Why do some people do better at this than others????

I, like many others have spend way to much time looking for that magic bullet !!!

 

The numbers I always see for VSG is 50-60% EWL

The regain numbers..... I don't know, just assuming high.

I know what I have studied and what I have learned, but that's not the point.

It's up to you to find your way and direct your own path because forever is a long time.

Why do some people lose 100% EW and some lose none???

Why do many come out strong and fall way short???

Why do many do well at WL, but than gain it back?

What are the variables?

What do they do to lose 100% and what does the person do that loses 50%????

This post is not to discourage anyone, it's to point you into a successful direction.

Study, Study, Study !!!!

You can do it !!!!!

frisco

 

As it says in your signature Frisco .... "To eat is a necessity, To eat intelligently is an art"  Some of us are not as artistic as others.  Some of us lose our way.  Some of us are in this all alone and sometimes that's what got us in this mess to begin with.  There is no magic bullet,  it takes hard work to be successful at this WLS game.  Whoever thinks it's the easy way out of the overweight life....they are greatly mistaken.  It takes constant planning to keep on track.  Life can still knock you off your game when you are not looking.  Losing focus of yourself is not in the cards anymore.  You have to become first and foremost, then other things can happen.  Take care of you and you'll be able to take care of others.  If you've fallen off the wagon, gotten off track, whatever you want to call it, regroup, refocus, reboot....as Frisco says...Study, Study, Study....You, me, we, can do it!

Why do many do well at WL, but than gain it back?

That's my camp! Lost 100% of my extra weight, then gained. What did I do to stop it and get back to losing it? 

STUDY, STUDY, STUDY! 

I think the main point so many of us fail to see with true clarity is that WLS is not an "event". It is merely a starting point from which to move toward success.

WLS is not a ticket to weight loss success. It is an invitation to a challenge! 

I am disturbed by the number of uneducated people on this and other boards who rush into the surgery.  That is the #1 issue in my book. Take a year, research, think about it, look at others' success, analyze some more and then move forward if you are mentally ready for this. This is not a quick fix or a magic fix.  You have to be motivated and understand that this is a change for life.  Also many appear to get 80% to goal, feel great, feel like they look great and get complacent.  Get to goal, then test the waters!!!!  Also, we have to be mindful of control after goal - can you eat a bag of smartfood and not be set off?? If so, enjoy it.  If it is going to give you cravings and then you eat all day - don't have the first bite.  I know what I can eat in control and what I can't and it isn't always the same.  I enjoy all foods now, in moderation, but a few months ago the popcorn was an issue for me.  I had to step away from it.  Now I've had a bag for 2 weeks in the cabinet (open) and have a little here and there in control.  It truly is amazing and wonderful to wake up in the morning and not feel like "I need to lose weight."  It's also amazing to go to a function and feel good - not wishing I had lost 20lbs before the function and failing.  

 

You said it Frisco. It requires ongoing vigilance and learning. In my case, I had no program, no medical help and no peers. Even if I did I may not have gotten the best information there, but I wouldn't have known that if I didn't study study study.

So I looked here and spent a lot of time figuring out the commonalities among the group of posters with the highest level of long term success. Lots of folks came out strong and then fizzled when they got within striking distance of goal, a much smaller group got to goal then floundered without a workable maintenance plan, but a handful - you included - got way beyond that. 

Basically I'm dumb and lazy (don't tell anyone) so I just followed the path of those with longer term success and did exactly the same thing. Stalker style. Studied the hell out of them. That got me to 100% EWL in about 9 months and now closing in on four years post op I'm still significantly below goal and finding peace with food. Still stalking - 'er - studying!!

To be honest, I just followed the advice on this board.  My doctors plan said I could eat grits, oatmeal, potatoes, rice, etc....early on my program.  But everything I read on this board said to stick to protien and water until you reach goal.  9 months later I am at 127 two pounds away from personal goal. I hit doctors goal at 6 months.  So by just following the advice on this board....under eating my sleeve capacity which I still do, hitting my protien and water goals, I have been successful and am still losing weight.  I don't exercise like a crazy, I just walk and occasionally use hand weights and that's it.  I do want to say thank you to Frisco because I stalked your post from day one.