Not a Character Defect

[Guest guest]

Marina writes - " Some people (most of them, actually), think that this

operation is the easy way ... which confirm the feeling they have of

us as weak people. "

The thing that finally convinced me to go for WLS is the fact that I

knew I wasn't " weak-willed " per se. Yes, " weak " around food BUT not due

to any character defect on my part. Age, family background/genetics, our

time in history (more sedentary), the miracles of processed food, etc.,

all combine to set me on a path I just couldn't find seem to turn around

on anymore. There seemed to be a moment when I realized I wasn't going

to beat this one without help. I knew I could get the weight off

(although I just can't seem to face dieting anymore knowing my chances

of putting it back on are so high), but keeping it off -- not. It's not

like quitting smoking where once you get through the cravings (which for

me faded), you build a life away from cigarettes and can maintain not

smoking quite comfortably. It's never been " comfortable " for me with

food. Once the weight comes off, I relax, my vigilance decreases and

slowly but surely the old habits come back and the weight goes on and

then some.

Habits such as smoking and overeating get etched into our neural

pathways I think. It's just too easy to get the needle stuck in old

grooves. To this day I will not even consider taking a " puff or two " of

a cigarette because I'm convinced I will be back at it in no time.

However, I definitely don't think about not smoking on a daily basis as

I do about food.

Anyway, I think a lot of us gain the weight back plus some because of

the things the body and mind do to " help " us in lean times, and partly

because emotionally we remember just how much effort it takes to keep

vigilant and that we're never quite comfortable with our eating. And so

we comfort ourselves with food, much like whatever is set in motion when

many of us find ourselves binging before surgery (just reading these

lists and being preop has made my appetite increase!)

Anyway, for myself I just said " uncle " and decided I needed a helping

hand that would do part of the work for me and permanently -- WLS. It

will help me to reduce my caloric intake (but as I learned from this

list only IF I use it correctly). I will still have to work at it, but

my hope is that overtime it won't consume me as much. I'd like to be

able to eat fairly normally -- have that bit of chocolate or whatever,

but without getting carried away because of a set of factors that

combine to motivate me to eat more (and more, and more....).

Cheers,

Lori

Manitoba, Canada