So, I started telling people at work about my surgery. I tell a doctor\work friend, who also struggles with weight, and this is his reply: (Starts out awkward, ends with a bang.)

"So you are literally going to be a fraction of yourself? Good for you! I had to lose weight, but I DID IT THE HARD WAY--diet and exercise."

Seriously?! RNY is EASY?!?!?

Webster's defines "disease" as "A condition of the living animal or plant body or of one of its parts that impairs normal functioning and is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms."

Obesity is a disease. Nothing more, nothing less. When you suffer from a disease, you seek the most effective treatment possible. Life threatening diseases such as cancer and yes, obesity, often require more invasive treatments. Who in their right mind would say to a cancer patient that they are "taking the easy way out" by having surgery? If surgery is the most effective treatment, that's what you do. So why is it that folks who would never tell a cancer patient that they are taking the easy way out find it acceptable to tell an obesity patient that they are taking the easy way out?

I believe the answer is ignorance. People who have never suffered from obesity, defined as having a BMI of 30 or greater, believe that diet and exercise is the answer for any excess weight. And they have that belief because they or others that they know have been successful losing 10 or 20 pounds through diet and exercise. So they conclude that a little willpower and self-discipline is the answer to any weight problem. Absolute nonsense based on ignorance of the facts surrounding the disease. The statistical, well documented failure rate of diet and exercise for treating obesity is almost 100%. You cannot effectively treat obesity with willpower any more than you effectively treat cancer with aspirin.

Our responsibility is to seek out and take advantage of the most effective treatment medical science has to offer for our disease. We owe it to ourselves, to our families, to those we love, and to those who love us. Painful though it may be, the fact that we may and often do encounter ignorance on our journey is not relevant in the big picture. We can help ourselves. Helping others overcome their own ignorance and prejudice - that's a job best left to a higher power.

I wonder what people who say things like that think about smoking cessation tools. No one says a word when someone needs from the patch or gum or a pill to quit smoking. Yet when some of us need help with our weight, we are taking the easy way out.

You bring up a good point. I had mentioned earlier that one of my best girlfriends just did not understand me getting weight loss surgery. Well she was really happy when I quit smoking and didn't care that I used a pill to help me do it...as long as I quit smoking. I think that when it comes to weigh it's the unknown on how to deal with it. I think there are some that want you to be the way you are now and not change.

Over the weekend I went to a friend's birthday party. Her husband and I went to Jr High and High School together. He has seen me overweight all my life but has never treated me any differently. So we were talking and he just flat out said that I am going to look hot! We had a good laugh about it and talked about our 20 year high school reunion (which I totally forgot about) in a few years and that I'm gonna shock the shit out of everyone. Sorry for the language but I have to tell it like he said it because it's amazing. I am starting to remember and think about all the positive remarks and throw away all the negative remarks. This is going to be a struggle and I am glad that those that support me fully are there to pick me up.