Sean Amore, weighing 483 pounds at the time, had gastric bypass surgery in March 2024. Having lost 250 pounds since, Sean continues his weight journey while living with his wife and daughter in Wichita, Kansas and working in public relations – writing about all of the above, and more, on his own blog, My Bariatric Journey.
General consensus in the white-coat-wearing, research-driven medical community is that the “benefits” of gastric bypass surgery (rapid weight loss, compliments from strangers, etc.) only last about 18 months. The limits on a patient last a lifetime. For me, that is a good thing.
With dozens of failed diet attempts behind me, I know all too well that I need tight limits and diet guidelines or disaster (in the form of thicker neck, waist, fingers and toes) will follow.
So, almost 19 months after my gastric bypass surgery, I still try to eat as cautiously as possible with allowance for the occasional SENSIBLE splurge/indulgence every now and again.
It is interesting . . . eating now versus eating before surgery. It sounds hokey, but I really don’t remember a lot of my eating life before surgery. While I have likely just blacked out most my obsessive eating before surgery, I am pretty sure I’ve always loved go-to staples like protein bars, grilled chicken breast and reduced fat cheese. I know I was a snacker and I guess I still am!
I had a long and deep-yet-secretive love affair with Little Debbie and the “tos” gang . . . Frito’s, Cheetos, Doritos, Tostitos, etc., but I have replaced them in my snack life with reduced fat Triscuits, sugar-free South Beach Living snacks, and Revival Diet crackers.
Today, it is. I’m proud to say that I’ve learned what a real and “healthy” portion looks like. I can enjoy a few potato chips without circling back for the whole bag. I count every calorie I eat (something I would have never dreamed of doing before) and I, frankly, prefer whole-wheat pitas to white bread and mustard to mayo and being in the 230s to being in the 530s.
The benefits of gastric bypass may be over, but the rules, and my diet, continue.