Sunday, November 13, 2005
The Price of Becoming Flabu-less
Well, just when I thought I had heard everything! An acquaintance of mine called earlier today to tell me that she is preparing to undergo bariatric surgery. This news surprised me because she is (only) about 60 pounds overweight. I say "only" because, to me, a 60 pound weight loss seems entirely do-able without going to extreme measures. I should know, I've done it plenty of times myself!
Before anybody gets their underwear in a knot, let me make it clear that I have nothing against bariatric surgery. Nor do I regard people who choose to take this path as weak or in any way "less than" those who lose weight without surgical intervention. In cases of extreme obesity, especially where there are compounding factors for early morbidity, it may possibly be the only way for a person to get their life back. And I applaud anyone who has the courage and fortitude to go through with it.
That said, I have to wonder how many people, besides my acquaintance here, are running to surgeons for a quick fix so they don't have to make the lifestyle changes necessary to lose weight. When I asked her if the doctors plan to teach her how to eat after undergoing surgery, she confessed that one of the things that attracted her most about this procedure is that no changes would be necessary. So, in other words, she still plans on eating the same junk she does now, only less of it. Evidently, a daily chewable Flintstone's vitamin is supposed to fill in the nutritional gaps. The wonders of modern medicine never cease to amaze me!
This lady confided that she is fully expecting her medical insurance company to deny coverage because her BMI is too low to qualify her as a candidate for this procedure . (Well, thank goodness somebody has some sense!) But she won't let that stop her, no siree! In fact, she is fully prepared to pay for the associated expenses by getting an equity line of credit against her house. Then she went on to say that I might want to do the same some day, when my financial situation improves. Um, excuse me?? Can you spell R-U-D-E?!!
I made the mistake of suggesting that she might want to try something less extreme first, like maybe a lifestyle change that includes more exercise and better eating habits. Well, you'd think I had told her to go jump into a vat of boiling oil or something! Her reaction was that extreme! The first thing she did was enumerate all the reasons why she couldn't exercise. (Interestingly, they all sounded kinda familiar. Hmm...what does that say about me?) Secondly, she told me that her eating habits were just fine, and she just needed the surgeon to shrink her stomach so she would eat less at each meal. But, what about the daily ice cream treats and Three Musketeers bars? Well, she assured me that her doctor said it would be fine to continue eating them. OK, whatever.
So, anybody who thinks you can get thin and "flabu-less" eating all the sugary ice cream and chocolate bars you want, please raise your hand.
Before anybody gets their underwear in a knot, let me make it clear that I have nothing against bariatric surgery. Nor do I regard people who choose to take this path as weak or in any way "less than" those who lose weight without surgical intervention. In cases of extreme obesity, especially where there are compounding factors for early morbidity, it may possibly be the only way for a person to get their life back. And I applaud anyone who has the courage and fortitude to go through with it.
That said, I have to wonder how many people, besides my acquaintance here, are running to surgeons for a quick fix so they don't have to make the lifestyle changes necessary to lose weight. When I asked her if the doctors plan to teach her how to eat after undergoing surgery, she confessed that one of the things that attracted her most about this procedure is that no changes would be necessary. So, in other words, she still plans on eating the same junk she does now, only less of it. Evidently, a daily chewable Flintstone's vitamin is supposed to fill in the nutritional gaps. The wonders of modern medicine never cease to amaze me!
This lady confided that she is fully expecting her medical insurance company to deny coverage because her BMI is too low to qualify her as a candidate for this procedure . (Well, thank goodness somebody has some sense!) But she won't let that stop her, no siree! In fact, she is fully prepared to pay for the associated expenses by getting an equity line of credit against her house. Then she went on to say that I might want to do the same some day, when my financial situation improves. Um, excuse me?? Can you spell R-U-D-E?!!
I made the mistake of suggesting that she might want to try something less extreme first, like maybe a lifestyle change that includes more exercise and better eating habits. Well, you'd think I had told her to go jump into a vat of boiling oil or something! Her reaction was that extreme! The first thing she did was enumerate all the reasons why she couldn't exercise. (Interestingly, they all sounded kinda familiar. Hmm...what does that say about me?) Secondly, she told me that her eating habits were just fine, and she just needed the surgeon to shrink her stomach so she would eat less at each meal. But, what about the daily ice cream treats and Three Musketeers bars? Well, she assured me that her doctor said it would be fine to continue eating them. OK, whatever.
So, anybody who thinks you can get thin and "flabu-less" eating all the sugary ice cream and chocolate bars you want, please raise your hand.
// posted by Beauty and the Brain @ 5:02 PM 
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There's a lady here at work that underwent gastric bypass surgery last winter, and she DOES have to monitor what she eats, or she'll become malnourished. She also has "support" groups she must attend. Her hair started falling out after the surgery due to malnourishment, but apparently it has stopped falling out now. She, too, (in my opinion) used it as a quick fix to her problem.
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