Weight Lost: Surgery Vs. Diet and Exercise

Ann Stewart: I’m not a doctor and I don’t consider myself an expert on this subject, but I have tried many weight lost methods in my life. I have tried programs such as Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, and YMCA fitness and Gold’s gym exercise clubs. I have tried diets such as low calorie, low carb (such as Atkins and now South Beach)…and I have tried surgeries too, such as liposuction and stomach gastric by-pass and breast reduction. Still just like so many other people I know, I am still fighting the battle of the bulge. It doesn’t matter what weight lost methods you try even surgery cannot keep the weight off. It has to be a life style change. Even people who have had surgery still gain all the weight back and more or they don’t lose much weight at all…Could it be that American food is so fatty that the majority of us are always going to be over weight like the American people are now? Why is America filled with people who are over weight? America is considered to be the most over weight country there is? I was once told by a doctor that being over weight can be genetic. Is it a genetic thing that some people are just born with? Also sometimes when women get pregnant and are prone to gaining weight they seem to have a hard time losing it…So I want to share with you stories and pictures of myself and of other people I know or have read about that have had to fight the battle of the bulge their whole life and tell you what helped them and what happened to me as well.

Folks meet Jennifer…Jennifer is 5 foot 2 inches tall and had been over weight for about 25 years after the birth of her 2nd son. She would fluctuate about 25 to 45 pounds over her idea weight for most of those 25 years after giving birth. In 2001 she joined Weight Watchers and the pounds slowly came off over a 2 year period of time . Jennifer now weighs 128 pounds and has kept the weight off for almost 4 years. She lost over 40 pounds. Jennifer says Weight Watcher is the best program there is and she has also tried many other programs that didn’t help her keep the weight off permanently.

Folks meet Jennifer’s sister Becky….Becky is also about 5 foot 2 inches tall and once weighed over 260 pounds. Becky suffered from obesity and with her weight fluctuating for almost 30 years like a yo-yo, Becky finally gave up on diets and exercise and tried by-pass surgery. Two years after the surgery Becky now weighs less than 130 pounds after being obese and over weight for almost 30 years. Becky had a hard time during her surgery…She had to have a 2nd surgery about a year after for stomach ulcers. She also says she suffered from hair lost and her teeth became weak and frail because of the lost of calcium she suffered from after the surgery and she could chip or brake her teeth very easily. She had many complications such as bleeding from the rectum, and excessive vomiting, but even though she had all those medical problems…she says now she is happy she had the surgery, because she feels like if she wouldn’t have had it she wouldn’t have lost the weight.
Now meet Karolyn…Karolyn is Becky’s daughter-in-law…Karolyn also suffered from obesity and had the by-pass surgery. Karolyn did not have any other medical problems from having the surgery like Becky had…but the difference may be because Karolyn is about 25 years younger than Becky…Karolyn was in her mid thirties when she had the surgery and Becky was in her late fifties…Many doctors have told me that the younger you are and the more healthy you are the better chance you have of not having complications during this surgery and after. Karolyn is 5 foot 11 inches tall and now weighs 132 pounds…She is now a little under weight, and is trying to gain weight. She used to be over 310 pounds.

I also want to say just because you have this surgery doesn’t mean you are going to be slim for life. I know several people who have had this surgery and have gained all or more or most of the weight back again. Take Carnie Wilson for example…Carnie is the spokes person for Stomach Gastric by-pass surgery. Her recent pregnancy with her child could be the main reason she has gained the weight…I know when I was pregnant I got more over weight than I had ever been in my entire life, and I feel like women who are prone to gaining weight will usually gain to much weight during a pregnancy…I am rooting for Carney to lose the baby fat too…cause I feel like she has been a great educator about the methods of surgery weight lost and I want to see her back on getting control of her weight again.

Another famous star that had stomach by-pass surgery and kept the weight off is Sharon Osborne. She isn’t real vocal about it, but to me she is someone who shows that you can keep it off after surgery…because I have seen so many people who haven’t kept the weight off even after having by pass surgery. Maybe the trick to it is try not to get pregnant after stomach gastric by-pass surgery. It just seems like pregnancy can put the pounds back on you if you are prone to gaining weight, even after having surgery like Carnie Wilson did.
http://www.ryanpinkston.com/03_LatestNews13.htm

Now meet me…I’m Ann Stewart...And these are my before and after pictures of me and I’m the girl who talks all over the Internet about all kinds of things. So talking about this shouldn’t be a problem for me. This picture on the left is me a few weeks after I had my twin boys. Boy was I large…I weigh in at about 286 pounds not long after I gave birth…I had a hard time trying to losing it…Breast feeding made it worst, cause I was suppose to eat more to keep my milk up. If you lose weight you can lose your milk. Now this is the smaller me to the right at a year after by pass surgery and after seeing the success of Becky and Karolyn I decided to try the surgery too, because I had battled weight my whole life and having babies just made me bigger…It has been over a year since my surgery and I still have to diet and exercise, but I am now down to 153 pounds. I had an easy time with the surgery…It wasn’t that painful and unlike Becky I didn’t have any medical complications. I am still losing weight and now I am trying a high protein low carb diet called South Beach, but I don’t recommend surgery for everyone…I think it is better to lose the weight with diet and exercise, but if you are trying and losing the battle of the bulge than surgery may help you. Weight Watchers is probably the best diet I can recommend…Having tried it myself for many years before I got pregnant and being able to keep the weight off then is what makes me think Weight Watchers is probably the best program out there. And that is the end of our weight lost story…If you are trying to lose weight, I hope you read this and consider the options of Surgery Vs. Diet and Exercise.

I’m Ann Stewart
Your online friend