oh, you don't count, you had WLS...

Friends asked me to post this on this site as well as main, I do not consider Black Americans different, yet she told me about all the support you have for each other and many members just go directly here--

a little background first... 215/120 open RNY March 17, 2004- fat ALL my life-

Oh, you lost your weight the easy way...
I get so tired of hearing this, don't you-
well, here's a way to vent- takes a second- each one of you will make a big difference in my life!

in 2007 I entered a contest sponsored by BeachBody in their Million Dollar Body contest-
took a lot of guts to enter- yet, I wanted people to know I, as WLS losers, we WORK HARD each and every minute to maintain our loss...

I was upfront and honest in my submission... beginning with the words...I started my journey on March 17,2004 when I had a gastric bypass...

long story short- I won the month's contest in my age group (50+) - $1,000- I was interviewed, a big splash written about me- all plastered over the site (including video's and sound bytes)...

fast forward one month- Powers to be contacted me and retracted (i.e. disqualified me), took my name, etc. down and replaced me with someone who had lost ~ 25 pounds!!! why? I HAD A GASTRIC BYPASS-

to say I was devastated, embarassed, angry, is a huge understatement...

now, what does this have to with now?

Well, probably the KEY reason I have been successful in keeping my weight off has been my devotion to Turbo Kick- the gym program where I was first introduced to this tremendous, fun exercise program- Chalene Johnson (the inventor of Turbo Kick) has been my mentor and friend... and have flown to California the last two years to attend Turbo Kick Camp

I won the contest in August 2007- I felt like a celebrity as Beach Body was there interviewing those who said Turbo Jam(their consumer version of Turbo Kick) played a key part in their success...

three weeks later, the "retraction" happened- my replacement posted all over the site that I had cheated...

fast forward to this year with my scheduled trip to California in 11 days..ok- now, I decided to submit a request to be a VIP at a fashion show to be held at this year's Turbo CAMP- only to find out, after it was entered, the selection was going to by AN ONLINE WEB VOTE WITH THE VOTES SHOWING... it has been like a flashback to that devastating experience...
I am reliving this horrible ordeal- feeling as if I am not good enough, i "cheated"

the vote went up July 21- runs through July 28-

I need your help- will you vote for me-

I have subscribed to OH magazine and am a staunch supporter- as with most of you, they were my lifeline before surgery and after- I would love to share with my turbokick friends the reason my vote count skyrocketed was my WLS soulmates wanted their votes to count.

I thought a long time before I posted this- please know this has come from my heart

i am proud to have had my surgery- and recognize the struggles we have daily to maintain our loss



ridgely johnson
summerville, sc

215/120 RNY 3/17/04

[email protected] ( i never post my e-mail, but I want you all to know I am real and if I can help any of you, please write me)

anyone can vote in this contest

http://www.turbokick.com/index.php?content=CampTurboKick

ridgely ann johnson
open RNY 3/17/04

Howdy!!!  I work in the Health and Fitness industry and it's AMAZING how negatively WLS is seen.  I have attended trade shows that had whole diatribes about it being the 'easy' way out - man it's hard to sit on my fingers and hold my tongue!!!

I think you should, by ALL means be the winner of that contest - you DID the work!  

I will be voting for you I think that you should win even though you had WLS you still had to work hard to get where you are. A lot of people say that we took the easy way out b/c they haven't walked a day or a minute in our shoes. They think OK you get your stomach cut to a size of an egg then you lose wt. What they don't know is that you  suffer after WLS not being able to eat the foods that you normally ate before surgery, your new pouch is trying to handle the foods that you're told to eat,  then on top of that there's the pain and with the pain you're told to get some exercise in. Then after you lose the weight you have to work out even harder to keep the weight off.  And this is what they call the easy way!? What easy way??!!!!

Hey Ridgely:
I'm not sure I understand what you are asking but if you want to run for something...do it. NOW relative to being dispossessed of a Title; what were the rules going into the contest, did the rules say anything about "natural" conditioning or wt loss. Frankly, I think that if a person is indeed proud of their WLS, they should tell folks up front when they enter "these" type situations. Frankly, WLS is not natural wt loss, just like a Body Builder using steroids or a beauty contestant using wt loss pills...When you put yourself "out there", sometimes we have to listen to the bs from people who do not have your perspectve of life. I wish you well.

planed to wait until the morning to post again, after reading some of your concerns and comments, I wanted to address some parts of the BB contest...

In 2007, the admission form was ambiguous in regards to previous medical procedures, emphasizing plastic surgeries, liposuction... (BTW, I have had plastic surgery SINCE then - in 2008)

I decided, as I shared with you, to be TOTALLY honest about my OPEN gastric bypass (with 48 staples, mind you in 5/04)- leaving the qualified judging team who had a million dollar contest with +++ lawyers to decide if I was a valid contestant- if I was eligble, great, if not, so be it.

My purpose WAS SHARING my sharing my love and the success I had/have with Turbo Jam/Turbo Kick as a MAIN mode of attack against weight gain-

As one of you mentioned, I had maintained the loss for 2 1/2 years at that time. This was the emphasis of my appliAcation, as well as in my follow up interviews...

After the disqualification, BB flew a camera crew to my home in south carolina to do a story on WLS, specifically gastric bypass- not endorsing it- but focusing on my committment to maintain my 95 pound weight loss because of it. I hesitated to share this with this board, because they spent an inordinate amount of time mentioning other WLS patients who had gained their weight back (aren't people so anxious to share that with you!!)...

Well, I want you to see the clip- the lawyer from BB called me personally and arranged it, flying the crew out here in September... I believe it still airs in their archive. This is a link to another site that has picked it up (if nothing else- u can see me in action doing turbo kick... AND in my infamous PURPLE big mama dress with a french twist!!!! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

link is a the bottom of the page as well
planed to wait until the morning to post again, after reading some of your concerns and comments, I wanted to address some parts of the BB contest...

In 2007, the admission form was ambiguous in regards to previous medical procedures, emphasizing plastic surgeries, liposuction... (BTW, I have had plastic surgery SINCE then - in 2008)

I decided, as I shared with you, to be TOTALLY honest about my OPEN gastric bypass (with 48 staples, mind you in 5/04)- leaving the qualified judging team who had a million dollar contest with +++ lawyers to decide if I was a valid contestant- if I was eligble, great, if not, so be it.

My purpose WAS SHARING my sharing my love and the success I had/have with Turbo Jam/Turbo Kick as a MAIN mode of attack against weight gain-

As one of you mentioned, I had maintained the loss for 2 1/2 years at that time. This was the emphasis of my appliAcation, as well as in my follow up interviews...

After the disqualification, BB flew a camera crew to my home in south carolina to do a story on WLS, specifically gastric bypass- not endorsing it- but focusing on my committment to maintain my 95 pound weight loss because of it. I hesitated to share this with this board, because they spent an inordinate amount of time mentioning other WLS patients who had gained their weight back (aren't people so anxious to share that with you!!)...

Well, I want you to see the clip- the lawyer from BB called me personally and arranged it, flying the crew out here in September... I believe it still airs in their archive. This is a link to another site that has picked it up (if nothing else- u can see me in action doing turbo kick... AND in my infamous PURPLE big mama dress with a french twist!!!! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Link is on the bottom of this message as well as link to vote-

http://video.clipta.com//Ridgley_Johnson__v397d919664504b44beea


Now- on to update on the VIP challenge It is going to be VERY close-
I WOULD SO LOVE TO HAVE THE 1,000 PEOPLE WHO HAVE READ THIS POST ON THE 3 STIES to VOTE for me - BUT, maybe I have upset them somehow. For this I am sorry- and hope they will contact me- I want to be there to help anyone, just as I have needed help the last 5 years to maintain this 95 pound loss...

right now it looks like I am may just miss being in the top 11- will keep you posted- I feel as if I have a team of cheerleaders that keeps growing!

ridgely

forgive me for being so long-winded, i think you now know the "full" story ...


ridgely ann johnson
open RNY 3/17/04
Michael S. Sabback M.D.
Member Since: 07/17/06
[Latest Posts] Post Date: 7/25/09 7:30 pm




Now- on to update on the VIP challenge It is going to be VERY close-
I WOULD SO LOVE TO HAVE THE 1,000 PEOPLE WHO HAVE READ THIS POST ON THE 3 STIES to VOTE for me - BUT, maybe I have upset them somehow. For this I am sorry- and hope they will contact me- I want to be there to help anyone, just as I have needed help the last 5 years to maintain this 95 pound loss...

right now it looks like I am may just miss being in the top 11- will keep you posted- I feel as if I have a team of cheerleaders that keeps growing!

ridgely

forgive me for being so long-winded, i think you now know the "full" story ...

*** link to vote (some have voted twice from different computers?


http://www.turbokick.com/index.php?content=CampTurboKick

Congrats Ridgely, People have no idea how much work goes into maintaining . You have my vote.  stupid people suck.

Its amazing how the perfectly healthy person with plastics for vanity sake still counts.  No one says you're not really attractive, you cheated.  They sacafice enduring the pain and big bucks.  We sacrafice our digestive tract, years of working to goal and life time maintenance issues plus the pain and big bucks and we're called cheaters.

Fat predjudice is still widely accepted and even encouraged.  We are so despised by American society we are even further criticized for overcomming our obesity.

You have my vote.