Question:
Reading about alot of people with excessive weight gain in post op ? whats up ?
My friend just told me that a good friend of his , the mother and daughter both had bypass surgery 4-5yrs ago and now their both bigger than a house.. I know this is a tool and obviously they did'nt follow instructions, but Im also reading here on these posts that quite a few are having problems, My question is are we more prone to weight gain because our stomach's have such a small pouch that it will be easier to gain weight and it come back 10fold if it does ? — barry l. (posted on January 30, 2010)
January 30, 2010
The weight loss surgery is a tool. It assists you to lose weight. You can
override the surgery easily if you do not deal with the psychological
reasons that you over eat. The sugery uses restriction and malabsorbtion of
food. If you eat too fast you have pain and vomit, If you eat sugery or
fatty foods, you have dumping. Dumping is sweating, discomfort possible
diarrhea. It should be less easy to gain weight with a pouch, not more.
Therw is a physiological need to eat more after losing weight. Their body
thinks it has been starving. We tend to gain more weight back after having
lost weight. Our body has a 'set point' it wants to go to that is a higher
weight than the weight we started at. That is why the yo-yo dieting we have
done for years set us up for failure. The majority of the people who have
weight loss surgery maintain at least some lasting weight loss even if it
is not their ideal weight. The surger only clams to help you lose a
percentage of you excess weight. Hopefully, your health will have improved
at that point.
— MargaretHM
January 31, 2010
Good question. I actually posed this same question to the PA (not surgeon)
when I went in for my 7 month checkup. I wanted to clarify that I got this
information from my PA instead of surgeon, because I don't want people
attacking "him" for his opinions (which have happened before) ...
imagine that ? lol ... ! That clarified, he assured me that nothing in the
"change" of our anatomy make us more prone to "gain"
weight after the honeymoon is over. It actually is our tool to utilize
forever in eating smaller potions, and using behavorial modification with
our eating disorder. He said that from their experiences, that the
majority of people who regain (usually after 3 years) are the ones who go
back to their old eating habits, start eating sugar and fat and testing
their pouches and eventually getting their pouch to once again
"accept" those type of foods, and "stop" or don't
exercise as much as they did in the first 3 years. His views from most of
their surgeries, are that the pouch "rarely" stretches and that
they use the most durable part of the stomach to make the pouch. When they
have done endoscopies on people who are regaining, they normally find that
the pouch is the same size as it was at surgery. Normally is the key word.
I'm sure there are those "rare" incidents. Now this may not be
true with "all" WLS or RMY surgeries performed by others, just
the views and experiences with my particular doctor's office. I have had
great results along my journey and really "toot" his horn every
chance I get. He knows his stuff.
With that said, I came away with a "renewed" spirit about my tool
and regardless of what I hear from others, I now realize that the SUCCESS
of my surgery is ultimately up to me. I am trying very hard to change my
eating habits, don't graze all day ... eat nutritious foods vs. crap food,
and poirtion control .... portion control. Exercise is also important
because ultimately what this is ALL ABOUT is calories in ..... calories out
..... total calories per day!!
— happypeach
January 31, 2010
I agree with what the other posters have said. I am 17 months out now, and
although I haven't gained any weight back, I have slowed down quite a bit.
And while that is to be expected eventually, I know a lot of it is because
I have started grazing more. While the pouch can only hold so much (and it
is difficult, but not impossible, to stretch out), it only holds the food
for so long. And if the food is a "slider" food (yogurt,
possibly cottage cheese, etc.) that has a high volume of liquid in it, it
doesn't stay there very long, meaning you are hungrier sooner. Also, you
can always drink your calories (shakes, fruit juices, etc.), which go right
through as well. As you get further out from your surgery, you become more
complacent, and start getting away from those "rules" you were
given, thinking "this one time won't matter". However, that one
time turns into two, and then three, and then you are back to your old
habits! It is important to remember those "rules", revisit your
old journals or doctor's instructions, check in on the message boards,
share your difficulties - it is difficult to change a lifetime of bad
habits. Just remember, don't drink 30 minutes before or after a meal (and
never with a meal), eat slowly and chew your food thoroughly, no grazing or
unplanned eating, protein first! (and at least 60 grams a day - I
personally get in 100 grams a day so I don't lose muscle mass), and
exercise at least 30 minutes a day. If you stick to the rules, you
shouldn't have a problem! Now to practice what I preach : )
— Wendy M.
February 1, 2010
Teh samll pouch makes eating large amounts of food hard. It makes losing
weight quickly easy. Then the hunger and cravings return and you need to
have a plan in place to deal with these feelings. People find they want to
be NORMAL and fit in. so the find ways to eat more than they should. the
pouch will strech over time if abused. Some people have a need for a
revision. It is all about Overcoming emotional eating patterns. A therapist
is recommended to help with this.
— trible
February 3, 2010
I am six years post-op. I started out at 325, got down to 162, but really
feel that 170 was my natural weight. Over the past three years I have
gained 60 pounds, but I have to honestly say it was due to my poor eating
habits. I began to eat the exact same things that put me at 325 to begin
with. After hitting 230 pounds at Christmas, I went back to basics (75
grams of protein, small portions) and have lost 18 of those pounds within a
month. I also recently had an ulcer that needed to be treated, so during
the procedure I asked the gastroenterologist to tell me how big my pouch
was. He said that it was about 1/5 the size of a regular stomach, and that
typically the pouches do not stretch significantly over time because of the
area of stomach that is used to make the pouch. (And believe me, I have
been totally STUFFED MANY times - I cannot believe that it hasn't stretched
more.) Now that I am keeping my protein up and eating small portions, I
find that I am totally satisfied with the small portions and feel full.
The protein is the key though - if I don't get it in, I get the hungries.
I recently started a Jazzercise class, so hopefully the other 42 pounds
will come off fairly quickly as well.
— raye
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