Join me in stopping magazines from devaluing our WLS!

anyone who thinks weight loss surgery patients don't work hard for it can join me in one of the workouts i used to take off my last 80 pounds. yet when i tell people i had surgery i get no "props" because they think surgery does it ALL.  often it does not. but it helps a person from losing / regaining as is the case with most people. don't think you are so unique because it was the only answer for you. when it comes to losing weight and maintaining it, most are like you. if you don't think so pay attention to all the truly FAT people you see everyday. many of them are "working hard for it" and nothing real or permanent ever happens.  and if you don't decide for the world, why should a major publication like People think they should? also, if you can afford a new car, you can afford WLS. it is not cost prohibitive. heck in my state Medicaid pays for it, not to mention the new health insurance laws which could help. the cover of this magazine is flat out misleading and sends a general "if we can do it, so can you and this is how" message about weight loss that is false, tired, and old. phony inspiration has never helped anyone lose even one pound, and to exclaim "No Surgery!" on the cover as if they have some magic solution for weight loss inside that trumps wls and medical science is just plain sad for the many who want to "believe," but in all reality have no hope without what we have. its not just fat anymore for many, it is literally life and death. and the message this cover sends is garbage

excuse me if i am a bit passionate. i do mind my own business about the weight of others in my everyday life because i know the deal with them. it was the same deal with me for most of my life. wls was out of the question, i would "overcome" and be triumphant. but now i have people close to me sick with type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, and all the rest. and they don't want to hear about wls, at all. they are scared, sick, using mobility scooters but still, phony messages like this hold more sway than reality and results. so, this is a wls message board and that is how i feel about it, and what i think is the truth. "hard work" and earning "props" are going to get some people i know dead. in fact, it already has. a couple lost limbs to diabetes first. so People magazine can kiss my skinny ass. they have a message about weight loss? well, so do i. small as i might be 

And the further out you get the harder you have to work, or at least I do :-)

I respect how you feel....

As long as these magazines sell, a petition will likely do little to nothing. I don't think the publishers will take much notice... unless the sales suddenly drop drastically.

It's not really bothersome to me. I had surgery that failed. I am unable to have another surgery. Hearing about people who've lost without surgical aid is actually good news to me. But I can see why people who have had surgery would be bothered by the headlines. It's just out of ignorance that they word it as such.  I think anyone who has done even the most rudimentary research would see that surgery isn't a "gimmick." (The rest of the world doesn't care about the wording, unfortunately.)   

your surgery may have failed, and i feel for those who have had difficulties. but understand this: you were brave, courageous, and were willing to go to any length to get what you needed. and yes, you can still lose weight, perhaps. maybe you have, or maybe you can't? but i know that decision was not easy and i wish you well 

nothing is guaranteed us when we decide to have wls but one thing is for certain and that is for every so called "failed" surgery there are many, many people who's lives would help be saved by successful ones if they took the same chance you did. and i believe the facts bear that out. i will see more people die from this without doing so much as you tried to do for yourself, partially because of the false hope messages like this magazine cover sends out to society. and i just can't stand for it 

Thanks Nic for sharing how you feel!

I do wish you good luck with trying to implement change, Kathy. I think it's a good thing you're doing. I think I've become cynical over the years. 

All diet gimmicks advertise as miracle cures for obesity without having to have surgery. Makeup does the same thing. Facial creams as well. Don't get botox use our miracle cream. Don't diet, don't get lipo, use our product and lose the inches. They all do it. It is more important that WE know what we go through, and what we deal with. I actually find it more offensive that IF you have the money, you can bypass all the protocols for weight loss surgery and have it regardless of your BMI and weight. I have seen women doing this for nothing more than vanity. One woman needed only to lose 30 lbs. She went to mexico, had the sleeve...then started complaining through the roof that she couldn't eat anything, was sick, sore, and wound up losing more than 30 lbs and now "looking like a sack of dog bones" (her words). 2 years later...this same woman starts complaining again because she has now gained back her 30 lbs and a few more on top of it. This lack of adherence to a criteria could hurt weight loss surgery for those of us that need it for our health, which as far as I am concerned...is the ONLY reason this should be done. Sorry for the rant, but I am really passionate about this, grateful that I could have this surgery, and totally amazed at how easy it was given that I had spent a small fortune on it, and was determined to look at eating plans I could live with for the rest of my life to make it work. The surgery was all the motivation I needed. I hit goal weight after 7 months, have not veered off my paleo eating plan, and thankfully doing great.