Did we take the "easy way out" with WLS?

Great thread Boner.  And to JFISH, hats off to you for the truly eloquent reply.  In my case, I didn't have much of a choice, but I do agree with Snick that it is a lot of work on a daily basis.  I always tell people that ask that getting in enough water and protein on a daily basis is like another part time job.  Then the supplements and Boner's damn exercise.  In certain cases, it was easier and less stressful being MO.  Of course, I do not want to trade it in, but I really dare anyone to say it is the easy way out.

Also, I don't think that my work ethic lends itself to some of those scenes that they showed in the gym this week.  Actually, I thought some of it was just plain cruel.  Before you make a final decision on how easy it was or wasn't, remember how you felt the moment you said goodby to your loved ones when they were taking you away for surgery.  Was it the easy way out knowing you might be saying goodby for the last time?  I don't think so! It is a moment I will not ever forget.

Threads like this is why I keep coming back to this men's board!!

Interesting that you used the term "pay less" when starting this conversation. Let's take an economic detour and attache some (admitted random) "prices" to various weight loss endeavors. These prices represent the sacrifices and/or pain associated with a given activity.

Exercising 30 minutes 3 times per week: $29.95 per session.
Choosing the right food: $3.99 per correct choice
Resisting the wrong food: 3 for $14.88
Stopping eating when full: $14.69

It's no surpise that exercise is the most "expensive" activity. It's usually the most difficult to undertake.

Assigning arbitray numbers of events across a year, this is what I come up with:

Exercising 3 times per week for 52 weeks at $29.95 per session: $4672.20
Choosing the right food 3 times per day for 365 days: $4369.05
Resisting the wrong food 6 times per week at 3/$14.88: $1547.52
Stopping eating when full at the weekly after-church buffet: $763.88

A grand total of what someone doing it the "hard way" pays for a year: $11352.65

Considering everything involved with the pre-op experience, the horrible nausea associated with general anesthesia, post-op diet ramp-up, incision healing, etc. I have absolutely no problem assigning an arbitrary "price" for my surgery of $11,000+.

So, at the end of the given year, the end result of the pain and suffering endured is pretty equal. If anything, the WLS person is ahead on pain and suffering because there's actual physical PAIN involved.

The thing to remember is that the surgery is a TOOL. It's not the solution for the weight problem. My WLS is giving me a jumpstart on weight loss (15 pounds so far since my 9-8 surgery) and getting me to a place where it's going to be easier for me to get active again. The changes to my anatomy make it not only easy, but pretty much crucial, to make the right food choices.

So, the tool that worked for them: getting active and changing the diet. Their long-term requirements for success: maintaining a healthy diet and exercise level.

The tool that worked for me? Weight Loss Surgery. My long-term requirements for success: maintaining a healthy diet and exercise level.

Continuing with the financial analogy, someone who is able over the long term to "deposit" those smaller amounts in their "account" for years and years of their life is way ahead of me because I didn't "save" anything. When I finally got the point where I realized that I was bankrupting my future, I had to make a MUCH bigger "initial deposit" in order to get on even footing. Between the two of us, we both have the same long-term contributions that we must make for the rest of our lives.

I wouldn't say WLS was the easy way out for me but it sure has made it easier. I still hit the gym 3-5 days a week and I still watch what I eat and have to exercise self control.

For me, I can eat anything I want to. I don't dump on sugar and I don't have problems with any type of meat or bread. My surgeon also opted not to bypass any of my small intestines so I don't have malabsorption on my side. I could still drink a chocolate milkshake everyday and then gradually pound down a rib-eye steak or some fried chicken but I choose not to. Yes, I do get full on a lot less food but my pouch can take a lot more than most post-ops.

Everyone's journey is different but we all have the same goal in mind. I think if you go into WLS thinking that it is going to do all the work for you than you probably are setting yourself up to failing at some point down the road.

I live my life like someone determined to be healthy and not just like someone who had gastric bypass surgery.

Lance and Fish both make great points as do everyone else. Easy sure in some aspects yes but in others the challenges can be equally hard as been stated. But remember weight loss in its self according to recent studies will not cure several morbidities. Thats why different procedures have yield different results. But if your looking at it from the point of strictly weight loss how great no matter the sacrifice is it to see encouraging results quickly that motivate you to stay with it. As Fish said if your 500 lbs and you have the ability to loose 50lbs is that going to give you enough motivation to keep loosing? Probably not sad but true everyone ha**** that magic number and said screw it whats 10 more pounds. Rocky Top

This is easier than any other way in which I had ever lost weight. Previously, if I missed a few days of exercise and ate a little too much, I'd gain 2-3 lbs. Now it doesn't happen. Previously, even at a much younger age than my current 46, I would never have been able to look in the mirror and see veins popping out of my chest, lat and shoulder muscles. 

Don't get me wrong, as you all probably know I'm putting in the work and then some, but the low low and MAINTAINABLE low bodyfat may be from the WLS.

It is getting harder and harder to find a reason to work out this much. Is being able to go shirtless and proud in a room full of 30 hot yoga ladies enough to keep me motivated? And when I stop what could possibly keep me motivated beyond that.

There's always plenty of difficulty remaining, even if some things become easier.

I started to watch this show and after about a half hour I shut it off. I think those people are treated like **** If that ***** of a trainer spoke to me like she did some of those contestants and treated me like a piece of funiture I probably would tell tell her to go F herself. Just because a person is overwieght and wants help losing wieght is no reason to treat someone like a piece of crap. I have been overwieght my whole life and have lost more wieght then most people. I am the living example of what Fish is talking about I wieghed 414 pounds and my wife and I joined Wiegh****chers and I lost 73 pounds pretty damn good but not good enough because in a year and a half i was back up to 408pounds and this is while still a member of ww, on the way up is when I got insurance that would pay for wls. I know that with out this surgery I would have be dead in a year or two. Currently I am down over 40 pounds when I last weighed in. This surgery has controlled my appetatie more then counting points ever did. It provides the negative reinforcement of the fommies when i eat to fast, dumping when I eat wrong, which to this date I still have not done, I have not eaten any high suger foods. Why would I? the sf foods are to sweet. My tastes have changed this would have not happened with out surgery. For me the surgery has done something to my mind as well as my stomach. I look at food different now, I don't want to dump, I actually leave food on my plate on my first serving instead of the third. So for me I would say this is the only way out is it easy sometimes, is it hard, sometimes like when I find a food I have eaten in the past that all of a sudden makes me want to get sick . So I guess my answer is who cares if it is easy or hard I did it and I will be healthier because of it in the long run.

I don't think we took the easy way out at all.  IMHO the surgery is the easy part of the WLS life.  I think the exercise, worrying about supplements, protein etc is the really tough part.  We made a life long commitment to this endevor, not what I would call the easy way out. 

Like JFish said, we needed some help to climb the mountain, now we have to work hard to stay on top of that moutain.  If we don't continue to work hard, we will wind up in the same situtation we were in before surgery.

Jim

I guess we would have to look at one's perception of easy. Was it easy to make the decision to have the surgery? Was it easy in recovery or our first days home? Was it easy changing how and what we ate/eat? Is it easy to excercise every day?

I would say that none of the above are easy, but the easiest question to answer for me, and probably for most of you was, "Do I want to live, or die??" That was easy for me, because after years of yo-yo diets and weight related injuries, and all my co-morbities, I didn't have much time left on this planet...

To people that say I have taken the easy road, I would ask that unless they have walked a mile in my shoes, don't judge. For the rest of my obese friends and family, they may have once said it, but now, they see what I do to make this "tool" work and also see the results... they don't think I took the easy way out anymore...

Great post Boner!

Now I went through that approval process for that show as most of you know and almost signed the contract. (REJECTED) It is WAY more physically demanding then anyone watching could ever know. The letter I got described 6-8 hours of physical activity per day and the list of medical stuff they want me cleared for is LONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG! Though the decision to participate in something so physically demanding takes some strength. I think that the derision that we have made is much harder to make.  They also have a cash incentive that we dont have.

Ooo Type O's sorry. Late at night.