Do you consider WLS the 'easy way out'?

[jaffa_cake]

I know after surgery it can be pretty tough but do you consider it an 'easier way' to loose weight than just dieting alone?

I have read quite a few threads and posts where people get cross with others for saying they have taken 'the easy way out'!

I consider it the easy way out for me but thats just me, I find it easier than dieting alone, my friends are on WW and SW and struggle a good bit of the time. Apart from wanting more to eat on my plate because the food is so delicious that is probably the hardest thing I have found about my surgery but i'm satisfied so job done!!

 

[Neen]

Only easy in as much as I just could not even make a dent in the weight I was at my heaviest with dieting. I kept failing and failing and getting more and more depressed and reclusive. I still have to struggle to not overeat most of the time but I see my band as having been a little push start in the right direction and help to get me to a point where I physically can exercise...obviously there is almost a safety net sometimes in terms of volume of food. It's not easy other than that as I would have suited a bypass/sleeve due to my sweet cravings and ice cream never gets stuck. So yeah just as hard still sometimes but a glimmer of hope instead of instant failure. That makes things easier to a degree.

 

[Porpo]

No it's not easy and it's not even as easy as I thought it was going to be.

I'm 7 months post op (bypass) and I have all the down sides of taking the tablets for life, risks from mal-absortion and all the other negative things they tell you about. But on top of that now I'm all healed and my stomach has expanded a little bit. I have discovered I can graze all day. I can only eat a small amount but I can eat it every few hours. Also I don't dump so I could still eat junk if I wanted to. So although I can't over eat like I used to it's not a magic fix and takes a lot of will power to make sure that I dont sabotage myself. I think that most people who say this is an easy fix have no idea what they're talking about...

 

[thinnerangela]

No no no - its definitely not the easy way out.

I would never have lost this much weight - either this quickly or at all without the surgery.

A DS gives a lot of maladsorption - more than a bypass - and just eating a little wrong thing - An M&S dessert gave Xenical like results -

No - Getting enough protein in through meals is HARD - there's no room for rubbish - its hard getting enough fluids in

On a diet you CAN graze - but I can't now after the WLS - if I eat too much it doesn't stay down and I can't eat what I should

I'm no saint - hence the dessert - but definitely don't think WLS is the "easy" option

Angela x

 

[angie790]

I am soon to have a bypass, but it is a really interesting question you are asking.
Less than a handful of people know I am having this op, and there are several reasons why I haven't told the majority of people:

1. If one has never been fat, that person is almost completely unable to understand the psychology of what it is to be obese and how it effects you
2. I do not consider having an operation that irreversibly alters the inner workings of my digestive system and has associated (and some very serious) potential complications can ever be considered an 'easy option' in any shape or form
3. I have had to justify my decision to myself & my obesity consultant (otherwise I would never have got the funding); I am completely happy with that decision and don't give a hoot what anyone else's opinion is, nor could I be bothered to argue or justify that decision to someone should they ever say to me 'you took the easy option'. What perhaps is more interesting, is why are they projecting their own feelings/fears about surgery onto others, especially relevant if they have had weight problems their whole lives and are still very overweight?
4. Having a bypass doesn't mean I am going to wake up the day after surgery suddenly 7 stone lighter, I am still going to have to watch my diet very carefully and exercise....and we all know how easy that is don't we? None of us would have surgery in the first place, if it were!!!!
5. I think having surgery will eventually change the dynamics of your many relationships (personal, work, friends etc), so if people have always known you as fat, then the potential of you turning up one day as a total hottie can seriously alter those dynamics so they feel uncomfortable
Just my thoughts anyway.....well done on a hugely brave decision & good luck on your continued weight loss!

 

[tiarasandtantrums]

Not at all! It's not a way out at all. Even after the surgery it can all go terribly wrong and the weight could come back - there are always ways to 'cheat' and consume more calories.

Over the years I have shown that I'm a solid gold dieter. I have lost ten or eleven stones at a time, many, many times over. At seventeen I had anorexia and that's when my weight problems started. I needed someway to get off the merry-go-round of losing/gaining/losing/gaining.

With a LOT of hard work, I hope that I will now be able to lose weight and keep it off. Will I succeed? I really hope so and I am going to try very hard to do so. But easy way out? No. xx

 

[jaffa_cake]

Brilliant answers so far!!

Thanks x

 

[MrsSkint]

If I could have maintained the weightloss from each and every diet I've tried then I would not have had a Gastric Bypass. This was a serious decision I made with a lot of research put into it. I had my op 19th May so it is very early days for me, however, I do not think I or indeed any of us has taken an easy route. My way of making this successful is thinking my new restricted stomach is my very own in-built slimming tool. When I eat now (sloppy stuff at the mo) I can actually feel when I've had enough...that's a new sensation I can tell you If I hadn't taken this route I would have continued to gain weight and carried on trying "the latest" diet/pill/replacement meal etc . Would they say "you took the easy route" to people who go in and out of re-hab? Many of us need help and I am so pleased there is help for those of us who struggle with weight everyday.
I'll get off my soap box now and have some more water.

 

[encore]

Easier but certainly not easy.

 

[BugsBunny]

good post. Rob

 

[Mandie]

NO way is it easy , staying fat and enjoying every mouthfull is what i call easy , i see it as a kick up the butt if i start to get cocky and think i'v got it sorted, my band reminds me that if i eat the wrong thing (or anything at the moment )or too much, there will be conseqences, so i watch, what, how much and how quick i eat ,great thread .x

 

[Mixman]

I would say, for most of us, it's the only way, definitely not easy! Is it easy having a life threatening operation and a lifetime of sacrifices?

 

[StephieAck]

To be honest, at first, yes I did.
When the diet doctor at the diabetes clinic mentioned that I qualified for the surgery I was thrilled because I thought that it is was a quick and easy fix and, shamefully, something that I thought lazy, weak people did when they couldnt be bothered to lose weight. Actually, I cant say that watching Fat Doctor helped my views either because they really dont show just how hard a journey this is.
Obviously I then found this forum and educated myself about it all and I came to realise just how very very VERY wrong and ignorant I had been and was ashamed of my previous opinions.
How I ever thought that having your organs cut up and rearranged was easy I dont know, nothing about this journey is easy but because of how I was before I educated myself I do fully know just what people think about us SAH's (surgically altered hybrids!!!) and I want to scream at them and shake them and make them realise just the way I did.
I am very very lucky, after the first few months post-op things have been pretty easy, I dont have major food problems and the weight seems to trickle off without too much effort (I make informed food choices so there IS some effort), but I am in no way blind to the fact that this is the 'easy' bit for me, it is the for life keeping off the lost weight once the first year or two are over that is when my real hard work will start but like I say, I am one of the lucky ones.
So no, I dont see it as the easy way out but I did before I knew what was what.
Steph xx

 

[gaelic girl]

No way do i consider my bypass as the easy way couldn't give you any better reasons than have already been posted. I'm very similar to Porpo in what i can eat and how i eat and i also don't dump( well so far). People who tend to say its the easy way are people who don't have the knowledge on what it involves and how we had to surgery in the 1st place xx

 

[claudia24]

deffo not the easy way out, i thought like steph yes ill have the bypass lose loads of weight and be totally happy, hell no it dont work like that, 1st of all i hated my bypass at first..... now i love it, its helps me control what i eat and gives me a good tellin off when ive eaten the wrong thing, kinda like our parents but inside our stomach lol, its easy to carry on eatin all the crap i did and easy to say ill just have this bar of choco and not have one tomo as we all know on here it does NOT work that way! before anyone has this i say do as much reasearch as possiable til u cant take anymore information, i have a friend who wants the gastric ballon or band, she says i look great as ive lost over 110lbs but i have to remind her yes i look good (ooohhh get me lol) and it may seem easy as ive lost loads but u dont see the hard work and stuff ive gone through (sleepness nights/tears of regret/hatin myself for needin the bypass) and i will go through for the res of my life, i keep tellin her yes havin a ballon is only for 6 months or the band is for life but do not think its a quick fix. sorry rambled on then. xxxx

 

[emergingbutterfly]

Brave thread and thank you for starting it.

I am going to be completely honest here and stay that whilst I dont think it is the easy way out, it has been easy for me and certainly far easier than the alternative of living in a constant state of dispair and feeling like a failure for not being able to lose weight.

I was one of those that never lost more than about two stone in weight, I spent thousands of pounds on lighterlife, weight watchers etc. I know the 12 steps backwards, can write books on nutrition and calorie intake etc etc. I never lost enough weight for it to be noticed and living in that constant state of frustration and feeling like a failure was not easy.

Whatever my bypass throws at me (so far the hairloss, Vit D deficieny, feeling like I was going to die immediately after the op, feeling a social reject when my collegues go to the beer garden and I have water and the rest....) is nothing compared to the knowledge that if I did not have this op I would have ended up housebound.

So whether it is the easier option or not is not the queston for me as it was the only option. If I could have lost weight any other way then I would but I am glad I had this op and so far it has been easy for me and for that I count my blessings

 

[LisaG]

So many interesting answers. I'm not sure but verging on the side of 'no - not an easy way out'. I went through hell after my op and really thought that if I'd had a glimpse of what I was going to go through I just wouldn't have done it. I haven't quite got over that feeling yet but I'm beginning to realise it will fade over time.

What is easy for me though is the fact that I can do it. I still don't want anything to eat and just eat because I have to now. However, I still enjoy what I'm eating on the whole so I have the best of both worlds.

I'm hoping I'll feel a lot better about the whole thing once I've lost a few more stones.

Very interesting thread.

 

[petshell]

I am only five weeks post op and feel this is one of the hardest things I have ever done.
Even pre-op diet was hard cause I HAD TO STICK TO IT.
How many times have I given in on a diet cause I just cant be bothered anymore. I cant do that now.
I have been to two BBQ's and usually I would have eaten what i wanted and restarted the diet the following day.
Cant do that anymore.
My stomach is in charge of my head and that is REAL HARD to get used to! never had that experience before.
Trying to get enough protein and fluids in and find foods which my stomach allows is NOT EASY either.

So my answer is NO WAY is this EASY or as some others think CHEATING.
It is a drastic permanent tool to hel pme along. the rest is up to me.
Shells

 

[phatmomma]

As a pre op person i can't answer from the been there done that perspective... But, i can say that asking for and choosing to have the surgery was an easier decision for me to make than accepting my husbands proposal which took me all of 5 seconds to answer...

A very dear friend recently posted on FB that she was annoyed at some of her friends who had taken 'the easy way out with wls' and she struggles n fights with calories n exercise everyday and that she only needs to fall of the wagon for one day and her weight loss for that week is gone... We had quite a debate about it. She kinda thought we go have the op and then were restricted with what we eat. I told her yeah your right, but by going for my surgery i am committing to the biggest change in my life ever, bigger than having my kids i think. For my whole life food has ruled my head, whether it be a social event and me thinking yummm whats for dessert or going for a meal and me subconsciously checking out the dessert before i even order my main...and leaving room for it! I'll never have the convenience of food again, as in i'll never just 'grab' something without making sure its good for me etc etc...

So yeah taking the decision for wls was EASY but living with it after? I don't kid myself and neither should anyone else xxx

 

[Katastrophe]

I don't think it's the easy way out.. For me and probably most other people it's a last resort. I really wish i didn't have to go through a major operation to lose my excess weight but i felt like i didn't have a choice.

Yes, not having any or much hunger does make it easier to cope with not being able to eat like other people but mentally it's still a lot to deal with. Plus most people who have WLS still do exercise if they're able..... This isn't about not wanting to help ourselves - this is about making our time on this earth happier and better - noone has the right to judge us for wanting that.