Customer Reviews

It Ain't Over 'til the Thin Lady Sings: How to Make Your Weight-Loss Surgery a Lasting Success

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Oh yawn, I thought. Another book by a gastric bypass patient explaining how to make things work long-term. But this book is certainly different than several others I've read by post-bypass patients. The author is a certified addictions counselor, and she tackles one of the most difficult aspects of weight loss by ANY means, be it weight-loss surgery or a diet and exercise regimen and that is the psychological aspects of what cause us to overeat and become obese in the first place. There is some very basic information about WLS itself and about post-op care and eating, but not much.

It is refreshing to read a book that doesn't give lists of what you can and can't eat, huge recipe sections, long lists of do's and don'ts. It's also refreshing to read a book in which the majority of the content is not all about the author and her story from fat to fit and how fabulous life is now. This book is about YOU. There are some anecdotes about the author's personal experiences and the experiences of some of her clients (she facilitates WLS support groups and deals with chronic overeaters), but it's mostly exercises encouraging you to find your own answers and gives you tools to help you work through your own "demons" and to develop strategies to let go of the old behaviors and develop healthy new ones. It also encourages you to come up with a post-op program that works for YOU rather than just following someone else's lists of do's and don'ts. This is an aspect of obesity in general and WLS in particular that I feel is very neglected and this book is a welcome addition to any collection of books dealing with WLS.

That said, I do feel it's somewhat incomplete with regard to the lack of information about the surgery itself, physical followup care, and I don't believe it emphasizes enough the importance of putting protein first, and her protein recommendations run lower than my own research indicates is necessary. The vital necessity of vitamin supplementation after gastric bypass is also not addressed forcefully enough, I don't think. As an RN working in a GI clinic, I talk with many post-ops who are quite malnourished down the road and find that their supplementation is very underdone. But since so many others of these types of books are just the opposite--emphasizing the physical aspects but ignoring the psychological, I do feel this book is an essential addition to any WLS patient's library, but I cannot say that it is a complete and comprehensive guide to WLS.

I myself am a year post-op RNY, and I did find the book very helpful, although not always pleasant, as some of the psychological things I have put on the back burner and it wasn't easy dragging them into the light. Still, I believe for long-term success, the author is absolutely correct in stating that these things MUST be addressed. The book will remain on my "keeper" shelf and I intend to drag it out periodically to refer to. Well done, and many thanks to Michelle for writing this book!

This self-help book about weight loss surgery has some great strengths, but also might not be quite what you're looking for.

On the upside, this book is very well written, and is a much smoother, more enjoyable read than the majority of self-help books out there. The author has also done her research, and does a good job of combining factual information with her own experiences and stories from other people she's talked to.

That said, the content of this book wasn't quite what I expected. This really wouldn't be the book to turn to if you're deciding whether or not to have weight loss surgery, or which type of weight loss surgery to have -- there's really very little information in the book to help readers make those decisions. Rather, the book seems very much targeted to people who are several steps down that road, and have already:

* decided to have the surgery,
* know which doctor or clinic they will use, and which surgical technique will be used, and
* whose doctor has already given them health and diet guidelines to follow.

For people who are already at that point in their journey, this book works to help emotionally prepare them, and helps them focus their motivation around following their doctor's guidelines for life after the surgery.

I think the book probably does a great job at that -- but a large chunk of the material isn't even specific to weight loss surgery, and is instead the same ideas and suggestions you'd find in most health or diet related self-help books.

All in all, I think this is a good book, and both easy and fun to read -- but I also think that many people might come away from reading this book wondering why they didn't learn more than they did.

I have really enjoyed this book. It is not just another Weight Loss Surgery book, it's different. It has assignments that the author has you complete. These assignments help you walk yourself through what you need to make the decision to have WLS or help you through your WLS journey. This book is as good as a counselor giving you an assignment for you to find yourself in among all the food issues that you have had or are having. Highly recommend the book.

It is not another cathartic story about a patient having the bariatric surgery. It helps explain the metabolic enzymes, a professional account of challenges and how to conquer these challenges. It also provides an insight in to other patients' view of the surgery. Well done! It is good for even a person who has had surgery a while back since it is an ongoing challenge for most. The key is to know that there is help and only You can do it!

This book offers some wonderful tools to help you get to your ideal weight, and stay there! Whether or not you are having weight loss surgery, the tools for life found in this book will make the journey easy and fun. It offers a brief overview of the surgery process, but the book's main focus is---get this---how to lose (or maintain) your weight using things you LOVE--your favorite foods (made in a heathier way), your favorite exercise (dancing, hiking, yoga, etc)your favorite hobbies, goals and dreams!

This book has solutions for the whole person, not just for the body. There are chapters that do talk about the physical body, but also it covers your emotional health, your spiritual life, social life, even your love life! Using stories from real people, these tools are shown in a down-to-eath manner that sets the reader at ease, along with self-help exercises for the reader to apply the tools to themselves.

I'm so glad this book was written. It was just what I needed to get me through pre and post surgery. Thank you, thank you, for writing this. This was such a blessing to have as a tool.

I don't know you, but I think the world of you.

It was easy to read and many good items for a new bariatric patient to attempt to get a handle on the head toods to help the stomach tool make a success of the weight loss journey. She was easy to read yet makes the reader think through what is happenind in her head that made one so overweight.

I cannot rate the product as I have not yet received it. I hope I will be getting it soon.