We have had a lot of new people joining the group at WLS...even in their writing you can "hear" their excitement and the anxiety of the wait.
They question how long it will take, why they have to jump through so many "hoops", it all seems so unnecessary...Gosh do I remember that feeling...I wanted to shout "Hey!! Look! I'm Obese, I have a disease...I have an addiction...I KNOW I need help , so lets do it already!!"
Yes I remember it well...I also remember asking so many questions I thought they would throw me out of the group. I remember looking at all the thin people and saying to myself "Wow!! That can be me someday...like NOW...or yesterday "LOL I also remember seeing people not so thin and listening to their daily struggles and disappointments. I remember thinking, hoping, praying that wouldn't be me. I listened to them all...the successful people and those that continued to struggle regardless of surgery. I learned from those struggles and I try to keep them very real, every day. So far I've been lucky, I have maintained my weight loss and continue to lose, although slowly now. To say I am pleased with my Journey thus far would be an understatement...I am ecstatic!!! Not because of all the compliments (although I love hearing them) but because of the way I feel...Dragging around 135 pounds was dragging an additional person 24/7 and the body was not designed to do that. Is it any wonder that my poor legs gave way? That my body started falling apart?
I was "Lucky" (don't believe it) that I carried my weight "so well". No one every guessed my true weight and I never felt it affected me. I lived a busy energetic life. People used to say "My God, you should weigh 100 pounds the way you run around." How did I stay so fat with all that energy? Now I wish I had fallen apart a lot sooner. I wish my weight gain would have "bothered" me much sooner. I was always aware of the fact that I needed to lose some weight and I did. I tried every diet known to man and some not known LOL I was always a success at losing not so great at keeping it off. So why is this so different? Because along with losing 135 pounds I also changed habits, many habits I never even knew I had. Like eating super fast, not savoring my food or tasting my food. I am a grazer...grabbing things along the way because I'm too busy to stop and eat properly....I graze no more...and I am very aware of what I eat. I deny myself NOTHING, but I make much better choices. The bonus to this change of life style and new habits is not only restored energy but Diabetes is totally gone, so is my High BP, acid reflux and the immediate need for knee surgery. By removing 400 pounds of pressure off my knees, I can keep the knees I was born with a little longer. They are still arthritic, but weight loss bought me time...painless time. I also no longer take 12 pills and 2 shots a day...Just my 5 supplements , which I gladly take. It keeps me healthy.
So to all the new people who may read this...Stay with the program, don't question how long it will be until you have surgery (we all know and share your excitement) Don't question the hoops you are asked to jump through. Because of those hoops they have found cancers as well as other undetected illness in some of us....That being a good thing, because it's treated and the weight loss process , for the most part, continues.
You may think you know which surgery you want. THINK again...I changed my mind 4 times..I wanted the Band, ended with RNY and I couldn't be happier...You never really know what you want in the beginning because you don't know the FACTs...RNY is not for everyone, neither is the BAND..They are both life time commitments and neither one is a temporary fix.
Everyone that goes before you, supports you...This is one Journey in life that you do not take alone...Remember that and Good Luck.
