The Good, The Fat and The Hungry - Failure is not an option

Welcome to the Good, the Fat and the Hungry. I'm Karla and I have been -- or am -- all those things. Here, I will share with you my lifelong struggle with my weight and I hope you'll follow along on with my determined attempt to lose nearly 40 pounds. I promise to tell you every win and setback along the way every Tuesday and Friday.

This will not fail me. I will not fail it. Gastric bypass surgery has changed everything about me and was my last resort. I was morbidly obese with a family history of high blood pressure and diabetes. After having tried almost everything, gastric bypass was my only hope. What it is NOT is a remedy. It is simply a tool, a tool that can fail if I don't continue to approach the middle and end with the same fervor as the beginning. If I don't, then the question becomes: Who really failed, the surgery or the recipient of it?

I have several personal friends who have "failed" weight loss with the surgery. My girlfriend L had the surgery seven years ago. The first time I ate out with her after my own surgery was at a buffet. Immediately, I watched her break golden rule #1: Wait 15-20 minutes between eating and drinking. She ate, she drank, she ate some more. AT THE SAME TIME! She admitted to having gained back 70 of 120 pounds but was still happy about the 50 pounds she was down. It was clear the golden rules had been tarnished, and she was headed back to where she started. According to my surgeon, Dr. Chan, eating and drinking has the effect of pouring water on leaves, it compresses them. This same compression occurs when eating and drinking at the same time. It allows more food to be consumed, hence the need to wait.

My girlfriend T had the lap band done nearly five years ago. She complained that she could not eat enough. Duh? She had it adjusted (loosened) time and time again. I watched her serve adult portions to her already chubby kids and heap huge coal miner portions onto her own plate. Golden rule #2: Down the drain, portion control. She had that band loosened so many times, she's eaten herself heavier than her starting weight.

Golden rule #3 is the one I heard Carnie Wilson admit to in an interview about what she calls her "failure." She said she began eating sugar again. Dumping Syndrome from eating sugar is enough to deter most, but it can resolve over time. My suggestion is to avoid sugar at all costs. Once you start, it's hard to stop. Ask me, I know.

All three of these women are also guilty of breaking rule #4: Vitamins are for LIFE! I am convinced solely through my own experience that vitamins are critical. If I skip taking them, I just don't feel as good. I also don't "go" as regularly. My energy level is lower, and I experience more nausea when I eat.

I love these ladies, but they will not be me. The benefits are just too great. Weight loss by any means is beneficial, but whatever you do to get it is what you have to do to maintain it. I still live by these rules, even three years later. Following them is important, because the alternative is re-gain. And for me, that is not an option.