Is weight loss surgery even a good idea for those who don't over eat?

[Angieee 12]

I ate about 1400 calories per day and see a nutritionist about the content of food I eat. I'm still obese. I've been eating extremely healthy for the last four years with Portion Control and still never lost any weight unless I completely starved (500 calories per day).

I've posted here before about wanting to get the surgery but now I'm not so sure. I have no food addiction and don't over eat. I have no issue sticking with a diet.

I'm not so sure this would be the right procedure for me at all. My heaviest weight was 230 pounds and I am 213 and can't lose anything at all. My body tries to put on weight when I skip a day at the gym even.

I'm not sure what to do. Is the surgery for folks with a food issue primarily and does it not work otherwise?

[SpartanMaker 1,465]

Only you can decide if surgery is right for you, but if you are obese, you overeat... full stop.

One fundamental rule of weight loss is that you cannot break the laws of thermodynamics. If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you'll lose weight and if you eat more calories than you burn, you'll gain weight.

I know some people don't like to hear that, or think it doesn't apply to them, but physics is physics. You can't add body mass unless those calories are in excess of the number your body needs to keep you alive.

Look at it like this: your body burns a certain number of calories per day. It's not exactly the same every day, but for most folks, it stays fairly consistent. The problem is in your case, you stated you only eat 1400 calories a day. That number alone is completely meaningless. Because weight loss, weight maintenance, or weight gain are all about energy balance, you also have to also know how many calories you burn in a day. If you are gaining weight on 1400 calories per day, there are only two possibilities:

• You are underestimating how much you actually eat. I know you probably think you're being accurate, but underestimation is incredibly common. Study after study shows that almost everyone underestimates how much they actually eat, even if they think they are accurately measuring everything. Part of that is measurement error, part is variation in foods, part is failure to count certain parts of a meal, part is "eyeballing" foods, and part is due to inaccurate calorie listings. The bottom line is that calorie counting is hard and often not nearly as accurate as we like to think.
• You may have an exceptionally low resting metabolic rate. As I said, 1400 calories consumed per day is irrelevant because you don't actually know how many calories you burn in a day. Since the basic principle here is you have to consume less than you burn per day to lose weight, 1400 calories consumed doesn't matter if you don't also know how many calories you are burning.

Let's move on to how surgery works. Bariatric surgery works primarily by simply limiting how much someone can eat. Yes, there are also hormonal changes, but those are about satiety, so in your case, those may be less important. There is also some reduction in intake calories through reduced absorption (yes, even in sleeve surgery), but that's a fairly minor component overall.

At the end of the day, this is no different than weight loss drugs like GLP-1s, or even diets. They are all designed to reduce calorie intake. If you truly have no problems dieting, then it sounds like you need to just reduce your calorie intake until you start losing at a sustainable rate. You need to forget what someone may have told you about how many calories you're "supposed to" eat to lose weight, because it sounds like that whatever that number was, it's not the correct number for you.

Once you're losing at about a 2-3% per month rate, just stay there until you reach your goal weight. This should be simple for you since you said you have no problems sticking to a diet.

Best of luck.

[AmberFL 1,122]

I am going to tag @Lilia_90 her story is similar and she might have some good insight!

[WendyJane 102]

Obesity is a disease. As that being your mindset, it is a chronic long lasting disease and despite the loss of weight and a healthier you, obesity is still in the background. You need to treat the disease like any other chronic disease. Exercise even just walking is movement. You also need to focus on Protein as your primary source of intake as it gives you a full feeling for longer than any other macronutrient. You may be eating carbohydrates, I eat none and am losing at a steady rate, and I just had the surgery after years of dieting. I am no longer in the diet mentality but rather focused on an overall healthier me. By following the dieticians and surgeons steps in the diet pre and post op I have been able to lose quite a bit in a short amount of time. Surgery is NOT the solution, but it is another tool for those with the chronic disease of obesity. The decision is yours and yours alone, but I wish I could have had this surgery earlier in my life. I would already be where I want to be. If you are seeking more information, there are Youtube videos out by BariNation that you can view to get a different perspective. This years push is being an advocate about stopping shame and stigma, but earlier videos focus on mindset, so you don't have the emotional eating, the eating while being bored, and how to get over the holidays and eating the right foods. Take a look and I wish you the best on your journey.

[Angieee 12]

1 hour ago, SpartanMaker said:

Only you can decide if surgery is right for you, but if you are obese, you overeat... full stop.

One fundamental rule of weight loss is that you cannot break the laws of thermodynamics. If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you'll lose weight and if you eat more calories than you burn, you'll gain weight.

I know some people don't like to hear that, or think it doesn't apply to them, but physics is physics. You can't add body mass unless those calories are in excess of the number your body needs to keep you alive.

Look at it like this: your body burns a certain number of calories per day. It's not exactly the same every day, but for most folks, it stays fairly consistent. The problem is in your case, you stated you only eat 1400 calories a day. That number alone is completely meaningless. Because weight loss, weight maintenance, or weight gain are all about energy balance, you also have to also know how many calories you burn in a day. If you are gaining weight on 1400 calories per day, there are only two possibilities:

• You are underestimating how much you actually eat. I know you probably think you're being accurate, but underestimation is incredibly common. Study after study shows that almost everyone underestimates how much they actually eat, even if they think they are accurately measuring everything. Part of that is measurement error, part is variation in foods, part is failure to count certain parts of a meal, part is "eyeballing" foods, and part is due to inaccurate calorie listings. The bottom line is that calorie counting is hard and often not nearly as accurate as we like to think.
• You may have an exceptionally low resting metabolic rate. As I said, 1400 calories consumed per day is irrelevant because you don't actually know how many calories you burn in a day. Since the basic principle here is you have to consume less than you burn per day to lose weight, 1400 calories consumed doesn't matter if you don't also know how many calories you are burning.

Let's move on to how surgery works. Bariatric surgery works primarily by simply limiting how much someone can eat. Yes, there are also hormonal changes, but those are about satiety, so in your case, those may be less important. There is also some reduction in intake calories through reduced absorption (yes, even in sleeve surgery), but that's a fairly minor component overall.

At the end of the day, this is no different than weight loss drugs like GLP-1s, or even diets. They are all designed to reduce calorie intake. If you truly have no problems dieting, then it sounds like you need to just reduce your calorie intake until you start losing at a sustainable rate. You need to forget what someone may have told you about how many calories you're "supposed to" eat to lose weight, because it sounds like that whatever that number was, it's not the correct number for you.

Once you're losing at about a 2-3% per month rate, just stay there until you reach your goal weight. This should be simple for you since you said you have no problems sticking to a diet.

Best of luck.

I'm going to be completely honest with you. I am not over eating. I have been weighing my food on a scale for the last four years. My obesity is presumably caused by a PCOS variant though doctors have failed to identify and diagnose me due to me not having every symptom. 15 years ago I was a size 8 jean and ate much more than I do today. Even ten years ago I still ate fast-food. I haven't eaten at a fast food restaurant in 6 years. I prepare my meals and I drink plenty of Water. I am very careful.

[SpartanMaker 1,465]

1 hour ago, Angieee said:

I'm going to be completely honest with you. I am not over eating. I have been weighing my food on a scale for the last four years. My obesity is presumably caused by a PCOS variant though doctors have failed to identify and diagnose me due to me not having every symptom. 15 years ago I was a size 8 jean and ate much more than I do today. Even ten years ago I still ate fast-food. I haven't eaten at a fast food restaurant in 6 years. I prepare my meals and I drink plenty of Water. I am very careful.

That's not how this works. You're basing how much you should be eating on some external factor, whether it's what someone told you is the right amount, or based on past experiences. Neither of those things matter AT ALL.

PCOS has 2 potential impacts on your body when it comes to weight gain: It can make you eat more and it can also slow your metabolism. That latter point is critical here. It means you may have to eat a lot less than someone without that disease.

If you REALLY want to know how much you should be eating, I would strongly urge you to go get a metabolic test. These are available in most major cities, either at larger universities, or via a commercial provider.

If you keep insisting that you're able to put on weight, but don't overeat, then I'm afraid you're going to continue to suffer from the disease that is obesity. I don't say this to be mean. Sometimes the truth hurts, but you can't magically break the basic laws of physics just because you don't like them.

[GreenTealael 25,624]

13 hours ago, Angieee said:

I ate about 1400 calories per day and see a nutritionist about the content of food I eat. I'm still obese. I've been eating extremely healthy for the last four years with Portion Control and still never lost any weight unless I completely starved (500 calories per day).

I've posted here before about wanting to get the surgery but now I'm not so sure. I have no food addiction and don't over eat. I have no issue sticking with a diet.

I'm not so sure this would be the right procedure for me at all. My heaviest weight was 230 pounds and I am 213 and can't lose anything at all. My body tries to put on weight when I skip a day at the gym even.

I'm not sure what to do. Is the surgery for folks with a food issue primarily and does it not work otherwise?

I never had a food addiction, never had any food related issues and WLS worked (for me) by managing whatever metabolic dysfunction I had.
My heaviest was 250 lbs and I am now ~ 150lbs for the past 7+ years. Not battling a food addiction probably set me up to have an easier journey.
I didn’t really over eat prior to WLS, but I definitely don’t over eat now.
You can try to hunt down the reasons for your obesity (but often it is too complex even for doctors to really appreciate) but TBH managing it is much more rewarding to focus on. I hope you find what you’re looking for, Good luck!

Edited July 4 by GreenTealael

[summerseeker 2,417]

Hello @Angieee I am sorry to hear about your dieting issues. Can I add a little information into this mix ?

After bariatric surgery I ate 300 calories for about 6 months, I had surgery issues. I lost a shed load of weight, fast as you can imagine. I gradually increased to 900 calories as I could eat better, until about 18 months out. I then began to get hunger and struggled. I increased up to 1200 until I got to my desired weight. I now maintain on 1500

I believe you will loose weight doing this surgery but may not help you when you are at your desired weight as you may still gain on 1400 calories. We can not stay on tiny portions it makes us so weak.

[Arabesque 7,623]

Your PCOS is probably your worst enemy when battling your weight. Hormones were certainly mine. From puberty I started gaining and I bounced between 60 & 75kgs most of my adult life using a multitude of diets & exercises programs to manage it. Generally I was a low calorie eater even regularly skipping meals to limit calorie intake. I went to a dietician once who told me I wasn’t eating enough. (Never lost a pound seeing her.) Perimenopause hit and I suddenly went from 60 to 80. Then menopause and I was 91. All gained seemingly overnight. Couldn't lose except a couple of kilos on a 500 calorie a day diet and it took weeks to lose that. Nothing worked until I had surgery.

When hormones come into play how many calories you eat, how much you manage the quality of the food you eat, how much activity you do, you are fighting a battle with the odds against you.

One of the benefit of the surgery is that it alters your hormones (gut, metabolic, reproductive and other hormones like cortisol) to varying degrees. This is why it may help you.

A lot of others on the forum with PCOS have found success with the surgery & hopefully some will respond with their experiences.

But as others have mentioned you have to be mentally & emotionally ready for surgery. It’s not easy with a lot of head work involved. It takes a lot of commitment. And it is a lifelong commitment but so worth it

All the best, whatever you decide to do.

[TianaBell77 12]

On 7/3/2025 at 7:56 PM, Angieee said:

I ate about 1400 calories per day and see a nutritionist about the content of food I eat. I'm still obese. I've been eating extremely healthy for the last four years with Portion Control and still never lost any weight unless I completely starved (500 calories per day).

I've posted here before about wanting to get the surgery but now I'm not so sure. I have no food addiction and don't over eat. I have no issue sticking with a diet.

I'm not so sure this would be the right procedure for me at all. My heaviest weight was 230 pounds and I am 213 and can't lose anything at all. My body tries to put on weight when I skip a day at the gym even.

I'm not sure what to do. Is the surgery for folks with a food issue primarily and does it not work otherwise?

Some of us don’t overeat and still stay stuck. I learned that it's not always about willpower or food addiction. Sometimes it’s hormones!!

[WendyJane 102]

@Tianabell77, you are very right, it is sometimes the hormones. It is not that we did anything wrong, we ate as we were taught by our parents and society as well. It is not always a mindset of willpower or having an addiction of food. I just wanted to let you know that you are correct. Thanks, now we can get back to our health and wellness.

[Angieee 12]

On 7/5/2025 at 8:23 AM, TianaBell77 said:

Some of us don’t overeat and still stay stuck. I learned that it's not always about willpower or food addiction. Sometimes it’s hormones!!

Exactly. I was never obese in my youth either. When I was 21 I was only 146 pounds but already seeing an endocrinologist for other symptoms like acne and hirsutism. This disorder made me obese. I never over ate, never had a good addiction and I exercised. Did everything the doctors said to do.

It's annoying the assumption about being an emotional eater or not understanding nutrition. It's just not true for everyone.

[Lilia_90 619]

On 7/3/2025 at 3:56 PM, Angieee said:

I ate about 1400 calories per day and see a nutritionist about the content of food I eat. I'm still obese. I've been eating extremely healthy for the last four years with Portion Control and still never lost any weight unless I completely starved (500 calories per day).

I've posted here before about wanting to get the surgery but now I'm not so sure. I have no food addiction and don't over eat. I have no issue sticking with a diet.

I'm not so sure this would be the right procedure for me at all. My heaviest weight was 230 pounds and I am 213 and can't lose anything at all. My body tries to put on weight when I skip a day at the gym even.

I'm not sure what to do. Is the surgery for folks with a food issue primarily and does it not work otherwise?

Thanks for the tag @AmberFL

I never had a food addiction either, was never a binge eater, I never had issues sticking with a diet, I exercised religiously (even during my 2 pregnancies), ate extremely well ...etc. but never lost the weight that I gained over the course of 5 years for some reason. No matter what I did and how hard I worked, my weight wouldn't budge, add a severe ankle injury to it and I was a whopping 65+ pounds heavier. Mind you, never had issues maintaining great shape my entire adulthood and post two pregnancies, but I believe my body just broke at some point.

WLS helped me lose the 65 pounds and then some (I dropped to BMI 18 but was able to bring it back up to 19), it gave me back my life (dramatic I know, but feels like it) but because I was never big, seeing myself like that messed me mentally up so much, I was so desperate that I even tried injectables (spoiler, they didn't work for me). WLS gave me my confidence back (tenfold).

If I had to do it again, I would in a heartbeat. I don't want to say go for it, that's your decision, but I 100% understand what you're going through, and it did feel like I literally have no other choice. The surgery completely restarted my metabolism. It's been a great success. The fact that you're not a binge eater or have food addiction can be a great success factor in your case as you don't have to worry about returning to old habits once your restriction loosens, it's a problem a lot of WLS patients battle, and it's a tough one. Also, the fact that you're active helps a lot. I worked out consistently my entire life and that probably is the reason I don't have loose skin or need plastics - obviously genetics help -.

Edited Sunday at 11:44 AM by Lilia_90

[Lilia_90 619]

On 7/7/2025 at 3:10 AM, Angieee said:

It's annoying the assumption about being an emotional eater or not understanding nutrition. It's just not true for everyone.

It is annoying.

I can tell you that for 10+ years I worked out the same, ate the same and was always a fitness + health nut. But 5 years prior to WLS it literally all stopped working, I was doing NOTHING different, and nothing worked. I was always the one telling people off for not working hard enough, until I was stuck in the same vicious cycle that I learned to be empathetic and that obesity is a chronic disease. I am eating between 1700-2000 calories now and maintaining a 80+ pound weight loss, I ate strictly 1700 at my heaviest and worked out daily, and I was at a BMI of 33.

it's mind boggling, but WLS does restart your metabolism.

Edited Sunday at 11:41 AM by Lilia_90