Naturally Thin

Many people believe that all the obese have to do
is go through bariatric surgery
and they will magically became "Naturally Thin".

No calorie counting.
No food monitoring at all.
Just eat what they want
because their body can only tolerate a limited amount of food.

More than 18 years ago, BEFORE my weight-loss surgery,
I knew that I could NEVER become "naturally thin".

Even then, I knew that such a wish was merely a "pipe dream",
a totally unrealistic fantasy...
on a level with a wish for the ability to sprout wings and fly;

I was aware I would still WANT
to eat far more food than my body could tolerate.
However, the reason I went through what was, at the time,
a very serious Experimental open surgery, 

which was quite a costly procedure;
which caused Immense pain for several months and long-term discomfort;
which required a 2 week stay in a distant city, for both myself and my husband,
........since we were aware of only one surgeon in California performing them at the time;
which required 6 weeks off work without pay,....and during that time
........I still had to pay my office overhead expenses including my staff's salaries;

....was due to the belief
that I would never again need to closely monitor my food intake, 

and I would always be able to eat only small amounts of what I wanted
because my body could only tolerate amounts that made and kept me slender.

I believed that this One Choice
would make all my future eating choices easier,
and that it would become a form of automatic,
involuntary portion control,
requiring little effort or thought from me.

Time proved this to be UNTRUE,

It is amazing how frequently and consistently
one can inadvertently make oneself sick, via one's eating choices,
and no matter how painful the experience, repeat it over and over again.
That personal gluttonous characteristic is not changed by surgery.

However, for me the experience was an extremely valuable one,
and, as does almost everyone else who has ALSO had a similar surgery,
I can honestly say that I would make the same choice again.