Thoughts on "the easy way"

I had been obese since I was 6 years old.  My family is obese, diabetic, heart disease, etc.  I have gained and lost 100's of lbs over the years.  I can power diet like nobodies business.  The weight always crept back!  I work in a large hospital with a large bariatric program.  I was speaking to one of the bariatric surgeons (Dr. Neff) who pointed out that WLS is the ONLY cure for obesity.  Diets do not work long term.  The regain rate is like 95%!  At the time, I had just finished yet another power diet.  I was down to 160 lbs.  After about a year, it was going back up, again.  When I hit 190, I decided to play the nuclear option.  No more screwing around.  I have a bad knee and was looking at a replacement.  Replacing my stomach seemed a lot more sensible!
I COULD NOT wait to jump through insurance hoops.  I didn't want a surgeon to whom VSG was a new thing.  I wanted a seasoned, respected surgeon.  I chose to go to Mexico and self pay for Dr. Alvarez.  None of this was without much consideration!  Like Frisco, I "Shot my last bullet"!  I am very happy with this.  I look at obese people and KNOW the struggle and KNOW they're chances of a cure without WLS is only about 5%.   No one would expect a diabetic to go without his meds, or a cancer victim to forgo treatment because eating just right might work in less then 5% of cases.  No, it's not the easy way, it's the better way,  We are fighting for our lives, not aesthetics!
My take. 

I have used similar logic to explain this to a couple of people ( usually thin.....misinformed people)  I say....."If you had a 'chronic' life-threatening illness......and the cure rate for treatment 'A'  (diet and exercise) was 5% or less!   and the cure rate for treatment 'B' (surgery)  was 50% (on the conservative estimate side)  Which treatment option  would you pursue??"   It is a "no-brainer"  and they always say option 'B'  I finish with......"How is this ANY different?"  The few people I said this to.....replied...."It makes sense.....guess I never thought of it  like that".   Shuts them down real quick!

To me, the only thing easy about this is that it works. And, yeah, doing something that works instead of something that involves white knuckles, despair and hopelessness is definitely easier.

But it's not easy... just easier.

Really Well Said!

Every time i see this post i say the same thing.   This was definatly the easy way out for me,   this was also the ONLY way out for me.  And i thank God everyday that i was given this gift.   :o) Jeani

Team Margo, all the way.

I am a short, small, middle-aged woman, and to MAINTAIN my desirable weight (not lose, just maintain) requires me to keep my daily food intake down around 1500 calories per day.  With a normal sized stomach pumping out all that ghrelin, and with the toxic modern American food environment, that was darned near impossible unless I devoted every waking moment to exercise and meal planning, and managed to ignore the hunger pangs.

Having the sleeve leveled the playing field and gave me the ability to comform my food intake to my body's actual requirements without making a career out of it.  Easy way?  Maybe.  Only way?  Hell, yes!

ETA:  I don't care at all, even a little tiny bit, whether anybody else thinks it's the "easy way," or whether I've some how "cheated" or whatever.  Seriously.  That is just an absurd discussion and I have no interest whatsoever in getting involved in that kind of thing.

  In my experience I find those who think this is the "easy way out" are those who don't have any clue what it's like to struggle with being MO. I'm very thankful that no one close to me has ever said, "Kelby, you're taking the easy way out!" 

Maybe I did... I could've spent the next 10 to 20 years dieting and exercising... falling off the wagon completely... getting back on... falling off... The scary thing for me to think of is how much MORE weight would I have put on? 50.. another 100 lbs? From the time I was a junior in high school until my pre-op consult I had gained 120 + lbs in that 6 year period. I too, wonder if I could've done this on my own, but deep inside me I honestly know I couldn't. 

I had put off the thought of WLS for about 3 years... I'm glad I did, because I definitely wasn't mentally ready for this ride. I cared more about drinking.... vodka...pizza... taco bell.. more vodka.. ok the occasional beer... eating more crap.. drinking more booze. 

Finally at 23 enough was enough... I put on my big girl panties and did something!!! I will admit, yeah this is MUCH easier than dieting ever was for me.. but who cares! In 7 months I've lost about 70% of the weight I put on over the past 6 years. I think that's pretty fricken' fantastic!!