Before & After, Revised Edition: Living and Eating Well After Weight-Loss Surgery [Paperback]

Susan Maria Leach (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 26, 2007

At 278 pounds, Susan Maria Leach couldn't lie in bed without gasping for air, wasn't able to fit into a restaurant booth, and could barely buckle the belt in an airplane seat. It would have been easier to allow life to pass her by than to continue fighting her weight problem, but she made the difficult decision to take back control. In 2001, Susan underwent gastric bypass surgery and started on a journey that would not only cut her body weight in half but would change her life.

Before & After is both a memoir and a cookbook—an intimate account of Leach's own transformation as well as a guide for those who have undergone or are considering the procedure. As Leach has learned in the six years since her operation, weight-loss surgery is not an event with a finish line or a goal weight—it is the beginning of a new way of life.

This edition of Before & After has been updated with all that Leach has learned on her post-op journey. It includes a foreword by Leach's surgeon, advice from a nutritionist, answers to more frequently asked questions about weight-loss surgery, a whole chapter on meal plans for different post-operative stages, suggested menus for early food stages, additional questions and answers affecting longer-term post-ops, and new information about products that have entered the marketplace.

Most notably, this edition showcases a wealth of new recipes that utilize the latest in light and healthy ingredients for smart and savory results, including everything from Asian Meatballs with Peanut Sauce and Turkey Tenderloin with Apple Chipotle Chutney to sugar-free Pistachio Gelato and Lemon Almond Sponge Cake. Each recipe makes about four servings, but includes a measured serving for WLS people along with a calorie/carb/fat/protein count. Leach has recipes for every step of the way, from tastes-like-the-real-thing milk shakes for those first post-op days to an entire Thanksgiving menu.

Before & After is a journal of Leach's own inspirational story, where she shares her ups and downs, her tips and techniques, but mostly it's a book of hope for anyone who has a serious weight problem.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Susan Maria Leach maintains her new weight and devotes her time to motivating others to keep on track and sustain healthy patterns of diet and exercise not just for a short period after surgery but for life. She owns and operates BariatricEating.com and has opened her first nutrition store in Pompano Beach, Florida. Her company is a member of the corporate council of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Cookbooks; 1 Revised edition (June 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061242853
• ISBN-13: 978-0061242854
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #85,551 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Unrealistic and Self-Important, February 12, 2009

By 

S. Tanzosch (Iowa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Before & After, Revised Edition: Living and Eating Well After Weight-Loss Surgery (Paperback)

I found this book to be frustrating. As someone who has had a weight loss surgery procedure, I found her lack of personal insight annoying. She mostly discusses her extensive travel, fancy clothing labels and gourmet dining experiences; that is, when she's not plugging her own website and products. This book seemed like a vanity project and nothing more.

What a person really wants and needs when researching WLS is a real and honest account of the ups and downs, before AND after surgery. They need to know that they aren't alone in their destructive behaviors and failures. Ms. Leach doesn't discuss how she got big in the first place, what behaviors lead to such a dramatic weight gain, etc. This book is mostly one long description of her privleged lifestyle and perfect figure (after plastic surgery). There are patients out there who don't have these pie-in-the-sky options, and I wonder how this book could possibly relate to them.

Additionally, over half of this book is dedicated to recipes. Recipes, by the way, that are not for the average working Joe/Josephine with children and several require you to buy products from her website in order to prepare them properly.

If you must read this "memoir", I would not suggest buying it. Check it out from your local library, or - better yet - find a more informational and substantial read elsewhere.

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing unless you want the recipes, May 24, 2008

By 

Greyhound Lady (Lancaster, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Before & After, Revised Edition: Living and Eating Well After Weight-Loss Surgery (Paperback)

I have to admit, I found this book disappointing. I am pre-surgery, in the qualifying stages, and have done a lot of research. I hear about dumping and emotional changes and mood swings and changes in relationships with people, as well as with food. So I expected this book would give me a realistic view of what to expect ahead.
I know each person's experience is different, but I got tired of the diary of what gourmet food she was able to eat each day after surgery...plenty of ! points throughout the narrative, like a pre-teen's diary, but not a lot of useful information. I was also disappointed she went right on eating absolutely everything pre-surgery to say goodbye to food, and then found she can still enjoy gourmet delights, just in tiny portions. Most of us are not gourmets, and it is not a healthy approach to weight loss surgery to have your last supper three times a day every day before surgery. You need to get your head in the right place first, and for me, it is breaking the food addiction. Susan obviously is able to continue her love affair with food without skipping a beat, just tiny portions. There's very little about the emotional changes to expect, etc. - her life seems perfect, she can afford the plastic surgery afterward, etc. There was nothing about the psychological aspects involved, just the good times with friends and sharing delicious food and being loved. It just wasn't the kind of book I'd hoped for.
On the positive side, though, I will say the recipes are good, and are broken down into WLS portions and normal portions.
I guess I was expecting a "real" person with real issues, but instead this book is about someone who has her cake and eats it too.

36 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Pre and Post RNY Surgery Book on the Market, June 27, 2007

By 

Ellie49505 "Gramsto3" (Grand Rapids, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Before & After, Revised Edition: Living and Eating Well After Weight-Loss Surgery (Paperback)

Just got my book in the mail today and I've not put it down. I am a post RNY surgery patient and I bought Ms. Leach's original book at the start of my journey almost 3 years ago. I bought several books on the surgery but found Ms. Leach's to be my bible. This book offers a soft cover which makes it easier to lay open on the counter when using her recipes (the book actually stays open to the page). You can't beat the price. The valuable information contained in the book is a must for anyone considering the surgery, recovering from the surgery or like me 3 years post op. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.