My friend had gastric bypass and she said I didn't have bypass surgery to be on a diet forever but learn to eat more healthier,learn portion control ect.. She said she still will eat anything she wants as long as she can but portion size it. Like normal food you serve your families. She said she don't want to deprive herself of bad foods as well because everyone deserves a treat here and there. Just wondering your thoughts??

I think you can learn portion control and to eat healthier w/o having surgery. Weight Watchers is great for that! Make me wonder what her priority was to lose wight--cause if it was to become healthy she may not truly accomplish that.

I *can* eat eat most things post op, but the direction is to eat Protein forward for life-- that's the plan and I'm sticking to it.Sure I've eaten other things, but I'm keeping my protein at the forefront of everything,

And I eat "normal food I serve my family". IE last night I made shrimp fettuccine Alfredo. I only ate the shrimp, and made it using cream of mushroom soup/milk as the sauce, vs. actual Alfredo sauce. I'm not eating anything drastically different than they are...I just modify my plate.

I can only speak from my personal experience.

Having bypass does not mean dieting forever, it means you will be required to change how you eat and what you eat forever. No more diets, it is just how you operate.

In the beginning bypass ensures you follow a high Protein, low carb diet. It almost forces you to by sheer design. You actually feel better when you eat good quality protein and good carbs like vegetables and fruit.

If you eat too much sugar, processed foods, bread, rice, Pasta, you actually feel like crap, so you learn what makes you feel good and that is what you eat. You also learn that the right nutrients make you feel better as well.

Now, as time goes by you can eat pretty much anything you want, by this time hopefully you have learned a lot about nutrition and what makes you feel good. You will have built good eating habits.

Having a few bites of something you crave like chocolate, ice cream, pie, etc is not going to kill you but it is a slippery slope because if you start to do that on a regular basis several times a day, you will start to gain weight and break all the good habits you hVe built up.

I am 13 months post op today. I can eat almost anything I want. When I have tried a bite of a chocolate chip cookie, it is actually gross. I have found that I just simply don't care for crap food any longer. I absolutely refuse to eat fast food of any kind, it tastes terrible, I just cannot stand the taste of processed foods so I simply don't buy them.

My one vice, I still love cheesecake so every once in a while I will buy a piece of my favorite and will eat 2 or 3 bites and put the rest away for some other time. But this is a special occasion only. I buy this because if I were to make it that whole cheesecake would be in my home. I am not stupid enough to do that to myself.

My point, there is a lot of change that comes with having bypass. I do not diet. Instead of living to eat, I eat to live. Food just isn't that big a deal anymore. I still enjoy eating but for me I enjoy eating foods that offer me the best energy and those that make my tummy happy.

I hope this makes some sense.

I'm not having bypass but I'm hoping to learn the same habits that djmohr talks about

If you eat too much sugar, processed foods, bread, rice, Pasta, you actually feel like crap, so you learn what makes you feel good and that is what you eat. You also learn that the right nutrients make you feel better as well.

My point, there is a lot of change that comes with having bypass. I do not diet. Instead of living to eat, I eat to live. food just isn't that big a deal anymore. I still enjoy eating but for me I enjoy eating foods that offer me the best energy and those that make my tummy happy.

Amen to all of this. More than ever before, eating the wrong types of foods makes me feel terrible. I hate that so I avoid those foods, always. My cravings for fresh fruits and veggies have increased, which is a good thing.

And I wholeheartedly agree with food not being that big of a deal anymore. It is so so great to not have food controlling my life the way it did in the past. I feel freedom.

This is a direct quote from my surgeon and how he opens the informational seminars. "There is only one, lifelong, successful tool for treating morbid obesity, bariatric surgery" He goes on, and feel free to read the latest in JAMA these numbers are real, Weight Watchers, system wide, has a 8% success rate. That is not winning. You may do well for a month, or a year, but it's just another yo-yo diet.

Even a Bypass is not a cure, it is a tool. My best friend went through this 10 or so years ago, and has yet to create a drop of sweat due to exercise. So he went from 700 lbs to his current and sustained for the last eight years 400 lbs. He eats whatever he wants, when he wants. He does not dump. His ass, gives him a hard time occasionally, but that is most likely diet. He is dying. He is chronically anemic, in fact it is so bad, the ONLY way he can get Iron is to go sit for a one hour slow infusion of iron at the hospital 3 days a week every 3 weeks. He's on 250,000 IU of Vitamin D and still low. As are a number of other Vitamins and minerals. Does he take a multi? Nope. He's just waiting to die at this point.

So, your friend had a bypass and is not going to make the deep changes needed for success. There are a lot of people who lose weight and gain it all back, only now they get to take supplements for life. You can fail at this too if you are unwilling to put the work in.

Portion control works well in the early stages but the pouch stretches over time. You have to limit yourself to what you are supposed to eat.

The future for your friend does not bode well. She should see a therapist and fast, to get over her food issues, she still has it in her to be a success, but with her current attitude, sadly, and not to be a negative nelly, but she does not sound like she will be.

Edited October 28, 201510 yr by winklie

I will say I did weight watchers and that did not help me ..not one bit!! So I can see where the 8% comes in and easier said than done with portion control and eating healthier. I just started so I have no clue really but I don't want you guys thinking she's sitting There eating pizza every night lol not the case. At her point right now she will make her family chicken pot pies/ chicken and rice/ steak and veges/eggplant parm ect... She puts her little side for her. But she does occasionally will have fast food if she out and about or working late. Until this site I didn't think what she was doing was wrong but that's why I wanted your thoughts. She's still losing and she looks great so idk

I will say I did weight watchers and that did not help me ..not one bit!! So I can see where the 8% comes in and easier said than done with portion control and eating healthier. I just started so I have no clue really but I don't want you guys thinking she's sitting There eating pizza every night lol not the case. At her point right now she will make her family chicken pot pies/ chicken and rice/ steak and veges/eggplant parm ect... She puts her little side for her. But she does occasionally will have fast food if she out and about or working late. Until this site I didn't think what she was doing was wrong but that's why I wanted your thoughts. She's still losing and she looks great so idk

I will caution you that comparing yourself to others is dangerous. Mostly because we don't have the whole story. Maybe her portion of the chicken pot pie is the insides with mostly chicken, maybe not. If what she is doing is working for her, great. All you can do is focus on yourself.

Are you following your surgeon's program?

Are you getting in all of your Protein and fluids?

Are you taking your recommended Vitamins and supplements?

Are you exercising?

I will say I did weight watchers and that did not help me ..not one bit!! So I can see where the 8% comes in and easier said than done with portion control and eating healthier. I just started so I have no clue really but I don't want you guys thinking she's sitting There eating pizza every night lol not the case. At her point right now she will make her family chicken pot pies/ chicken and rice/ steak and veges/eggplant parm ect... She puts her little side for her. But she does occasionally will have fast food if she out and about or working late. Until this site I didn't think what she was doing was wrong but that's why I wanted your thoughts. She's still losing and she looks great so idk

I will caution you that comparing yourself to others is dangerous. Mostly because we don't have the whole story. Maybe her portion of the chicken pot pie is the insides with mostly chicken, maybe not. If what she is doing is working for her, great. All you can do is focus on yourself.

Are you following your surgeon's program?

Are you getting in all of your Protein and fluids?

Are you taking your recommended Vitamins and supplements?

Are you exercising?

@@Inner Surfer Girl

I don't think the OP has had any surgery, I think she was just asking a question about her friend. That is how my reply was written, it may have sounded a bit harsh but to someone who knows nothing of the surgical approach, I was trying to get as much information across in as short a post as possible.

Oh no same surgeon and yes I had it about three weeks ago. So same meal plan but she's a lot further out than I am just getting people's thoughts . Oh no problem being harsh I appreciate any feedback but does not Intimidate me whatsoever not being mean but hey we all had issues being overweight and unhealthy all our lives and there were plenty of people that might of been harsh and criticizing us on how we were throwing Pizza and fast food in our face did we listen nope unfortunately some people it takes time and she is still getting there but doing great in the process hey could be worse she could still be were she was prior to surgery only eating junk.