[jiffypop]

http://newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/heal...868/index.html

the focus is FINALLY off the process of getting the surgery and managing immediately after. it's now time to talk about the business of getting on with our lives, and not ending up as MO again.

and happiness.

thank you, mel, for finding this!

[Dawnajoy]

What a great article! Possibly the best I've ever read about WLS.

I think it explores a bit the connection between weight and how we see ourselves. I think losing a lot of weight really throws people off balance emotionally (as well as physically). I believe when one has been obese for most of their life, they do miss out on some of the milestones, especially in the dating world, that make relationships difficult down the road. It is ugly to go through teenagerhood as an adult!

I still wish they had talked more about the lifelong changes people have to consciously make, rather than the changes that are sort of part and parcel of the process, whether you want them or not.

Good stuff. I really wish everyone would read it.

Dawna

[tiempobar]

I really enjoyed the article. I have been investigating tummy tucks etc, as my sister in law had the gastric bypass a couple of months ago and because she had three c-sections, she is eligible to have a tummy tuck free. That really bothers me because those of us who went through natural child birth multiple times, also suffer from damage to the abdominal muscles as it turns out! Ugh, life isn't fair, anyways...

I have lost 50 of about 130 lbs that I want to lose. I am pretty much disheartened at this point, not that I will give up far from it, simply because I never realized that it doesn't really matter what I do, I am always going to have this belly flap! I won't even mention the arms!! Although they are tightening up nicely.

I'm not 100% sure, but I can reasonably guesstimate that our insurance won't cover a tummy tuck, and since I am not going the gastric bypass direction, it turns out I am doubly at a disadvantage! There is no way I will ever have the funds to have the surgery, and I don't really think I would want it either. I don't have time to recover! LOL. I find that as I lose the weight and inches from working out, I am getting busier than ever. Likely because of the newfound energy.

So, I will never have the flat stomach to wear a bikini, I will just have to be happy with being healthy and in shape. That's not so bad! I can live vicariously through those lucky enough to flatten out their tummys!