The FastDay Forum

Probably more apt for the morbidly obese, but what are people's thoughts on the benefits of intermittent fast and the resultant (relatively slow) decline in weight versus the alterative of very quick weight loss through bariatric surgery in particular stomach sleeving (removal of 80% of stomach). .. much references in google and Youtube on this method. This form of surgery is unfortunatly or fortunately, depending how you look at it, is taking Australia by storm.

Major surgery when you're already morbidly obese? Wonder what the stats are for success?

I'm happy, got my virtual gastric band and my mind in order. I watch the programmes where people have it and still overeat, forcing it to enlarge. At least I have the choice to overeat without damaging myself.

http://www.obesityhelp.com/content/risks.html

Thats the whole point isn't it? Surgery may seem like a quick fix buteven that wont do the job if you haven't made that mental click. How many of us know of people who have gone through it only to make themselves ill by forcing down the same old rubbish.

Its possibly even more important to change your diet if you have surgery because the amount you can eat has to provide everything you need for continuing health. I know of a lady who badgered her doc sensless to get the op on the NHS and ended up with so many deficiencies she hardly had room for real food after she'd got down all the different supplements!

The various fasting plans may take longer but they will re-educate your appetite. The big bonus is that you can go to a party and eat cake or have a few treats on your holidays. Surgery is waving goodbye to that unless you want to endure dumping.

Well when I found this woe 11 weeks ago I was morbidly obese (i hope to move down a group in next week or maybe 2 ) and as bad as it was for me I never considered the opp I did however consider the hypno/band + at a visit to nurse asked her opinion, when I returned 10 days later for blood results she told me ''it works'' I was to say the least very sceptical and at way over £1,000 couldn't afford the cash for something that May not work!!! How glad I am that I purchased the book and got stuck-in I do truly believe I have same feeling as hypno, right from 1st day my head was in the right place + of course that itself is priceless, I have to see her again sometime in next 6 weeks I'm putting it off a little longer because I want to lose half stone before I see her again I've printed off all info for her to show her how I've done/doing for the price of £5 I just want to see her face. For me I couldn't be happier + healthier + yes fitter as my walking is now up to 12/15 miles per week that has so got to help me, and basically helping myself coz no one else was going to, Love this WOE Sue

I am not in favor of lopping off perfectly good parts of the body to lose weight. I guess if you are in to that concept, you could lose more weight quicker if you just cut off a leg or two.

To me, a cheap and fairly quick way to lose a lot of weight would be a medically supervised fast. In another post, I mentioned a guy that lost about 280 pounds in a year doing that. Slower, but still effective, would be a 6 or 8 month stint on the Induction Phase of the Atkins diet. A person would lose quite a bit and still be able to eat all they want to.

One of the nice things about 5:2 is that over time it teaches you how to eat properly. If there is no need to lose really fast, I say 5:2. I would guess many morbidly obese might be addicted to carbs (as I was), so doing the Atkins Induction for two weeks before starting 5:2 might be worth it.

Interesting topic.

Surgery always carries risks. A friend of my grandparents died of complications of bariatric surgery (not sure what specific procedure).

Three of my friends have had some form of surgery done. One gained most of the weight back within a few years. One I've lost touch with. And the third had it a year or two ago and it's too soon to tell how she'll do at keeping off the weight.

If a person needs to lose the weight quickly for medical reasons, then it might be worth the risks. If they are like my first friend who did it thinking it was a magic bullet to lose weight without "dieting" and without exercise then I suspect it's based on false hope and the weight has a good chance of coming back.

Any time I wish the weight would come off faster I remind myself it took a few years to gain it. At a pound a week I'm still losing it faster than I put it on. If people are impatient for the weight loss, then maybe they need to work on increasing their patience rather than speeding up the weight loss. Of course I'm referring to cases where the weight isn't immediately life threatening and needs to come off ASAP.

I know someone who had a gastric band fitted about 3 years ago and to me she doesn't seem to have lost weight. If I see her in the local shop though she always seems to be buying sausage rolls or pasties. I don't think she is in the right frame of mind to lose weight.

I work as a nurse in a GP practice and I know at least a handful of people who have had weight loss surgery and lost weight initially - only to regain it again. No idea why this is - I thought it was supposed to be a permanent solution, but to me it seems like an awful lot of risk for not much of a reward in these instances. I'll stick to 5:2 because it might be slow, but it WORKS!

I am not in favor of lopping off perfectly good parts of the body to lose weight. I guess if you are in to that concept, you could lose more weight quicker if you just cut off a leg or two.

Agree why would you when we now have this option, IMO there are no quick fixes slow and steady wins the race and in the meanwhile new habits around food are developed. All my instincts about it scream no

I must confess that I was booked in for gastric surgery before I found this WOE. I was that disparate although I had major reservations about the possible risks and side effects. But there simply did not seem to be any alternative to fix my utterly out of control eating. Then I came across 5:2 and decided to give it a go while I was waiting for surgery! Wow what a transformation. I am waiting to lose a bit more before I go back to see the surgeon to cancel. The issue in all of these systems is the long term sustainability. And of course we do not know yet how 5:2 will operate for each of us in the long term.

By the way I have tried Atkins several times and it has not cured my carb addiction. 5:2 seems to have done so.

Anything I've seen about weight loss surgery says you have to drastically reduce your food intake for it to work. in which case just do the food reduction without the surgery.

I don't know what's supposed to happen if you have weight loss surgery and get down to a lean weight - are you able to eat enough for maintenance or do they just figure you'll never get there so don't bother about it.

Anything I've seen about weight loss surgery says you have to drastically reduce your food intake for it to work. in which case just do the food reduction without the surgery.

I don't know what's supposed to happen if you have weight loss surgery and get down to a lean weight - are you able to eat enough for maintenance or do they just figure you'll never get there so don't bother about it.

I think the point is that the surgery makes it easier to drastically reduce the amount of food you eat and in some cases changes your appetite. It is a tool to help you to do what you cannot manage to do on your own. That is why I am so excited about 5:2 my urge to overeat sees to have gone!

I am not a cheer leader for gastric surgery - have concerns about long term side- effects - but as someone who has dieted all her life and ended up fatter than ever I can see why some people do it.

I know 2 people that had a gastric band at the same time. One has lost weight and kept it off. The other one didnt lose much and then put its back in anyway. She is however having success with 5:2.

I was on the program for gastric band surgery, but to get it done in my area you have to lose 10% of your weight before they will do the surgery. Its so that you can prove to them that you will or can change your eating habits for it to succeed long term. I couldn't even stick to a diet long enough to lose the 10%.

Something to think about also is that the reason for me needing to lose my weight, is the need for surgery, the specialist wants it done ASAP as my prognosis is full paralysis within a few years, the anesthetist won't touch me till I have got my BMI below 40. Yet they are willing to do surgery on people with a BMI of over 40 purely because they haven't found a way of eating that allows them to lose weight. It just seems wrong.