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

Comments

1. Ellie49505 says:
   May 30, 2010 at 12:03 am

   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.
   Rating: 5 / 5
2. Greyhound Lady says:
   May 30, 2010 at 12:32 am

   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.
   Rating: 2 / 5
3. S. Tanzosch says:
   May 30, 2010 at 3:16 am

   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.
   Rating: 2 / 5
4. Sachel says:
   May 30, 2010 at 5:14 am

   When I first read the good and bad review I thought “I can’t be that bad” but it is!.
   
   I am really disappointed with this book. It’s like she is still in denial about why she needed the RNY in the first place not just the weight but the psychological reasons. She never goes into why she gained the weight. I am not interested in which celebrities got the WLS.

   I bought this book hoping to get some REAL insight of what it does to you physically and emotionally. I got sick of reading how she goes out and has a wonderful time shopping at Macy’s, eating a special sugar free cheesecake especially prepared for her. After 30 pages I was really wondering if people where endorsing her to mention all the brand names, because I am sure it is important to put in your diary for which car manufacturer you brother works for and that not just any pair of jeans didn’t fit but the ones from DNKY. God forbid she actually wrote that she was actually feeling, it’s like super perky Barbie.
   
   This book is superficial and bland, lacking emotion it feels like a bad tv commercial IMO.

   Believe it or not you’ll actually find better WLS experiences on youtube.

   Rating: 1 / 5
5. C. Mcpherson says:
   May 30, 2010 at 7:54 am

   She makes it very obvious that she has money. Talks about fancy dinners out, fancy clothes, jewelry, trips.

   What I was looking for was more information on what it is like to go through the surgery and dealing with the diet afterwards.

   The author had a perfect recovery, everything was perfect and of course she has the perfect supplements to sell you on her web site.

   I felt this book was not helpful to me. In fact I’ve already given it away.
   Rating: 2 / 5

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