Having had gastric bypass surgery, I am little bit shocked at the percentage of failed gastric bypass surgeries. But I guess I should not be. The people in the promotional pictures for this surgery are always going to look good. After all, how can you sell something that doesn’t do what it promises? But if you look at the small print, some of them may have a disclaimer stating that the results are not typical.

The truth is for some people this surgery will save their lives and give them back a great quality of life, but for the ones that do not make lifestyle changes; they will probably be in for a rude awakening in the future. The first 6-12 months will be a big change and you will not be able to each much, but this will not last forever. After about a year, life will return to normal. I am even able to eat sugar…lots of sugar. Sometimes it makes me feel uncomfortable, but not so uncomfortable that I won’t eat it.

As a result I gained 25 pounds in the last year. Now I am in the position that I am out of options. So, I have finally started doing what I should have done ten years ago…exercising and making wise food choices. Since then, I have lost 11 of the 25 pounds and hope to have the rest off within the next 2-3 months.

But you probably wonder why people that have been given a tool to lose weight often regain some of the weight. Most of us are emotional eaters and have not learned to deal with this part of our lives. It is becoming more common to see support groups and counseling as part of both the pre-op and post-op gastric bypass program. If it is not, I highly recommend counseling or a 12 step program that helps you deal with why you eat compulsively.

Even though I have gained weight, I feel like I have gained more by losing these 11 pounds than I did when I lost my original 82 pounds. Those 82 pounds came off without doing anything. I feel like I have earned the 11 pound weight loss and that the 82 pounds was given to me. I did not value the 82 pounds like I do the 11. I am terrified of weighing 275 pounds again and I never want to have to live in that body again.