I started my weight loss surgery journey in 1998 when a doctor recommended it to me.  I delayed having it until I could research the surgery more and feel more comfortable with such a drastic change in my life. I also thought I could diet one last time and it would work.  We all know what that is like.

I have a Masters in Library Science and research comes naturally to me. But what I found at that time was that everything was written surgeon to surgeon and there was nothing written patient to patient. So I began amassing information.

I had my surgery in 2000 and six months after the surgery, with all of this research piled around me, I started to put what I had learned into a book and Weight Loss Surgery; Finding the Thin Person Hiding inside You was born. The first edition was published in 2001 and was the very first weight loss surgery book written by a patient for patients. It quickly became the gold standard for patients and has been recommended highly ever since.  When the newspaper, the Philadelphia Inquirer did an article about weight loss surgery, they interviewed many patients.  Because all of the patients told the reporter that my book was invaluable to them not only before the surgery, but a year afterward and that they continually referred to it, the Philadelphia Inquirer dubbed my book, “The bible among bypass patients.” 

Weight Loss Surgery; Finding the Thin Person Hiding inside You has gone through 3 revisions since then; the last revision was in 2003.  There have been a lot of changes in the weight loss surgery field since then, especially with the growing popularity of the lap band. I have just published the 4^th edition and they are hot off the press, complete with a new cover. 

Click here to order.

Does this scenario sound familiar? You are nearing your goal weight or you have gained a few pounds, so you ramp up your determination to lose weight. You eat right and exercise and then get on the scale and find that you have not lost a pound, or worse, you have gained.

Or how about this scenario. You had your surgery 4 months ago. You have been losing at a nice fast rate, but all of a sudden you stop losing weight. You start to wonder, ‘Is this all I am going to lose? Am I going to be one of those that weight loss surgery doesn’t work for?'

It can be so frustrating. You have hit the Weight Loss Wall – the dreaded plateau. You may want to throw up your hands and say, “What’s the use? Why do I work so hard and why do I even try?” Do you crash and burn or do you rise from the ashes?  It is at that point when you are very vulnerable to gaining weight. It is a dangerous time. You are experiencing what we have all been through so many times. Do you give up or do you have patience and just keep going?

One flaw in all of this is that we think of weight loss as a steady progression, which it is not.  We just don’t normally lose weight consistently. Right after surgery it was that way, but that was a medically induced very special time that will last a short time in the whole scheme of things. True weight loss consists of three phases; weight loss, plateaus and small weight regains. As much as we don’t like it and only want the one third of the process that is the weight loss, the reality is that it is a 3 part process.   

You know that our bodies play tricks on us holding onto and adding pounds for no apparent reason. Sometimes it can be linked to salty foods (I never weigh myself the day after I eat Chinese food!), it may be a monthly cycle, or it may be the evil scale gremlins that don’t want you to lose weight because they want you to be prepared for the hardships of winter so our species will survive.  Those gremlins haven’t gotten the message that there are grocery stores and fast food places in abundance within a mile or two of just about everyone. Don’t give into those gremlins – they’ll just laugh at you!! Take a deep breath and keep going.

So how should you handle these dangerous times? What do you do when you you step on the scale and don’t have the results you think you should?

• Stop and take a breath. Don’t do anything with the exception of drinking water for at least 30 minutes.
• Consider that perhaps you are eating more than you thought.  Start a food journal immediately. Mark every bite down and then analyze what you have eaten.
• Change the food you normally eat.  We get into a routine of eating the same thing everyday for breakfast and lunch and even snacks.  Dinner is usually the only thing that we put variety into. Your body will adapt and learn how to process that food very efficiently so that you are burning less of it. Try new foods.
• Change your exercise. If you aren’t exercising, then start.  But start slowly.  If you don’t exercise and try to do it for an hour, you may do it for a day, but the next day you will probably come up with an excuse not to. Start with 5 minutes every day and work your way up.  If you are exercising, try something new.  Your muscles may have built up from those exercises and what was initially an effort is now a breeze.  Find another challenge.
• Be sure that you have realistic goals.  If you are trying to lose weight too fast, then your body will go into starvation mode and slow your metabolism.  When trying to lose weight, stick to abut 1,100 to 1,200 calories per day.

Weight control is a constant struggle.  Unfortunately we did not get a free pass when we had surgery.  We got a tool to make it easier, but the battle continues. We just fight it with a better weapon, but we still have to fight.

It’s evening and those potato chips in the cupboard that you bought for the kids are calling you.  Or you are at work and it’s Sheila’s birthday and the chocolate cake with fluffy white icing looks just too good to resist. How do you call off those demons?

Try this. If you are craving and thinking about eating something salty and crunchy like chips or popcorn, eat something that has those same characteristics.  Try having something like celery sticks with salt on them.  You may be craving the sensation rather than the food. For the cake, or cookies or whatever might be calling you that is sweet, eat a piece of fruit before you indulge in that goodie.

If after eating the celery, carrots or cucumber you still want the chips, or after eating the fruit you still want the pastry, then eat them but in a portion controlled way. You will already have partially filled up with what I call the appetizer, so you will naturally eat less. I hope this will help you.

Orzech, Dan, “Counseling Bariatric Surgery Patients.” Social Work Today, Vol. 5, no. 6, p. 24.

A reader was kind enough to pass this article on to me to share with you. The article explores the psychological aspects of weight loss surgery and treatment available.

In the article, the author points out that having surgery alone will not allow us to maintain our weight loss.  And that contrary to what we as patients expect, surgery will not make us happy.  While weight loss surgery has been evolving and much research has been done regarding the surgery, risks and benefits, relatively little attention has been paid to the psychosocial aspects of the patient. 

When we have surgery we aren’t prepared for all of the changes that occur.  We don’t recognize ourselves, and our relationships change with food and with those around us. While most of us have psychological evaluations prior to surgery, there isn’t always psychological follow through available after surgery.

To read the entire article, go to http://rfl.com/Portals/3/PDF/Counseling%20Bariatric%20Surgery%20Patients.pdf

“Reprinted from Barbara Thompson’s free e-newsletter featuring helpful information and research material to help patients succeed following weight loss surgery.
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