The Easy Way Out

I think I was a good 80lbs lighter when I was very judgemental of some friends who had decided to "take the easy way out". At least that is what it seemed like to me at the time.

I mean I KNOW how I got to be this heavy. I ate the wrong things and too much of them as well and I did not move enough. In fact I still don't move "enough". I KNOW what I NEED to do to change the way I look, but just about everyone I know who had dieted or tried KNOW how difficult it is to change those really HORRIBLE habits.

Rationalizations are the biggest downfall to an over weight/obese dieter. "Just one fry won't hurt." "Just one cookie is all I'll eat."

But we all know that one turns into 3, 5, 12, OMG they are all gone. Then it's "Oh well I'll restart my diet again tomorrow." But those rationalizations keep coming back.

I recently read a comment about WLS/GBS. She was commenting on how many of her friends had started regaining the weight they lost with their WLS. She pretty much simplified the process.

Weight loss surgery is a very useful TOOL. It is a tool that motivates us to keep on track. It is even a training tool in some aspects for some types of WLS since some of your favorite foods can now make you literally sick to your stomach.

So WLS is a useful tool. People CAN and DO regain the weight back if it is not properly used.

For the first year after the surgery it is 80% WLS Tool and 20% You. The second year is about 50/50 tool and you. By the third year it is 20% the tool and 80% you.

WLS isn't an easy answer or solution for many. I am still researching and learning about all the different types of WLS that are available. I used to be under the impression that is was just 2 different kinds. A lap-band or gastric bypass, the kind you always hear about. In fact there are at least 7 different kinds.

Right now with all of the research I have done I am leaning towards a VSG which is where they shrink the stomach into a tube shape and no rerouting of the intestines is necessary. The downside to this would be insurance, since it still a fairly new proceedure it is sometimes still considered experimental. But there are fewer side effects such as "dumping" and there is less of a chance of malabsorbtion to happen which is a plus.

The other option would be the RnY Roux-en Y otherwise known as Gastric Bypass. it's the more well known operation that most everyone has.

I know insurance will pay for this one but the side effects are a little more heightened with dumping and other complications with malabsorbtion of nutrients and what not.

Still, even after the surgery is done, and you recover from the operation easy would be the farthest thing from the truth.

You have to be on a liquid diet for at least 2 weeks prior to the surgery. Then after the surgery the diet restrictions are even more. It'll be weeks before I can eat more normal foods and even then it will be a trial and error thing to find which foods won't cause dumping and which ones I'll be able to tolerate well.

I think knowing and understanding that this is in no way an "easy way out" and it is in fact a very valid and useful tool, has really helped me do a 180 in my thinking.

I reached that wall to where I KNOW I need more help than what I can give myself. WLS will be that helpful tool for me. And I can not wait.