Choices

Yesterday at the hospital with They Boy was an eye opening experience in more ways than one.  Of course, as any mother would be, I was nail-biting terrified until we had the all clear from the surgeon that he was out of surgery and everything had gone perfectly.  After that, when I had the chance to breathe, I began to look around me a bit.  What I saw, made me recommit all over again to our new life style.

Have you ever gone into a hospital and just looked at who is checking in and out?  Who are the patients?  What are they like?  What are they're lifestyles?  What are they in the hospital for?

Let me tell you what I observed:  3 out of 5 of the people checking into that hospital yesterday were overweight.  Most of them obese.  These poor folks were having trouble walking down The Hallway.  A lot of them were having trouble breathing, and almost all of them looked as if they were having difficulty just moving in general.

I overheard several conversations about bariatric surgery.  I even heard some woman say that it is the new "magic pill" for weight loss.  I wanted so badly to tap her on the shoulder and ask her if she had checked out the mortality rate of surgery vs changing her eating habits and perhaps not eating the snickers bar she had in her hand.  I kept my mouth shut (I know, surprising isn't it?) but I really, really wanted to say something.

I know we live in a fast paced instant society.  But come on, I'm sure she didn't have surgery to put the weight on!  There are times when weight loss surgery is necessary and more than ligament.  But to actually use it as a method of weight loss?  What does her list look like any way?

1. Cut back on sweets
2. Diet
3. Weight Watchers
4. Jenny Craig
5. Diet & Exercise 
6. Surgery!

I thought about that as I was striding down The Hallway for the billionth time.  I wasn't winded.  I wasn't wasn't wheezing.  I was moving easily, with no difficulty (other than being hopelessly lost in the damn never-ending Hallway!).

Our way may be slower, but when we are done, we will not have an unsightly scar, our stomachs will be whole; and we will have learned how to not only maintain our svelte new bodies, but we'll also understand which nutrients to put into those bodies to keep them healthy and happy.

What will our surgery lady have learned?  Probably the phone number of the surgeon to call the next time she OD's on snickers bars.

Which way do you prefer?