I have worked with a lot of people who try to change their lives. For several years, I worked with people who were planning to have gastric bypass surgery for treatment for obesity. This is a major surgery, not without risks. It is supposed to be done as a “last resort” to help save the life of a person who is morbidly obese (i.e., the obesity may kill them). People who are morbidly obese usually have other things wrong with them, for example, diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, stomach problems. This surgery takes a lot of courage to go through. Sometimes the complications from the surgery are very serious. Often the surgeon will insist upon an evaluation from a professional to make sure the person is psychologically ready for the changes that come as a result of the surgery.
It is after the surgery that the hard work comes. When I was running a support group for patients who had gastric bypass at a local medical center, I was amazed at how many people, right after their surgery, were thinking of ways to get around the responsibilities and limits for eating. At one question and answer period, I was asked by a patient why some people couldn’t eat more than an eighth of a cup of food, when she was already able to eat pork ribs without getting sick. I was not sure if she wanted our congratulations or our sympathy. We are fooling ourselves if we think that we can hide our “cheating” from the universe.