Question for the vets!

Hi. I have a thought going through my head-I hope I can articulate it. 

All of the successful vets on here are so disciplined and seem to eat spot on. I can't help but think that you all would be successful without having had the surgery. It's the determination and discipline that comes through. So I am wondering-what did the surgery add to your success? Do you think you could've done it without surgery knowing what you know now?

I could not have accomplished a 70 pound weight loss without the surgery.  I have been overweight for 25 years and have yo-yo dieted for most of those years.  Sure, I could eat regimented Jenny Craig for a while and drop the weight, but as soon as I went back to eating freestyle, my old habits kicked in.  I never really understood about the importance of reducing carbs, etc.    Now, I am frees styling in a positive way by choosing "what" I eat and I no longer rely on  some pre-packaged weight loss regimen.  The key to the whole thing for me is "protein first."  That is why I know I can follow this the rest of my life.  I now read labels and truly care about what I am putting in my body.  I think the sleeve makes you realize that you have already taken a major step towards a life of having an appropriate relationship with food, so why not work it to its full advantage  I also do not feel like I'm on a diet for the first time in 25 years, yet the weight keeps falling off.    While it is only a "tool," the surgery is in fact, the catalyst for many of us to making long-term healthy choices.  If one is  not committed after having this surgery, then I'm not sure what it would take to get committed.  The surgery has changed my entire outlook about health and food.

I don't know if I'm a "vet" since I am not at goal yet (though it is getting closer!). But I am 8 months out and have lost a good bit of weight and have met my calorie and nutrient goals every day since surgery (well, except for one day when I was very sick and hardly ate anything, ended up going under on protein).

NO. I could never have done it without surgery despite all the education in the world. I could not have kept myself below 800 calories a day for months at a time. It just would not have been possible. With the surgery, I can make the good choices and stay with them. Without the surgery, as much as I might have wanted to lose weight and maintain the weight loss, I couldn't have done it. I am so grateful that I was able to have this surgery.

Not sure I am really considered a vet but I think I am fairly successful. For me the difference the surgery made was motivation and early success. If I had not had the surgery I am quite certain I would still be the same size. The surgery gave me a mindset shift to "If I am willing to remove my stomach, I had better make it count." It also led me to do a lot of research on nutrition and exercise and perhaps if I had known then what I know now I might have been successful as well but I would never have been motivated to do the research I have done otherwise. Also as I progressed through my weight loss my motivation to try other things became much greater. There are plenty of exercises and activities I would never have participated in otherwise.

Yes, I could and did do it without surgery.  I have lost and gained my weight six times in my life.  The difference after VSG is that I can actually keep the weight off this time.  I am 4.5 years out, and who knows what the future will bring, but this is much easier to do now.  Also, the big difference is that I don't have as strong of a hunger as before surgery and a much smaller capacity which acts as a safety net when I need it.  Together, these two things are game changers for me.  On the other hand, if you think that surgery alone will do this, you are wrong.  Surgery is just one tool, a very important tool, but nothing more than a tool.  You have to use it daily or else you will not make it to goal and not keep your weight loss.  The surgery is NOT a cure, obesity is not curable.  Getting my head around this concept has made all the difference.

^This. 

This is me. 

Yes you are all vets! Thank you. I guess I wAs trying to see if I could do a mind trick and make it work this time without surgery. But like Elina, I have lost the weight many times-I just need that extra safety net. 

Thank you!

Sure, I could successfully loose weight without the sleeve, afterall I did it four times.  Of course I failed, or backtracked, each time and usually burned out of the weight loss long before I reached the point I'm at now.  My best effort ever was still 50 pounds heavier than I am today.

So in all seriousness, "heck no!", any non-sleeve attempt was doomed to failure.  The combined impact of a food industry that is calorie dense, and very easy to access, alongside my normal size stomach and appetite were just too much to handle.  In the end it became a catch-22, the weight made me sedentary, then I was too sedentary to exercise to get the weight off.  And of course, food is always there to cure your problems, so lots of eating (the wrong stuff) out of stress, boredom or a hectic schedule.

The sleeve is the tool that help me get me my discipline back.  Yes, I am disciplined now, about everyone who knows me comments on it around my weight loss.  Yes, that discipline is why I achieved my goal.  But without the sleeve, I could not be any of that.

Like the others , I have lost and regained weight many times in my life.  I absolutely would not be at my current weight without the sleeve.  The sleeve again is a great tool that keeps our appetite much less than it used to be and restriction helps a great deal.  I also think the months of eating on program help firm up our minds to this.  Repeat, repeat, repeat!  There is always a nasty case of foamies in case you forget . None of likes that!  

I think mentally I was prepard as I viewed this as my last chance to get this right.  I am respectfully hopeful that I can pull off a personal success story. It's like the lottery- be in it to win it!

I know I couldn't do it without surgery.  I had 4 decades of trying and I ended up at 385 pounds.  The surgery really changes things.  Part of it is the restriction.  As long as I keep the discipline of eating dense protein first, my sleeve limits the amount I can eat.  I often want to eat more, but my tummy won't hold more.  (right now I have a few pieces of zucchini on my plate, and they taste so good, but my stomach is full, and I'll be in pain if I eat them.) 

The other part is that I don't feel driven to overeat as I have before surgery.  Dieting in the past has been like holding my breath.  You can do it for a while, but the urge to eat always wins out in the end.  Now I may still want to eat, but its not the same level of compulsion. 

I do limit my carbs because I know that carbs cause cravings for me.  This is important to me.  I know others can eat carbs without problems, but not me.

best wishes,

Carol