as i go forward with pre op appts.. i ask myself the same question every day. I dont really want the surgery, honeslty who would want 2/3 of their perfectly good stomach cut out? my mind says i just have a lack of will power.. well at 48 and 312 lbs, i've had that same lack of will power for over 20 years. surgery seems like a way to force myself into controlling my eating.

The issue is not that this person thinks that VSG is the easy way out.

The issue is that you have to be sure that you want it, that it is for you, and be able to convey that to the people who you choose to tell about your decision. If you can't articulate a good reason for why you need VSG, then maybe you are not ready!

Also - there are a lot of people out there who will rain on your parade. Half of them don't know what they are talking about, and the other half have their own reasons for wanting things to stay status quo, IMHO.

For me: I have been fat my entire life. I have tried everything and nothing has worked. I cannot afford to be fat any longer. This is the only way I can lose weight and be healthy.

I had VSG, and it is the best health decision I ever made. Hands down. I have no regrets!

Despite all the information out there, most people do not understand the mechanics, nor the science behind weight loss and gain, the effect of hormones, age, illness, disability, metabolism, and a host of other factors has on both. For anybody who can diet in a conventional way and get that weight off and keep it off, I say, "OMG! You are so fortunate! DO IT!"

I've kept this surgery to myself and my very immediate family and a couple of trusted friends because life is too short for me to spend it answering kneejerk commentary about how I took 'the easy way out'. Walk a mile in my Dr. Scholls, then we'll talk about what's right for me.

WLS is more than just restriction. It affects a host of other functions that likewise contribute to the loss. Because the mathematics of calories in vs. calories out tell me there is no way I can be losing at the rate I am. There have to be other factors at work and WLS brings those other factors into play.

You do what is best for you, whether that is WLS or some other path to your goal. I wish you well on your journey.

And here's yet another angle. My primary care physican (PCP) told me years ago that once you hit a certain point in obesity, diet and exercise alone no longer help. My bariatric surgeon's office has a non-surgical weight loss plan too. I asked about it rather than the surgery and he told me the same thing my PCP did. Now I can't speak for anyone else, but at 386 pounds with my mobility all but gone, I was way past that point. Surgery was the ONLY way for me to have a chance of losing the weight.

We all know this isn't the easy way out. We all also know that if we could have done it with diet and exercise alone, we would have. Fact is, we were obese because we couldn't do it with diet and exercise alone. So the surgery was necessary for us. Nothing wrong with that. Surgery fixes physical problems. Whether it's a broken bone, a ruptured spleen, etc., surgery is a tool to fix it. This surgery fixed me and gave me a tool to use to lose the weight, regain my mobility and improve my quality of life. Easy? No. Doable? Yes. And as long I continue to use this tool I will get the weight off and I will keep it off.

A person I know indicates having WLS is taking the "easy" way out. I thought I had a response for that comment. Committing to a surgery and then a life style of very limited eating of healthy food is not really easy, plus I will still need to exercise. The person than wanted to know why I couldn't just commit to limited eating of healthy food now with exercise and skip the surgery. I was sort of at a loss for a response and then it made me start to question myself. Obviously if I could limit my food intake and eat healthy & exercise now I wouldn't need the surgery. But for some reason, I seem unable to do that. But if I am unable to do it now, why do I think that I can do it after surgery? I felt like I was building momentum towards a successful surgery and a better and healthier life afterwards, but now I'm feeling a little unsure of my decision. I'd welcome some words of wisdom.

Weight loss surgery isn't a way out. It's a tool, and in order for that tool to work, you have to do your part. I want to meet the person who believes that any kind of surgery is "easy".

Pre-op, you have to lose weight to shrink your liver and prove that you're prepared to make the lifestyle changes. I personally had to drop 30 pounds in two weeks on what is essentially medically supervised starvation. I'm sure you'll be doing something similar if you haven't already.

Post-op, while your body readjusts and adapts to your new lifestyle, you're changing both physically and mentally. If you approach WLS as a tool to help you achieve success, you're more likely to succeed. If you approach it as a solution to your problems, you're more likely to fail. People who have this surgery and approach it like it's an easy way out, fail. I've met a number of people that didn't get it on their first time around and now they're back for a second procedure.

I'm also learning that all of these opinionated blowhards may be smaller than me, but that it doesn't necessarily make them qualified to say anything on the topic of personal health. All you have to tell that person is that people who look at WLS as an easy way out typically fail, and those who look at WLS as a tool that requires 100% commitment from the patient typically succeed.

As far as the person's follow up question is concerned, WLS provides accountability. There's no room for slacking. There's no such thing as cheat days. If you decide that you're going to have a candy bar you'll pay dearly. Food addiction is different from any other type of addiction. We have to eat to survive. A person who gives up an addiction to cocaine, can't do just a little cocaine and be okay. Same with cigarettes, alcohol, or heroin. We still need food. So while we're recovering from what is sometimes a lifetime of bad habits, we need the assistance while we relearn.

Many things scare me about WLS, the ability to eat around the sleeve included....and maybe even primarily. It is something I am not at all certain I can do. But that's part of what the pre-op process is about. I am glad for my insurance's 3-6 month medically supervised diet period...it is a good time to think, work at the process, and decide if this really is the right solution for me. All of that notwithstanding...anyone who classifies WLS as 'the easy way out' is, forgive my language, a putz. This is not a decision easily arrived at, unless you have a quack surgeon which i doubt. The decision you make to have WLS is one done in consultation with healthcare providers who want the best chance at success against a very difficult problem.

Ive had a couple of people give me that response too...just happened to be those naturally skinny people I want to door as I drive by lol. Seriously though all the responses above are great. I too had a few doubt creep in, but in the end I had tried all the "hard" ways and had lost the weight several times...each ending in regains. I couldn't face doing it again without a tool to help me keep it off. You have to be willing to work it in order for it to work for you. It's a decision you have to make for your self for your own reasons or it will never work. This group is a great group for advice and support...Im starting to think people who get the VSG done are just great human beings. Good luck in whatever you decide...just make sure its your choice. PS after reading these post tomorrow I will start logging my exercise too...thanks

My doctor doesn't even use the term "weight loss surgery." He considers himself a metabolic specialist. Metabolic syndrome encompasses a multitude of symptoms and health problems, only one of which is (sometimes) obesity. Just Google the term and you'll find many articles (such as the one below) on the subject.

http://www.bariatricnews.net/?q=opinionblog/11851/what-“metabolic-surgery”

I'm a good example. I would have been considered a lightweight in the bariatic surgery world. At 52 years old, I was approx 80# overweight. But I tried, literally, for 30+ years to lose that weight. At 5'3" that was a lot of strain on my body. I had high cholesteral, high BP (was on two different BP meds), sleep apnea, and was starting to think I had arthritis my joints ached so much. I had the start of urinary incontinance, very much weight related, not "normal aging" as some would say. I had a family history of stroke and heart disease. I tried to do it "on my own" numerous times, with limited or very short term success. Surgery allowed me to reverse ALL of that! No more meds of any kind - normal BP - no more C-pap machine. No joint pain, no more "leaks" when I sneeze or laugh! I still have more to lose, but I'm half-way there and even at that relatively slow pace, all of those conditions have been reversed.

If vanity had been my only issue I would not have had surgery. Although I will say size 8 jeans are a whole lot more fun to wear than size 18's!

It isn't a quick fix - I worked hard and need to get back to working hard to finish this journey. The first 40# was for my health - the next 40 is for me! I now weigh what I weighed in High school, for the first time in 40 years! So happy I did this and have this wonderful tool in my arsenal.

Good luck with your decision, but it is one you alone (with your doc) needs to make!

My response. The people who love me see me happy and are happy for me. . What more could I want. Judge me while I run on my treadmill, play sport, travel with less pain and buy my new clothes. Judge me all you want while my health improves and my life becomes mine again. Judge me when I play with my grandchildren in the future. I will probably be too busy to notice.:-D
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WELL SAID JULIEBCCS. :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

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.

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.

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!

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.