Pre-Op diet success and 2nd thoughts

I posted 10 days ago that I started my pre-op diet early.  My "real" start date for the pre-op diet is tomorrow as my surgery date is 9/26/16.  In the last 10 days I have lost 25 lbs going from 427 to 402.  Eleven days ago my back would start hurting after walking for a minute or two and cutting grass was a nightmare.  Yesterday I cut the grass, used the weed-eater and walked two miles after with my five year old.  It is amazing how much better I feel with just 25 lbs off.  I can't imagine how great it is going to feel with another 150-200 lbs off.

As for the how, I've been drinking bariatic advantage shakes 3 times per day and eating one low carb, high protein small meal.  The shakes taste really good to me. This has been much easier than I thought it would be.  Has anyone else come to this same crossroad and second guessed themselves about moving forward with surgery?  

I'm thinking/hoping this is jitters after watching the my-emmi.com series of videos Friday night.  Also, knowing you have to do this in order to prepare your body for surgery could be a cause for mentally making it easier short-term.

The other part is this is a self pay for me at $16,000.  My insurance has a specific clause excluding weight loss surgery.  I'm super excited to be going down the path of finally getting the weight off forever.  If anyone else has been in this predicament I would love to hear what you have to say.

Thanks for the support,

Jeremy 

Hi Jeremy,

My surgery is tomorrow.  In the almost four months since starting this process, I've gone from 285 to 229 as of this morning.  I've had second thoughts because I'm at a weight where I can do pretty much everything I want, and if I've lost this much, surely I can lose more.  But I'm going through with the surgery because I've been here before, because I know that losing the weight is the shorter, easier battle.  It's keeping the weight off forever that's difficult, and that's why I'm going through with it.  I can't tell you what to do, but that's why I'm forging ahead.

Ryan

Ryan, I will be getting the sleeve but not until Feb/March. I have a band in now (2nd one) and I have to have it removed, then heal for 3 months, then i can get the sleeve. I am curious to speak to someone who is going through it from the beginning of surgery. Please let me know exactly how you feel, how it went. Anything you can share/vent to me. I hope you bounce back pain free and congrats on this new beginning.

Veronica 

Hi Jeremy,

Congratulations on your positive progress so far! I have been on these boards for about five years. The one thing that is absolutely prevalent is that we all have in common a long history of failed diets. There are so many here that lost 100 pounds or more, only to regain it all and more. The problem with weight loss is that it is very difficult obviously to take off the numbers that you need, but even harder to keep it off. That is where the surgery is so critical. Without surgery, only 5% of folks are able to take it off and keep it off. 5%. With the surgery, the stats are far far better. In fact, the regain  stat is 5% of what you lost. Research has documented that with surgery you lose a lot more weight and keep a lot more off. Period. 

I am not saying you can't do it without surgery. I am only suggesting that statistically, it is very unlikely you will see the same results long term. The one other thing that we all have in common here is that we acknowledge that we wished we would have done it sooner. 

Thank you so much for your insight.  I have lost and gained back so many times it is hard to keep count.  I would guess i have lost 25+lbs at least twice per year for the past ten years.

You are 100% correct about losing the weight and actually keeping it off.  Someone very close to me lost the weight about 4 years ago and has unfortunately put it all back on and then some.

Thank you again for the words of wisdom.  I think we all know them to be true but need the assurance from those that have been there.  Now is the time for me to focus on the task at hand and not waste the time or energy second guessing myself.  Only two more weeks.

Best,

Jeremy 

I had a very similar experience where I lost 50 pounds before surgery and started wondering if I could do it without surgery.  But then I had a few high-stress days, and I remembered the dozens of times when I succeeded for a while, but gained it back so fast after going off the diet.

I went ahead with the surgery and I am delighted that I did.

The surgery makes it much easier to succeed.  It doesn't make it easy but it makes it possible to sustain and later maintain the loss.

I started out at 385 pounds, and I have been maintaining at 160 for almost 2 years.  It really makes it possible.

best of luck,

Carol

Great job on the weight loss. Pre-op diet is tough.

A couple of points though and I am going to take some of the wind out of your sail. The first 25 is easy, particularly as heavy as you are. Do not expect another 25 in the next two weeks in fact you could even see little to no weight loss as your body starts to adjust to what just happened.

Second, a lot of people are super anxious to get started and start the pre-op diet early. I typically advise against that because once you commit to this your old way of eating is gone hopefully for ever but at the very least for a very long time. So I tend to tell people to enjoy it while they can, eat some of the things they know they will miss. Give it a proper goodbye and it makes the next 18 to 24 months much easier. I made the mistake of jumping right in and my cravings for the 1st two months were outrageous.

As for the self-pay, #1 it is totally worth it. I am a little over 4 years post-op and I have 0 regrets. Even now when I sit where with a very full stomach after eating 1 egg and 3 bites of steak. It sucks that your insurance won't cover it (it might also be worth talking to an insurance lawyer, sometimes even with those clauses the insurance company can be persuaded to make an excepted, particularly at your weight because it is cheaper for them in the long run to cover $16k than hundreds of thousands in diabetes and orthopaedic costs). That being said, if the $16k is a hard nut to swallow, there are probably other options. I had my surgery done in Mexico and had an incredibly great experience. I was expecting barebones and tons of issues. I got 5 start treatment, hospital with marble floors, around the clock care with 2 to 3 nurses working on me at any given time and the entire thing with surgical costs, travel costs, medicine (very good and very cheap), and all the souvenirs we had to buy was all in for less than $7k and it can be done cheaper too if you shop around. The guys still doing this are all very good and have great reputations, so the standard of care is about the same and they have done 3 to 5 times the number of procedures that have been done here in the states. My wife just had her surgery done at a COE for about $20k and while she received excellent service and care, I can't say she got anything that I didn't.

Finally, yes this can be done without the surgery. I have seen a number of people to do it. The surgery is not a magic bullet, it is simply a tool to help you stick with a plan in the long term and if you do fall off the path, it minimizes the damage. If you have an iron will and know you can stick with a plan for 18 to 24 months, that's fantastic. I can recommend a number of eating and exercise plans that will optimize your path. I will also say there is absolutely nothing easy about this. The surgery is a tool but it does not make the process any easier. For us fat guys it simply keeps us in check much in the same way a shock collar does for an untrainable animal. Which, let's face it, is a good comparison because we all know how we SHOULD eat and exercise yet we all got to where we are.

Feel free to Direct Message me if you have any specific questions, or here is great too.

Good Luck! You are about to embark on an incredible journey.

Can you lose it on your own without WLS? Absolutely. Can you maintain the loss without the tool?  Study shows you have 3% - 5% chance to maintain the loss. With WLS - you chances go to 30-50%... Maintaining significant weight loss long term... .

I lost a lot of weight a lot of times...and always gain it back...all of it ..and then some... 

I have been maintaining weight loss for the last 7.5 years... I had some regain when started drinking too much wine and eating too many carbs. But once I went back to eating like I was suppose to long term - proteins and fat and some carbs...I lost my regai. And I maintain... Over 100lbs loss...even with an occasional cheat day here and there....

Thanks to everyone.  This site is fantastic because people seem to genuinely care about others.  My mind has been cleared and I am proceeding forward with the procedure.  Gathered up all my pre-op meds and will begin the two week regimen tomorrow.

Thanks again everyone!

Jeremy 

Hey Jeremy

First, congrats on the preop weight loss, doing great!

I had some second guessing on the surgery as well during mine and during my research period... I reminded myself that back in 2008 when I had joined the boards and researched, I was not able to have surgery and tried many methods of weight loss. Had success but never able to maintain it. This reminder helped me realize that I do need a tool in my back pocket to help me remain successful.

Only you can decide what is right for you :) I also was a self pay

Chris