So since Ive been a member I basically only went to the message boards that were pertinenet to me. I never ventured to other boards. WELLL yesterday my nosy self decided to see what the other boards were like. So I ventured into the WLS Failure board. What a mistake! Personally I am terrified to end up a WLS failure. I know that everyones situation is different but having had a failed band this is a constant fear of mine. And some of the posts I read had me thinking that if I even look at a carb im going to gain all my weight back. Was I misconceived to think that I would be able to eat like a normal person but just smaller portions? Now I am terrified to even eat anything that has a carb in it. Last night I ate NSA apple sauce for dinner ..Im not saying I wanna eat bread and pasta every day but now I am worried about being a failure. I guess you know the old saying curiousity killed the cat...ugh shouldve minded my own business...then my wifey told me to stay off of that board if its going to make me worry...cause now she is worried Im going to not eat cause im scared

I think going to the "failure" board isn't a bad thing.  It can be a good reminder of what we need to do to get healthy -- and it can also let us know that sometimes these surgeries do fail..... that the person can do all of the right things and things go wrong. 

As for carbs -- they were included on my "approved foods list".  Healthy carbs that is -- fruits, whole grains, etc.  These foods didn't make us fat.  Processed carbs & refined sugars are another story.  Avoid those but get in your protein 1st, then healthy carbs and you'll do fine.

I did the exact same thing & feel the exact same way. I have 2 close girlfriends that have had RNY's one is 6 years out & one is 2 years out. Both eat normally (minus the sweets) and both have done excellent. There are also carbs on my food list from my dietician. I simply can't just do no carbs forever! I love to exercise & I'm just hoping I can do all things in moderation and plan to take this "2 year window" that I read about & change my old bad habits. Good luck and hang in there. Right now is the perfect time to lock in our tools, and make a new us. Better that we worry & prepare now than later when it's harder, right?

Liz 

yep i have to agree. My goal is not to never eat carbs again...because you need good carbs for healthy brain activity also. But my goal is to eat good carbs and try to stay away from the refined carbs as much as possible. Refined carbs = white foods mostly...rice, potatoes, white bread, cereal, sugar...(accept oatmeal) etc...but try to stick to the simple carbs such as whole wheat products or whole grain products and fruits and vegies. i am not going to promise i will never eat refined carbs again but if i do it will only be a small amt. They tend to be addictive (cause thats what sugar does) so i want to stay away as much as possible.

Most of you (with the exception of Laura) are quite new and these feelings are normal.  You knew when you signed on for WLS that complete lifestyle changes were required for sustained good health and weight control.  Most (not all) of the people on the failed board failed their surgery, the surgery did not fail them.....(haters, notice I said "most"....not "all").  I check it out on a regular basis..........it reminds me of where I could be if I don't get my hiney off the couch!

No WLS is a magic bullet, and we cannot expect to live our lives on the couch eating what we want and still maintain weight loss.  The first two years are absolutely critical to change habits for good. 

You cannot live your life with no carbs, and most of us cannot live with no sugar.  Once you reach goal, with good eating and exercise habits established, you should be able to "live like a thin person".  This means no food is off limits.........80% of the time you make good food choices, the rest, not so much.  You also move your body regularly so that the 20% of "not so good" stuff is burned off.  If the scale creeps up a few lbs, you tighten up and increase cardio so it goes back down.  This is very doable and is the ideal maintenance lifestyle for me.

Kim

Looking at a carb will not make you gain weight, I promise.  And you know what?  Eating a carb (or two or three) will not make you gain weight back.  Eating half a bag of pretzels, well, if you do that often you might gain weight.  Eat two or three pretzels, and you'll be fine.

You should be able to eat like a normal person, just small amounts.  I think we need to keep in mind, though, that how we ate before surgery was not really normal.  So we should not eat like that again, even in smaller portions.  A regular diet of small portions of pizza, potato chips and ice cream would still make me gain weight.

Stay off that board if it stresses you out.  Yeah, there are people that don't get the results they want from RNY and there are people that have horrible complications.  That happens with anything in life, though.  You could find horror stories online about women that died in childbirth.  That doesn't change the fact that dying in childbirth is very rare in this country these days.