That was what worked for me. I can still eat all the 'bad' things I used to. I just eat less of them or have them less frequently. My high-fat, fast-food habits pushed me up over 225. Since I cut way back on them, I've dropped to the 165-170 range. (It took a while to lose it but I've been able to keep it off for over a year now.)
Good for you for losing so much weight. Keep it up.
This surgery is for the grossly obese. Those that are at least 100 pounds over weight. Most of these weigh at least 300 pounds and up.