Ok I have a family member that is considering getting banded. When she told her mom she was thinking about this her responce was ...."Just like you wanting to take the easy way out".

Now I have spoken to her mother about me being banning and got nothing but support so this took me by surprise. She herself is over weight and knows the struggle of trying to lose.

I have not had someone so bold as to stand in my face and say this.

So my question to you all is this........What do you tell someone who says we took the easy way out?

I am facing this very issue right now. My husbands ex-wife (who by the way has a pretty big bootie herself) and her mother told the kids that I was a cop out, and that this was the easy way out. It was very hurtful. But ya know what? One day I will be smaller than her, I will be healthy and happy, and she will still be frustrated slowly gaining weight while she struggles to renew commitments to diet and excersise. My way may be easier, but so what? My way will actually work!

Having the band forces you to make life changes that all of us were unable to do by ourselves.

We have had major surgery and major recovery. We face potentially life threatening complications and additional surgeries. We get painful golfballs and have horrifying PB/vomiting incidents (come on, who hasn't at least one???). We get to have long scary needles stuck into our abdomens once in a while, and many of us also get to enjoy delicious barium cocktails. Many of us have lost some of the hair on our heads.

We have also subjected ourselves to a lifetime of nutritional supplements, blood tests, and additional medications (my doctor has me on Actigall for as long as I am losing weight, and Prilosec as well). There will be wonderful foods (and beverages) that we will never be able to tolerate even one bite of ever again. Even healthy foods like broccoli, raw carrots, and whole grain breads.

Yeahhhhh............. this is EASY.:faint:

OK. Your life (yes, your very life) depends upon you getting 5 miles across town.

You can take the virtuous path, and walk there...

or you can get in your car and drive.

HOW MANY PEOPLE WOULD CHOOSE TO WALK?

Uh DUH. Even if it IS the easy way, why the hell would you not take it. For most of us, our lives really do depend on it. So get in the car and drive, baby!

Calling the Auto Club instead of changing my own tires is taking the easy way out; buying fish at the market instead of going out to sea in a boat is taking the easy way out; my giving birth by c-section instead of just dying was taking the easy way out...but who am I to stop some fools from doing everything the hard way if that's how they want to live?

If you are faced with that question, smile your sweetest smile and say "at least it is a way out."

Perfect yet again Vines, I love it!

I think there are two types of people that say "its the easy way out" The first are the people who do not understand the struggles we have. The ones who feel they need to diet because they are 3 pounds over their norm, and feel good in a week after dropping it. It is a control issue. And they look down on people who are not in the same boat as them. They see they can drop those 3 pounds, why can't we drop 200? It just takes a little longer. Right? They see the band as a lazy person continuing to be lazy and not trying to do things for themselves.

The second set of people are the jealous ones. Usually they are slightly over weight themselves at least, and have gone through the same struggles we have. They see someone having the surgery as finally doing something maybe they cannot or will not do. And they know that 99% of the time, that person is going to finally succeed. Its hard. I have been that person. I have looked down on people for having GB. And it makes me feel sick that I have.

I would tell her the "easy way out is ......doing nothing at all." Plain & simple. This gal that wants the band is commited to working towards a goal. Working I said & everything that goes along with that work isn't easy, its work.

I've only been told that once, and my response is "So what, at least it's a way out!".

The fact that I have something in my body stopping me from binging PHYSICALLY rather than having to MENTALLY do it, probably does make it "easier", but I refuse to let anyone make me feel guilty for taking the easy way.

Uhm, Kelly, surely you don't mean "cesspool." Although I'm sure I'm full of BS a great deal of time.

Oh and I am certianly not someone with "infinite wisdom" although you are so very kind so say that.

Ok I have a family member that is considering getting banded. When she told her mom she was thinking about this her responce was ...."Just like you wanting to take the easy way out".

Now I have spoken to her mother about me being banning and got nothing but support so this took me by surprise. She herself is over weight and knows the struggle of trying to lose.

I have not had someone so bold as to stand in my face and say this.

So my question to you all is this........What do you tell someone who says we took the easy way out?

We just talked about this at our nutrition meeting.Anyone who thinks this is easy hasn t seen the pain on our face when we have some small shred of food stuck and feel like we are dying.

Or after a fill being on liquids for 72 hours again -or the barium plug up after a swallow.

The sliming over the simplest little ONE bite of soft scrambled egg !

I will never have pizza or Bread or eggs or Pasta or chips or chocolate candy or a few million other things that"normal "people eat.

If that is EASY-i wonder what is tough??!!

All at the thought of being average for once in my life.

And you know what~~I d do it over and over if thats what it takes.

People are so stupid.They are more than uninformed/they are ignorant.

I say tell them if they think it is easy -to check out this site and read what the average bandster goes through.

And that doesn t even cover the pre op tests and begging and fasting and Lord forbid complications.!

It isn t EASY this way~ but it is far healthier than a lot of other options.

Yeah, why do we have to suffer with weight loss over and over in a life long cycle. What's so wrong with it being "easier" for us? I can actually throw away my fat clothes now instead of saving them in the back of the closet. I don't see anything wrong with that.

I explained that it was not the easy way out for me to my teen age dauhter by saying... if you have a house to build is it the easy way out to use a hammer?? God gave you the ability to use tools for a reason. It finally made her realize this is a tool to help me but it is not easy by any stretch. I still have to make good choices as to what i eat and i have to get off my butt and move if i want the weight to come off.

One of my friends introduced me to her sister a few weeks ago, (who REALLY needs to lose a few lbs... like maybe 100), and was telling her about me getting the band. My friend asked me if I minded beforehand because she really thought her sister could benefit... apparently, she has a lot of weight related health issues.

As my friend was telling her, the sister's response to me was... "you could have lost the weight on your own... just diet and exercise... it is easy".

Usually, I am not rude to people, but this lady really pissed me off... so I asked her, "if it is so easy, then why haven't you done it yourself?"

I almost passed out when she said, "I could if I wanted to, but I am happy with myself just the way I am".

Yeah, right... whatever...

***Back on topic***

I vote for this answer:

I am taking the EFFECTIVE way to a healthier me.

funny duddies, well said. my thoughts exactly. All the power to us.!!!

the easy way out is to do nothing about your weight at all. Harder, by far, is to walk into a drs. office and risk your life to save your life.

Rain