Auto-pilot or cruise control (copied from grad board)

I saw this on the WLS grad board and thought I would share - (one day at a time for me!) DeAnna..... (copied from WLS grad board) Here's my thought as I hit the three-year mile marker. Most of us who are on the Web have run across the Darwin Awards, tales of colossal stupidity that are Urban Legends for the most part. One of the best is the guy who buys the recreational vehicle and drives it off the lot. He gets it out on the highway and is enjoying the road. It dawns on him that he would enjoy is more if he had something to drink, so he sets the cruise control, gets out of driver's seat and heads for the refrigerator in the back. Of course the results are predicable. The RV crashes. This Darwinian Superstar failed to understand the difference between the cruise control and an auto pilot. What has this to do with WLS? At the three year mile-marker, I would say just about everything. Here in Grad Land, we hear again and again of folks struggling and failing (yes I said 'failing') w/ WLS. One of the problems is that many did not appreciate how WLS works. Like our Darwinian Dimwit, they thought it would be an auto-pilot sort of effect. At three years either you are succeeding w/ WLS or you are already in a ditch somewhere w/ your tires in the air. The successful learned that WLS is like power steering, power brakes, cruise control, etc., that it enables them to control a mechanism that previously was beyond their ability. How do we say it so often? "It's a tool!" The controls are within our reach, but we still have to attend to them. You can build a vehicle with all the amenities that one can imagine and engineer, but there is nothing like an attentive driver to keep it on the road. I will never be normal. I will never be able to turn around and just let this thing take care of itself. And if we had a lick of sense, we would realize that most of the svelte among us have to do the same thing. Today is a new day to pay attention to road. It is not straight, nor is it always smooth. When events occur, we have to adjust. If we get off the road, we have to find a path back on to the main road. But more than anything else, we have to pay attention to the road we are on. We can never, and I repeat never, simply assume this machine drives itself. If you see me in a ditch w/ my tires in the air, remind me of this post.

I read that on the Grads board too. I thought it was really good. I saw some of your replies on the Susan Maria rant discussion. Well said, sister. I can't stand the way SM goes around judging and condemning people. I think she is a phony myself. I think she fakes caring for people to grow her business. I didn't care for her little article myself either. When is your surgery? Don't you have a hysterectomy coming up soon? I hope that goes well. I will be thinking about you and keep you in my prayers. Melissa

I'm enjoying the grad board. Yes, that was a tacky article. I was glad to see that people (like you) who are maintaining their weight also thought it was inappropriate, thanks for that. The post above is much more supportive, I liked it and want to re-start using my "tool". I am having hysterectomy (uterus but not ovaries) on Aug 7. Thanks for the prayers, much appreciated. I have been exercising lately and hate the thought of "starting over", but will be trying to eat right (one day at a time) through surgery recovery time. I am ready to start getting this extra weight off!