@conlt wrote:
I have been overweight for a good part of my adult life, and I can tell you that no one chooses to be overweight. I have been on every type of diet except maybe the cabbage soup diet. I tried supplements, Atkins, slim fast, the list goes on and on. 2 years ago, I joined WW and it has changed my life. So far, I have lost and kept off 58 pounds with more to go. I went from a plus size to a normal size and that felt great. I attend weekly meetings and track my food.
Do I eat perfectly? No but if I mess up I get back on track. My time in WW has taught me how to deal with everyday foods and social, emotional situations that center around food. I believe overeating problems are in the mind rather than someone being really hungry. WW addresses the emotional times in our lives, even at the holidays and how to deal with family dynamics. I love the WW program.
Now about gastric bypass surgery, I am a RN and I would never consider it. I just had a friend die of complications 15 years post-op. She was 43 years old. In my career, I have seen to many patients who have had post-op complications years down the road. We had a patient die about a month ago, she was in her 50's. Others have ended up with severe pain, liver failure, feeding tubes for life, debility.
If you are considering weight loss surgery, do your research. I do not want to be skinny so I can be laid out and look good at my funeral. I know that is a callous statement to make but if you have seen what I have seen, you would agree.
My friend weighed 105 pounds at her death. She was only 43 years old. She has been gone 1 month now, and had been hospitalized for 5 months before her death She was completely bedbound at the time. I think a 60 minutes or dateline program should do a story and name it "Dying to be thin" Just my opinion and professional medical advice here.
@conlt
Bad things happen with a lot of even "simple surgeries and/or medical procedures". I however do not see that as the norm when I have gone in for my umpteen procedures and/or surgeries. My mind functions as an optimist, but I go into each one of these with all the knowledge I can find, along with my own personal experiences.
I mentioned my wife's Roux-en-Y surgery of 2008, and for her it was/is everything both of us expected. Was it easy? Of course not, we both knew it was/is a tool, not a cure, and involved "forever" post op exercise and finding the right eating program that works for her. After a year post surgery, she was half the person she was for many years prior, and now, 9 years later, she is still at the weight she wants to be.
E.T.A. Yes! I have been the "fat one" and one that people ask, "have you been sick", because my face is not round, I must be sick. I go along with the late Running Guru Cardiologist, Dr. George Sheehan, when he said this. "When friends tell you that you are looking good, as a distance runner, you know you are at least 10lbs. overweight.
Slim(er) face? I must be sick!
hckynut(john)
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