Taking the Road Less Travelled

Hello everyone!

One of the things that I have been working on is being educated about something before I open my mouth and share my opinion. It's just proper etiquette, I feel.

So imagine my jaw dropping reaction to comments to an article that I read this week.

I was reading about how bariatric surgery has increased among Caucasian adolescents. It was mostly discussing that some cultures have different versions of beauty, copings skills, etc. It wasn't the article that offended me, it was the comment section.

It absolutely astonishes me how people can be so outspoken about a topic that they haven't dealt with. To sum it up, it basically said that the majority of people who have the surgery are looking for the "easy way out" of weight loss.

I know several people who are able to lose weight with exercise and diet. Good for you. But not everyone is made the same way. I am one of those people.

I have been outspoken about my surgery since the beginning. The surgery literally saved my life, and I have not regretted any of it for one second. But I sure as anything did NOT take the easy way out.

The surgery option I chose is where they take your stomach from the size of roughly a football and cut it down to the size of a golf ball. They leave the rest of your stomach in there, bypass part of your intestines, and attach a limb from your small intestine to your new "pouch." Over 18 months you slowly expand that pouch out to roughly the size of a softball. You are on a soft food diet for the first three months, which means you eat baby food and drink out of a sippy cup for 12 weeks. After that, you get to blend your food for a month, and then you are able to eat solid food. You slowly introduce certain things back into your diet for the next year.

You actually go through a mourning process. I did, at least. It was so hard to crave food that I knew I couldn't have because it would make me sick. Even some of the foods I could have would make me sick, sometimes for days. (I had a Cheerio stuck in my pouch opening for 4 days. I would rather have had a migraine for a week.) You also have to constantly intake protein, and even then your hair starts to fall out because your body can't metabolize it fast enough.

Looking back 20 months and roughly 130 pounds later, it was worth it. In the beginning, I was obsessed with the scale, and what size I was in. Now, I concentrate on the fact that I'm healthy, I'm happy, and I did it for me. I chose to make the lifestyle change, and have done well with the adjustment. I still have my off days; I'm human.

I'm not saying that the people who left the comments about taking the easy way out should experience the surgery firsthand; it would be like not allowing a male gynecologist to deliver your baby. I wish that they would look into it a little more before they make offhanded comments. When I first started looking into the surgery, I was just as naive. But it is the hardest thing to go through emotionally and physically.

I guess what this long rant is about is an example to show people how their flippant remarks can harm someone who is dealing with something as sensitive as how they lost weight, won't eat, smoke, etc. When you hear someone has had the procedure done, think about what that person has done to get them to that point. It's dedication, strong will, and hard work. It should be applauded, not shunned because it wasn't done what some people would think is the conventional way, doesn't make it less difficult. So, lesson today, educate yourself before you speak. My fellow pouchies and I will thank you

Solemates

I love shoes. Not gonna lie.

When I was heavier, shoes were the one thing that constantly fit me. When my pants were too small, I got new shoes. It was my way of denying that I had an issue with my eating. My feet were a size 9 no matter how big my waistline got. That way I wouldn't loathe shopping trips with others, I knew I could always get a cute pair and still have bought something.

I did that 123 times.

I know, it's excessive. The sad thing? I wear the majority of them on a regular basis. The ones I don't wear are formal wear shoes, so I don't really count those. But still, that's a bit crazy. You name it I have it. I think Macy's shoe department is jealous, since I pretty much transplanted all their stuff into my closet. In my office, some of my clients refer to me as "the counselor with the cool shoes." I've lost my identity!

So imagine my sadness when I was told yesterday that my cute pumps and wedges that I have been wearing are to stay in their boxes for 10 days. 10. Long. Days! My knee that I had surgery on a few years ago is acting up again, and my doctor said I have tendonitis. For the next 10 days, I can't do yoga or pilates (which I do 2-3 times a week) run (which I do when it's not so hot), climb stairs or lift boxes (which is hampering the move, since all that is left is the bigger stuff)....and no heels.

It's like I've abandoned a good friend. Ok, that's a bit dramatic. I know it's for the best for me in the long term. The last thing I want is to mess my knee up and have another surgery....the last one was a big enough ordeal. In all seriousness, I had gotten into a great routine with my workouts, and miss the fact that I can't do them for the time being. I fear in 10 days I will gain a lot of weight, which I know is psychological, and I can get past those thoughts pretty quickly. I just feel so much better and relaxed after going to those classes, and I've been making a few acquaintances, which has been nice. And I measure how well I am doing in my workouts by...you guessed it...wearing heels. If my feet hurt after being on my feet only a few hours, I know I need to step it up in the gym. It's also how I knew my knee was out of whack again. They are like my WebMD (some may say my drug of choice, whatever). But it was my way of knowing that I was being successful at keeping the weight off. It's weird. Some people count calories, I wear heels. Like I said in an earlier post, shopping is my new comfort food, and even though I can wear a smaller size, the shoes are the first things I look at. It's an old, comfortable habit.

What are some of your comfortable habits? How have you handled not being able to do that habit for a period of time? Let me know!