bitter end of a total regain.

No one fights for broccoli carbs!
It’s not that the bagel will kill you, it’s that these carbs make you hungry. They rapidly turn to glucose and burn… poof, gone, #Lookingformore. They don’t give you any nutrients. They don’t create a feeling of satiety or lasting fullness. The empty carbs work against what you are trying to achieve. If you were arguing for eating salad or green bean carbs, more power to you… but people are trying to hang on to foods without value. If this big argument was for VEGETABLES… well it wouldn’t be a debate as vegetables didn’t make us fat, it was those ‘other’ carbs. Did you ever meet an obese vegetarian and wonder ‘HUH?’… how’d they get obese if they are vegetarian? Same deal… its not the vegetables, its the other stuff… the carbs… the potatoes, bread, macaroni, rice, tortillas and sugar!

Square peg… round hole
Stop looking for slightly better substitutes for bad choices and find new healthier foods to love instead. We keep trying to force that square peg into that round hole. Stop EATING crackers and chips… don’t find ones that you can justify because they have fewer carbs. Enough with the terrible fishy Shirataki tofu noodles. Learn to live without bread and Pasta so it will not call your name. We aren’t changing the behavior or trend if we continue eating them, just slightly shifting it. Before long you’ve got your hand back in the Doritos bag & fork in the Mac and cheese.

Look It’s Protein Cheesecake!
Don’t add Protein to muffins and convince yourself they’re good for you. Stop with the Starbucks Creme Brûlée Lattes because ‘they’re your one indulgence’; they have 500 calories and thin people don’t even drink them. Stay the heck out of Wendy’s. I read an article the other day touting all the ‘good choices’ in fast food restaurants. How about stay out of them. That’s the best choice of all! Why go to the place where you know there is danger. Before you know it, oops… there are fries in your bag!

You know people gain back weight, right?
In our first month of new Facebook Support group I have cried for new members who have gained back all their weight. I am not immune either after fourteen years, three bariatric books and knowing better. When life hit the fan, I comforted my bruises in the way I knew best and it has taken me ten months to lose fifty pounds of it. People are having revisions, a lovely sounding word for a second serious body damaging operation. What will change? Unless there is major change along with that new surgery, won’t it have the same result?

Step away from the bagel!
Own that there was and maybe still is something wrong with your food picker! Use surgery as an opportunity to change, not cheat. I used be bothered by the ‘word on the street’ that we were the carb or food police, but am now proud of it. If you want to promote the virtues of Everything in Moderation while eating half a Subway, there are plenty of groups that will help you do it. If you want to eat right and learn new behaviors to make the feeling of slipping on those skinny jeans last… we have a support group that’s a healthier fit.

Bariatric Surgery IS the easy way out
It’s a personal food cop that is always with us, that helps us push away from the table. We make it hard when we don’t live by the bariatric rules we’ve been given. There is nothing harder then gaining weight back after surgery. There is nothing better than losing it a second time. Control is empowering.

If you need to pick up and start losing again… If you need to work off a regain… it’s not too late and your pouch works just fine if you choose the right foods. Clean those lethal carbs from your life and go back to Bariatric Eating – protein first and lots of fresh salad and vegetables. We’ve got the support for you to make that change!

[Paula Kolarik 6]

I have read many Susan Maria Leach articles and belong to her Facebook BariatricEating Support Group I've found that it is pretty much the only site out there that will give you the cold hard facts if you put yourself out there which is great I think! I'd rather be told the truth and given facts rather than have strangers try and comfort me when I've eaten something that's not good for me! You can find many good articles on her website but beware sometimes of the sarcastic sharp tongue if you don't have thick skin!

[geronimo 52]

"Bariatric Surgery IS the easy way out."

While lying in my hospital bed after having gotten my Bypass surgery yesterday, I was skimming through the article and stopped altogether on that quote. That's not fact; that's ignorance.

Edited August 27, 2015 by geronimo

[maggie409 765]

"Bariatric Surgery IS the easy way out."

While lying in my hospital bed after having gotten my Bypass surgery yesterday, I was skimming through the article and stopped altogether on that quote. That's not fact; that's ignorance.

I somewhat disagree. This is by no means easy! But at the same time, I realized yesterday while getting full enough after two ounces of salmon and 1 cup of salad that I could not have stopped before I was sleeved. Thank goodness for my sleeve! Thank goodness for the restriction! Thank goodness for this opportunity to change my eating habits! Thank goodness for the easy way that I can push away from the table and stop eating! Thank goodness for the disappearance of cravings that haunted me prior to the sleeve. Thank goodness for the physical dumping and need to stay home from work the next day because I ate something I shouldn't and the fear of that haunted me the next time I considered it. For these reasons it is easier. And for so many other reasons like the learning curve and The pain of getting my body going after 30 years of laziness!

I love my sleeve for all the easy and hard reasons.

[geronimo 52]

Sorry, but you calling 30 years of obesity "laziness" further underscores my opinion.

Science has shown that obesityhas to do with biological and genetics issues. Thinking it's nothing more than laziness has the same overly simplistic mentality as thinking that the only thing needed to lose weight is to eat less and exercise more.

Getting Bariatric Surgery still requires heavy diet and exercise, but also requires that we literally put our life on the line to enable this tool. Putting ourselves in a position where we might die on the operating table seems to me like the opposite of taking the easy way out.

[Djmohr 6,965]

I don't know, maybe you are not far enough down the road yet to experience it but easy or even easier, no way. Not for me.

I have had to fight for every single pound lost. I don't get dumping syndrome and could pretty much eat anything I wanted. I also have a degenerative spine and psoriatic arthritis which makes working out so very difficult. Yet I know I have to get up and get moving every single day.

My life revolves around making good eating choices, getting all my Water and Protein in. If I don't do these things I stall sometimes for as long as a whole month. I have to be so on purpose about what I eat which impacts my family as well. It is not simple or easy to make the decision that I don't want to cook today.

That means I have to figure out where we are going to eat because my food plan is the most restrictive. My family is extraordinarily accommodating but they can't make food decisions for me and if I let them, they would make the wrong choices and I would stall again.

Maybe it's different for me but I find this very very hard work. It is worth it every time I step on the scale and it goes in the right direction. Or every time I try on a smaller size and it actually fits. Or every time I cross my legs or sit cross legged on the floor.

All worth it but so very difficult to do, at least for me.

I have lost hundreds of pounds over my 52 years. I usually have no problem losing, it is keeping it off that never works. I am bound and determined to never let that happen again. I suspect that will be the hardest part of my journey yet. I thank god I have this tool to help me but I know that it will not ever be easy for me.

[toasty 371]

The reason that people say that bariatric surgery is the "easy" way out is because they have no understanding of what is involved. Many people think that bariatric surgery is a magic zapper: you get surgery, and poof, now you're thin! As we all know, there is nothing further from the truth. Even many prospective WLS patients think this early on, and become surprised when they realize differently.

People don't realize that WLS is a tool, albeit a powerful one. We have other tools: high Protein low carb ways of eating, chewing food thoroughly and eating slowly until we feel satisfied, avoiding grazing, staying hydrated, etc. To say that WLS is a powerful tool for losing weight is correct, but saying it is the easy way out is totally missing the point.

[blashlee 509]

"Bariatric Surgery IS the easy way out."

While lying in my hospital bed after having gotten my Bypass surgery yesterday, I was skimming through the article and stopped altogether on that quote. That's not fact; that's ignorance.

I think what the author is implying here connects with a prior paragraph that the majority of your weight is lost as a direct result of the decision to have surgery. And surgery should is somewhat an "easy way out" when it comes to controlling what you eat because your body simply doesn't allow you to overeat anymore or eat certain foods without paying dire consequences. So, theoretically, because that restriction exists, it's easier to watch what you eat/how much you eat. If I have just one extra bite of something, I throw it ALL up.

Overall, I absolutely don't believe this was the "easy way out" as far as ways that exist to lose weight. If it were the easy way, everybody would do it.

PS Hope your surgery went well, welcome to the loser's bench

[sarahbee 46]

I think it's funny that everyone assumes easy way is a negative. We are so programmed to think that if we don't suffer to lose weight then the weight loss isn't valid. If you ignore weight loss and look at this another way, you quickly see how stupid it is to think easy = bad.

Imagine a desired outcome called outcome A. There are two ways to achieve outcome A: one way is slow, painful, and inefficient. The other is faster and easier and more efficient. Now what dummy would proudly choose to achieve outcome A via the first method?

After surgery you still have to watch what you eat, think about all your choices, address emotional issues and exercise. But the restriction makes it easier and lessens that feeling of sacrifice that comes with dieting when your hunger is out of control. Yes it makes it easier. And easier is smart. I'm glad I made the smart choice.

[maggie409 765]

I think it's funny that everyone assumes easy way is a negative. We are so programmed to think that if we don't suffer to lose weight then the weight loss isn't valid. If you ignore weight loss and look at this another way, you quickly see how stupid it is to think easy = bad.

Imagine a desired outcome called outcome A. There are two ways to achieve outcome A: one way is slow, painful, and inefficient. The other is faster and easier and more efficient. Now what dummy would proudly choose to achieve outcome A via the first method?

After surgery you still have to watch what you eat, think about all your choices, address emotional issues and exercise. But the restriction makes it easier and lessens that feeling of sacrifice that comes with dieting when your hunger is out of control. Yes it makes it easier. And easier is smart. I'm glad I made the smart choice.

Thank you for wording it much better than I was able to. Because of the sleeve it is easier to control the cravings, easier to stop eating when I'm full, easier to not binge eat. We will all work hard to get to our goal. But having the sleeve has made it doable.

[maggie409 765]

Sorry, but you calling 30 years of obesity "laziness" further underscores my opinion.

Science has shown that obesityhas to do with biological and genetics issues. Thinking it's nothing more than laziness has the same overly simplistic mentality as thinking that the only thing needed to lose weight is to eat less and exercise more.

Getting Bariatric Surgery still requires heavy diet and exercise, but also requires that we literally put our life on the line to enable this tool. Putting ourselves in a position where we might die on the operating table seems to me like the opposite of taking the easy way out.

I certainly didn't imply that you were lazy for 30 years. I know me and I know my situation. I know that I was a lazy couch potato in the sense of exercise and willingness to eat right. My post was about me. Not about you or anyone else and I am sorry if my wording implied so.

Yes of course biology and genetics plays a role. I am also realistic and at this point willing to see that I failed myself over the years because of my own unwillingness to exercise and eat healthy. I wasn't willing to do the work needed. Now I am.

[TRexMom6525 60]

Love it! Thanks so much for sharing -great reminder and sobering analysis - while I don't eat Pasta rice or thick breads, I do sneak in low carb wraps every once in a while and even thought I could eat these flatbread fold ups once in a while ..... Re thinking that now because I'm so happy with my weight loss ( 65lbs in 4 months) and I NEVER want to go back!

So thanks for posting this ????

[Summermonkey 22]

I agree with the article. Keep the crap out of your diet after surgery or you will regain. I am thankful for this "easy way out". It gave me my life back!

[beachgal2935 596]

Thank you so much for posting this. I'm going to share this with my monthly WLS support group at mayo. I just passed my 4 month mark at the end of last month and with my 72 lb. loss so far, I haven't eaten any bread, crackers, chips, Pasta, rice, etc. That's what got me to my highest weight of 285 and that's what's keeping me far away from it now! I hit a stall 5 days ago and am now investigating to see if Splenda may be the culprit. Two of my close friends call it "poison" so I'm starting to wonder if they're right?! Congrats to all on this journey