I kept my surgery quiet until it was over. The only negative comment I received was from a man who said...The only way to loose weight is to push away from the table. He is one ignorant man!!!! He has no idea what my medical history is....or why WLS was RECOMMENDED by my doctors.

Throughout my life I've been open-minded about what others do/believe and don't do/believe even if I don't condone it for myself. It's their life, not mine. I only go on websites that are specifically aimed at Bariatric patients. General weight loss sites have their own opinions and they are not ever going to change them regarding our type of surgery.

My motto is if you haven't experienced exactly the same issue/experience you're so against, you should keep your opinions to yourself unless asked. Negative comments and uninformed opinions just irritate me and just aren't important enough to allow them to change how you feel. You'll never change their minds, so I don't let their comments bother you.

You know you made the right decision for you as did the rest of us.

I did do it the 'right way'. Over and over and over. It didn't stick. Not because I'm a terrible person, for the same reasons it fails for most people who work hard to lose weight. I have the additional issues of being somewhat immobile because of some near-crippling illnesses. That hasn't helped. And my metabolism is very low. Some of us are just 'blessed' that way. I've always tried to eat right, move when I am able, but as I aged and my metabolism slipped even further, it wasn't enough. What do all those preachy folk on the main board want me to do? Die before my time and get buried in an oversized coffin? Will that help them in their quest for 'Weight Management Superiority'?

I'm glad I found this forum.

I'm glad I don't participate in other WL forums out here other than this. I stick to bariatric stuff, I feel I have more in common with people who are going through the same journey.

A lot of their misplaced anger comes from a place of ignorance, I think many people (myself included before I actually did research on WLS) is that WLS is a magic cure that will make you lose weight without much work involved. People don't realize the commitment it takes and that it isn't a magic cure. And some people are happy in their ignorance so I'm not about to defend myself to strangers who aren't open to really understanding what it takes to be successful after WLS.

I had major guilt leading up to surgery because I thought I was taking the easy way out and I have been proven wrong time and time again. There are times where I take one bite and get the hiccups (full indicator) and I'm like really WTH Im not satisfied. Physically I am but Mentally I'm not.

Yeah, those that think this is easy haven't done it and don't know anyone who has done it successfully. We all know this is a whole lifestyle change and if we are going to keep the weight off it's also a lifelong lifestyle change. And we also know just how hard we have to work at our food plan (I don't like the word diet as it represents temporary change to me) and our exercise routines.

Due to my very slow metabolisim, arthritis in my spine, hip, knee and feet, and being 386 pounds, exercise was way beyond me. Eating healthy or small amounts never worked for more than 40 pounds or so and then the weight loss would just stop. Once that happened, I would eventually give up. For me, WLS was the only option left if I wanted to regain my mobility and health. And I have! No I'm not to goal yet, but that's OK. I'm still working on it and will get there eventually.

I typically stay off the message boards here and stick to my WLS groups. You all understand what I'm doing and going through and your support is awesome!

Yeah, I stay off the regular boards too and just follow the WLS ones. But having said that, I read the one that's referred to in this thread and I wasn't shocked or upset by it or even surprised. A lot of those comments were misinformed or were based on the 'outliers' or worst case scenarios, or based on their own prejudices and emotional dysfunction. I have enough of my own without tapping into theirs. LOL. My feeling is that I come here for good information and support which isn't as easy to find on the general, public boards so I keep my participation focused to just the WLS boards, at least for now. Maybe a time will come when I need info or support for something exercise related and need to find it outside these boards.

I tell very few people about my WLS. My close friends and family of course know, but the rest of the world mostly just knows that I am eating very little these days. If people ask (and not many do), I tell them that I log every bite of food, wear my fitbit and track exercise and eat under 1,000 calories a day under doctor supervision and use any other tools that I can. If they ask me straight out if I had surgery, I wouldn't lie but I think of the surgery as just one of several tools that I'm using right now. The VSG makes it possible for me to stay on the eating plan but by itself, it isn't the reason for weight loss. I don't want to contribute to the myth that WLS is the easy way to do it. At the end of the day, it comes down to expending more calories than what you take in.

I am often a little confused at how surgery is often viewed as the "easy way." If it was so easy, they would all be doing it. They are just kidding themselves if they think differently. There is no special place in heaven for those who lose weight with non-surgical hard work. Those of us who have lost weight with surgical assistance, and the same hard work, will be milling about up there right along with them. Or maybe not. If passing judgement and criticizing others is a way of life then maybe Heaven is not their ultimate destination. In either case, it is not worth the argument.