WLS article, I'm so frustrated!

[Dreamjeans 0]

So, my mom sent this article to me from her diet website. After I reading it I'm really frustrated by the way they portrayed everything. I guess I think that some of this is true and sometimes the truth hurts. My Mom means well, she is being polite about the surgery but I know she does not want me to get it at all. I'm sad because I really don't think she understands me and I"m sure she feels like I don't understand her. She won't even talk to me about it, probably because it hits a nerve every time we do. Anyway do you guys really think that eventually everyone regains in the long run? I really feel like crying now, maybe I shouldn't have told her and found someone else to take the kids when I get my surgery.

Is Weight Loss Surgery For You?

You've been trying to lose weight for years. Every time you think you think you've got a handle on eating -- you blow it. If only there was something -- anything -- that would prevent overeating and force you to stick with smart food choices.

Are gastric sleeve, Roux-en-Y, stomach stapling or Lapband your best answer to lifelong obesity? You're tired of dieting. You're tired of falling off the wagon. You desperately want something that will guarantee weight loss for good.

So you figure weight loss surgery (WLS) will give you automatic Portion Control? Don't bet on it. People considering WLS have a distorted impression of what WLS can and can't accomplish. WLS can limit portions of certain (not all) foods. WLS cannot solve why you overeat. Those are important facts.

If you're considering WLS you should know there's plenty of high carb high calorie foods that are easily chewed to a liquid and slide right through your new 1" stomach opening: potato chips, mashed potatoes & gravy, chocolate, Cereal & milk, cheesy nachos, candy, milkshakes, rum-wine-beer, ice cream, cheesy grits -- you get the picture. Unlimited high calorie choices.

If you love these foods now, you'll still love them after WLS. If you have a problem with portion control with those foods, after WLS you'll still have a problem. WLS won't stop you from putting junk food in your shopping cart. You need a coping strategy.

Expectations from family and friends can be enough to stay strict (you do know you can still cheat after WLS, right?) Or, will the guaranteed inquiries from family and coworkers, "So, how much have you lost this week?" be bothersome (especially if it's less than expected)? Will your stress levels increase and trigger stress eating? Are you OK being the center of attention?

PRELIMINARY STEPS TO TAKE

* Go to a few internet WLS support forums. See the posts about "stalled weight loss" (wow, so many!)

* See how many WLS patients are using Alli and diet pills (what was the surgery for?)

* Notice how many have regained after WLS. How will you feel if this happens to you?

* Read the posts by people who had medical complications after WLS.

* Do a Google search for "Lapband failed" or "WLS didn't work" (there's lots).

Before you make a decision you should definitely talk to WLS patients -- especially those who have had problems. Ask your surgeon for a list of patients who lost weight initially and then stalled. Talk to them and ask why.

PITFALLS

After WLS your "new life" probably won't be exactly as you imagined it. Here's a few highlights:

Don't expect the "full feeling" from eating 1 oz of food to be like the pleasantly full feeling you have after eating a sandwich -- it's not. It's more like a heaviness in the middle of your chest.

Food need to be fairly liquid to pass through the new 1" stomach opening. Some favorite foods will be hard to eat and cause blockage. This is painful and triggers vomiting. Before WLS food was held at the bottom of your stomach in the middle of your torso. After WLS 1 oz stomach is closer to your heart in the middle of your chest. When you don't chew well enough and there's a blockage, it can feel like angina until the food finally passes or is vomited.

Actual "bypass" patients report eating fried, greasy or high sugar foods trigger "dumping syndrome". Gastric bypass is a procedure where a section of the intestine is removed and the remaining intestine is attached to the small stomach. Stomach stapling, Y en Roux and banding are often referred to as "gastric bypass", but aren't.

Foods WLS patients report as problematic: beef, chicken, Pasta, bread, rolls, rice, fiberous veggies like asparagus & celery and fruit with skin or membrane (apples, grapes, oranges, grapefruit). See for yourself: For the next 72 hours chew everything until it's a liquid. See which foods don't break apart easily. See how quickly you get tired of chew, chew, chew. See how different the food tastes after chewing it to death. See how less enjoyable "labor intensive" food becomes.

Ahhh, so you think that might be a good thing? You'll be forced to eat less? Not necessarily. Human nature dictates we avoid discomfort if there's a alternative. Remember the high calorie yummies that go down fast and easy. This is why some WLS patients regain.

If you haven't solved your food demons, you'll fall back on old eating patterns when your personal triggers flare -- a fight with a spouse, loss of a loved one or job stress. Do you eat when you're bored? That won't change with WLS.

WEIGHT REGAIN AFTER WLS

Every diet has success stories. Every diet has regains. It's no different for WLS. Al Roker and Carnie Wilson admit to falling back on high calorie still-easy-eat-with-a-stapled-stomach favorite foods.

There's plenty of WLS/Lapband success stories so it works for some people -- but not all. Here's a quote from a WLS patient who regrets the decision:

"Bottom line is it wasn't what I thought it would be. I already wasn't a big eater. I was a grazer who picked the wrong food when I was stressed, forgot to go shopping or felt nervous at a social event. I was eating a lot of calories -- but only a few ounces at a time throughout the day. Mini meals took me to 288 pounds. Weight loss stopped because I was tired of chewing a million times. I started eating what was easy and even though I lost 100 pounds it all came back eventually."

Kimkins has many Lapband patients who join when weight loss stalls after surgery. Regaining after WLS and needing support to continue their journey are primary reasons for choosing Kimkins.

Rarely does overeating have to do with true hunger and WLS doesn't fix psychological hunger. If you're reaching for easy-to-eat foods when stressed, bored or during PMS, you'll still be reaching for them after WLS. Weight regain happens because the underlying lifestyle change that's needed for permanent weight control still needs reinforcement and structure. Until you discover why you overeat and resolve it, weight regain is practically guaranteed -- even with WLS.

Edited May 22, 2009 by jenzea

[RestlessMonkey 7]

No everyone does not eventually regain. Are you reacting to the article, or to issues with your mother?

Personally I'd never expect one article/doc/person/book/website to have all the answers.

I did a LOT of research on my own before getting the band. It has a high rate of success in that most people lose about 35-50% of their excess and keep it off for at least 5 years. That's better than WW or the old "diet and exercise" and so it's good enough for me.

I'm 54; I know a LOT of people who have dieted and exercised to lose weight. I don't know anyone who's kept it off "long term". That's just anecdotal, not factual. But for me, it's enough.

[Nchaka 0]

the article looks like it written by someone who promotes the "Kimkins Diet". Of course they are going to say bad things about wls, they want your business.

Also it appears that they have a lawsuit against them.(i didn't read it)

[Cleo's Mom 257]

Find out what the 5 years success rate is for the Kimkims diet. Overall diets fail about 95% of the time. Obviously Kimkins wants people to buy their diet and products, not have weight loss surgery. What makes them think that those who go on their program won't fall into the same bad habits that they outline in this article? I would bet that almost everyone on these boards has tried weight watchers - especially if they are older and have been overweight/obese longer. It is a program that is usually given good overall ratings by the medical profession. But have you ever seen any statistics on those who join and long term weight loss? After 5 years, almost everyone who joined has quit, and regained the weight. While I do agree that WLS won't rid you of emotional eating or change bad habits overnight, if you had to do a pre-op diet for several months, it does teach you about healthy food, good nutrition and portion size. The band is a tool that when it works properly can help you to feel satisfied with smaller amounts of healthy foods. I use xenical (prescription alli) and I think of it as another tool. Why shouldn't we avail ourselves of all the tools we can? Aren't we trying to build a better and healthier body? And with the high percentage of diet failures, ask Kimkins about what yo-yo dieting does to the body. I would dismiss this article for what it is: an infomercial for it's diet and products. Contact Kimkins and ask if they will accept your health insurance as payment for their products if they are so much better than WLS.

[FangDoc 1]

This article is obviously very biased against WLS. While there are nuggets of truth in some of what the author says, the conclusions are ridiculous. You can't let yourself get all worked up over fake news written by people with an agenda (how do you ever live through an election cycle otherwise?)

More importantly, though, the fact that this comes from the Kimkins site is very telling. The Kimkins "diet" has been completely exposed as a scam. See this website:

"Kimkins" Diet Fraud Unmasked.

for the full lawsuit filing and links to news coverage. Basically, the founder claimed that she and her friends had lost hundreds of pounds, when the "after" photos they posted were actually from a Russian mail-order brides website! She encouraged people to follow a dangerous diet, and reassured them that their serious medical side effects were normal, while knowing the whole time that her story was a lie, a con, and a scam.

I apologize for ranting; and no, I wasn't a "Kimkins" victim. But I am a lifelong dieter, who has spent unthinkable amounts of money chasing my weight-loss dream. Reading about someone so heartlessly exploiting the desperation of other women for their own greedy and narcissistic ends, makes me more nauseated than a too-tight band.

So don't worry about the distortions in the article. Worry about your mom on Kimkins.

[plain 12]

Yeah, you should up on Kimkins...it's a total sham. Basically a starvation diet.

[MistyD65 1]

There is a lot of truth in that article. If it were presented in a more balanced way, and not as an advertisement for Kimkins, it would be a good thing for everyone who is thinking about the band, or any WLS, to read. People need to know the hard as well as the easy, but if all they do is go to a seminar, they are seldom going to get the whole picture. That's why this forum is such a great resource - it really gives a "warts and all" perspective, and allows you to see all sides then make the best choice for yourself. Potential WLS patients NEED to know these things. I think it would prevent a lot of the disappointment and discouragement we see, especially from people who went into surgery with unrealistic expectations.

Having said that, I LOVE my band! I do struggle with the head hunger - it's a much harder thing to deal with than the physical hunger, at least for me. But I AM dealing with it, and getting better everyday. It is a series of concious choices.

So, I took my red pencil to the article, to make it less one-sided.

So you figure weight loss surgery (WLS) will give you automatic Portion Control? Don't bet on it. People considering WLS have a distorted impression of what WLS can and can't accomplish. WLS can limit portions of certain (not all) foods. WLS cannot solve why you overeat. {True}Those are important facts.

If you're considering WLS you should know there's plenty of high carb high calorie foods that are easily chewed to a liquid and slide right through your new 1" stomach opening: potato chips, mashed potatoes & gravy, chocolate, Cereal & milk, cheesy nachos, candy, milkshakes, rum-wine-beer, ice cream, cheesy grits -- you get the picture. Unlimited high calorie choices. {Yep, true again.}

If you love these foods now, you'll still love them after WLS. If you have a problem with portion control with those foods, after WLS you'll still have a problem. WLS won't stop you from putting junk food in your shopping cart. You need a coping strategy. {More truth.}

Don't expect the "full feeling" from eating 1 oz of food {I think I'm safe in saying that the majority of us eat more than 1 oz of food at a meal. I can eat a 3 oz portion of meat and about 1/2 cup veggies, maybe even a bit of carb, depending on the type of meat and veggies}to be like the pleasantly full feeling you have after eating a sandwich -- it's not. It's more like a heaviness in the middle of your chest. {What does full feel like? All I ever really knew was what OVERfull felt like.}

Food need to be fairly liquid {eh, not really, just chewed thoroughly} to pass through the new 1" stomach opening. Some favorite foods will be hard to eat and cause blockage. This is painful and triggers vomiting. Before WLS food was held at the bottom of your stomach in the middle of your torso. After WLS 1 oz stomach is closer to your heart in the middle of your chest. When you don't chew well enough and there's a blockage, it can feel like angina until the food finally passes or is vomited. {Yep, it can happen. You have to really focus when you are eating so you don't take bites that are too big, and you remember to chew well. The days of auto-pilot eating are over - and good riddance to them.}

FoodsWLS patients{some, not all} report as problematic: beef, chicken, Pasta, bread, rolls, rice, fiberous veggies like asparagus & celery and fruit with skin or membrane (apples, grapes, oranges, grapefruit). See for yourself: For the next 72 hours chew everything until it's a liquid.{Bah, you don't chew to liquid; you chew thoroughly} See which foods don't break apart easily. See how quickly you get tired of chew, chew, chew. See how different the food tastes after chewing it to death. See how less enjoyable "labor intensive" food becomes. {I haven't experienced this at all}

Ahhh, so you think that might be a good thing? You'll be forced to eat less? Not necessarily. Human nature dictates we avoid discomfort if there's a alternative. Remember the high calorie yummies that go down fast and easy. This is why some WLS patients regain. {This is very true, and why you want to make sure your band isn't so tight that you can't eat the right foods.}

If you haven't solved your food demons, you'll fall back on old eating patterns when your personal triggers flare -- a fight with a spouse, loss of a loved one or job stress. Do you eat when you're bored? That won't change with WLS. {Again, very true.}

Rarely does overeating have to do with true hunger and WLS doesn't fix psychological hunger. If you're reaching for easy-to-eat foods when stressed, bored or during PMS, you'll still be reaching for them after WLS. Weight regain happens because the underlying lifestyle change that's needed for permanent weight control still needs reinforcement and structure.{YES! And that's why it is SO important to choose a surgeon or program that offers that - nutritionist, counselor, etc., or at the very least, get involved and stay involved in a good support group.} Until you discover why you overeat and resolve it, weight regain is practically guaranteed -- even with WLS {Well, Duh}.

[Dreamjeans 0]

Misty, Thank you so much for taking the time to pick apart that article, for some reason your comments made me feel a lot better. After I read it I realized that there were a lot of truths to it and that if its what people decide to do the "party of emotional eating is over." Its not a quick fix and it's not a guarantee like I thought it was going to be. I've been researching the band for THREE YEARS and I just finally got it.

I felt silly posting this after I reread my post but then I realized something. Instead of going to food to deal with my emotion I came here. Feeling silly or not I did the right thing!

I love my Mom so much! I guess that's why it burns a little that she doesn't want me to get it. She has lost a lot of weight on her plan and its a wonderful plan. Especially for learning how to eat long term. I am proud of her. I know I need to make my own choices and she will just have to deal with what I decide and then I will have to deal with her dealing with me haha!

Right now I want to cry out for a Peanut Butter sandwich on white bread but I had an egg and veggie scramble instead. This weight has to come off whether my lap band insurance is approved or not.

Thank you for listening to me. I'm sorry I sounded so whiney.. I'm still learning :thumbup:

Edited May 22, 2009 by jenzea
spelling

[BethFromVA 5]

You didn't sound whiny at all. I don't know that there is anybody here who hasn't had questions, doubts, or downright second thoughts. If we knew for sure that this surgery (or any other WLS) was a sure thing for every single person, and easy to boot, what would there be to think about? It's the questioning that you do that gets you answers that help you with your decision.

It's funny, because when I told my mom about my surgery (after I had it, not before [but then again I don't have a kid issue like you do]), she cried tears of joy. She had been trying to get me to get WLS for a while, but whenever she mentioned it, I thought she meant gastric bypass, which was a huge "no way" from me.

[shelley2b 0]

Hey guys - I was in the same place and so I haven't even told my mother. I guess the thing is that it's not a magic solution - ice cream will pass through any band and make you gain weight!! I find that it helps me not be hungry 24/7 - I used to want to eat all the time... I have polycystic ovaries and it makes you want to eat loads all the time... now i'm mostly full and i know what people mean when they say that you forget about food... that had never happened to me before. It doesn't mean I'm never hungry or that i never have ice cream, but it does mean that i'm more in control from my head than I've ever been.

[Jaffa 5]

How do you know polycystic ovaries cause you to want to eat all of the time?

Can you point me to some articles on this? I have never heard this before, but it would certainly explain why my daughter is always hungry?

[gamyj 0]

I have been banded about 2 months, and I can honestly say that it has been wonderful for me.. I am lucky I do not have all the ugly side effects that the article mentions or many on this website mention. I really think every person has a very individual experience with wls. I like the band because I can control how tight I want to be, I can use it as a tool in the long run, and not just a quick fix. It is not a decision to be made lightly... I thought about it for a good year before I decided to do it. It was the best decision that I have ever made for myself... I have no regrets at all and look forward to a long and healthy life with my family and friends.

good luck.

amy

[Cingulus 0]

The part that the article fails to mention is the WLS of any kind is a tool, just like a diet program personal trainers or gym memberships. We will all still have to make good choices (like a veggie omelet .vs PB sandwiches) and exercise. The point of WLS is to be tool to help us achieve a goal, not do the work for us. Many people I have spoke to about WLS seem to think that method/process is more important than the results. Given the well documented issues with excess weight (medical, emotional and quality of life) the results count, the method is secondary. If you think WLS is the right tool for you and you are willing to do the work, then ignore the rest of world and get the results you are looking for.

[shelley2b 0]

For the poster who asked about Polycystic Ovaries - I don't know where I read about it. You've got to look at it online... they say that 1/2 women with Polycystic ovaries is overweight... one of my doctors explained that it's because of increased appetite due to the hormones. That's one of the reasons that I decided to get the band - it seems to help me with it... i can't eat as much when I'm hungry.

[RestlessMonkey 7]

How do you know polycystic ovaries cause you to want to eat all of the time?

Can you point me to some articles on this? I have never heard this before, but it would certainly explain why my daughter is always hungry?

Jaffa Steve it's commonly called "PCOS" or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Here's a link to a gov't site about it...

please realize that 1/2 of all women with PCOS may be overweight, but 1/2 of all overweight women don't have PCOS. However, if your daughter has it she'll be glad to be finally diagnosed, I'm sure!

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome << Frequently Asked Questions << womenshealth.gov