WLS is the easy way

[rorysmom 0]

danaclark,

a lot of the things you mention have zero to do with a person taking responsibility for his/her actions. people don't wear glasses because they sat too close to the tv or have c-sections because they didn't take care of their uteruses.

again, the "easy way out" argument pops up because, presumably, people aren't taking responsibility for their actions. they aren't making healthy food choices at least 70% of the time. they aren't exercising.

it is easier to stop eating when your stomach won't hold any more food! it is easier than telling yourself, "you've had enough" and all that jazz.

i'm all for people having it easier! my 22 year-old cousin is planning to get one soon. and i want her to become a healthier person with all of my heart. i'm doing all i can to help her.

but i tell you what, i would be very disappointed if she did not change her habits in conjuction with getting a band. i'm not in favor of her getting a band and continuing to eat lots of soft crap or just eating smaller portions of unhealthy meals. that is not taking responsibility for your health.

[Nykee 13]

For me it wasnt the easy way, it was the only way.

and I dont even know if thats true yet.

[danaclark2 0]

rorysmom,

Then obviously you do NOT think obesity is a disease, do you? Have you ever been obese?

I certainly understand what you are saying about the other problems I mentioned--that they are things you can't help--like losing your eyesight, etc.

I'm really passionate about this, so forgive me if I get slightly angry in tone...

I have been overweight all my life. My mother tells me that she put sugar in my baby food (because my ped. doc. told her to). Along with this, she gave me honey Water as an infant. From studies I've read, all the fat cells that one will have in life is determined as a child. You cannot get rid of fat cells (unless you go the liposuction route); you can only shrink them. I believe that I obtained many fat cells as an infant.

I exercise daily. In fact, in college, I jogged five miles/day and could never get below 175lbs. (I'm 5'5). Now, I jog 1-2 miles per day and take a powerlifting class 2-3 times per week. Along with this, I have an autoimmune disease, called hypothyroidism which makes it really difficult to keep weight off, much less lose it.

I am not making excuses for all my weight gain--I have eaten too much in the past--and too many wrong things. BUT THERE ARE OTHER CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO WHY I AM OBESE--MEDICAL FACTORS--THINGS I DID NOT ASK FOR IN LIFE--AS A PERSON WOULD NOT ASK FOR CANCER.

Please understand that if you have never been obese (which most doctors say is a DISEASE) then you really can't give any valid comments.

Have an eye-opening day!

[rorysmom 0]

first, i have been overweight. at my highest, i wasn't measured by a doctor or gym, but i'm pretty sure that i'd made it into obesity too.

second, i understand getting the short end of the healthy stick because of things our parents did. happened to me too.

thankfully, i don't have any contributing health issues that make it hard to lose weight.

and as far as personal responsibility goes, i am talking only about the things that a person can do to keep him/herself healthy.

i do think that obesity is a disease. but it is a disease that can be somewhat controlled/prevented through the choices we make.

ETA: 175, depending on body type, is a healthy weight. it may not be the weight we look best at or aspire to, but it is healthy.

i'm passionate about this issue too.

my eyes have been open for a long time.

[danaclark2 0]

rorysmom,

With jogging five miles a day, and being only 21 years old--you'd think I'd make it below 175 lbs.--which I'd be jumping for joy if I weighed now.

I didn't mean to come across so angrily--I just know that I've tried and tried and tried and tried to lose weight on my own, and it just hasn't happened--for what ever reason--whether it was physical or mental or emotional.

Not everyone has the same body type and genetic make-up. The amount of food I eat at 270 lbs. and what my friend eats at 155 lbs. could be the same, but our weight isn't. For what reasons??? Could be a multitude of things. Not all fat people are blubbery gluttons without self-control.

I have self-control in a lot of areas. I have a master's degree in Education--paid for by myself. I have three children and a clean home. I excersise daily. For whatever reason--I can't get this weight off myself. Period.

I wish the best for your cousin--success like he/she has never known before.

[rorysmom 0]

danaclark,

i'm totally cool with your tone. weight is a touchy subject. and i know from hella experience how frustrating it can be. more times than i care to remember, i've been getting ready for a special event, only to be upset because i didn't look as good as i knew that i could.

and i totally understand having it going on in every area, save one.

and, and i would never presume to tell anyone "this is why you're not losing weight." as you said, there are always mental and emotional aspects to doing any activity to negative excess.

my body type is such that at 155 - 170 pounds, i am a size 8 - 10, sometimes 12. i look smoking at 155. i can maintain 160 - 163 (when i get back there! ) and that 5 - 8 pounds of difference is probably imperceptable to the naked eye. but my body just loves hanging out at 167 - 170. i still look good, but not as good as i want to/can look.

but i know that to get there, i have to be extremely diligent about my diet.

i'm tempted to ask you questions about your routine to help you over your fitness hump, but since you "don't know me like that," i won't.

thanks for the well wishes! i'm reaching out to her as much as i can.

and i hope you have great success too!

[cmr 0]

I don't understand why anyone thinks WLS is easy in any way. First of all we had surgery! What about all that slimming and pbing and grief over the food that we will never be able to eat again. What about the events that lead up to the fact that we were all at the end of the diet game and we opted for something to be inmplanted in our bodies to help us. Was that decision easy for any of you? For god's sake we had our bodies altered because we were miserable failures at keeping the weight off. I can't even go out with friends to lunch without having to constantly watch and make sure that I eat right because we all know what happens if we don't. How much fun is that? I take offense to anyone that thinks that we are taking the easy way out. This is tuff stuff here and if anyone thinks it's easy then maybe they should take a walk in my shoes for just 1 week and see if they still think what we do is easy!

[danaclark2 0]

I think it's really difficult to have hope in losing weight when you are 100 lbs. or more overweight. It's like you've reached a point of no return--a point that you really need medical, surgical intervention. Look at the statistics--98% of obese people will NEVER reach ideal weight and maintain it without surgery--not that it can't be done--but only 2% of these amazing soldiers can do it on their own. Why, oh, why is that?

I've known one person 100 lbs. overweight who lost 110 lbs. by eating low-fat for a year. That was over five years ago, and now she's gained all the 110 lbs. back and more.

I honestly cannot think of ONE person who has lost over 100 lbs. on their own and kept it all off for more than 5 years. Can you? Oh, wait, maybe Oprah...

[dawg 0]

The easy way out:

Sit on your duff and gain weight until they have to cut a wall out of your house to get your corpse out.

The hard way out:

Get off your duff, and do something, ANYTHING to lose weight.

Whatever path your weightloss takes, whatever road you travel, easy doesn't crop up.

I think most of the people who look at the obese and say "easy way out" are either a) not obese or are DAMN strong willed people, or c) have had WLS or pills and just aren't going to own up.

I suggest that the next person who says anything about easy when referring to weight loss, needs to put on a 150 pound overcoat, get a nasty addiction (in this case food), and try and go for a nice long walk.

After they've done that for 1, 5, 10 or 15 years can they start throwing around the word easy.

[Jill_S 1]

Easy?

As an (almost) 41 year old woman, who has been obese her entire life (with short moments of just being chubby) - who comes from a family of morbidly obese people - who comes from a family of diabetics, high-blood-pressure kings and queens - who comes from a family of brand new knees and hips and a host of other weight related health problems.... - who has dieted off and on since she was TWELVE years old; lost and gained, lost and gained, lost and gained - who is staring at her future every time she looks at her 425 pound aunt and her 400 pound father...

Easy?

HA.

ONLY way. Not easy way. Only way.

The band is not losing this weight for me. *I* am losing it, by making sound food choices, exercising, and using the band as a *tool*, as it is intended. In the end, the band isn't doing anything but telling me to STOP EATING, or risk an hour sliming and PBing myself into tears. If I *had* an internal mechanism capable of learning that, don't you think after 41 years I would have learned it? I'm a pretty smart woman. I learned how to cross the street and look both ways, don't they think I could have picked up something as simple as stopping eating?

Easy way, my big fat butt.

Pffft on those who say this is the easy way. A big sugary raspberry to the nay-sayers and the perpetually skinny who cluck their tongues at us.

To quote a favorite song of mine: "Everything easy has it's cost." If this is easy, and the cost is being *healthy* - I'll go along with it being the easy way out. Otherwise, I'm sorry. I can't agree.

[Nykee 13]

easy way out: those skinny bitches who never watch what they eat and do no more excersize than any other normal person.

lol

[Dragonwillow 0]

I had an interesting conversation with the fitness director at the gym I work at today. I work out quite a bit, more than the average joe for sure. I'm at the gym 5 days a week at least, sometimes more. Last week I did 7.5 hours of t-shirt soaking cardio, and 3 hours of weight training. I think my average calorie intake a day last week was around 1300 calories. I gained 2lbs....actually I gained 6lbs, but 4lbs came off over the weekend so I'm guessing it was Water weight.

Anyway I was talking to the fitness director and telling her this. She said, well maybe you aren't eating enough. Okay, maybe. I really want to get my metabolic rate checked soon. Get this...she eats around 1800-2000 calories a day, and runs 30 minutes 3-4 times a week. She didn't mention if she did any weight training. So lets review, she eats 500-700 calories MORE a day than me, and did 2 hours of cardio versis my 7.5. She weighs maybe 110 soaking wet?

The lapband is not the easy way out, because as you can see above I am working it hard. I try to stick mainly to protiens, I don't drink any calories except the occasional protien shake. Overall I'm eating healthier than I have ever eaten in my entire life. I'm a bit on the frustrated side right now because of the weight gain. I had someone say something today that implied that this was the easy way and it kinda of bugged me...mainly because I don't think this is the EASY way.

[danaclark2 0]

Melissa,

My point exactly!!!

People on the outside can look at us--and because of our weight--judge us, thinking we are fat, blubbery slobs who eat compulsively all day long--when that's not true.

We all have different body types, genetics, metabolic set-points, weight loss/gain histories, physical conditions (thyroid problems), etc. that contribute to our present state of obesity.

This is what I know, though. When I do reach the promise land (of the best weight for me and health), I will enjoy it so much more than a person who's never had a weight problem. It's like this--if you never had a headache--how would you ever know how awesome it is to have had a headache and then have it leave...

Without pain, we cannot fully grasp how great it is to be without pain.

Onward, band soldiers! I'm proud of all of you. Can't wait to get mine.

[Dragonwillow 0]

You know one of my goals is to get certified as a personal trainer and work with patients that have had major weight issues as I have. Over the years getting advice from the personal trainers and other gym"perts" at the gym has been hard, since I never felt they related to what its like to do a pilates class with a big roll of fat in the way making some of the move seem like they are impossible. Or to do a cycling class at 260lbs. Heck it has taken me more than 2 years to dare walk over to the free weights rather than stay where I belong on the machines (where i tell myself the beautiful people only go in my head).

I do know this, I have been obese for a very long time, struggling with my weight since I was 12 years old. I am likely to turn into one wild chick clothing wise when I finally get near goal! LOL My teenager is afraid I'm going to start stealing her clothes......I might!

[dawg 0]

easy way out: those skinny bitches who never watch what they eat and do no more excersize than any other normal person.

lol

Nykee, don't hold back, tell us what you really think ROFL.