Please excuse the coss post....

Thanks for posting this message.  I hit me over the head like a ton of bricks.  Eventhough I am pre op, done with my testing and am waiting on insurance approval, I am beginning to back slide into old habits.  This is exactly what I needed to read.  Thanks. Jamie

Wow.  Excellent post Russ.  And oh so true.. I've been doing a bit of whining myself now and then, but you know what? She's exactly right.. I gave up the right to complain when I chose this life change.   The results are worth it.  That's all I can say. What amazes me, is how many times I read on the main board about somebody who got the surgery, (pick whichever one).. and then whine about how they didn't realize it was going to be so hard, they didn't know how little they could eat, they didn't know they would be so restricted in WHAT they could eat... What the heck were they doing for 6 months before surgery? Why didn't they research what they were getting themselves into. I"m sorry.. but I have no sympathy for people who go into this uninformed.  All the information is out there now.  If you can find this board, you can find the info.  Now true, it's hard dealing with it... and some things were worse than I expected... but some are better.  BUT... to not know anything is ridiculous. Dale

Words to live by, and I do it every day.  Be well boys. John

Worst part about it is, the people who actually read it are probably the ones already sticking with the program.

Now THAT'S a gal I wouldn't mind watching some NASCAR with    She's got a sackful of stones.... and did you notice there was not one ((((HUG)))) in the post?

Russ Great Post actually printed out and plan on keeping it handy.  Thxs Bob

What a frickin' awesome post, Russ!! Thanks man, all of us WLS folks (men and women) need a proverbial baseball bat to the noggin every now and then to remind us of the "gift." A second chance in life isn't something to be taken for granted and the further we get from our former self, the easier it is for us to forget what life used to be like.  Thanks again for the extremely powerful post. It's time to get on my bike and ride.......I'll have a little extra "juice" in my ride today because of your post.  Boner

Great post, but I have an extremely difficult time being positive.  When my meds are working well, I guess I'm mildly positive but I'm never gung ho.  And, when I realize that I am feeling that good, I do take action to get physical and mental help.  But, I have several chronic health problems that are not related to the WLS but that restrict what I can do as a post-op.  Still, I'm much better off now than I was pre-op. As to my mental condition, I'm bi-polar and it's a genetic condition.  I've already learned that it only gets worse with age.  All this means is that I've got to be ready to change meds with age.  The problem as it gets worse is that I'm usually the last person to realizee it has gotten worse.  I usually get depressed before I realize this has happened.  And, I do see a shrink every other month to monitor my condition and my meds. So, you see, life is not as cut and dry as you would assume it to be.

this is so weird. i don't post a lot of topics but i've been milling around the past couple days a topic and was going to post the title as "second chance"! how about that? i've been reflecting on the very notion she so wonderfully wrote. my kind of woman. anyway, i was going to write about when we first heard the term wls and then remember back to the first time we actually researched the subject. at some point we had to read the fine print or the doc and their crew had us come to sessions to really learn that there's no magic. it can fail, we will return to hunger and we can cheat the system. and oh yeah, some of us will fail and some of us will get pretty sick. all i know is when i start getting weak i remember back to the moment i told myself this surgery is a second chance.

there's no way in hell i was ever going to get thin again and i knew it. i gave up totally. after researching wls i realized, after seeing the amazing before and after pics and coming here, this could actually work. i promised if i could just get it done i would never make excuses and i would go down the road and give it everything i had to succeed. well, still going strong and i owe it to believing i got a second chance. yep, i can fail, gain weight all kinds of negative things. i want to win this time and it's taking a humungous effort to do so but i'm doing it. i don't feel all that great but i know i look great! hell, one out of two ain't bad.

i could have never put into words or express my thoughts as well as this post. i think it ought to be required reading and printed as a preface to any books on the subject and before signing any contracts with your surgeon. we live in a society that thinks everything should be handed to us without work or consequence. whining wins the day sort of society. well guess what. good things come at a price. whining is not going make you win at weight loss even if they put a super sized staple in your gut! carbonblob