ok folks. let's talk about this is MAJOR issue . as i've said over and over again, i've never met an overweight person who puts themselves first in their lives. and it's even more pronounced among those of us who qualify for WLS of any kind.

after the surgery, we have to do a whole bunch of stuff - exercise, watching what we eat, taking vitamins, changing the way we approach food, how we handle stress and other strong emotions. in short we have to really and truly focus on ourselves and take care!!!!

but we have to LEARN these skills, so the question is: how do we do this? conventional wisdom says 'run to the healthcare professionals,' but as we've all seen, many of them have absolutely no clue about WLS, and are even less interested. others are more well-meaning, but stupid. still others view this as 'punishment' for whatever.

and they charge fees, which aren't usually covered by insurance benefits. andn if you're lucky enough to have access to professionals who do know and understand, ya still have the $$$ issue.

i for one refuse to pay to be lectured to by someone who knows absolutely nothing about this or who has memorized 'the book' without understanding the reality.

the center i've been going to has just folded for lack of funds. since it was run by an RN, one of the few professionals who actually knows and understands these issues, insurance reimbursed very very little, and since she wasn't affiliated with any surgeons [she worked with a huge national network rather than a small group], she couldn't ride onto a doc's insurance submissions.

SO WHAT DO WE DO???? HOW DO WE IDENTIFY THE INFORMATION AND SUPPORT WE NEED? HOW DO WE FIND IT? HOW DO WE PAY FOR IT?

ok. rant is over... your turn!!!!!

Chef wolfgang Pook - that food for thought - did you eat it with or without hot sauce???

"Wolfgang Pook"......I like that Jif, very cute! It made me laugh out loud! What a great thread this is. I have nothing to add really, you both have given a lot of information. I agree support is very important. This is definately a huge life change. I just have to agree that it is very frusterating when you pay money for advise from a professional and they really don't seem to know very much about the wls afterlife subject. It's unfortunate that you have to learn a lot by walking through the fire, but that is the way it is sometimes. I think it was Chickadee who used the analogy of it being like a first pregnancy. When you are pregnant for the first time, you read everything you can get your hands on about the subject, and ask everyone you know who has had a baby what life will be like afterward, but you never REALLY understand it until you are living it. I think that is one of the big problems with doctors and nutritionists, if they haven't been there, it's really hard to give great advise. They can olny offer what they have read about in books.

For me, it's all about avoiding complacency. I find the farther out I get, the more I am become satisfied with my current state. I mean, I'm a whole lot better off than I was last April, but I still have a long way to go. Sometimes it just feels like what I've accomplished is good enough because it's the best I've been for a long, long time. I really need to tweak my peak! I admit my eating lately has become much more sloppy and there have been a few times when I have been really glad to feel my band yell "slow down, girly girl!" Pain is a very good teacher!

The other issue I'm finding is that I keep thinking to myself that I have no "window of opportunity" to lose this weight (the band is different from RNY in that respect), so why be in a hurry? It's a really handy excuse to eat something I probably shouldn't.

Time to kick myself in my still sizeable *** and have an attitude adjustment I think!

Good thread idea!

Chickadee