Good Morning. Your words of wisdom for the day?

I know I usually start this thread with a sermon of sorts but today it's your turn. Would you think of a "Good Morning" message and share it with us?

I think the LWs here are the best folks ever and I'm truly grateful to have found you.

--gina

Good Morning Gina and my fellow LW's!  I have a question for all of you!  Are you going to be a shining example??

We've all made the decision to have WLS to save our lives and live healthier.  There is a lot of nay saying going on about WLS and those who chose to have it.  Many of these nay sayers don't know anything about WLS.  They perpetuate the stereotype that a person who has WLS is lazy and will overeat their way back to obesity.  However untrue this belief is, there are people out there who have done it and are being held up within many communities as the gold standard of WLS patients.

So my question to you is this.......Are you going to stand up and be a shining example to the world?  Will you scream from the rooftops the benefits and changes for the better this surgery has provided you?  Will you maintain your WL for years to come and prove them wrong?  Or will you fall into the stereotype?  Will you allow yourself to eat whatever you want?  Will you never introduce yourself to an active lifestyle filled with cardiovascular exercise and muscle building activities?  Will you let yourself fall back into your old ways?  Will you chose to eat away your sorrows and not seek out counseling that will provide you with the necessary tools to maintain a healthy mind, spirit and body?

Will you stand up and shine.......or will you let your flame flicker out??

Judge not lest you be judged.  Not us lightweight ladies, of course:)...but the general public needs a healthy dose of minding their own damn business!  And some lessons on kindness

No one has the right to judge the choices others make in life.  There are always reasons why people are the way they are.  Maybe the only way someone can deal with their history of sexual abuse is emotional eating and keepig their body surrounded in fat, that drug addict does not want to be an addict, but he started using as a means to cope with his life cir****tances and got caught up in the disease process, that person that tried to hang themselves, they weren't trying to be selfish, they just did not see any other way out once their depression spiraled so far out of control...

I'm a little boy with glasses
The one they call the geek
A little girl who never smiles
'Cause I've got braces on my teeth
And I know how it feels
To cry myself to sleep

I'm that kid on every playground
Who's always chosen last
A single teenage mother
Tryin' to overcome my past
You don't have to be my friend
But is it too much to ask

Don't laugh at me
Don't call me names
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
In God's eyes we're all the same
Someday we'll all have perfect wings
Don't laugh at me

I'm the cripple on the corner
You've passed me on the street
And I wouldn't be out here beggin'
If I had enough to eat
And don't think I don't notice
That our eyes never meet

I lost my wife and little boy when
Someone cross that yellow line
The day we laid them in the ground
Is the day I lost my mind
And right now I'm down to holdin'
This little cardboard sign...so

Don't laugh at me
Don't call me names
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
In God's eyes we're all the same
Someday we'll all have perfect wings
Don't laugh at me

I'm fat, I'm thin, I'm short, I'm tall
I'm deaf, I'm blind, hey, aren't we all

Don't laugh at me
Don't call me names
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
In God's eyes we're all the same
Someday we'll all have perfect wings
Don't laugh at me

So be a little kinder, a littlle gentler, and a little more understanding.

I love this post Brit..........I wish there were more compassion and caring in this world!  It amazes me how much is in one place..........the LW Board!

Go Heather, you could be a motivational speaker.

At 62, I don't have another 50 yrs to gain and lose.  I had this surgery because I wanted my life back.  I don't plan on giving it up for anything, least of all food. 

I do feel sad for the folks who go back to old habits.  They have had a way out and couldn't figure out how to use it long term.  Maybe they didn't get the help they need.  It amazes me some questions folks ask because I think they are not getting educated before and if not before, maybe never.  Not that any question is wrong or bad, or that I know all the answers, but some are pretty basic and should be known before you chose this life.  I'm not sure all Dr's groups are educating as they should.

I also feel sad for the folks who have bad relationships with food and think the surgery will cure that.  Some folks need to address the initial issues that were hopefully brought to light by the psychological in the beginning.  But it seems so many folks see that as a stumbling block, not a building block.

Let's swing that everyone gets the help they need to build a new relationship with food and a healthy lifestyle.

I don't know that what I have to say is that motivational........LOL  I do agree with you that there are many out there who were not properly prepared psycholgically.  I too wish that bariatric programs would be on top of this more and require a minimum amount of guidance prior to having surgery.  I was lucky in that my eating was not emotionally linked ie....binge eating disorder.  I smoked my pain away.......LOL  My psychologist who did my evaluation deals solely with those preparing for and coping with changes before and after WLS and required that I see him for 3 months to ensure I didn't develope any emotional eating after quiting smoking.  He DID NOT approve my surgery until I was able to show him that I had found healthy outlets for my stress smoking.  The same process should take place for someone who suffers from emotional eating  I journaled my eating, emotions and coping mechanisms for those 3 months!  Maybe someday they will look at the people who are successful and listen to what it is that WORKED!

You guys are on fire this morning!

Great points.

Heather - I am trying to be a shining star. This has been an emotional 6 months so far. I didnt realize how much my emotions and food were entangled. Hopefully through counseling and my rny, I will overcome my addiction.

Brilynn, love that poem. The world needs kindness and compassion.

Maria I have no doubt you will shine!  You are such an invaluable resource to so many here already!

WOW, talk about deep today! I WANT to be a shiing star, I WANT to use my ability to advocate and knowledge to make others understand that this is not easy, I WANT to understand myself and why I eat because I am bored, I WANT to be a role model to all who will allow it.
Away this weekend everyone had asked how I lost the weight and what I had done, I told them the truth, no negativity just acceptance and many wanted more information. I will NOT hide from myself!

@ Brilynn.....Amazing song, have you seen the video? WOW

Shine on Sista!!!