One in ten of us will be...

I haven't had time to watch the video but my surgeon personally knew of 2 of his patients who had ruined their life with alcohol post op. He went over and over us promising to drink nothing for 6 months and to not over indulge after. Those cases shook him up and he did bariatric surgery for years (he is retired now)

You did a great job! I think this is one instance where having an alcoholic/drug addict for a parent (my mom) helped me. I had to be convinced in my head it was ok to take so many "pills" for vitamins and I very rarely drink.

But I do get what they were saying. The few times I have had alcohol it hit hard and fast and then wore off quickly.

 I get that.  It's too close to home.

And now it's on YouTube.  Eek.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34VT0BcKW_Y

In my early 20's I lost a significant amount of weight by dieting, i.e. starving myself.  I went from about 200 lbs to 110 lbs in 4-5 months by substituting drugs and alcohol.  I quit the alcohol first because drugs didn't have calories.  In fact, I found drugs that helped me not eat and lose more weight.  I won't go into the whole thing but it got ugly.  I have been clean and sober for over 31 years.  Thankfully I haven't had to go back to those things since, although I have picked up various other unhealthy coping mechanisms along the way, and had to abandon them, too.  I don't know if you would call me an addict.  I call myself an addict and that is all that matters.  I am addicted to anything that makes me feel good, gives me pleasure, makes me forget, anything I like I do until it can destroy me.  I take it as far as I can, to the point of death or destruction, where I have to stop or face consequences that I may not be able to come back from.  That is me.
One good thing for me about old age is that I have past experience to fall back on.  I have found that I am free to do whatever it is I want.  I can eat whatever I want, drink whatever I want, consume whatever I want, buy whatever I want, etc, as long as I am willing to pay the price tags.  The price tags are always different.  Some may be financial, some may be emotional, spiritual, physical or a combination of many things.  If I am willing to pay I can play.  Today I am not willing to pay those price tags.  The cost of that glass of wine is too high for me because I know where it will lead me, maybe not today or tomorrow but eventual it will take me where it always took me and beyond.  Today I play it safe and make the choices that I know I am willing to live with.  A few minutes of pleasure or feeling good or not feeling at all isn't worth the cost to me.  Today.  That may all change tomorrow.
I don't know if all morbidly obese people are addicts.  I don't think so because I have seen the difference between people who are truly addicted, like me, and people who just overeat for whatever reason or people who just gain weight no matter what they eat.  Just like all food addicts aren't morbidly obese, all morbidly obese people aren't food addicts but I know I am and always will be no matter what my size.

I have to agree that people do not get to be extremely or morbidly obese by eating fresh vegetables and being mindfull of what they put into their bodies for nourishment.

With that said, "I am a FOOD ADDICT!" I always will be, once and addict always an addict. I had the WLS and my pouch is a tool that I am grateful for and I have been respecting my WLS and my pouch.

I have pretty much spent my whole adult life dieting...losing and gaining back more than I had lost.

I would not eat breakfast and by 1pm I would feel like I was starving. So, I would eat...a lot! I did not make the best choices for my nutritional needs. I over ate, food was my best friend...I am not sad by the loss of my relationship with food since my WLS. I look at it as a reminder of where I do NOT want to be anymore.

I have found that I have more energy, I am more alert and I have a new found sense of being in control of my body and what I choose to fuel it. I eat a light breakfast, a sensible mid-day meal and a light dinner. I have been very mindful of not ingesting any "white" foods such as sugars, flours and or grains that are white. Yesterday my husband and I went to a Lebanese restaurant for brunch. I ordered the salad with EVVO and lemon juice along with a broiled chicken breast and grilled fresh vegetables...I put 2/3's of the meal into a to go container for my dinner and my lunch for today.

I am a food addict and I am learning to treat my body and mind better by making great choices for myself. I used to drink a few glasses of wine prior to surgery, but after researching alcohol addiction after WLS, I have vowed to not indulge.

Thanks for letting me share my story.

Honestly, I am concerned about the 10% factor as I come from a family history of drug and alcohol addiction. Addiction is something that my therapist and I are working on while I'm still 4 or 5 months away from surgery. Seriously scary...

Elizabeth,

I too had been working with a therapist about a year pre-op, it was a great decision that I made. I did not want to go through with the RNY and become a failure...again!

I am 7 weeks post-op and I am seeing my therapist in 2 weeks. I have a set goal from our last meeting and I am achieving my goal at this time.

Just know that it never hurts to have an ally that is not related to you = THERAPIST! I feel confident that I will beat my food addictions and become healthier and happier for it.

Good luck to you!

Your post gives me hope, Susie. Thank you for sharing it with me.

BTW, I thought that this was a support forum for WLS? Why all of the "Snarky Attitudes and Smart Ass" comments?

This is why I have been somewhat turned off by visiting the OH web-site. It really gets to be quite depressing to see "know it alls" correcting each others grammar skills and telling people that "their plan" is all wrong and that "your plan" is better than anyone elses.

Well, then perhaps people could say to whom they are referring when they post.  When someone says something like "most obese people are food addicts," I assume that is in reference to me because I was an obese person and I assume I would be included in the group of "most obese people."  That seems a reasonable assumption to me but perhaps somehow I am missing something that would indicate the poster meant "most obese people other than Kelly."

I'm not going to take a chill pill.  I find it offensive to suggest that most obese people are food addicts.  Even if that statement did not include me, I still find it offensive.