How do I rationalize having a partial gastrectomy in order to restrict food when there are people starving all over the world?

[karen44 24]

Has anyone else had this thought? How do you come to terms with your conscious?

[auburngirl 15]

Never thought of that before. Cant really see any comparison at all. You are not disposing of food that others could be eating. You are simply restricting your intake. If it makes you feel any better, you are eating less, leaving more for people that are starving!

[sassypants 674]

To be frank no.

That’s just a 100% honest answer this is for me not for anyone else so no its not a thought that enters my head it wasn’t when I was eating all I wanted its not now.

[LipstickLady 25,682]

Nope. I really don't even see how correcting my propensity to overeat relates to people starving. If anything, look at all the food I'm saving for someone else.

[1Day1Life4Now 882]

By using that rationale one might say; Being a cancer patient, How can I rationalize taking this chemo and radiation when there are people dying of cancer all over the world; or why should I take this insulin for my diabetes when there are people all over the world dying of diabetes because they can't afford the medicine. One has to do what they can to make their own world better. This world is not equal nor fair... we all just play the cards we are dealt and make the best decisions we can with what we have.

[Recycled 2,182]

Karen44 said:

How do I rationalize having a partial gastrectomy in order to restrict food when there are people starving all over the world?

Well......being concerned about it now is kinda like closing the gate after the horse got out. As it stands now.........you ain't gonna be eating enough to give it any concern, so do yourself a favor and let it go.

Edited March 19, 2014 by Recycled

[Momonanomo 534]

hmmm interesting question. First thing that pops in my mind in response was:

well then, how could any of us rationalize eating to the point of obesity when there are so many people starving in the world?

And yet....we all did it.

I agree with the above folks....I utilized what was available to me to get healthy.

Me not having the surgery and continuing to fight a losing battle with dieting would have done nothing to help the starving people in the world. There are many non profit organizations that I can help support with my time or money that can offer help to those in need.

Edited March 19, 2014 by Momonanomo

[ziggypbang 272]

If me continuing to overeat and stay at unhealthy weight could have helped one single starving child, I would agree that it would be a horrible choice for me to get healthy. But the fact that starving children exist in this world just doesn't have anything to do with the fact that I needed to make a radical commitment to MY health. The two facts couldn't be any less related.

My husband and I send money to Haiti every month, because my husband was born and raised there so we understand the desperate need. We know that hungry people are fed regularly because of our support. We supported individuals there before my surgery, and we continue to support them. But my very slender husband who grew up in abject poverty with one or maybe two meals per day, has also been 100% supportive of me in my journey. The thoughts that you are struggling with have never crossed his mind. Don't let them plague yours.

[Bugcarrie 3]

I had the same thought,
I needed to justify spending the money and it was also hard for me to face the fact that it was taking a surgery and Tool to force me to stop eating so much during a single sitting. I beat myself up pretty good and for the 3 years prior to surgery before finally accepting that It was needed for me.
I can tell you this, after thinking about what the overeating had done to my health and my lifestyle, I decided that for all the money saved from previously eating out and my new lower grocery bill, I would donate the difference to support a 5th world country's population to avoid starving and suffering from health related issues caused by starvation. It doesn't solve world hunger or Obesity issues of others as a whole, but it works for me.

I am now able to better control and improve my previous eating habits that affected my health negatively and threatened to shorten my life, while at the same time, begin to give to those that need food to help their health and give them a chance to feel better also.

Don't beat yourself up! Do what it takes to make you healthier, happier and able to be more YOU!

[Kindle 8,667]

If it makes you feel any better, why don't you take all the money you will be saving on groceries and donate it to a Soup kitchen or other organization that helps feed starving kids.

[WhoKnows 288]

food insecurity doesn't come from a lack of resources (though as the world population continues to grow this will be an increasingly large problem), but rather people's inability to pay for food (which in some countries rots in storage while poor people starve), as they're forced into buying it, rather than farming their own, thanks to the rise of global monocrop agriculture. (Stuffed and Starved by Raj Patel is a great introduction to global food politics: http://www.amazon.com/Stuffed-Starved-Hidden-Battle-System/dp/1612191274)

I applaud you for being concerned about people suffering from food insecurity, and please trust me when I say that you're having the sleeve has no negative impact on those people. If anything, once you've been sleeved, you're eating less (not to mention better food choices that will hopefully involve local, organic and unprocessed produce) will lower your carbon footprint and ad a drop to the bucket in terms of doing something positive for those who are less fortunate. The thought that you should eat more because some people can't is very twisted logic, and in no way productive to creating a sustainable, secure 'food economy.'