The answer good or bad I have found really depends on what the person's mindset was going into the surgery. A magic bullet or pill the surgery is not. Your surgeon is not going to do anything to your brain, isn't going to reroute any synapses or impulses in your brain. All he is going to do is reroute your digestive system.
But the problem is, it's all in our heads. It always has been, it always will be. And what's in your head is what is going to show up in front of you.
Before I made the final decision to have the Rouen-Y gastric bypass surgery, I talked to a lot of people. In the beginning, it seemed like all I talked to or heard about or knew about were people who had 'failed' at the surgery. People who regained the weight. People who still struggled with eating too much and throwing up....10 years post surgery! People who weren't drinking their water, weren't exercising, weren't taking their vitamins. They were drinking alcohol and smoking, drinking diet sodas. All I was surrounded by were people who didn't make the surgery work. So I looked at myself and I realized that because I was so afraid of failure, because I was so afraid of the surgery, the universe (God) was manifesting in front of me exactly what I was thinking about.....failure.
Now, I didn't change my mind overnight. In fact, it took me almost 2 years to decide to go forward with this surgery. I kept telling myself "This time I can lose the weight and keep it off for good", "this time I'm going to exercise and eat right", "this time it will be different". The challenge was that, of course, nothing was different. I was the same person in the same body thinking the same thoughts, over and over, like a rat on a treadmill.
So I had to decide to be a 'success percentage of 1'....meaning that I was not going to worry about what other people who 'failed' did....the only thing I could control was myself. So I started seeking out people who had 'won' at the surgery. And the funny thing, they're not obvious. Why not? Well, because I was looking for overweight people this entire time! I had to start asking friends for referrals to the healthy-weight people who had 'won' at the surgery.
And they are everywhere! Once I decided that I was going to win at this game, the universe (God) opened up my eyes and put successful people in front of me left and right. I was bombarded by referrals to strangers who were willing to talk to me, encourage me, guide me. And they all said there was no secret to success....no magic bullet.....no easy way......but you had to follow some simple rules. Here they are:
1. drink plenty of water. Think you've drank enough? Have another glass. And another.
2. no more carbonation. Say good bye to sodas and beer and champagne and fizzy water. Just say goodbye. They're not good for you anyway.
3. chew chew chew. then chew some more. a little more. Remember the old 'chew your food 32 times'? well, try that. See how much longer it takes to eat a meal if you actually chew your food into mush. I will guarantee you that you will #1 actually notice the food you are eating, possibly for the very first time in your life, #2 feel like you are eating more, and #3 finally give your brain time to catch up with your stomach.
4. no eating and drinking at the same time. Now, this was the rule that terrified me. After all, I was the water guzzler. 2-4 glasses of water with each meal, no joke. So what was I doing? Washing all the food thru my stomach & diluting all my stomach acids & the saliva acids that were pre-digesting my food for me.
#4 was the guideline that I knew I had to get down before surgery. I could not remember a meal in my entire life that I had not drank copious amounts of liquid with it, whether it was milk as a child or water as an adult. So I made a decision to get this habit down before surgery. I started about 3 months before surgery, because I wanted to get the habit ingrained. I couldn't imagine how I was going to be able to swallow food without liquid. But you know the funny part? It's really easy. And I felt like I was eating so much food. I had to stop reading while I ate too, that slowed me down and made me more conscious of my food.
#5 protein first. so eat your meat before your vegetables, and your vegetables before your starch. Trust me, if you chew and chew and chew, you won't have any room for the starch. Nor will you miss it.
#6 no smoking. This was not a problem for me as my mother died from emphysema, which essentially means she drowned in her own lungs. Urgh. No thank you.
#7 exercise. It doesn't need to be fancy. Walk. Can't walk yet? start. Go for 5 minutes, or 3 minutes, or one minute. Just start somewhere. You've got to be able to walk around after surgery, and it's cheap (okay, free) exercise, requires no special equipment, you don't need a gym, if the weather is bad you walk inside the shopping mall (ladies, without your purse!).
#8 no more Tylenol/ibuprofen or derivatives. I have to say that tylenol works a heck of a lot better than acetiminophen, but I don't have as much cause to use painkillers now that my poor body isn't lugging a small person around on top of me.
I took one guideline (hate to call them rules) a month and internalized it into my life. I knew I had to get these steps down before I would be successful. And that is what everyone who was successful said. Follow the rules (guidelines), no deviations, and you'll be fine.
I'm almost at a year post op, my weight loss stabilized about 8 months out, and I have maintained a 100 pound weight loss without any challenges.
Remember, it's all in your head. Work on your head first. Your stomach is not the problem. It's what's going on in your head. And you're the only one who can help yourself and change your self-talk. It's not going to be easy, in fact it's going to be the hardest thing you have ever done in your life....but I promise you, it will be worth it.
I hope you find my words inspiring, my hope is to help others be successful and heal as I have. I wish you much success in your own personal healing journey
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