I'm probably the best "qualified", of the current members, to answer this. When Eric started the site, in 1998? 1999? WLS was not at all as "In vogue" as it is now. When I joined, in 2001, we had ONE forum, and a chat room. PERIOD. We were all in those 2 places--surgery or not.

If your way is so much better, it's funny after 4 years of a normal BMI, you are the one who's still obese.

As I said in other replies, that 4 years was 3.5 years of continuing to try to old ways, and 6 months of total success. Which is to say, I only found out about the best way six months ago. But I'm SO glad I didn't have WLS! I get *all* the exact same benefits with no surgery!

Congrats on your success. Here's an idea. Why don't you do "you" and leave everyone else out of your personal process. We'll continue to do our own thing here. Since you obviously have the magical cure all for obesity, you don't need a support website...right? If we fail then that's on us. You have no responsibility to inform. We have all done a ton of research. None of us have jumped into surgery.

You are just trying to stir the pot here. My dad always said, "Those who choose to stir the **** pot should be forced to lick the spoon".

It's a public forum. If YOU don't like what I'm saying, then don't read it. Why don'y you leave ME out of your "personal process"? Go on and do your thing, I'm not stopping you. We can all be here together. You are free to not read or repsond to what I say at all. If you disike it, why are you even wasting time reading this thread?

Believe me, hearing from people like you IS "licking the spoon". Your father is clearly another person who want to maintain the staus quo. My response to him is "those who DON'T stir the pot should be forced to live in a world where no one does." By his logic, the people who founded the country would be bad guys. If you don't stir the pot, the food doesn't cook right, and it burns on the bottom. So his aphorism is pretty moronic.

And why did you put "you" in quotations?

I pride myself in not blocking people that I disagree with. I have always thought that I can learn from anyone even through conflict. With you...I may reconsider that position. You are more concerned with being right than having a productive conversation. You have come to OH for no other reason than to **** people off. If you want to help people with their obesity issue you might want to change your approach. You can post anything you want but you have chosen to preach your truth to people who have already chosen the WLS path. Why? Surely your passion for intermittent fasting would be better suited on a different site.

My dad died 6 years ago. He was the wisest man I know. Your disrespect is an ugly thing.

Well, you have more guts than "SparkleKitty", who did block me. I, like you, never block anyone. If I disagree with them I either just ignore them and don't reply or say why I disagree. You're right, you can learn things even from people you disagree with.

I AM concerned with having a productive discussion. It's the people here who jumped up here and shouted me down when I tried to do that. I did NOT come here to **** people off -I can here to deliver helpful information. It was taken in an extremely negative and abusive way. It's not my approach that was the problem, it was the reaction here. It seems people have so much emotional baggage around WLS that they can't really talk rationally about it. I answered all questions clamly, even the abusive ones, and provided a lot of information.

I was hoping to reach people who had not already had the surgery, but there don't appear to be many here.

Sorry about your dad. I'm sure he was a great guy. But his aphorism was wrong, sorry. That doesn't mean he was a bad guy. My dad died about 3 years ago. It really sucks.

Hello Finsternis,

Welcome to OH Let me introduce you to our site. From our "about OH" page. I had weight loss surgery in 2004 and it saved my life, my husband didn't and he died from obese related health issues. Any questions?

About Us

WE ARE HERE TO SUPPORT EDUCATE EMPOWER CONNECTING THE BARIATRIC COMMUNITY

Founded in 1998, ObesityHelp's mission is to educate, empower and support individuals affected by life-threatening obesity. ObesityHelp brings WLS patients, educators, product vendors and bariatric professionals together through online discussion, educational articles, bariatric friendly products & tools, and a motivating national conference.

Whether you've just begun researching weight loss surgery, are newly post-op, or an experienced WLS veteran, you are not alone. The ObesityHelp community is here to support you. There is strength in learning and sharing with others who face the same challenges. Together we can learn more; together we can do better.

Studies show that when people buddy-up with others, especially with weight loss, there is a higher success rate during the weight loss phase and maintenance.

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On January 19, 2018 at 6:41 PM Pacific Time, Kathy S. wrote:

"Hello Finsternis,

Welcome to OH Let me introduce you to our site. From our "about OH" page. I had weight loss surgery in 2004 and it saved my life, my husband didn't and he died from obese related health issues. Any questions? "

Glad to hear that you OK. I'm sorry about your husband, and I'm sorry you had to resort to such unnecessarily drastic measures to do it, but at least you're OK.

My only question is, if you're here specifically for WLS people, why do you call the site "Obesity Help"? Because it's not "obesity help" in general, it is WLS help specifically. Your name is very misleading.

>> Glad to hear that you OK. I'm sorry about your husband, and I'm sorry you had to resort to such unnecessarily drastic measures to do it, but at least you're OK.

Classy!