In my opinion WLS is a magic bullet. It is the game changer when it comes to losing excess weight and maintaining the new weight.
We don't always succeed on the first try. Sometimes people need a second try or maybe even a third. Inadequate weight loss after lap band is quite common, revision to bypass also and many patients do quite good after revision. Maybe you want to do a quick medline search about this.
You're now a few years older and more experienced. Maybe you're now being able to handle problematic things in your life differently. You might also be more disciplined now when it comes to certain things. Think about your younger self and compare it to your now-self. I'm sure you're able to handle things way smoother than you did e. g. 10 years ago. The same can be true for this whole weight loss thing.
Of course there is the chance that you might fail again. There is always the chance of failing, doesn't matter if it's weight loss, learning a new language or performing at your job.
If we couldn't make these changes before any WLS at all, why is it possible for so many people after they had WLS? It just is because WLS is the game changer. Lapband is different. It doesn't provide the same hormonal changes a bypass does.
I always cringe when I read or hear this. "Dedicated". "Eliminate". "Avoid". Same with "struggling", "fighting" or "food is the enemy" etc. - being at war is so damn exhausting. Make peace with food. It's easier in the long run.
If you don't white-knuckle things you might discover something interesting: not all lifestyle changes are a struggle or need dedication in the long run. You might indeed discover (or re-discover if you were into sports in younger years) that exercise can be fun and fulfilling. Or that healthier food doesn't taste that bad. Or the opposite around, that this junk food is actually not as tasty as you always thought it is. You might discover, that when you feel more comfortable in your body and with yourself that you don't feel that need to eat in the same strong and overwhelming way. You might notice that you say "No, thanks but I don't want it now" when you get offered French fries or chocolate or whatever and really mean it.
However, there are many people who aren't able to maintain their "new lifestyle". I have no idea what makes or breaks this. I sometimes have thoughts in the back of my head that maybe some people are just lucky in reacting very good to WLS and don't actually need to watch their intake that much. They also don't live in the gym. When you browse around the board you're going to notice that maintenance calorie intake is very different in different people, even though their stats are quite similar.
Nobody can tell if WLS/revision to bypass is making it easy (or less hard) for you or not. I sometimes feel it's like playing the lottery. You won't know to what group of patients you will belong before you got the revision.
Short term weight loss doesn't really bring some benefits (someone correct me if I'm wrong please), however, one doesn't have to get to a normal weight to reap the benefit of weight loss. So many patients feel like "failures" because they don't get to a normal BMI. Yet, when you look at the studies actually not that much patients ever get down to a normal BMI.
And sh*t on "eliminating carbs". Like really take a big dump on it. (Years ago we should eliminate all fats, now it's carbs. I wonder what the future will bring.)
