Weight loss injections or gastric band

[Mikeandrach]

Apologies if this sounds blunt, it’s meant to! But not in a rude way!

I’m a fat bloke, I’m no stranger to a buffet and nobody will ever accuse me of nicking a salad, so I’m not some gym mad bodybuilder preaching.

A good friend of mine is a surgeon, a well known, respected surgeon of 30+ years experience. He actively tries to talk people out of surgery or injections etc, because he has a very simple approach, which makes sense.

Your get your bank statement, your balance is what is left after the money has come in and the money has come out


Your body is your bank statement. It’s a reflection of what comes in vs what goes out. Too big? You are taking too much in (food, drink), and not letting enough out (exercise)

Of course the type of food plays a part etc but the principle makes sense.

He has seen patients daily with this condition, that condition and the other condition, and patients truly believe they have these issues, and maybe they do. But they are an excuse/justification not reality.

He is adamant he has never had a single patient that couldn’t have lost weight dieting PROPERLY

I am on slimming world, I have lost nearly 4 stone now since April.

My eldest brother spent his entire life eating and, well, eating some more. He followed slimming world a few years ago having been offered surgery (but too scared!) and has lost 13 stone in 2 years through diet alone. He doesn’t exercise. He’s a lazy git. He just eats right now.

If you want a magic quick fix, and this is a big secret, there isn’t one.

A lifetimes eating habit (both already experienced plus what’s to come in future), cannot, and will not be changed by a quick fix.

I know people who’ve had surgery and then follow a very restrictive diet. Might as well have just done slimming world or similar!

This isn’t rocket science, stop making excuses or hiding behind medical conditions, remember, your body is a bank statement

And I’m not having a pop at anyone, I’m a fat bloke remember, but hopefully not for much longer. No surgery or needles needed.

[returnplanning]

Originally Posted by Mikeandrach

Apologies if this sounds blunt, it’s meant to! But not in a rude way!

I’m a fat bloke, I’m no stranger to a buffet and nobody will ever accuse me of nicking a salad, so I’m not some gym mad bodybuilder preaching.

A good friend of mine is a surgeon, a well known, respected surgeon of 30+ years experience. He actively tries to talk people out of surgery or injections etc, because he has a very simple approach, which makes sense.

Your get your bank statement, your balance is what is left after the money has come in and the money has come out


Your body is your bank statement. It’s a reflection of what comes in vs what goes out. Too big? You are taking too much in (food, drink), and not letting enough out (exercise)

Of course the type of food plays a part etc but the principle makes sense.

He has seen patients daily with this condition, that condition and the other condition, and patients truly believe they have these issues, and maybe they do. But they are an excuse/justification not reality.

He is adamant he has never had a single patient that couldn’t have lost weight dieting PROPERLY

I am on slimming world, I have lost nearly 4 stone now since April.

My eldest brother spent his entire life eating and, well, eating some more. He followed slimming world a few years ago having been offered surgery (but too scared!) and has lost 13 stone in 2 years through diet alone. He doesn’t exercise. He’s a lazy git. He just eats right now.

If you want a magic quick fix, and this is a big secret, there isn’t one.

A lifetimes eating habit (both already experienced plus what’s to come in future), cannot, and will not be changed by a quick fix.

I know people who’ve had surgery and then follow a very restrictive diet. Might as well have just done slimming world or similar!

This isn’t rocket science, stop making excuses or hiding behind medical conditions, remember, your body is a bank statement

And I’m not having a pop at anyone, I’m a fat bloke remember, but hopefully not for much longer. No surgery or needles needed.

See more...

All of this is entirely true (as a doctor), however like most things the reality is more complex than that. There is a huge amount of psychology involved around our relationship with food, and moreover, once you get overweight, there are changes in our gut hormones and appetite centres in our brains that are difficult to overcome/reset. Similar to smoking, saying "just stop overeating" is not the answer. I'm not making excuses, but statements like the above have their place as part of understanding things, but are rarely going to be the entire answer.

[Lauz_87]

Diet and exercise is the best medication anyone can have! I personally wouldn’t waste money on injections, I would put that money towards counselling and speak about issues with the relationship of food.

Gyms can be scary and a lot of people are anxious about stepping into a gym but honestly the staff are there to help you achieve you’re goals. You can also do walking and free home workouts. Exercise will help to ease depression and anxiety by realising feel good endorphins.

Don’t mean to sound blunt but just my opinion!

[KarenG]

Folks, it may be that True Blue Angel has tried all of the well intended helpful suggestions previously - she acknowledges a diagnosis of bulimia - it’s likely to be way more complex an issue than just a better understanding of calories in vs calories out.

I absolutely agree that exercise plays a huge part and also healthy eating but I get the impression she may have tried all that already.

I hope it all works out for you True Blue (we were in a diet group together on here about ten years ago with Mitch, weren’t we?!)

[Lauz_87]

Originally Posted by KarenG

Folks, it may be that True Blue Angel has tried all of the well intended helpful suggestions previously - she acknowledges a diagnosis of bulimia - it’s likely to be way more complex an issue than just a better understanding of calories in vs calories out.

I absolutely agree that exercise plays a huge part and also healthy eating but I get the impression she may have tried all that already.

I hope it all works out for you True Blue (we were in a diet group together on here about ten years ago with Mitch, weren’t we?!)

See more...

And I agree of all the above, but from speaking from my personal experience with eating disorders speaking to a councillor, going to the gym and eating healthy helped me. Without any fad diets or a quick fix of an gastric band, which your relationship with food after that operation wouldn’t be the same.

[Cloverlady]

I have a friend who had a gastric band fitted a good few years ago before we met.
I know that she has had quite a few problems since, a lot of it related to her liquidising some of her favourite food and 'eating' it, she eats Omeprazole like sweeties to stop the heartburn. She has had other minor surgeries due to problems with it since I've known her. She vomits a lot too

She likes the slimmer her - but she still has problems as she still allows herself to 'eat' the wrong stuff.

(No personal experience to add - but she has told me snippets of this herself so I know (well, presume) this to be true).
She doesn't open up fully about her issues and I haven't pushed her on this as I'm a friend there to support her as she needs.

I'm over the weight I'd like to be (especially over lockdown! ) - I used to think of a gastric band as a last resort that would actually work if it ever came to it, but since I've met this friend I think differently...

[ChoppyGirl]

I’m surprised you meet the criteria to have a gastric band in the NHS. When I went through the process about 6 or 7 years ago I was just over 19 stone and type 2 diabetic and was turned down after going to the clinic for 2 years as my bmi was not high enough.

I decided to pay privately for a gastric band and lost nearly 4 stones. I really regret having it done as I couldn’t eat bread, pasta, rice, bananas etc without getting food stuck and having to be sick. If you eat meat you have to have a bite of no bigger than the rubber on the end of a pencil my surgeon told me. You also have to stick to the 20/20/20 rule where you chew for 20 seconds, wait 20 seconds between each mouthful and stop eating after 20 minutes. Get used to having cold food if you have a band! Social situations were awful, especially at work meals where not everyone knew I had a band.

I went through loads of adjustments but couldn’t find my sweet spot and eventually had a lot of the restriction loosened. The band is still there as would need an op to take it out. To this day I have problems with it and still get stickage and am the slowest person to eat at the table. You also get to find out quickly which foods are band friendly ie you can eat without restrictions and they happen to be things like chocolate and biscuits!

Please think very carefully before taking such a drastic step x

[KarenG]

Originally Posted by Lauz_87

And I agree of all the above, but from speaking from my personal experience with eating disorders speaking to a councillor, going to the gym and eating healthy helped me. Without any fad diets or a quick fix of an gastric band, which your relationship with food after that operation wouldn’t be the same.

See more...

I think we are agreeing totally and I have lost a big amount of weight myself in the past through healthy eating and lots of exercise.

But she may already have done this - and she mentions going to counselling again in her OP, so she has tried that route previously. I’m simply saying that the obvious answers and experiences we may all have had may not be the right answer for her.

[TrueBlueAngel]

Just to add to all that. I did do counselling for quite some time, where I was 10 stone, trying to get off VLCDs and losing a very hard battle. I recognised that this had been going on since my late teens, but gorging out on chocolate went back to my school days. The menopause has really hit me hard. Prior to that, I was going to the gym 5 times a week, but still couldn’t get the diet part right. Now I just don’t have the energy to go for a walk. Whether I’m a size 10 or a size 16, the names I call myself, the abuse that I hurl at myself, the viciousness of it all... it’s soul destroying. I hate myself more than words can describe.
To be put forward for a band, I know I’ll have to go through the wringer again of counselling, etc which I don’t want but there you go. My counsellor did say that my thoughts were severe and it didn’t matter that anything she said was right, I just failed in the end. As I got older, I just hate myself more and more. Even my poor husband can’t win. Pays me compliments and I think he’s lying. Goes to say that I haven’t even had this discussion with him at all, he has no idea that tomorrow I’ll be starting the injections while I hope for a band on the NHS, or save to go privately. All I know is that I cannot live like this and unless you’re in my head, no one will ever understand my personal battle with food.

[louiseybobs]

I'm so sorry to hear you're feeling like this. I don't have any advice sorry other than maybe making a GP appointment they might be able to steer you in the right direction. I'm sending lots of love xx