Monday, February 13, 2012

There's no such thing as a free lunch

Many people have this notion that any type of weight loss surgery is taking the "easy" way out.  There is no such thing.  It's not a cure, it's not forever and it certainly isn't the easy way out.  I encourage you all to do a little reading on what exactly a surgery like Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass entails and the restrictions someone having the procedure faces. I won't bore you with details or graphic descriptions.  I'll say this, life is forever changed.


Of course WLS is an elective surgery, a choice and personally, it wasn't an one that I made lightly and without a lot of research into all 3 main types.  Seven years ago I started looking into it and always found myself at a dead end.  "Am I that fat that I need to do this?", "I can lose this on my own, I just need to try harder".  "WLS is for really, really fat people."


Having spent nearly 25 of my 35 years on a diet, I have lost and regained in excess 125 pounds over the years.  Losing weight has never really been my issue, it's the ability and motivation to keep those pounds off.  Even small losses of 2-3 pounds have always come back bringing along an extra pound or two with them.  I'd go from jubilation to feeling like a failure.  Time and again I failed.  Time and again I'd berate myself, hate myself but some how get myself back on that horse.


Through the years my health and overall well being began to deteriorate... arthritic knees and spine, shortness of breath climbing stairs/walking fast, no longer able to run or jog just because I wanted to. 

Hell, I don't think I could run or jog even if there was some crazed ax murder chasing me.  I'd be the horror movie chick that falls down and gets slaughtered in spectacular fashion. My final straw was having to start injecting medication for my Type II diabetes.  Has my life spiraled that out of control that I could no longer keep up with this life threatening disease?  The answer was simply, "Yes".


To make what is a long and tedious story short... I have not given up, I am not taking the easy way out and this isn't my cure to being fat.  It's the start of a new me, a new way of living and hopefully, a new lease on life. 

I don't want to be that "fat mom" at the park that sits watching while her children play.  I don't want to be the "fat lady" in the grocery store whose cart everyone looks in and passes judgement on her food choices.  In short, I DON'T WANT TO DIE YOUNG!



Oh, and surgery should have been 16 days away is now 44.  Another rant for another day.

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