The stats about the success rates of WLS are not going to be very helpful anyway, because they only cover the first year after WLS, which is basically a honeymoon period - they lose weight rapidly, they feel great (both the thrill of losing weight so rapidly provides a natural high, and the physical ability to do more because of the weight loss improves mood), and mortality rates are very low during that first year.

But that first year is also when they're most likely to stick closely to the very restrictive diet, which as I understand it is just a very low carb diet (not quite keto, since I don't think they're able to handle nearly that much fat in their diet with their disrupted digestive tract), especially considering the dramatic weight loss results they're seeing that first year.

After the first year though, weight loss results slow, stop completely, or they even start to regain, even on their restricted diet. If they have not stabilized at their weight loss goal by the end of the first year (unlikely, since most WLS patients have well over 100 lbs to lose), complacency or downright discouragement can set in, so they start to drift back to SAD type foods. Worse than that, after the first year, nutrient deficiencies start to show up (disrupting the digestive tract reduces the ability to absorb nutrients efficiently, hence there's an increased need for dietary supplements), and mortality rates related to the ongoing after-effects of WLS start to increase. No wonder they only follow up the first year - if they increased the followup period to 5 or 10 years, the statistics would tell a completely different story about the success (and dangers) of WLS.

Benay - I'm not at all surprised that your WLS co-worker believed that popcorn was ok, because nutritionists and dieticians are all about low fat and whole grains for everyone, no matter what their situation might be. Granted, a box of popcorn is mostly air (which means it's not going to really be filling, but that's immaterial - it's Ok to eat a WHOLE BOX of it!!!), but it's very low in nutrients, and mostly carbs, and as you're aware, not good at all for someone who has had WLS.



Someone on another LC forum who had WLS insisted that the post surgery diet doesn't need to be LC... with the resulting increased physical problems. Only instead of regaining weight, her problems resulted in some kind of condition that led to rapid, extreme weight loss - prior to WLS, she was somewhere well over 300 lbs, and the last I read anything about her (about 3 years ago) she was under 120 (way too low for her height), and still losing, with no end in sight. I hope she was able to recover, but I have my doubts - you know how it is when an online acquaintance who is ill suddenly disappears, and you have no private contact information about them, not even a real name to google.