Gastric Bypass Surgery - Is it Swapping the Devil for the Witch?

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.

I am a Southern girl and no doubt, I grew up learning a thousand sayings and superstitions. My Grandmother would often say of equal choices, neither of which were very appealing, that we were "swapping the devil for the witch." Another way of saying it would be that we "jumped out of the frying pan into the flame." How do you pick between two evils?

Facing my second plastic surgery, I can't help but wonder if that's what I have done with gastric bypass surgery. Did I swap the devil of obesity for the witch of sagging skin and medically-necessary plastic surgery? Sure, being morbidly obese was miserable, but the plastics are no walk in the park either. Understand that this only applies to folk who can HAVE the plastic surgery. Would I be quite as happy with the weight loss if I had to keep the excess skin? I really don't know.

Fortunately for me, I had a very thorough surgeon who prepared me. He explained that as we get older, our skin loses elasticity. He warned that if I lost in excess of 120 pounds, chances are plastics would be necessary. Well, weighing nearly 400 at the time, I knew my goal was to be 100 anything and that I'd certainly have to lose more than 120 pounds to get there. I started saving cash the same day so when the time for plastics came, I could not be denied.

I have encountered people with regrets because they are stuck with the excess skin. I refuse to let that be me. Next up, brachioplasty (arm lift). I have suffered through my last sweltering summer of long sleeves. Thanks to my trainer Jake, my arms are extremely toned and if you look close, I mean REAL close, with both glasses and contacts, you might see the muscle bulge when I flex. What you will spot very easily is the extra three to four inches of excess skin that simply hangs. My arms look like a Shar pei puppy!

Please don't get me wrong, I am thrilled to be more than 200 pounds lighter. I've lost more than half my former body weight and can do things I never dreamed. No doubt, I am grateful. I am also thankful that I had the forethought to prepare financially. I'm getting rid of the excess in exchange for a scar.

When I take inventory of all the things I can do now, like walk, run, jump, cross my legs, get thru turnstiles, etc., I can't complain. The list of things I can do now that I could not do before is endless. I would have to say no, I did not swap the devil for the witch. I shed the devil and the witch is dead.