FOLLOW UP TO "CONTINUED"

Posted at 12:42 PM PST on 03/31/2006 This is a reply to a post by Rachel Rachel Bo'Bachel RE: SusanMaria Stay Away! NO FLAMES MS RACHEL ... IT WASN'T WHAT SHE WAS TRYING TO SAY, IT WAS MAKING ENEMIES OUT OF 2 GROUPS OF PEOPLE TRYING TO CHANGE THEIR LIVES LIVES FOR THE BETTER. I'M VERY OUTSPOKEN SO HER TONE DOESN'T BOTHER ME ... ACTUALLY, THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE ON THE BOARDS THAT I WON'T EVEN ANSWER BECAUSE THEY WANT APPROVAL FOR EATING WRONG & GETTING AWAY WITH IT ... &, I WON'T DEVALUE EVERYONE ELSE'S HONEST EFFORTS TO FOLLOW THE RULES BY EVEN ACKNOWLEDGING THEIR POSTS. SO, I AGREE WITH HER ON SUCKING IT UP & FOLLOWING THE RULES. ... BUT, TO ATTACK OTHERS THE WAY SHE DID ... I FIND IRRESPONSIBLE & SELF-SERVING IN HER "MY" GROUP VS. "YOUR" GROUP ATTITUDE. THAT'S WHAT'S WRONG IN OUR NATION RIGHT NOW - WE'VE MADE ENEMIES OF OURSELVES ... COLOR AGAINST COLOR ... LIBERAL AGAINST CONSERVATIVE ... THIN AGAINST HEAVY ... NORTH AGAINST SOUTH ... ONE RELIGION AGAINST ANOTHER RELIGION ... NEIGHBOR AGAINST NEIGHBOR ... WE CAN'T SUCCEED WHEN WE DIVIDE OUR HOUSE ... IN MY HUMBLE OPINION, SHE COULD HAVE MADE VERY GOOD POINTS WITHOUT DIVIDING OUR WLS FAMILY INTO GOOD GUYS & BAD GUYS. GOD BLESS YOU DAWN & NICK

I'm not trying to be Catty...because we all have the right to free speech, thus giving us the right to voice our opinions and speak what's on our mind...but it seems that some of us might have forgotten where we've come from. Lets not forget that if all it took was sucking it up, we wouldn't have needed wls in the first place...the problem is we did suck it up...ate it up...and drank it up...ALL UP...AND THEN CAME BACK FOR MORE!!! So for some of us there are struggles...we still have to battle the emotional stuff, that doesn't automaticaly change because of surgery. Most of us were emotional eaters...and any emotion would do, right? There's that pain in the butt head hunger...there's the huge changes that our bodies are going through...which in itself is enough to make you want to revert back to old behavior at times. Yes there are some of us you want to hit on the back of the head to remind them to stay comitted...but at the same time we are individuals, and there are no 2 stories the same...simular yes, but not the same. Most of us have not worked through the baggage that helped us become obese in the first place. So SusanMaria, we are happy that you have slayed your demons...and am sorry for your frustration with those of us who are still a work in progress. Remember we are no more, nor less than those who get it and stay with it...I'm praying that I'm one that gets it...but if I'm not...if I'm on that learning curve...I'll choose the folks on my board everytime...we don't judge, we Share, Listen, and Help...and we do it with love and compassion...because we have not forgotten from whence we came. Love you SC Forum Tonya

JUST A QUICK FOLLOW UP ON THE SUSAN MARIE RANT ... SOMEONE SAID THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHO SHE IS ... SHE IS THE FOUNDER/OWNER OF bariatriceating.com WHERE ALOT OF OUR MONEY GETS SPENT ON PROTEIN, VITAMINS & SUCH. SHE'S POST OP ABOUT 4+ YEARS, I THINK, & HAS WRITTEN A COUPLE BOOKS ON HER WLS EXPERIENCE & COOKING FOR WLS PATIENTS. SHE'S ONE OF THE "LEADERS" IN THE WLS INDUSTRY, YOU MIGHT SAY. SHE JUST STARTED HER OWN WLS MESSAGE BOARD & DECIDED TO POST A VERY CRITICAL "RANT" ABOUT THE REST OF US ON "OTHER" WLS MESSAGE BOARDS. IF THE "RANT" IN QUESTION IS NOT AT THE LINK, THEN SHE MUST HAVE REMOVED IT BECAUSE I CHECKED THE LINK BEFORE POSTING IT & IT WAS THERE. I DON'T WANT YOU TO THINK I WAS BEING JUDGMENTAL OF HARD WORK & HONEST MIS-STEPS, MS TONYA, WHEN I SAID TO "SUCK IT UP & FOLLOW THE RULES" ... THAT WASN'T MEANT FOR ANYONE HERE ON THE SC BOARD (I POSTED IT ON ANOTHER BOARD) ... WE HAVE SOME LADIES ON ANOTHER BOARD WHO ARE DETERMINED TO EAT THEIR SNICKERS CANDY BARS, GRAZE ON CHIPS & GET DRUNK ON THE WEEKENDS ... BRAG ABOUT IT ON THE BOARD ... & THEN, GRIPE & MOAN WHEN THEY GAIN WEIGHT OR TRY TO INFLUENCE OTHERS TO DO THE SAME IF THEY DON'T GAIN WEIGHT ... THAT WAS THE POINT OF MY STATEMENT. AFTER SPENDING $35.000.00 TO $50,000.00 OF SOMEONE ELSE'S MONEY (INSURANCE COMPANY) & HAVING A SURGEON DO ALL HE/SHE CAN TO GIVE YOU A CHANCE AT REGAINING YOUR HEALTH, IF THAT'S ALL THE BETTER SOMEONE CAN DO, THERE'S SOMETHING TERRIBLY WRONG IN THEM THAT THEY NEED HELP WITH ... & SHOULDN'T BE TRYING TO INFLUENCE OTHERS TO FOLLOW THEIR EXAMPLE. YOU ARE SO RIGHT ABOUT EMOTIONAL EATING, BUT MOST OF US REALLY DO OUR BEST TO "FOLLOW THE RULES" & EVEN WITH OUR MISTAKES, WE GET RIGHT BACK ON THE HORSE & TRY AGAIN. THAT'S 99.9% OF US & MY STATEMENT WAS NOT INTENDED FOR ANY OF THOSE WONDERFUL, FOCUSED PEOPLE. GOD BLESS YOU DAWN & NICK

Now Ms Dawn... I ment to post on the Oct 2005 Surgery board, not ours...my post was not a response, but support for what you had posted ...My post was a response to Ms Susan Maria rant. I agree with you concernig those who fall off the learning curve...they do need help. So Darlin my little rant no way had you in mind...I have NEVER viewed anything you have written as judgemental...I've always felt it came from a place of compassion. So Girlfriend we are a house united. Lots of Tonya PS You and Mr Nick have a safe trip

I FIGURED THAT, MS TONYA, BUT I DIDN'T WANT TO TAKE A CHANCE JUST IN CASE ... I WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU KNEW I WASN'T POINTING FINGERS AT YOUR OR OUR WONDERFUL PEOPLE HERE ON OUR BOARD!!! WOULD RATHER EXPLAIN WHEN NOT NEEDED THAN HURT SOMEONE'S FEELINGS!!!! YUP, YOU ARE SO RIGHT ABOUT THIS BEING A HOUSE UNITED ... I KNOW I GET SO MUCH SUPPORT & ENCOURAGEMENT HERE & AT OUR LCBBuddies MEETING & WITH ALL THE VERY SPECIAL FRIENDS NICK & I HAVE BEEN PRIVILEDGED TO MEET THROUGH WLS. THANKS ... NICK'S BOSS IS GONNA TRY TO LET HIM OFF A LITTLE EARLY .. AWWWWHHHH, THAT'S SO NICE OF HIM. GOD BLESS YOU MY UNITED FRIEND DAWN & NICK PS: SPEAKING OF FALLING OFF THE LEARNING CURVE ... I'VE BEEN EATING SO FAST LATELY I CAN BARELY CHEW THE 1st BITE BEFORE I HAVE THE 2nd BITE READY ... DON'T ASK ME WHY?????? SO, I'M GOING BACK TO PUTTING MY FORK DOWN IN BETWEEN BITES TO REMIND MYSELF TO SLOW DOWN & CHEWWWWW! I'M NOT EATING MORE, JUST FAST. I USED TO DO THAT WHEN I WAS WORKING & BUSY, BUT LATELY ... IT'S LIKE I'M RACING TO GET DONE. DA-UHHHHHHHH!

Dawn, I guess all of us coming together had a positive effect...Ms SusanMaria's rant is no longer there. I LOVED your post..all three ...ecspecially this one. For we know a house divided WILL NOT stand. Many Blessings and Tonya