Thanks. I see you lost a lot of weight too, I'm glad. It may have taken 4 years, but we don't control what happens in our lives. I wish I had known what I know now 25 years ago.

The horrible statistics for people who gain weight back are due to the fact that for 50 years the medical field have given them crappy, incorrect, and laughably false information on how to lose weight. It never works, as you point out. They said "don't eat cholesterol, it gives you high cholesterol", and they were wrong. They told people "don't eat fat, it makes you fat", and they were wrong. They said "eat lots of carbs, it will make you healthy", and they were wrong. They said "you can lose weight by doing tons of exercise", and they were mostly wrong (exercise is definitely healthy, but as a weight loss device it sucks).

If people were getting quality information instead of lies, and being sold all kinds of stupid diets and medical procedures just to make the food companies, hospitals, and surgeons rich, the success rate would be much higher. That's one of the reasons I try to help.

1: Clearly you haven't "studied extensively on ALL forms of weight control", as you think all surgery reroutes guts. But, hey, you can deny science all you want.

2: Yup! And surgery is awesome. It fixes problems and helps us to be healthier.

3: Ah, so you're choosing to define normal as "what ancestral humans did." Clearly you're not a scientist if you believe physiology hasn't changed and adapted to more recent lifestyles. (Oooh, look! Two can play at that game!)

4: Yay! You didn't have surgery! Do you want a cookie or a medal? I can also eat whatever I feel like - including cookies. Yum.

5: Coming to a site and telling people they've all been duped is a really great way to get support :)

6: I'm saying that Youtube, sort of like Wikipedia, does not equal "research." Educating oneself on videos that aren't based on evidence isn't a very useful education to have.

Look, you can cut out the snooty, arrogant "I know more than you" crap. You do not. I've read qand studied extensively on ALL forms of weight control, including reading lots of books and papers on bariatric surgery as well as many other things. I've read you studies and while clearly surgery can sometimes help people to lose weight, it certainly is not a "great" way, it's just one way of many. This may surprise you, but clearly you aren't a scientist, so I'll explain it: different people can read the same studies and come to different conclusions. Imagine that!!

You can mention all the different kinds of surgery you want - they are all still SURGERY.

Yes, in physiological terms, I am defining normal as they way people ate when we evolved. In fact, it's the way people ate all the way up to about 200 years ago! Are you claiming that we are somehow not like them in purely physical terms?

And, as I said, I AM enjoying all the same benefits - and more. And I didn't have to have surgery to do it. I get all the same benefits you crow about, and i not only didn't have surgery, it was free, and I can still eat what I want if I feel like it.

Even so, I was looking for a good site because no form of weight loss is 100% simple, it doesn't happen overnight, and having support helps.

Oh and are you saying that EVERY video on youtube is false? That there absolutely NO informative, educational, or helpful videos there? It's not the best place to do real scientific research, true, but for the averge person looking to inform and educate themselves, it can very, very helpful. As long as you remember to be skptical of some stuff, as w have to do with everything on the internet.

I joined in 2013 for about one day, until I realized it was just a shill site for the bariatric surgery industry. I never came bac****il today - I had to reset my password because I forgot it. Also, I didn't discover the best methods until recently. Now that I'm following them I'm going GREAT, thanks. but it doesn't happen overnight, it can be a long process. Not only is my weight down significantly, but I have cured my type 2 diabetes (blood sugars perfectly normal now, not on any medication), my cholesterol is way down, and all kinds of other health indicators have improved. You're about to say that many of these benefits can come from surgery, too, and you're right. In many cases they do. But the difference is, I didn't have to have surgery and can eat whatever I want on non-fasting days. You an say it's not all rerouting guts, but it ALL involves surgey and people messing around in your innards.

1) Some don't, but most do. And the banding and sleeves are not offered/effective for morbidly obese people.

2) What kind of restrictions on eating are required will vary. People who get gastric surgery will have to follow a diet of very small amounts for the rest of their lives, not to mention constantly monitoring their protein and other factors.

3) We already agreed that obesity is bad - why do you keep saying this? My response is "DUH!!!!"

4) That's your opinion.