Weight Loss Surgery Forums

No Easy Way!

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by Joyce Walters, OH Member 

There it was again?a magazine cover headline shouting in bold black print, ?We Lost 300 Pounds Without Surgery!? It was an article about four women who had lost a whole bunch of weight through various diet plans. According to them, the best part about it was that they didn?t do it with bariatric surgery.

Since my own weight loss surgery in November of 2006, I?ve seen many media commentaries subtly denigrating those of us who have had weight loss surgery. These kinds of reports perpetuate the idea that morbidly obese people could lose the weight if we?d just quit stuffing food into our mouths. However, what the laypersons who write these pieces without doing the research don?t say is that an addiction to food, which many morbidly obese people have, is just as powerful as an addiction to gambling, street drugs or tobacco. It?s just not that simple.

Since my surgery, I?ve had a few people comment that I took ?the easy way out.? I stopped one of them cold in his tracks when we went out to eat soon after my surgery and I spent the evening vomiting because I was still learning how to eat. He realized then that missing the evening?s festivities and listening to the band from the restroom was not ?the easy way out.?

Why do we have to be made into pariahs because we had surgery to lose weight? I?ve often thought that I?d like to track all the people who insinuate that they are so much better because they lost weight without surgery. I?d be willing to wager that they regain at least 60% of their excess weight at some point. While there are surgery failure stories out there, I know that I will never be 282 pounds again!

Bariatric surgery is not a new concept. By now, we should be celebrating it in mainstream magazines. We should be giving WLS patients the same makeovers, new wardrobes and kudos that we give to those who lose weight by other means. One of my least favorite remarks is ?I did it on my own, without surgery.? Hey, I?m doing it on my own, too! My surgeon and bariatrician don?t follow me around 24/7 counseling me and taking no-no foods out of my hand or pushing me to exercise. When we go to a restaurant, my husband couldn?t care less what I eat, as long as I?m not ?auto-ejecting? anymore. It?s all up to me!

There are ?light? foods for dieters, but most of them have a ton of sweeteners that gastric bypass patients can?t tolerate. A famous ice cream company makes a frozen yogurt that is loaded with those hidden sugars. Someone on a diet plan could eat it, but I sure can?t; I tried, and I was nauseated all evening. If anything, those of us who have had surgery need to be more diligent and intelligent than if we were just on a diet plan and cutting calories.

Don?t get me wrong?I celebrate any weight loss success. If a sister loses 150 pounds just by leaving the Twinkies in the box, I?m ecstatic! However, don?t put me down because I did it with RNY.

Visit Joyce?s profile at www.obesityhelp.com/member/hugemom/