Guest guest Posted October 30, 2004 Report Share Posted October 30, 2004 I think the folks selected for those shows are almost all a " slice short of a full loaf " [sometimes called " playing solitaire with a deck of 51 " and others]. Otherwise how do so many get selected for the same show? They just think differently than the rest of us [the normals?]. > I don't know, if I saw someone spend 11 months in agony and nearly die > from an > elective procedure, I can't imagine saying, " Oh boy, that's for me! " > > Maurer Type II diabetic since 1987 Insulin dependent Type II since 9/04 (Lantus, Humalog, and Metformin XR) --------------------------------------- " This life is a test. If it had been an actual life, you would have received further instructions on where to go and what to do. " An Ancient Proverb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 30, 2004 Report Share Posted October 30, 2004 My best friend had gastric bypass surgery 3 years ago. She lost about 100 lbs. and has since gained weight back. She claims to have tried every diet in the book unsuccessfully, but I've known her since childhood and can vouch for the fact that she never stuck to any of them. She ate one of the most high-fat, unhealthy diets I'd ever seen. She has had some pretty serious problems off and on since the surgery, but the weight gain concerns me. She is back to her bad eating habits and has gained back about 25 lbs. Personally, I think this type of surgery is the lazy way out to losing weight, plus it's horrifically expensive & dangerous with many, many serious side-effects. If you really want to lose weight, it can be done with medical supervision and support, any kind it takes. When my doc told me I was pre-diabetic and my cholesterol & triglycerides had risen to unhealthy levels, I made up my mind that I was going to make a lifestyle change. It's been very, very hard, but I've managed to lose 22 lbs in the last 4 months and I am working at losing approximately another 50-60. Nothing is going to alter my course and I know I will falter at times along the way. I whine about what I have to never eat again (potato chips!) to stay in control, but it will be worth it in the long run. I am 50 yrs old and want to live many more years. Please re-think this surgery! It seems to be getting as popular as plastic surgery. No one says you have to be rail thin, but it's possible for ANYONE to stick to a healthy eating plan and integrate some exercise into their daily routine. I've seen first-hand how WLS is a temporary fix because it doesn't fix your MIND, it just rearranges your digestive tract. I am willing to offer support to those who need a shoulder while trying to lose weight and start a healthy eating plan. I KNOW how hard it can be. Take care everyone, Gail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 31, 2004 Report Share Posted October 31, 2004 > Personally, I think this type of surgery is the lazy way out to losing > weight One should not blame other people for their weight loss problems. The doctors and nurses do enough of that. > If you really want to lose weight, it can be done > with medical supervision and support, any kind it takes. Yes it can be done. The problem is keeping it off. Any responsible WLS surgeon would not perform the surgery on someone who was simply " too lazy " to follow a diet. > It's been very, very hard, but I've managed to lose > 22 lbs in the last 4 months How would you feel if someone said your diet is the lazy way to losing weight, and if you'd really tried hard you could have lost 60 pounds by now? > I've seen first-hand how WLS is a > temporary fix because it doesn't fix your MIND, it just rearranges your > digestive tract. As with dieting, the long-term effects of WLS depend on the patient. Gretchen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 31, 2004 Report Share Posted October 31, 2004 , your expressions there were funny. :>) I've never heard either of them and they gave me a smile. But sadly, I think that the people involving themselves with these surgeries have succumbed to the media's treatment of fat people as being one of the last groups to visibly persecute--and they (the media) do it with a relish and a vengeance, simply because they can, because they're allowed to, because everyone looks the other way. I mean, how many times have you seen a thin person told that simply because he or she is thin, he/she is also automatically: lazy, immoral, mentally ill, stupid, an object of ridicule, worthless in every way possible, and irredeemable--UNLESS they reverse being thin at whatever cost necessary? This is how it is for a fat person in (at least) U.S. society today. Speaking as a fat person myself, it's very hard to 'be' and still be 'seen' as a viable person of worth, because I am judged for the outside of my body instead of the inside of my heart and soul--and I say this with no pun intended, by and large. After awhile, unless you have a very strong sense of self-balance, and/or self-worth and a strong inner core...it gets to where you look for a way to reverse all those negative things, the ugly looks people give you, the judgements, the moralizings. Even if you do have a strong self-worth, it does get old anyway, I can tell you that. And then when you have doctors in the mix telling you, " if you have this surgery, you'll be perfect! People will love you! You'll have boyfriends! girlfriends! great jobs! It'll be a wonderful life! " Etc. etc., then it's like, " Okay! let's do it! " And people just rush into it like lemmings--having failed to self-educate, or ask the proper (if they ask ANY) questions of the surgeons or doctors pushing the surgery. And even if you do know people who have suffered severely from the surgery, like this girl Dianne talks about, well--America is the land of " fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you " ideology. So much so that, even if the person next to you in your own house is suffering from WLS aftereffects--you can play this mindgame with yourself (and many doctors will happily engage in it with you too!) that, " well, it happened to HER, but it's not gonna happen to ME because... " fill in the blank of the wishful thinking scenario test. :<( America unfortunately has been for a long time, the country of the quick fix, and certainly this WLS fits the bill. Self-disciplining your body/mind is not popular because it takes a four-letter word/concept: WORK. Over, yet another unpopular concept that is four letters, TIME. In this society of instant everything, WLS seems...and I stress " seems " to be the perfect solution to what the media has created as a terrible problem, demonizing people who are fat. Yet, fat people can be healthy, even though fat. Even if you cannot lose weight due to your diabetes (or other) drugs--such as Avandia, for example-- you can still be healthy. Depending on your genes, you may have good cholesterol and good blood pressure. I do. My cholesterol is 130 and my bp is 120/80. Has been for years, and I've always been fat. Eat healthy, eat lots of vegies, exercise however much you can, drink lots of (good) water, look for things that make you feel positive and laugh often...and most especially people who do the same. Help other people in some way; there are many ways to do it that are low-key, doable, non-splashy, and make you feel you are contributing--which you will be. :>) Find things to do that make you feel happy and energized, take up a new craft or continue one you've done for years. Stay away from, or cut yourself off from, the people who are negative and give you bad vibes either physically or mentally or spiritually. (I am in the midst of doing that with *all* my blood family at this point, for keeps, and it's pretty hard in process--but eventually I know I'll be clear and free and a whole lot better off. ) And try and stay with the people who make you realize you are a great person. Practice the Golden Rule and Random Acts of Kindness. Don't let others know you are the source of that surprise that made their day. Count your blessings and thank God for them! Be a blessing to others and you will find that when you " cast your bread upon the waters, it will come back to you. " THAT is the route to happiness, NOT WLS. Stepping off my Coke Classic box now-- :>) Bron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 31, 2004 Report Share Posted October 31, 2004 That's so sad, Dianne. :<( That poor girl has really bought bigtime into the myth...the myth that says, " Well, you did it wrong, but I! I! I am going to do it RIGHT! " So sad. hugs, Bron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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