What Are You Waiting For?

Camels galore but no pigs.  

A friend and fellow blogger is now living in Saudi Arabia.  Her family relocated while her husband is working there.  While she enjoys the cultural experiences there are sacrifices.  She has lamented in her blog about missing certain foods from home, especially pork, which is not available in any form in that country.  She said she'd kill for a pork chop.  I've never lived in a foreign country but when I resided in Utah, I craved certain food staples from NY that were not available there.  It was annoying but it was not as much of a challenge as living abroad.   My friend's plight got me to thinking about the mental obstacles I faced when considering bariatric surgery.

Among other considerations, the commitments to bariatric surgery include forgoing certain foods.  Some temporarily and some forever.  Facing this obstacle was not easy.  We form loving relationships with our food.  After all, we do not eat just to make the hunger go away (actually that's a mantra of a fond but annoyingly thin friend of mine)  We eat to celebrate, to console and to mourn.  We share favorite foods to comfort, to love and to reward.  In spite of our regrets for our lack of control we are reluctant to give up those things that we truly love.

One of the big no-no's after bariatric surgery is carbonated beverages.  The carbonation can stretch the pouch and, in the early post-op period, even undo the staples.  This was a HUGE hurdle for me.  I drank a lot of diet coke.  (I'd drink caffeine free diet Coke when available so it was not only for a buzz.).  On the day before my surgery I was only allowed liquids.  Much of it was diet Coke.  Now, nearly two years later, I don't really miss it.  It didn't kill me.

Anything with sugar as a major ingredient is forbidden because of the risk of dumping syndrome.  Solid food was out of bounds for months. Even now a few foods can cause pouch blockage and only be relieved by vomiting.  It was really difficult to commit to living without this stuff.  But, as my bacon-loving friend who voluntarily moved to a pork-free country would attest, the benefits of choosing to make these adjustments in my life was worth it.

Last night my husband and I went to a wonderful wedding reception.  There were tuxedo'd waiters circling with yummy appetizers and a middle eastern dipping table.  I enjoy this type of tidbit eating where one gets to eat just a bite of something good.  The non-alcoholic bar mixed up fruit smoothies.  Later, there were three buffet stations.  One salad, one cold foods and one hot foods.  The cold food buffet had some delicious cold salmon.  I was filled up by the time I finished my salad and cold food choices.  I never made it to the hot food table.  I itched a little to see what I was missing out on even though I had no room for anything else.  In the end I just gave it up.  I really didn't need anything else.  Later on I got the bartender to mix me up a sugar free smoothie (they found some artificial sweetener for me).

When deciding about weight-loss surgery some people get snagged up because they feel they won't be able to enjoy social situations afterwards.  One of my motivations for doing this blog is to encourage friends and family members to make healthier choices.  Perhaps reading about my experiences will inspire them to choose weight-loss surgery.  This path is not right for everyone but other choices may be made which can improve your life.

There are so many things I could not do two years ago.  Back then I could barely make the walk from my driveway to my house. I'm so glad I had my gastric bypass.  I enjoy my life so much more than I did before.

Donald Loyal Reynolds 1948-2012

I lost a cousin this week who had a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer.  Some people in their 60's go to bingo and sit in a rocking chair.  At 63 years old Don was training for an iron man competition when the diagnosis was made.  Now, at 64, he is gone.

We never know what life has in store for us around the next bend in the road.  It is worth the effort to make the most of our time here while we have the chance.  You were an inspiration Don.

Love to all,
Marlena of Mohegan