Question:
I'm a pre op worried about going through all this only to gain it all back later....
I have read a few times lately that people say they are gaining their weight back, or that they have to 'really watch it or else they start gaining'. I have lost weight many times to have this happen. I remember I would tell myself, "if I can just get it off, then it will be easier to keep it off" but it wasn't and eventually I gained it all back (plus). I was hoping it would be much harder to gain it back with this surgery. I'm having lap rny april 8. I'm scared not because I am afraid I won't lose. I'm pretty confident that I will, but I am afraid I'll gain it all back in a few years. Please tell me it is harder to gain it back than with all those other diets??? It is not that I think I will purposely sabotage myself...but then again, I didn't really think I did after losing all those other time either. — A. S. (posted on March 14, 2002)
March 14, 2002
First of all, I wanted to tell you that this is a great question and a very
valid concern. I am 1 yr. post-op and am basically maintaining my weight.
(I occasionally lose a pound or two, but the quick weight loss has
definitely ended.) I try to follow the "three square meals a
day" philosophy, and my new stomach pretty much limits me to small
meals of 500 cal. or less. So basically, if I just have three meals, I'm
only getting about 1500 cal/day. I suppose I could gain back the weight if
I started grazing, etc., but I worked too hard for that 166 lb. loss! I
work out 4x per week now and weigh myself about twice a month. That way,
if I see a pound or two creep up, I can immediately go back to the basics
(protein, water, exercise) to lose the extra weight. Is it easier to
maintain a healthy diet now that it was pre-op? Like night and day!!!
It's SO much easier to follow a moderate diet now!
— Terissa R.
March 14, 2002
I'm pre-op too so can't speak from experience. I suggest you might contact
Michelle (the VitaLady). She's a distal RNY who's been on the other side
for years. She is an honest gal with great perspective and insight. She
has several information sheets on different aspects of WLS that she can
e-mail to you that you may find helpful. Also just speaking with someone
who knows how to successfully use the tool of WLS long term is wonderful.
Good luck to you.
— Shelly S.
March 15, 2002
I do believe it is harder to gain back the weight than it would be on a
diet, but that does not mean it's impossible! Even with my extremely
distal procedure (DS), if I really really worked at it, I could probably
start gaining weight back. If I stopped all activity, and ate the
quantities of sugar that I would *like* to be eating, yeah - i probably
could gain. Like you, I vowed that if I could just find a way to help get
the weight off, I would do what I had to do to keep it off. Making that
sincere promise was easy, living it is harder than I would like. I remain
a food addict and recognize that for me, I will probably fight food every
day of my life. The difference is that having had the surgery, I feel like
I am winning the fight, rather than losing! -Kate- (21 months post-op)
— kateseidel
March 15, 2002
A.S., Its impossible to gain the weight back. You can gain some of it
back, and I have read of some that gain back 10 or 15, if they don't watch
it, but you will never be 200 or 300 or more pounds again. If you have the
RNY, you should experience dumping if you try to eat high fat or sugars,
which is usually what got us fat in the first place. The dumping will act
as behavior modification to keep you from trying to sabotage yourself. And
the amounts you can eat are so much less. No more 2nds and 3rds, or eating
the whole cake or bag of cookies or an entire Whopper.
But, please, don't have this surgery unless you have made the committment
to TRY to use the pouch correctly. You still have to watch what you eat,
take vitamins for life, and drink lots of water. It can be a pain
sometimes, but in exchange, you will have a healthy, normal weighted body.
Now isn't that worth it??!
— Cindy R.
March 15, 2002
The first answer I saw to this was Cindy's and I knew without looking that
she was a pre-op. No offense, but you CAN gain it back if you are not
careful and RNY is no guarantee that you will dump so you may or may NOT
have that as behavior modification. I personally, hardly ever dump and if
I do not watch what I eat my weight DOES go up. Now, having said that, you
still have a tool in place that you didn't have before so, even if you do
regain, it is easier to get it off again if you once again begin using your
tool and following the "rules" of protein, water and excercise so
you still have an advantage that you wouldn't have had before surgery.
While it is true that some lose all their weight without much effort, there
are many of us who get close but not all the way to goal and will have to
forever watch what and the amounts we eat. Also, grazing can defeat the
surgery as well as consuming high calorie liquids or anything that turns to
liquid in your pouch (say, for instance, chocolate). This post was not to
bash Cindy but I just found it alarming that she stated so definately that
it is IMPOSSIBLE to gain weight and you WILL have dumping because that's
not accurate. I don't want this to come off sounding mean because that's
truly not my intent, I just want to be honest and accurate. Thanks.
— Kellye C.
March 15, 2002
Cindy is not a pre-op Kelly.
— Faith Pureson
March 15, 2002
You may have some "technical difficulties" that could cause
weight gain, up to where you started, and then some. I know personally. I
had a VBG in 1984, lost to goal, and 2.5 years later started gaining.
Gained back up to where I started (246) and climbed to 355 after 2
difficult pregnancies in 3 years. I revised to RNY in April 2000. I can
personally say from my experience that the RNY MAKES you change your eating
habits because of malabsorption and dumping. With the VBG I could still
eat foods high in sugar, and got into a binge/purge mode because I never
changed my relationship with food. Vomiting with the RNY is MUCH MORE
DIFFICULT than with the VBG, and I avoid it like the plague. I still dump
even at almost two years post-op, and am glad for it. Eating does become
easier the further post-op you are, and you should expect to keep as close
to the high protein/low carb diet as possible. I have seen myself add 5
pounds when I eat more carbs and slack on protein, water, and exercise.
But 5 pounds sets off an alarm that tells me to get my butt back to basics.
Just remember that it is a tool, and monitor yourself for personal or
mechanical difficulties. Good luck on April 8!
— [Deactivated Member]
March 15, 2002
Cindy, my sincere apologies for the pre-op comment. I briefly pulled up
your profile, saw where you had your first consultation in January and have
to admit I didn't go further. I assumed and I assumed incorrectly. I am
sorry. I do stand behind the rest of my answer about it being impossible
to regain and the dumping but I have never been one to bash, always one to
admit when I'm wrong and I feel the beginning of my answer was out of line
and should have been deleted by me. I apologize Cindy and thank you Faith
for pointing out my error.
— Kellye C.
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