Please allow me to rant for a while...

If I step on a few toes here, I apologize in advance. There have been a few recent questions from folks who are afraid of ruining their weight loss because of excess sugar, fats, and/or quantity of food. Following is a sample of answers from very knowledgeable, successful, and well- intentioned post-ops. "The only way to keep the scale moving is to ....." "To reach your goal weight, you must ....." "If you consume more than ....., plan on going up one dress size" "If you eat ....., you run the risk of going back to old habits" These statements, while accurate as stated, seem to contain an un-stated message that is very powerful, and to my way of thinking, potentially harmful. And that message is: "If you eat too much ....., and therefore only get down to a Size 8, you would have screwed up your one chance for success. To be truly successful, you must reach your 'Goal Weight'". These unspoken words only serve to intimidate. In fact, it seems to me that what is being prescribed is a very paranoid relationship with food. Personally, I became Morbidly Obese because (of among other things) my horrible eating habits in terms of quantity and quality of food. With this surgery's help, I was hoping to attain a balanced and healthy diet. I think this can be attained without getting into a panic and guilt trip every time I eat "bad food". To me, it just isn't worth it. We need to remember that WLS is not intended to be "Cosmetic Surgery". If my memory serves, my insurance company was willing to pay for my surgery NOT because it gave me the opportunity to once again have a 28" waistline, but ONLY because of its ability to improve my health. And to that end, it has worked (and I would guess has worked for the vast majority of post-ops). If you have improved your health and happiness, you are a complete success in my book. In these 5 1/2 months, I have lost 135 pounds (out of 190 excess), and now weigh 240 pounds. I assume I would "look better" at 185 pounds than I do now. But would I really be any healthier? Should that make me any happier? Particularly from where I came? Let me tell you, I consider myself 100% successful right now, and it won't go up with additional pounds lost. ANY OTHER MINDSET ON MY PART WOULD ONLY ADD TO MY STRESS, AND THEREFORE DETRACT FROM MY UNBRIDLED JOY THIS SURGERY HAS BROUGHT. Let's try to enjoy this wonderful journey to better health!! Kevin

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