Through Thick and Thin: A Journal About Gastric Bypass (Weight Loss) Surgery

An ongoing journal of honest, hopeful, helpful information about my personal experience with morbid obesity and gastric bypass surgery. Through Thick and Thin was developed to help others make more informed decisions about their weight and the gastric bypass option. New issues appear frequently, so please return often.

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Through Thick and Thin #28:
Weighty Ethical Issues in Weight Loss Surgery

As Weight Loss Surgery gains in both popularity and visibility, important ethical issues relating to the procedure are beginning to surface...

Through Thick and Thin #27:
Dealing With Questions About WLS

I recently returned from my joyful 35th reunion of my "junior year abroad" class in England. It was a wonderful opportunity to catch up with...

Through Thick and Thin #26:
Shame, Blame and WLS

Since my surgery I've been devoting 10 or more hours a week as a volunteer email "coach" to people who are considering Weight Loss Surgery...

Through Thick and Thin #25:
Getting Real About My WLS Problems

Lately, as I've reread my newsletters in sequence, I've become concerned...

Through Thick and Thin #24:
My Cuban Adventure: How I Survived — and Thrived — Without ANY 'Real Food''

My two week family adventure in Cuba (admitted on a humanitarian visa) and the Bahamas was fantastic and memorable for many reasons...

Through Thick and Thin #23:
Exercise is Not an 'Option'; It's Now my 'Default'

I reached a milestone this week, 7.5 months post-op - 125 pounds off...

Through Thick and Thin #22:
“Off the Rack”
or
From 4X to X

Seven months after my Weight Loss Surgery, and with great anxiety and dread, I embarked...

Through Thick and Thin #21:
Head Hunger and Emotional Eating

Ever since my Weight Loss Surgery six months ago, I've enjoyed the new delights of having a consistent, reliable and effective “appetite regulator”...

Through Thick and Thin #20:
The Top Ten Reasons why Weight Loss Surgery is NOT “the easy way out”

10. It's very expensive. Many health insurance companies don't pay for the surgery,...

Through Thick and Thin #19:
How I've Solved My Fruit & Vegetable Problem

In my first five months post-op, I had done absolutely everything my WLS doctor asked me to do — except for one glaring omission...

Through Thick and Thin #18:
The Origins of My Obesity
or
It's A Shame That Shame Is Counterproductive

I read today that the Journal of the American Medical Association has published yet another report documenting the scary dimensions of America's childhood obesity epidemic...

Through Thick and Thin #17:
The Tale of The Tape Measure
or
The Numbers Speak for Themselves

Every month, on the anniversary of my WLS, Kari and I enjoy our own special WLS post-op ritual...

Through Thick and Thin #16:
The Agony & The Ecstasy

The irony would have been both exquisite and laughable if I didn't hurt so much....

Through Thick and Thin #15:
Blocked!

It was a very scary and uncomfortable episode when my reconstituted and diminished stomach became blocked....

Through Thick and Thin #14:
WLS Peaks & Plateaus

I don't need any help dealing with my WLS peaks — dramatic weight loss, improving health and fitness, freedom...

Through Thick and Thin #13:
Why I'm Succeeding With Weight Loss Surgery When Nothing Else Worked

This may seem to you to be a self-evident question and answer, but it isn't for me....

Through Thick and Thin #12:
The End of My Love Affair With Food

I'm continuing to work my program with commitment and intensity, and my program is continuing to work for me. I've lost almost 70 lbs...

Through Thick and Thin #11:
The View From Eight Weeks Post-Op
or
I'm So Surprised I'm Still Fat When I Look in the Mirror

Today I'm approaching my eight week anniversary of my VBG weight loss surgery. How completely different, and how wonderful, things look from this vantage point!

Through Thick and Thin #10:
My Gratitude Attitude at Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, since it gives me an annual opportunity to count all of my blessings and to re-cultivate the gratitude attitude that I strive to carry throughout my daily life. Here's what I'm most grateful for this Thanksgiving...

Through Thick and Thin #9:
This Man's View From The Other Side
or
I'm Glad I've Made It Here, But The Trip Was Awful

Three weeks ago yesterday I had my Weight Loss Surgery (VBG), and my gall bladder (with stones) was removed. Today is the first day that I have felt enough strength, energy, clarity and focus to share my perspective about this transformative journey.

Through Thick and Thin #8:
Imagining A Life Where My Weight Doesn't Run Me As I Pass To The Other Side

After months of waiting and imagining, my WLS on October 24th is just days away.

Through Thick and Thin #7:
My New Second Job
or
Play Becomes Part of My Life Work

As I continue preparations for my upcoming weight loss surgery on October 24th, I'm learning and accepting that I now must take on a second job. Not to pay for the procedure, although it's not covered by my health insurance. And not as part of any career path.

Through Thick and Thin #6:
My Brothers and Sisters of the Scale: What Unites Us, What Divides Us

We are charter members of a very special, if not particularly exclusive, club: the community of people whose life experience has been significantly shaped by our struggles with our weight. In recent weeks, as I've linked up via the web with other people considering, planning or surviving weight loss surgery, I've been struck and moved by the instant rapport, understanding, empathy, acceptance and intimate connection I've experienced with so many of these strangers.

Through Thick and Thin #5:
Stuffed in Seattle: Pigging Out and Waking Up
or
There really is no Free Lunch

It caught me by surprise that evening last week. I was celebrating a positive meeting with my bariatric surgeon earlier in the day. We had nailed down my late October surgery date.

Through Thick and Thin #4:
Preparing for My Weight Loss Surgery
or
Food As Fuel — Not Drama, Mama, Karma or Trauma!

Tomorrow is my long-awaited and eagerly anticipated appointment with my doctor to decide which form of weight loss surgery I will have, and to schedule the date. I'm excited, ready and anxious.

Through Thick and Thin #3:
Jumping Through The Hoops to Gastric Bypass Surgery
or
At long last. Hope!

For the first time in 45 years, I‘m truly believing that, through the miracle of this bariatric medical intervention, I can achieve a healthful weight and physical state.

Through Thick and Thin #2:
My Long and Winding Road
or
The habits, lifestyle and weight persist even after the emotional hole has been filled.

As I've reconstructed my long and winding path to morbid obesity, I've made observations that have surprised or interested me. I share them with you now in the hope they'll be relevant, illuminating or instructive for you.

Through Thick and Thin #1:
Why I'm Choosing To Make My Stomach The Size of My Thumb
or
When the horse I've been riding is dead, it's finally time to get off and find a new mount!

At 360 lbs., I weigh about 180 pounds more than that “ideal weight” set forth on those damnable charts. And my weight is now becoming a life-threatening condition.

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