It’s not “choices” if there’s only one option.

by Linda Eaves on August 7, 2011

Note: For the next while I’ll be sharing my thought process prior to weight loss surgery. It’s the right time to introduce something different to the conversation. So far I’ve found nothing objective on the web that wasn’t featured by a hospital who does weight loss surgery or a dietitian who’d like you to follow their eating program. If you’ve seen something I invite you to leave it in the comments, I’d love to know about it.

You, my lovely readers are smart and deserve more than that. You are not mindless sheep nodding your heads yes as the little drinking cups get passed around. You collaborate with your practitioners, (instead of giving up authority to them) and you know your body has the wisdom to tell you what it needs.

 

by flickr - ambernectar

by flickr - ambernectar


Sure you can have weight loss surgery — if you want Gastric Bypass that is.
Basically, that’s what my insurance company was telling me. Before 2009 my hospital offered only one type of weight loss surgery, Gastric Bypass.

Logic like that reminds me of a conversation between two characters from the movie Demolition Man:

Lenina: Taco Bell was the only restaurant to survive the Franchise Wars.
John: So?
Lenina: So, now all restaurants are Taco Bell.

So, you’d better like Pepsi and Pinto Beans…

My insurance benefits were such that the surgery would be paid for and, I wanted to take advantage of that. I waited patiently until the lap band surgery was offered at my hospital – it’s not a choice if only line ‘A’ is listed.

Recently my closest friend admitted her frustration with me for taking “so long” to decide on a surgery type. (which made me chuckle to no end) I can appreciate that, and — I got to my decision in the perfect time.
For me.

I sense she was afraid to tell me her true feelings because she’d know that I’d be *ahem* reevaluating my choice of inner circle support system.

Here’s the truth: No matter how long it takes, or if the decision is not for you right now, or ever…it’s your body, your business.

You always have a choice. There are always more options, even if they’re unseen by the naked eye.
Exercise your options or better yet — create some that are right for you.

I’m curious.
How many times have you been told there’s only one option?
Did you take it for fear of missing out?

Thoughts welcome. Spoken out loud, or kept to yourself. Either way, I like it when you think.

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  • Rob Withoff

    Hi Linda.

    I went through the process a few years ago. I did have a choice between Lap Band and Gastric Bypass, and went in favoring Lap Band. After a year of going through all of the classes and presentations and diet programs and counseling, I came out of it with the gastric bypass.

    I have not regretted that decision.

    It has not been at all easy. My relationship with food has changed considerably, and my life has become interesting in so many ways.

  • Linda Eaves

    Rob – thanks for the comment. Our stories sound similar. It’s important to be open to getting from A – B using what best works, whatever the option.

  • Bruce Walton

    Hi Linda,
    I decided against doing the surgery myself and was able to achieve my weight-loss through a different way. I joined a 12-step group called Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA). (www.foodaddicts.org). Through this program, I was able to achieve a 216 lb weight-loss (over 16 months) through what I feel is little safer means. This program addresses diet and lifestyle and if worked completely and properly will address the issues that causes most people to gain weight in the first place and further, gives the tools to cope with and get recovery over food and the need to eat to hide feelings & such.

    I have been able to learn more about myself and how to cope with stress, trials and various other things that would make me want to eat something that would make me feel better temporarily.

    Check out the web-site for more info and consider going to some meetings to see what it’s all about. Best of all, its free and you eat normal food from an actual grocery store. There is even food plans for people who have had surgical intervention for weight-loss too.

    I highly encourage anyone with weight problems to try it out. No head shaving or flavor-aid drinking involved. check out my FB personal page to see photos of me then vs. now.

  • Linda Eaves

    Bruce! Thank you for stopping by. It’s a personal journey and for each of us to advocate for ourselves to manage this disease. Yes, we can say the D word now. In late July, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) declared Obesity a disease state. See press release here. Quote: “Thus, multiple therapeutic interventions may be necessary
    lifelong to delay or reverse obesity in patients. Certainly, current efforts have not prevented the proliferation of obesity in the US population as well as elsewhere. Additional interventions and
    alternative approaches are clearly necessary.” Multiple. Therapeutic. Interventions. Including but not limited to: Education, obesity management, including behavioral, nutritional, pharmacological and surgical.
    Notice the word “and” there. It’s about your own path to wellness and gathering the resources you need to proceed.
    Congrats for doing exactly that.

  • http://obesefromtheheart.com Sara Stein MD

    Excellent! Somehow obesity treatment has become a contest like a football game for the winning treatment. Much more effective to consider it a toolkit with many tools, and individualize the selection. The goal is to regain health including weight loss. We all do it slightly differently.
    Sara Stein MD recently posted..My Street Creds – The Real Medical Evidence Of ObesityMy Profile

  • http://twitter.com/jtwebman Jeff Turner

    It’s funny that you only talked about the options for surgery. What about the option to eat better, eat less calories as well as exercise? Americans always seem to want the magic pill or surgery to solve there problem when the problem is simple STOP EATING OUT EVERY DAY!

  • Linda Eaves

    Thank you Jeff for stopping by and taking time to leave a comment.
    Wouldn’t it be fabulous if advice like “Stop eating at restaurants every night.” or Do action A & get desired result B were guaranteed solutions. One cookie cutter formula for all would be so much easier.
    We wouldn’t be having this conversation. Problem solved.
    Talk about a Wonderland!
    There’s a bigger picture here. Losing weight is easy.
    We’ve all done it countless times, hundreds of pounds lost & gained.
    Here’s the distinction: It’s the keeping it off and more importantly, the bigger picture of regaining health. I believe the weight will release as a side effect of taking care of our whole ecosystems. Each body responds slightly differently.
    I believe Multiple. Therapeutic. Interventions — are in order. Including but not limited to: Education, obesity management, including behavioral, nutritional, pharmacological and surgical.

  • Suz

    Geat post. There are lots of options out there and it’s wise to be fully informed on each of them so that you can make a decision you feel good about.

    I wish it was as easy as just pushing yourself away from the table. This method doesn’t seem to work for many of us, hence the epidemic of obesity. Dieting is one option, just like WLS is an option.

    I’ve heard it said that WLS is the “easy way out.” I have two comments about that” 1. It’s not easy. It still takes hard work, but WLS is a tool that helps. 2. SO WHAT if it is the easy way out? If you were trapped in a burning building would you take the hard way out or the easy way out?

    I love Linda’s commitment to ceasing the bickering and disrespect to take the path of collaboration and strategies. LOVE IT. That is moving in the right direction and feels very nurturing! Thank you.

  • Linda Eaves

    Glad it resonated Suz. Discussion and collaboration welcome here. Individual strategies and tools for addressing the treatment options for the disease of Obesity that’s what we’re about.
    No “my way or the highway” absolutes, we’ve done that before — look where it’s got us. Time to explore different unique paths to wellness.

  • http://twitter.com/jtwebman Jeff Turner

    Linda, thanks for the tweet and response. I agree everyone is different and many people think the only way to fix it is surgery. The issues I know many people that have gotten surgery and have gained it all back and more so surgery really doesn’t guaranty it anymore then eating healthy and exercise.

    The issue is weight 98% of the time is a mental reason why we have gained it. If we don’t try and fix why we are over weight you will gain it back for sure. I just think surgery is never the answer no matter how overweight you are. It just stops you from eating a bag of potato chips instead just eating a serving or two. The issue is maybe you shouldn’t be eating it at all. You do have to have balance but maybe eating chips once a week or month would be better then daily or every meal.

  • Laura

    I realize this is a late post, but I still wanted to give my two cents. :-)

    @ Jeff. Yes, there are clearly many reasons why people gain weight and have a hard time losing it, many of those reasons being more of a mental barrier than physical. Please keep in mind that many people who are overweight or obese really don’t eat that much more than someone of normal weight. There are other factors that come into play that cause people to gain weight such as hypothyroidism, slowed metabolism from years of yo-yo dieting, undiagnosed food intolerances or allergies, crippling joint pain that keeps one from exercising, etc.

    As for weight loss surgery, it appears you have not done your research on the topic if you think that all it does is keep you from eating big portions of the foods you’ve always eaten. That’s not the case at all. Succeeding at healthily losing weight after surgery means eating the right foods, eating the right portions, exercising, taking your vitamins, and dealing with the factors that made you gain weight in the first place. It’s not a walk in the park.

  • Laura

    I also wanted to say that if any agency (ie the AACE or FDA or USDa) truly wants to help Americans live a healthier lifestyle, they will look to our food system first and work to rectify part of the reason so many people are overweight and obese in our country. Too bad they are in bed with Cargill, Monsanto, and the Petroleum companies (just to name a few.)

  • Linda Eaves

    Laura great comments. There’s so much going on behind the scenes in big corporate food industry. Some of it not hidden at all.

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