A huge thanks for your welcome :-) and some OT about bypass

[Guest guest]

First, I want to thank everyone who wrote to welcome me. I had a tough food day

yesterday, and was feeling down about some issues at work, and when I finally

got home and checked my e-mail I had all these nice messages from y'all. So,

thanks! :-)

I liked the idea of trying to be a " fit " person, rather than a " normal " person.

It really isn't all black-and-white, even though I try to make it that way.

And, truth be told, I have no idea what " normal " is. I've been all extremes of

weight in my lifetime, and was never just " healthy " . That should be my new

goal.

To the person whose friend is considering bypass surgery-- I did WW and

exercise, too, and it didn't work for me when I was at my heaviest. Or, should

I say, it WORKED, but when it takes you three months to lose 30 lbs, and you

have 200 to lose, it is so frustrating and it's incredibly difficult to stick

with it. At my heaviest, I felt utterly hopeless. :-( The surgery is

definitely a TOOL, and I know in my heart that *I* personally could not have

been a success without the tool. Now, although the 30 lbs I want to lose can be

daunting, and they're definitely not EASY by any means, at least I have hope

that I can do it. The goal is palpable, because it isn't far away. Plus, at my

heaviest, I could barely walk from my apartment door to my car without being

winded-- at a smaller size, it's far, far easier to exercise, which as we know

is a huge part of successful weight loss. I have the utmost respect and, to be

quite frank, sheer awe for those who have lost large amounts of weight via diet

and exercise. I tell everyone I know that the struggle with obesity is the

greatest fight of my life, and the toughest thing I've ever done, and I

completely acknowledge that I did have some " help " along the way.

You're right-- your friend will STILL need self-control. Although it's

physically impossible to " stretch your stomach " with the new procedure, it IS

possible to graze all day. If I really want to, I can eat every hour something

small and calorie-laden, and consume 2,000-3,000 calories/ day. Ack! My

husband (who also had the surgery) was telling me that he read a post yesterday

on a surgery support group from a new surgery person who was asking when she

could have ice cream again. !!!! So, if people don't know that it's a

LIFE-LONG change (much like any weight loss plan), and that they'll have to

continue to choose exercise, eating healthy foods, and consuming smaller

quantities of food (once again, much like any weight loss plan), they won't be

successful.

Anyway, I don't really want to go on about the surgery, and I think I probably

went on too long, but if anyone has questions they can send me a private e-mail.

I'm really focusing on trying to follow the WW plan of eating, and will return

my focus on this group to that now! :-)

--

~* D.*~

" When will you ever learn? You're

just an empty cage, girl, if you

kill the bird. "

--Tori Amos, " Crucify "

" Initiative is doing the right

thing without being told. "

--Elbert Hubbard