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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Fighting the URGE......

to get excited about this new weight loss drug.....

The only way to stop my urge?  Reminding myself that I have to save my money for martinis! 

I know.
I know.
I know.
I don't need weight loss drugs! 
But, still.....


Last week, amid all the daily fun and activity in Judiland, news of this new weight loss drug dropped into my radar.   As you know, weight loss drugs and diet programs hold a very special place in my heart.   Although I know that I don't need them and I also know that I pledged never to go that route again,  I can't help myself but want to know more.   *I want more, I want more!*
 Up until late yesterday afternoon, I was doing very well staying far, far away from the miracle pill frenzy.  Then, it happened.....I was summoned by a friend for my expertise on weight loss drugs vs. weight loss surgery.   My friend has a friend who is scheduled to have WLS (gastric sleeve) in August and is getting a teensy weensy bit of cold feet.  To be more precise---she is in full panic mode (something I found out rather quickly when she and I connected later in the evening).  The poor woman was just beside herself with fear and doubt  about the surgery when she happened upon the details of this new diet drug with it's promise for long term--possibly even lifetime--use.   She was besot with the question of whether to go under the knife or just succumb to taking medication to control her eating and weight for the rest of her life.  
From where I am sitting...NOW....the answer was simple--get the damn surgery. 
Not only is the surgery proven to work and it's success in changing people's lives can be sited in thousands of testimonials, the economics of doctors visits to keep the prescription and paying for the pills themselves can rack up thousands and thousands of dollars over a life time.  Why not just save your money for smaller pants and yummy martinis?
And, who is to know if somewhere down the line, this pill will be found to have side effects that force it to be taken off the market?  Then what?  Will you live in fear of what this pill has done to your body and/or your life expectancy?    And, now that you need this pill to control your weight....what will you do without it?  
But, you know.....that's what I am saying NOW.....six years after having a surgery that changed my life in all the ways that I detail right here on my blog. 
So, I get it.   Why NOT just take a pill for the rest of your life that will control your weight?
Hell, that might be what I would have done if Lap Band surgery didn't come along first.  
Why bother with going through the pain of surgery and the time off from work and all the things that go along with having an operation?  
So, yes, I understood her struggle.  Gladly, I offered to reach out to her, see where she was in her thinking and help her put things into perspective so that she could  hopefully make a more educated and rational decision.  
My friend said she was over the edge.  So, I braced myself. 
I felt completely ready to offer sound advice, gentle guidance  and  the path to the right answer.  
What I wasn't planning for was  a look in the mirror. 
Our phone conversation drove home the fact that the struggle to control our weight can be all consuming and very irrational.  I have been there. 
I remember feeling and thinking the very same things as she....so many, many times.  
Yet, hearing it come from someone else's mouth when I am at this stage of my journey sounds absolutely insane.
Yes, insane.  Not just irrational.  
Her journey---from diet programs to diet doctors to diet pills and everything else in between...was also my journey. 
I could guess the next thing she was going to say.  
That next crazy, ridiculous idea or thought or plan was exactly the same as my next crazy, ridiculous idea or thought or plan to finally...once and for all....lose the weight and keep it off.   
Yes, we were one on the road to weight control.  That crazy, impossible, makesyoudodumbthings road.  
We were sisters in the quest to not be fat. 
And, yes, both of us lost all sense of logic...and went completely daffy.... when it came to hearing about new diet pills. 
Admittedly, I got just a wee bit envious that she had this new option.  But, knowing that I was supposed to be helping her make a rational decision,  I slapped myself back to my senses! 
Like I said.....crazy, irrational...... 

Now I know that you want to hear the happily after ending to this story.  
But, there isn't one.....yet. 
Our phone call ended on the note that she was still thinking that surgery may be a bit extreme when there was another option.  
I didn't have it in me to force her to have the surgery.  
And, I wasn't sure if I wanted to do that.
I think everyone has to come to their decisions in their own way.
Talking to me was part of  her own way.
I sure hope she makes the right decision for her.
Because, you know, my Lap Band was the right decision for me.  
Always. 
No matter how many pills they invent. 

Speaking of martini's.....
Let me introduce you to this yummy gin that a yummy bartender at an adorable little martini bar turned me on to this weekend.....Uncle Val's.   
It's hard to find and a tad pricey......but worth every penny. 
More reasons to save my money.  













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