The "easy" way out
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Surgery for has made weight loss easier. I mean, I've been trying to do it "the right way" with "will power" for 20 years and have been unsuccessful. Should I have just kept trying while being severely uncomfortable in my 5'4.5" - 315 pound body that could barely more around? Of course not. Surgery is an option, and for me, I had insurance that covered it, went through the process, and although I am still in the losing process I have my life back thanks to surgery.
People who say that are uneducated about WLS. While it makes the weight loss easier initially there is A LOT about it all that is HARD!
I personally keep my surgery secret from people except my hubby, and a couple other family members, but if I did tell people and I got that response I'd simply say,
"Well, diet and exercise hasn't worked for 20 years. WLS will absolutely make losing easier initially, but there is still a lot of hard work that goes into it. Also, unless you've been in my morbidly obese shoes, specifically, you have no idea how badly I needed this tool so I could get my life back" - I would also not say this in a "rude" tone, but as nicely as I can. I am looking for supporters and to educate people, not drive them away.
Don't let someones ignorance get to you or second guess your decision. There is an unnecessary stigma that comes with WLS, so I get how you feel, but I realized that I just needed to do it if I wanted to be healthier/have a better quality of life.
Hang in there and good luck with the process.0 -
Losing weight when you are morbidly obese has nothing to do with willpower. Your body has gone through fundamental physiologic, metabolic and endocrine changes that no amount of willpower will fix. WLS does.
If you are Type 2 diabetic, surgery will most likely fix your diabetes. Overnight. No amount of willpower will do that. That's a fundamental hormonal change from WLS.
There are lots of other changes surgery has on your body just as profound. They have nothing to do with having a smaller stomach and being able to eat less. If that was all they did, the band would work. Surgery does so much more. Your body is different in so many ways.0 -
This has been one of the best advice threads I've read in ages! I'm on the wait list (Canada) for my WLS and this same thing has crossed my mind. I sometimes think "Maybe if I just 'this' or maybe if I just 'that' I will be able to lose the extra 200lbs.
Thank you all for your perspective. Although I will likely question myself until they put me under, I know I'm making the right decision.0 -
I think that every one of us believed that we could do it "on our own." Most consider surgery, maybe go to information seminars, and decide to do it without surgery. Many lose some weight, often a lot. But then the weight creeps back, and we weigh more than ever before. Finally, a year, or two or five later, we give in, and have surgery. And afterward, we all say we wish we had done it years earlier.0
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I am really glad that little post touched you Jena!
A point to consider would be that people make this comment intending to hurt. For many who struggle with weight the insinuation that you are "lazy" or "just eat too much" or "won't exercise" hits deep and provokes an emotional response. I suggest you don't give them that power. BE PROUD of your decision to make a change, a permanent change. We know it's not the easy way so why do we care if others say so? And besides, what's wrong with taking an easier path if it's effective?
In America we celebrate those that "Build a better mousetrap". Thank you to the brilliant doctors who developed the Bypass and for those who evolved that idea into the VSG. This new "easy" way is saving thousands of lives - pretty dam good for a shortcut!0 -
I myself ask myself if I'm taking the easy way out. I found myself saying it before J ever considered surgery. I have been obese and overweight since having my first child at the age of 16. I'm barely 5 ft tall and am currently 214 lbs. I have tried losing weight. We clean eat at my house. My problem is grazing and skipping meals then eating large portions later in the evenings. I have worked out multiple times a week and nothing seemed to help. I'm sure my small town will have a lot to say about me having surgery, but I've come to realize it's only a tool and not the easy way out. I will have to eat the right way and workout daily to get the weight off and keep it off.0
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I myself ask myself if I'm taking the easy way out.
Even if you were... which surgery is most definitely not... the best answer? "So what?" Doing it the "hard way out" will not make me a better person in the end. The destination is the same, the road travelled is less relevant.
If you are trying to reach a destination, and there is a shorter route that is a little bumpier but cuts out half the time and eliminates a ton of stoplights (the hard way is full of these
) - wouldnt you at least consider the benefits of taking it?!
Unless its somehow going to directly affect THEIR life, why should they care what (safe) method you use to save your own life?! All roads have trade-offs and risks, YOU decide which road is the best option for YOU.0 -
My doctor explained it to me this way and I really connected with it. This surgery is a "tool" you still have to do the work and eat healthy. If a man were drowning would you say hey let me teach you how to swim or would you throw him a life vest to save his life and then teach him how to swim?
This surgery is my life vest. Yes I have lost and gained for my entire life. Lost 100 pounds in my 30's following Weight Watchers and exercise. I have been on the yo yo train my whole life and as I get older the harder it is to lose the weight and the more health problems I have. Only you know what is best for you in your life and your journey. Try to let comments like that roll off of your back that person doesn't know where you are on your journey. In the end you have to be happy with yourself and other's opinions of you are not as important as your opinion of yourself. 0
