Question ... not to sound harsh ... but have you asked yourself if that will resolve the reason you are overweight? I have read so many stories of people who have had this kind of surgery and end up just regaining the weight because it did not change the behavior that caused the weight gain in the first place.
I think Barbie of MU has had it done. My sister had gastric bypass surgery and she tells everyone that the surgery itself is not a solution. You really do have to deal with all of the underlying issues and completely change your way of life. She says that the majority of the women in her support groups get thin in the first 2 years and then gain quite a bit of the weight back after their body has adapted. She is in the minority of people who have successfully kept the weight off, but it hasn't been easy. Just to maintain her current weight, she works out 5 days a week and eats no more than 1,000 calories every day. If she wants to lose a pound or two, she has to go down to 600 calories per day and increase to 6 days of workouts. She's had surgery for a hernia (common) and has had some of the excess skin removed from the rapid weight loss. She still has tons of body image issues, only now it's because of the excess skin and baggy everything, instead of the rolls of fat. Another thing to look into is the statistics of the marriages of women who have had weight loss surgery. I have a friend who did her doctorate thesis on this and discovered that close to 80 percent of the women who have successfully lost weight from one of these surgeries ended up divorced within 5 years. (Including my sister) There are a lot of underlying reasons for this, which make a lot of sense once you've read the research. I will say that my sister has said that she would do it again, but that she wishes she had done more research first. Also, you have to have the time, money and drive to do the maintenance necessary to keep the weight off. She uses a personal trainer and nutritionist; even if the procedure is covered by insurance most of the after-care is not, and now when she gets sick she always gets very sick because her body overall has been weakened; and she goes to counseling to deal with the body image issues and now her relationship issues. I wish you the best of luck with whatever you decide! :grouphug:
lap band My friend had lap band surgery only a year ago. She has only lost 30 pounds (in a year - she was hoping to lose 80 - 100 - she was 300 pounds). I hadn't seen her in several months when I went to visit her last week. She ate enough for two people! Her weight hadn't changed since the last time I saw her. She even went to see a dietician and counselor before to get approved. So you really have to be sure you can stop eating even after having the surgery. You can still stretch you stomach out. You also MUST exercise or it won't work. It's not foolproof by any means. You lose the most weight right at first because you can only drink Carnation Instant breakfast for about a month. Eat less, move more is the only method that's ever worked for me! I've had 2 kids and I weigh less now than I did before the first pregnancy. I know it can be done! (Of course I'm not a doctor - don't take my word for it) I'd check with your doctor. By the way, there are lots of gross side effects too with the lap band. If you don't chew your food into little bitty bites, you'll throw it up.
I've got an aunt who had the gastric bypass probably 3 years ago. She is slowly gaining a lot of it back. :? Sad thing is, she has a daughter who is almost the same age as my son and weighs more than twice what he does. We have GOT to break the cycle.
no - i haven't had that....but did loose well over one hundred pounds in about a year - many years ago. they never tell you about the excess skin that's left. They never tell you, you will need a surgery that you can not afford to get rid of it. that part stinks - and that even though you can look good with clothes - without - ahhh - not so much.... I know one person who has had it on her - she looks fabulous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just make sure you are not looking for a quick fix. Please read the statics and the death rate - it is VERY high compared to other surgeries. When i read the numbers - i decieded against it. i'd rather be fat then dead. My husband had a friend that had it - she too passed from complications. She was under 35. I lost most of my weight with ATkins. I am back on it since I gained some weight back.- -after keeping most off for over 10 years. - five really good and five slowly working my way up...lol ...It works. It's hard but worth it. when you see it soming back - time to do something.... feel free to PM me. THe divorce rate thing...ha! - that' s could be for a thousand reasons. Women loose weight and like the attention they now get. Simple. Their husbands may have issues too with the weight loss. It isn't just a body image thing. THe reason you sister has issues is because she is treated like atotally different person now that she is thinner. Fat people are discriminated against and ignored. Suddenly it;'s a whole new world and inside you are screaming - HEY i am the same person - NOW you want to talk to me??? PLus no diet book in the world mentions that HEY when you do loose all the weight you will be left looking like crap because of extra skin.. all the world says is diet diet diet but the never discuss the mental reasons and reactions. Dieting and weight loss is 87% mental. trust me on that. If larger people had the will power to not eat this or that,.,they never would have gotten larger in the first place.
Have you talked to your doctor? My sister and I both recommend trying Phentermine. That stuff rocks. Of all the weight loss drugs she tried, that one was the only one that worked. She lost about 100 pounds in 18 months. The only problem was that she gained it back after about a year (and then some). I tried it for a few months and was amazed. It does make you feel like you've drank a few pots of coffee, but it was great at curbing the appetite and helping you lose the weight. I'd be on it now if I could find a doctor down here (and of course if s/he was willing to prescribe it).
ncmom- what size do you wear? I am betting you are a medium/small....nothing is wrong with that - that's what we all want to be - it is just that weight loss is hard to understand if you have not ever been heavy. yes - those pill worked but the correct food and activity level were not maintained as to keep the weight off. PLEase don't poke holes in other peoples dreams and try to find fault with things. Excuses is one thing an overweight person does not need. again, if a overweight person could control portions and learn to love exercise - then they never would have gotten big to begin with. There needs to be a certain amount of realization and inner control in order to change bad habits and fight cravings and desire. D o you think a sixe 16 is fat? Not me - I used ro be a 32 and a 16 was nothing more then a dream. Then I got there. I STILL was not thin...but I kept it off for a long time. then slowly it crept up and up, A really bad marriage made it worse and lucky I staved off gaining it all back. Now I an looking for the 16 again. It may not sound like a big deal and it may sound gross to some of you.. but if you are heavy that is a nice size to be. whe I weight over three hundred - I thought a 20 something would be a nice size. Fat is relative.
just FYI ncmom has lost over 100lbs, or something high like that.. if I recall, correct me if I am wrong ncmom...
Cool! What's her secret?! I go to the gym five days a week and my diet has greatly changed.. but I'm not seeing any results. My legs have gotten stronger.. my mom says she can tell I've lost but she's my mom.. Clothes don't lie. And mine are telling me I'm still the same size I was almost two months ago when I started at the gym. Lap bands and gastric bypasses aren't in my future but diet and exercise is... I'll take all the pointers I can get. Am I being too impatient?
The weight loss pills are not just a temporary fix for some people. For me it was enough to get the ball rolling and get me back on track with my life and help me realize there was a way out. When I was over weight I felt like I was drowning. Once you pass a certain point it can be a very hopeless feeling. People handle their weight problems differently because some people don't even recognize they have a problem. Some people actually think they are happier that way. I walked around for several years in denial wishing it away. Obviously I just got larger and larger during those years because the thing that made me feel better for a short time was the exact thing I had a problem with FOOD! For me and alot of people food is addictive. It is not as simple as it sounds and will power has nothing to do with it. Unless you experience it you really can't know how it feels. I have never smoked in my life so I have no advice for someone who need to stop smoking. It is easy for me to say they need some will power, etc. but until I felt what they feel, I can't help them and will not even try because it would be in vain. I have nothing at all against lap band, bypass or anything of the such. I actually wish the lap band was more popular 10 years ago when I started losing weight because I would have been all over it! I took the above mentioned prescription medication and I thank it for saving my life. I can tell you from experience and I have posted about this several times before that you have to work on the problems that got you in your mess to start with. No matter what your issue is: food, drugs, smoking, etc. If you don't deal with the entire situation you are waisting your time. Also, if you are not willing or just feel like you can't make changes in your lifestyle that you can live with for the rest of your life, then don't try to loose weight. You need to have counseling and when you are ready to let go of all of "it" then you should loose weight. Nothing is worse than loosing, gaining, loosing, gaining, etc. Trust me on this one! I have 10 years personal experience with this subject and if I can help anyone, let me know. It is harder now than 10 years ago to get a prescription for phentermine but there are ways to loose weight without it.
Amen!.. I love these stories of great weight loss! It's such an inspiration. Makes me proud of how hard I'm trying!
My mom has offered to watch my boys so I can attend those meetings... I swear I'ma have to take her up on it!..
In someways, fat is not relative. You can find out your body fat percentage and know for sure if it's healthy or not. On the other hand, your percentage could be fine but you still feel fat! My percentage is always over what I'd want it to be and I hate the range they give you for the number of pounds you should be. Like if you are 5'4", 20 - 40 years old, a healthy weight is 115 - 145! Come on! That's a huge range. I can't remember the last time I weighed 115! Maybe when I was 12?! Yet, 145 on me is too big (in my eyes...that's where it's relative). I have a certain weight that if I go over it more than two pounds, I cut back on sweets and carbs and exercise more. The older I get the more flexible I am with that weight (but not too flexible!) because I know our metabolism changes over the years. Like someone said, it's not easy but if you are determined and you find out the underlying cause of weight gain, it can be done. One other piece of advice, don't ever try to get to a certain size in clothes. They are all made different! And they are deceiving. Some stores purposely size clothes so that you think you are smaller than you are! (Maybe that's not so bad!)
I pulled my favorite dress from the closet last night for inspiration. It looks so tiny. It's an 11/12. It's still hanging here in the living room. But I'm not feeling inspired by it. Far from it.
That's interesting. I've been going to the gym for over a month now and I've haven't really lost any pounds but my clothes fit better. I do weight training with cardio. I think that's the key. In other words, I think I've lost inches but not pounds. I have more muscle now but I'm not bulky by any means! My mom said the same thing! She said I looked better, but I told her I hadn't lost any weight!
