Just a question for you all...because it's been rolling around in my head and I want to get someone else's perspective.

If I am doing well and losing weight on my own, (watching calories and staying very low carb) WHY can't I just continue doing this and NOT have another surgery (had a lap bad that had to be removed a year ago).

I keep thinking of the cost...and thinking I SHOULD be able to control myself save myself the pain of surgery as well as save my family the cost of it. However, I KNOW that if I could have done it, I would have already. But as we all know...WLS doesn't fix the brain. What if I have finally figured out how to do that part?? Could I just lose it myself?? Without surgery??

Just my rambling thoughts and doubts....any insight???

Give it a try for awhile. If it doesn't work out, the sleeve will always be there. If it does, kudos to you! I got the sleeve because I always regain. If you have a solid plan to master regain, then I say give it a go!

I think all of us can lose it on our own, it's keeping it off that's a problem. I have lost weight many times only to regain more eventually.

If you have a body that genetically wants to be fat, it's a scientific fact that it will fight you every day of your life to regain that fat. The only way to keep it off, other than surgery, is live an extreme lifestyle of suffering everyday.

Surgery is the only way to relax and live normally. It's just a choice of how you want to live. Life is short and I'm already 48 so I choose surgery.

Yep, you can do it yourself. All it takes is constant diligence, self control and will power. Oh, wait, it's the LACK of just those things that got us in this mess in the first place.

I found that not only did I lack the self control but that things conspired against me. The are THOUSANDS of restaurants out there all serving larger and larger portions seemingly getting larger every year. food is cheap and abundant and high calorie, high carbs is the main ticket.

Maybe you CAN do it yourself, ME, I couldn't. I needed HELP, and that came in the form of a weight loss surgery called a VSG. It's just a tool, not a cure all. After the forced restriction due to swelling of the remaining stomach wore off I STILL have to watch what I eat and make smart decisions. Luckily the FULL restriction lasted only 6 moths or so. By then I learned to eat right and lost a LOT of weight. I no longer face that grueling hunger I used to have, no longer crave everything under the sun and get full really fast - something I just NEVER used to get - FULL.

So yes it is possible but hard. WLS is NOT the easy way out but it IS a viable way out. One that worked for me and thousands of others.

Yeah, Caradina..the regain scares the **** out of me!! I've lost various amounts of weight before but always regained it. Just another part of the puzzle....sigh!

Hey Cherry, do you know where I'd find the science behind what you said...

"If you have a body that genetically wants to be fat, it's a scientific fact that it will fight you every day of your life to regain that fat."

That totally makes sense and it how I've always felt. I completely take after my father's side of the family...Very strong Norweign stock...lol. Most of them were morbidly obese, fighting diabetes etc. And I've always felt like my body fights me when it comes to losing weight. It really really likes to be fat!!

Rootman...I totally agree with what you said, I know WHY I got here. I just keep thinking..."maybe THIS time it will work" I know, I know, I'm probably beating my head against a brick wall.

Hey Cherry, do you know where I'd find the science behind what you said...

"If you have a body that genetically wants to be fat, it's a scientific fact that it will fight you every day of your life to regain that fat."

I will absolutely try to find it for you. I read it several places in my pre-surgery research and that helped to cement my decision. It was not just talked about in an article or blogs, it was medical and scientific research explaining why this happens. I will forward on to you any of the links I can re-find.

Cherry, Thank you so much!!

Someone the other day posted an article called The Fat Trap.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/tara-parker-pope-fat-trap.html?pagewanted=all

Very interesting.

Definitely interesting! And totally explains why after they removed my band I just couldn't seem to eat enough and the weight just piled right back on!

To back up some of Cherry's post, evolutionarally speaking, a lineage with some sort of famine or hunger adapts later on to hold onto as much fat as possible in order to avoid starvation. Genetically, this would mean that one's body holds on and gains very easily to prevent this from happening. Seeing as most of our ancestors experienced some sort of famine at one point or another, many of us are genetically adapted to gain and hold weight.