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Lap band surgery ??

BigAl

BigAl

Gone But Not Forgotten
Would you do it ?
I been overweight most of my life .At 6'4 and a average of 265 I was never small . I played some serious football and was told not to report to camp unless I was above 245 . In my 20's I was in shape , really good shape .

After my accident the weight started going up . I never really considered surgery , but now feel that maybe I should consider it . I need to lose a 100 pounds . BMI is in the 40's .
I have lost the weight before but it always creeps back on again . I am ready for a change that is permanent .
I had a few health issues the last couple years . Now at 61 I am hearing that surgery is not recommended for anyone over 55 .
I have one month of serious construction projects to finish before I retire the tools for good . I told the wife that at that time I want to concentrate on getting healthy, fishing , hunting , traveling , clamming , crabbin, walking more and just being smarter . I gave up drinkin quite a while back .
 
My sister in law was over 450# (I think).

She had that surgery, probably 225# and holding. Still big but clearly half her former self.
 
With your activity level, you would be treating yourself better to learn to eat what your body needs and shed the weight on your own.
Lower carb may benefit you but be gentle, moderate and realistic. Do Not try to lower fat at the same time.
JMHO
Sugar and white flour just aren't good for you !
 
I think Pixie is on track.

I'm 6' and grew up to 209# in weight. Heaviest I've ever been. Went 7 days without carbohydrates, literally ate eggs, beef, bacon, ham, etc for 7 days. Then the next 7 days I slowly brought in SMALL amounts of carbohydrates. Burger on the bottom half of a bun, no fries. Stuff like that. I gave myself 1 cheat day each week (Saturday) so I could eat a little pizza or bread, etc. but I ate it in moderation, rather than the 1/2+ pizza I'd normally eat by myself.

Been doing this for 2 weeks, dropped 10 pounds. Now hovering at 199-200 for the past 3 days. Looking to drop another 10-15 over the next 30-45 days. I'll be very happy to get down to about 185-190.

Carbs are bad for you. But they are easy to eat. We get carbs in everything. Back down on the carbs and the weight falls off.

I used to be 185-190 all the time. Last fencing season I was coaching 6 days a week and volunteering at the fencing club 2 evenings a week. My life became fast food as I went from practice at one school to the fencing club or from work to practices then to the club. Starbucks Crappy-Frappy-Watever drinks would wash down a McDouble Blah Blah. Carbohydrate overload for several months and my pants didn't fit anymore!!!
 
I have had two close friends have similar surgery.

The first was my brother-in-law. He weighed close to 400. He was on diabetes medicine; blood pressure medicine, needed a cpap machine to sleep, had an irregular heart beat, and could hardly walk because of bad knees. The doctor told him he could not loose the weight he needed to loose with the lap band, as he needed to get serious and have gastric bypass surgery. He had the surgery and dropped to 220 pounds over the next year. I was concerned all along that no one was giving him counseling as to how to eat while loosing weight and after he obtained his goal. For example: even though his stomach was now the size of an apple, he would fill a plate completely full of food and only be able to eat about a third of it. In other words, he kept thinking he could eat like he used to. If he pushed himself and ate too much, he would get nauseated and throw up a couple of times. Again, he received little to no advice as to how he should be eating or about exercise. He lost all his weight sitting/laying on the sofa during the day. Unless he can ride his 4 wheeler to the deer stand, he doesn't get out of the house.

After dropping to 220 pounds, he kept kept eating more than he should and is now back to 250 pounds. He eats a lot of sweets in between meals and gets no exercise. I really hate to think he put himself through a years worth of hell only to see him gain the weight back. Not sure where he will end up, but I'm thinking he will slowly creep back to his original weight.

Shortly after he lost his weight, he was taken off of most of his meds, but now that he is putting the weight back on, his medications are increasing. He needs to have knee replacement surgery but is avoiding it.

Another friend had lap band surgery. She needed to drop at least 100 pounds. Before surgery, she had to go to counseling for 6 months to get her prepared for a major change in lifestyle. Not only did they teach her the correct things to eat, they also gave her counseling about why she weighed so much in the first place.

Since she had the surgery, she has lost 45 pounds over the last 6 months. This has been a gradual weight loss, which I think is much better than loosing 180 pounds in one year. She does not let her life center around food, like my brother in law does.

Al, I would highly recommend you find a good surgeon who will help you make the lifestyle changes that are necessary to loose the weight and keep it off. There are plenty of docs who will help you loose the weight, but seem to be clueless when it comes to the lifestyle changes.

Best of luck and keep us informed.

Bob
 
you need to change how you think about food...what "tastes good".

I eat nothing fried, only steamed/broiled/grilled

fish and veg, no rice or bread except maybe once in a great while

my fats come from nuts, fish, avocado. No cheese or dairy.

I drink only water

Most people probably can't do it.

I've lost 130lbs
 
Surgery to lose wieght can have some very bad side affects such as death. Two ladies that I know died after having the surgery due to complications. In both cases their bodies were not able to absorb enough nutrition to keep them alive. Now this was many years ago and I'm sure that advances have been made.

My point is that you're a lot better off changing what you eat and your lifestyle. If you do decide to have surgery be sure to research it throughly and be aware of what the complications are.
 
My wife had a lap band. I have watched her puke, lump up and down to get food past the band and have further surgery because the port ripped free.

End result, she has learned to "beat the band". She lost significant initial eight and progress stopped there. After watching what she has gone through, I consider it one the worst things that can done. At least it is reversals. The other surges are not.

Heed what Leni said, there are some very bad side effects.

See a good nutritionist and change your lifestyle, you will be better off the end.

Just my $.02, Your mileage may vary.
 
Leni said:
My point is that you're a lot better off changing what you eat and your lifestyle. If you do decide to have surgery be sure to research it throughly and be aware of what the complications are.
Click to expand...

And ... if you decide on the surgery, you still have to change what you eat and your lifestyle. I think what Leni and others have said on here is there is no magic fix. Surgery can give you a jump start but if you do not change your eating habits, no lasting change will be accomplished.
 
Al...just my thought....Ive droped 30 lbs this summer..using the PUSH..AWAY..FROM THE TABLE...method....just my thoughts.:neutral:
 
Cut the carbs they are death.

Read this:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-About-ebook/dp/B003WUYOQ6/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408368010&sr=1-1&keywords=gary+taubes"]Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It - Kindle edition by Gary Taubes. Health, Fitness & Dieting Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.[/ame]
 
What others have said about carbs is true. When I was diagnosed with diabetes a few years back, in an odd way it was a life saver. My diabetes isn't bad. It's easily controlled with a couple of pills and watching what I eat. By cutting back on the carbs (and the candy) I lost almost 50 pounds and thanks to my wife I'm eating a lot healthier. You learn what carbs affect your blood sugar more than others so you can cheat a little bit but the operative word is "little".

Just about all of us eat too much, way more than we burn up through exercise, so if you don't change your lifestyle losing weight will be a struggle even with surgery. I'd sure try some of the more passive forms of weight loss before I went under the knife. JMHO.
 
Went to visit the nutritionist at the VA this morning for my second weight loss follow-up and weigh-in. The "official scale" showed that I have dropped 35 pounds in the past 11 weeks, and was taken off of my blood pressure medication after just 4 weeks because I lost enough weight and was getting enough exercise (walking) to get my BP back into the normal range. I have gone from tight fitting size 42 slacks down to size 38 which are loose already. I have also not eliminated anything from my normal diet, just reduced quantities and document everything I eat to SEE what's going in my mouth every day. Next follow-up will be in November at my next physical with my VA PCP. For information on how to lose weight without feeling denied or hungry, visit the VA's website on healthy living and weight loss. If you're a vet, you can get help directly from the VA. www.move.va.gov

I just posted this today on my facebook page to show that you don't need surgery to lose weight. I know two people who have had gastric bypass. One is very successfully keeping the weight off, the other lost 100 pounds then put it all back on...and then some! We have another friend who worked with a nutritionist at the Cleveland Clinic, and has kept 150 pounds off for 10+ years. The difference is determining that you want a healthier lifestyle, and you're willing to work at it.

My nutritionist gave me the guideline of 1500-1700 calories daily. With that, regular exercise not only helps with weight loss, but it gets your heart in better shape because it's nor working as hard to dragging around the excess weight. Tonight we walked 2.89 miles in 46 minutes, and I burned 406 calories doing it. I track my walks using www.mapmyrun.com , and track my food using www.myfitnesspal.com . Both of these sites have apps that I use on my iPhone, and are simple to figure out.

As was said before, working with someone (nutritionist) who maps out your weight loss program to insure that you will not only become lighter, but that you will not become deficient in essential vitamins & minerals. The nutritionist reviews WHAT you're eating and HOW MUCH you're eating to see that there is BALANCE in your diet. Eliminating ANYTHING from your diet should only be done with the approval of your doctor AND a nutritionist. Trendy diets are just that, trendy. For long term health you need to change how you eat and what you eat. Denying yourself of things you like will only guarantee that you will backslide when the desire for that food is given into. I eat bread every day, but I make my own and control the size to limit it to 100 calories.

Good luck. Acknowledging that you have a problem is the first step in solving it.
http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.move.va.gov/&h=aAQHj63Fj&s=1
 
AL my wife had gastric bypass surgery and watching her graze during the day she has put a lot of the weight back on from the surgery.
That being said she is 75 lbs less than when she started side affects positive fixed her border line diabetes cut her cholesterol # back in normal range negative she has gotten back to eating too much it is just in smaller portions, scheduled bathroom brakes many times a day (they don't mention that in discussions pre surgery .

I'm in the same boat as you a little younger (58) 6'3 on a good day Ive been big all my life wrestled 185 + all through high school I'm about 340 today I need to do some thing but I like to eat and caant get the portion control under control ive tried diets and it doesn't work for me. Having had a knee replaced and the other one scoped last fall has slowed me down a lot.

I'm considering virtual gastric bypass surgery (Hypnosis) it has worked for smoking for my friends.
I can guarantee it wont be bypass surgery the band might be in the wind if the shrink don't work.

tom

 
Carbohydrates are starch based.

That starch is broken down by the body into Glucose, a simple sugar....

SUGAR? That's right in the end it's as if that starch you ate will become sugar to be digested. You can eliminate it, or regulate the intake of it, what ever works.

Funny back in the 90's the so called food pyramid was modified, with starchy grains as the base.... WRONG!
The base should be fruits and veggies. Next up protiens and meats. 3rd tear up should be the grains, just below the sugars up on the smallest rung, the point of the pyramid.

JMHO, and I haven't ever had a weight problem. Pretty steady at the 190-200 figure, for the last 30 years. Exercise is part of the bargan too. It cann't be ignored. As we age it is use it or loose it time for muscle mass. Stay active or get that way...

Best regards, Kirk
 
Thanks to you all . Quite a bit of information . You have made me reconsider this route . I have never had problem losing weight , just keeping it off . I need to get my brain right !
 
BigAl said:
Thanks to you all . Quite a bit of information . You have made me reconsider this route . I have never had problem losing weight , just keeping it off . I need to get my brain right !
Click to expand...

you need to seriously ask yourself, "how bad do I want it"
 
No matter what you decide to do it will still involve watching what you eat. Personally I'd rather not go under the knife but then I've never had to diet.
 
You could start by reading "Wheat Belly".
Or one of the Atkins books.

You will feel sooo much better :)
 
My epiphany came when my doctor reminded me that I was 250 pounds, already on thyroid & blood pressure meds, and that my cholesterol was at the point of needing another med, and my A1C was 5.8 & climbing for the past three visits..diabetes meds were next. WTF do I need all these meds for when self discipline was the only thing I was lacking. I can manage my own successful business, but I can't manage what I eat? What a loser I turned out to be, just because of laziness. I knew I was better than what I was doing, and finally decided a healthier lifestyle was better than an early grave. Not sure if everyone can do what I'm doing, but I've never been accused of being anything special...except on payday!:yum:

Does anyone realize that 250 pounds is 1/4 of a TON? I sure did.
 
Surgery or not you have to adjust your lifestyle for it to work,so knowing all surgery has huge risks i would go for the lifestyle change without the chance of further health risks.
 
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