Can I add an "Amen" to everything that has been said! WLS is a tool that most of us have chosen as the last resort after exercise and diet haven't been successful. Even after WLS, it takes a lot of work, discipline and determination to get the weight off. The surgery alone will only take us so far - we have to change our head.

I was watching a documentary, I think it was British, about people who simply do not get fat. The purpose of the documentary was to see if they could make them get fat, the idea that some people are genetically programmed to be naturally fat or thin. I'm probably explaining this badly. Plenty of testing and measuring early on, then the group was released to eat enormous calorie goals and day and were told 'do not exercise.'

So you watch the documentary and these people are pigging out to the point they are nauseated. After a month they are remeasured and they've gained some weight, but nothing like I'd have gained on a similar diet. I think this went on for a few months. But the MOMENT these people were released from all the eating, they started losing again. In a month or two they were back to their normal lean weight without any real effort on their parts.

So we are not all created equal in this regard. Some of us are natural storers. Then maybe life circumstances make it worse and as we age, our metabolisms just head off a cliff. There is no getting around it. For some of us, hunger does not keep us alive, it is killing us. Now why other people even care whether or not I chose this route, so I wouldn't die and I could enjoy the rest of my life...who knows? Would they go ballistic if I were a Type I diabetic and needed insulin to live? How about if I had a tumor that needed to be removed? I don't waste my time for even one minute thinking about those people.

Yeah, I could lock myself in a room with a set number of calories a day and be hungry all the time and eventually, I'll lose weight.Like months and months and maybe years down the road. Meanwhile, I'll be suffering and unhappy and stressed. Guess what, my metabolism is so slow that even with the sleeve my weight loss is MINISCULE, but at least I'm not walking around hungry all the time. My food choices are better because I'm not craving horrible food anymore. The hunger monster is tamed. I've still got plenty to lose. PLENTY. I'm down 75 pounds and I have another 100 or more to go. But I'm way happier, can move around and am no longer ashamed to just be taking up space.

So ignore those people. They have NO IDEA.

I am still months out from surgery and I know my family is already supportive and I expect my friends to be too. It makes me so mad and sad to hear stories of people who get hate for making this decision. I think most people who get to the point where they decide to have surgery likely have some kind of unhealthy emotional attachment to food or perhaps a food addiction, I know I do. Committing to giving up overeating and bingeing for the rest of my life is definitely not the easy way out. I'm giving up my emotional crutch and the substance that I have relied on my whole life to be by my side in good times and hard times. Its too bad that people who don't understand it or are too afraid to make this kind of commitment for themselves are so quick to judge.

Sylvarose wrote: »

I for one am glad this group exists. I'm still in my consult phase. Just had my psych eval and my first diet nutrition consult. I have five more months of consults to go before they submit my paperwork through to insurance for approval (my insurance asks you do the six months consult before they will approve surgery - lapband in my case). The doctor wanted me tested for sleep apena and results came back today: moderate. So I have to get a CPAP. Anyway..the point is this group has been wonderful for me.

We are in almost the exact same place. I'm five months out too. And I have a sleep study and psych appointment scheduled for next month. Feel free to friend me if you'd like