The Bariatric Decision

As part of the bariatric decision I have analyzed who I am, where I have been and what my plans are for today and the future. I understand where my personal decision may be of little interest to anyone other than myself but you are invited to read it if you wish.

Deciding to have Bariatric surgery is a critical life decision that should never be made just because others think that it is the best decision for you. This surgery comes with risk and is not a magic cure for obesity. My preference has always been to loose and maintain my weight without surgical methods.

At the age of 66 I have lost 50 to 100 pounds and gained it back many times. Since high school, the longest period that I ever maintained my weight below 175 pounds was a 6-year period when I was on active duty training followed by my service in the Marine Reserves. A few years ago I maintained my weight at about 230 pounds for approximately a two-year period and this was accomplished by working out for about two plus hours a day and 5 – 7 days per week while maintaining a diet of healthy eating consisting of low fat, low calorie. Once I started slacking off in the length and frequency of my workouts I started to put the weight back on. As I gained pounds I worked out even less, finally remaining at or near 300 pounds where I have been for the past couple of years.

Perhaps there is something in my psychological makeup that keeps me from staying with an intense exercise program to maintain my weight. While understanding the importance of exercise I am not enough of an exercise fanatic to control my weight by that alone. Diets with minimal exercise unless maintained at extremely low calorie have not worked for me.

I am a person that has always tried to maintain a winning attitude. I think of myself as an achiever that it always trying to attain the next goal. I am not rich, in fact financially I was worth more, 30 years ago than I am today which seems like I am going backwards. I have never been a quitter. I have owned very successful businesses and I have failed with businesses but always picked myself up and started over. To me failure only comes when a person is unwilling to try because they believe they will fail. With both failure and success I have had a good life and was blessed with a loving family. I enjoyed a wonderful marriage of 38 years and 6 years ago lost my wife to diabetes and have not been in a relationship since.

As far back as I can remember I have been a workaholic. Unfortunately I did not have that same attitude with school for if I had perhaps I would have better learned the rules of English. It is kind of weird that today I spend much of my time writing, having never received better than a “C” in English. The way I look at it, if a person does not like what I write they to not need to read it.

If you asked me how I liked to keep busy, work would be near the top of the list. Unfortunately my work has always been sedentary and therefore being a workaholic has no doubt contributed to weight gain and my inability to maintain a lower weight for long periods of time.

I do enjoy the outdoors such as hiking, camping and fishing and working around my property. I also enjoy stretching and working out with weights though I am not a weight lifter. When I am heavier these activities become difficult for me. Recently after a nearly two year period where I stopped working out consistently I have once again increased my workout schedule though not to the previous level of 2 plus hours per day. Each day the exercise is becoming easier and I am feeling better.

I enjoy some activities that some would consider daring. For my 62^nd birthday I went skydiving and had made arrangements to go bungee jumping until my neurologists convinced me that I was out of my mind due to stenosis of the spine. I have never been on a ride in a hot air balloon or on a whitewater raft trip and these are activities I look forward to. I would like to try sky diving again once my weight is under control though the neurologist will likely nix this choice. I look forward to hiking in the mountains and fishing some wonderful mountain lakes.

I want to meet a wonderful woman that also wants to maintain her physical condition, has goals and aspirations of her own and hopefully we will fall in love and spend many wonderful years together.

At 66 I think of myself as middle age. My son, 8-year-old grandson and I live together. My grandson is an achiever who works at staying in good physical condition. He pushes me to do the same and I do not want to fail him or me.

Conventional methods of weight control have failed me. I know others that have had bariatric surgery and it has worked for them. While having such surgery is not a magic cure I truly believe that it is the right decision for me. Some people I know believe that this surgery is wrong though most of them have never had a serious weight problem. Coming to this decision was not easy but it is the one I have made for myself and I know that I have the capacity to succeed with such surgery.

On April 4, 2008 I met with one of the surgeons and staff at a respected bariatric center. Following the review of the blood tests, my medical history, a physical and consultation with the surgeon I requested gastric bypass surgery.

During consultation I was informed that the soonest the surgery could be performed would be about June. The doctor informed me that between now and surgery I would be required to demonstrate my willingness to exercise and loose weight and fulfill a number of other requirements. He informed me that bariatric surgery is not an automatic approval for it comes with some risk and requires a lifelong commitment for it to be successful. Click here if you are interested in seeing the steps to be taken.

After leaving the doctors office and continuing into the following day my mind was on food. I had the desire to eat a big lunch and planned a steak for dinner. The reaction was as if I was going to be facing my lasts real meal. For lunch that day I had a bowl of chili and a piece of roasted chicken, fattening but not what I had originally planned. I purchased t-bone steaks for that night but as it turned out I was going to be alone so I went to a local diner having heard that they have great prime rib. As it turned out the prime rib, baked potato and green salad were indeed tasty and I had no regrets.

On Saturday I went with my son to the local tavern where I had a Budweiser and a friend had been talking about Blue Moon beer so I tried one and after a few sips wondered what it was he liked about them. While I am not a heavy drinker, perhaps this was a goodbye to alcoholic beverages for alcohol and bariatric surgery do not make good partners. That evening, still not quite ready to start my new diet plan I looked forward to having the T-bone steak, which I did.

On Sunday April 6, 2008 I started the prescribed diet plan as I work toward the prospects of bariatric surgery. I practiced slow eating and thorough chewing and discovered that it did help me to eat less and feel full.

On April 15, 2008 I had a meeting with the psychologist and dietitian at the bariatric center. I had not lost a single pound even though I had faithfully dieted and exercised. Still, I knew I was loosing weight as my clothing was already fitting looser.

My plans have not wavered. I still need to fulfill requirements to receive my final approval for bariatric surgery. As of this writing I am continuing to work toward my goal of gastric bypass surgery and have requested a June surgery date.

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