summerset

Jokes aside. I guess one really can't win in this "moral battle" when it comes to losing weight with WLS. My own impression is that people think we're not "deserving" of a weight loss method that makes things actually easier than conventional weight loss and this is not necessarily about vanity. "Fat" has become a moral issue long ago. We must suffer to make up for the sin of becoming obese, therefore we don't deserve WLS.

Well, I'm not really sure what to tell you. I absolutely can understand your worries about failing. A 100 lbs loss is definitely not "failing" though I can absolutely understand that it feels like failure if you're still very overweight after having lost these 100 lbs. Revisions can be successful but there is no guarantee for it. Many banders seems to do better with the bypass (maybe because of the GI-altering method?) but then there is the fact that revision patients often don't lose that much weight and they lose a lot slower to begin with. I fear that nobody will be able to tell if you will lose another substantial amount of weight or not.

This is a sensitive subject, isn't it? At least I try to be sensitive about it as much as possible but I have to admit I'm obviously not that successful at it. I have to admit that I think (e. g. when I look at before/after pictures at this site) that the thinner person looks better than the fatter version of the same person. I also think of myself as better looking now. Maybe this is why I hate these before/after comparisons and maybe this is why I hate comments about my weight. It throws me into a kind of inner conflict.

I couldn't agree more. Maybe we can convince insurance companies as well?

Me, too - want to know why? 1) I didn't want people to be on my back for "doing this about looks", even though this weight was killing my soul because I felt like the "fat freak". 2) It was about health after all, so it wasn't technically a lie. and last but not least (in fact maybe most important): 3) You simply have to pretend that this is "about health only" because of the insurance companies. And "health" means physical health only in that case, not psychological health which is a shame. Same with plastics: Will I have plastics? Of course I will once my weight has been stable for a while again. There is the prevention of regain, that's a very important point. So is it because of physical health? Hell, yes - it's about regain prevention, but it's also about psychological health! This is about looks and feeling good within my body without getting skin in the way while exercising or sitting down or whatever and being able to wear a skirt or dress without having to wear pants underneath so the skin between my thighs won't rub itself to death. Of course when it comes to insurance my one and only point will be the prevention of regain and the occasional rash (which most likely means that I'll be a self-payer abroad).

Depends. There are carbs that provide "volume" in the pouch, e. g. non-watery fruit like bananas, bread, pasta, pizza etc. - you should feel the restriction with these. When it comes to "low-volume" or more or less liquid carbs, e. g. chocolate, ice cream, cookies etc. - you can eat quite a lot of calories and you won't feel that full.

Lower right abdomen? Do you still have your appendix by any chance?

1800 cals a day is not much for a guy your height and weight. Do you exercise?

That's why it might be worth thinking about pouch size or pizza size first before jumping to whatever conclusions. You are definitely not a psychiatrist who's able to decide if someone needs therapy or not.

Ah, come on... carbs may be sliding down easier than very protein rich foods (they do, no question about that) but it's not like you're getting no restriction at all from foods like pasta, bread or pizza so you can binge your way into oblivion the moment a carb manages to get into your pouch.

Don't know. If you ate that pizza in a "usual time frame" it's really a bit weird that you could eat the whole thing (if it wasn't a mini pizza) without a problem.

There was way more of this:

Peri-operative diet is usually the concern of the surgeon. What boggles my mind is that there is still no best standard available, neither for the peri-operative nutrition nor for long term nutrition. What all nutrition guidelines seem to have in common is "drink enough water and take your vitamins and minerals". Apart from this... nothing.

Just like you were able to stick to a strict diet before WLS? It's quite common for people on a diet to "fall off the wagon". In fact that's what usually happening with a very few exceptions. What might hopefully be helping is working out a plan that actually works long term for you (regardless of what other people might be thinking what should be right for you).

You should have been here a few months ago.

I don't know if you're meant to be skinny or not but I believe that there are people who're not meant to be skinny just like there are people who're not meant to be obese just like there are people who're short and like there are people who're tall. I think when we look around in our environment we can spot the "skinny one" who eats larger amounts of food and exercises less than we would expect someone that size. And then there are the "skinny ones" who eat smaller amounts of food than someone would expect and who exercises a lot and basically dedicate a lot of time to "being skinny" or are outright obsessed with food and weight and exercise. I personally think the later are "not made to be skinny". That doesn't mean they can't be skinny, however, they need to invest way more time and energy into being skinny, sometimes to the point of obsession. Others who aren't meant to be skinny won't get skinny investing the same amount of time and energy but are forever obsessed with "losing these last 5 or 10 lbs".

What is you describe is one of the reasons that I always cringe when a user talks about "starting this new life". The life after WLS is not a new life. Of course there are changes and for some people it might really be life altering, depending on the level of (physical) impairment they were experiencing because of their weight. However, when you're already holding a full-time job and/or have a spouse or family there might not be that much change at all. The job is still boring or exhausting, the husband comes home late from work, the wife is nagging too much, the kids are still getting on your nerves, you're still short of money, that damn knee is still hurting etc. The health benefit is a really big one though if you're experiencing it. Don't play it down.

A revision won't cure mindless eating (I guess you're already well aware of this) but it can help with reflux issues. I got a revision to bypass myself and reflux issues got way better. If you're having reflux issues a surgeon will usually advice against a sleeve.

double post

And... fat?

Honestly? If with insurance and waiting time it's the same amount of money you have to pay (or even more) I wouldn't bother with insurance. There's not guarantee they will approve you after all the hassle. However, when calculating your costs you should think about all the costs that are likely coming up (e. g. what about complications? follow-up? pre-op check-ups), not only the surgery itself.

Is it your hunger that came back or your appetite?

If you continue losing at this rate you will be at 100 lbs within 1 year. There is nothing bad about this.

Just another company out of countless others trying to sell a new product for profit. Not better or worse than other advertisement. I don't know if you're overreacting. I'd like to see a lot of existing advertisements gone myself (out of the pure egoistic reason that it gets on my nerves) so I hear you. From another perspective I don't see why you're so worked up about this particular advertisement. It's just one single more questionable product that is advertised to maximize profit. Advertisement is not about ethics or responsibility. Otherwise we wouldn't have advertisement that promotes tobacco, alcohol, big gas guzzling cars, foods that come out of factory farming etc. - It's about profit and money only. What I consider much worse is when products are advertised as "healthy" when in fact they're anything but.

Depends on your surgeon. The opinions on this differ.