A BARIATRIC SURGEON SPEAKS OUT - NOT THE EASY WAY OUT

I just read this great article written by a Bariatric Surgeon.  He is tired of people commenting about his profession - that he is an "enabler" for lazy, unmotivated fat people taking the "easy way" out of obesity.

He lists not only the difficulties of losing weight and maintaining that loss, the hoops people have to jump through to even get surgery and the fact that the AMA this year has declared obesity a disease and not just the cause of other diseases.

As a life long exerciser, a healthy eater and someone with knowledge of nutrition and of my own psychological issues - I can attest that it is not just a matter of eating less and exercising more.  Yes, for many people there is an issue with eating poorly and not exercising.  For many more of us it is far beyond that simple formula.  No one can really explain all the factors involved but the medical researchers are gaining awareness of the multiplicity of factors which affect different people.

Just as some people can smoke cigarettes all their lives and not get lung cancer, some people live long lives on a high fat diet and others drop dead in their 30's following a spartan diet and running marathons.  None of it is simple.

I had wanted to try weight loss surgery for over 10 years before I was given the opportunity.  As soon as I was aware of the Duodenal Switch I knew it was the solution for me.  I have never been a volume eater.  I have generally been a healthy eater - yes I have binged like pretty much anyone, for the most part I have been eating a high protein, low carb diet for 15 years so I knew I could maintain the dietary requirements.  When people "fail" following weight loss surgery and gain weight, it is probably because they didn't learn enough or know themselves well enough to commit to what it takes to be successful.

The surgery is a tool, not the final solution to the problem.  After all, we still have to eat!

THE PAST

"The past is obdurate"  is a recurring line in the book I am reading.  It is the new Stephen King novel 11/22/63 about a man who has found a way to go back in time to try to stop the assassination of John Kennedy.  In his efforts to make changes in the past, obstacles are placed in his way.  He has found that the past doesn't want to be changed, the past  is stubbornly set in place.

 I woke up during the night last night thinking that it is true in my life, not just in a time travelling novel.  The past travels forward with us every day, it is attached to our decisions and to our habits.  No matter how you think you have changed, it is still there.

I know that I need to make lifelong changes yet I 'm dragging along all kinds of beliefs and ideas and comforts from the past.  Even though they don't work for me anymore, even though they don't help me, they fight me to maintain their existence.

To leave the past behind, to make real changes going forward I need to outsmart the past.  So I will read Stephen King and see how things work out in the story as I start to craft my own way around the past.

OVER IT?

Is it possible that I have eaten so many cookies, candies and cakes in the past months that I reached some sort of satiety?  Because I went off sugar 5 days ago and I haven't felt a blip of a craving.   Nothing. 

I cleaned out the pantry yesterday and tossed some really old stuff hidden behind my husband's sports supplements, some unmarked bulk purchases (I need to label the stuff from the health food department), some lingering crackers, 5 half consumed bags of tortilla chips, 2 half consumed boxes of cereal and a bag of beef jerky with an expiration date in 2009!

 I put the dangerous stuff up high and out of sight.  Maybe if I have to pull out the step stool to get to it, I will have time to reconsider whether I should eat it.

So it has been a good week so far.  I started my food log on SparkPeople and will get focused on calorie reduction this next week.  Monday is weigh in day.

STEP 1 AGAIN

I mentioned in my main blog that I don't need to make a resolution to lose weight and get into shape - it holds honorary,  perennial status.

But I do need to have an approach.  January my goal is to get off and stay off sugar.  I started today.  My experience is that the physical "withdrawal" hits on day 2 or 3.  So I have planned to have some celery, carrots, nuts and popcorn on hand to nibble when the cravings hit.  I am also going to avoid the other bugaboos - like things made with white flour which can also set off those cravings.

My many years of experience tell me that after 5 days or so the sweets craving will subside and I can move to a new phase in my attack.  I am giving myself all of January to get my carby little  ducks in a row.  I have been pulling out veggie recipes and making meal plans.

I have a big clean out the pantry day planned, too.  My husband loves his sugar, but I can buy him things I won't be tempted by.  However, when the will power is low, I am known to go through the pantry and get creative.  So all the little leftover cookie makings will go out - the coconut, the toffee bits come to mind.

I am trying to get up the nerve to put one of those weight loss "tickers" on the sidebar.  I am not in the habit of revealing my actual weight.  Who am I kidding? I NEVER reveal my actual weight.  So we'll see about that leap.

SPECIAL EVENTS

I read a quote by someone about the fact that we worry about what we are going to eat during the holidays when what we should really worry about is what we are eating the other 50 weeks of the year.  So true.  We do get very concerned about the opportunities to overindulge during special occasions.  Many people speak about being unwilling to give up the pleasures of rich restaurant meals, family favorites, desserts and cocktails - while  being bombarded by advice on the many ways we can avoid adding calories and pounds and still enjoy ourselves.  Yeah, right.
In truth, if we have been paying attention the rest of the year - is it really such a big deal to indulge during these special occasions?  Beyond the question of forbidden foods and falling off the wagon and all the other ways we label our behavior around food, I think the fear is that we just plain will not stop eating once we start!

In a way this is true of me.  There are so many foods I can ignore all around me much of the time.  I can eat out in a restaurant and not reach for the bread basket or the chips and salsa.  I can say no to dessert without a qualm, I can cheerfully choose the scrambled eggs over the french toast and navigate a buffet spread selecting the healthy items.  However...if I have made monkey bread for my family by request, I will pick at it all day until the tiny portion I served myself at breakfast has ballooned into hundreds of calories. 

While I don't have an "I blew it so I might as well eat (enter ridiculously high calorie food here)" attitude, I do notice that when I have allowed myself to take a vacation from calorie counting for a special occasion - it may take me days or even  weeks to get completely back on track.   

I think this will continue to happen unless I manage to get over my attachment to certain foods.  When I can pass on the foods which currently hold me in their thrall (like good bread) then I will be able to enjoy special events without them turning into breaks from my normal, more healthy, and yes, more restricted eating. 

But I've got to tell you - the Lemon Drop Martinis I had were so worth it, not to mention the tempura fried asparagus appetizer and the pear, caramelized onion and bleu cheese pizza and the bite of sticky toffee pudding and...well, you get the picture!

On the other hand, the photos of the last week do not show me looking the way I would like to look and my knees are giving me trouble.  I do understand that I need to be on the healthy eating and gym attendance routine in order to look and feel better when the next special occasion comes up.