Brutal Honesty from the Bear - Page 2 - ThinnerTimes

Duckie · 12-14-2007, 09:54 AM

Jeff,
I love you hon. You say the things I want to say but do not have the ability to say without being too crass.
This is an incredible post. Thank you.

Godsblessedme · 12-14-2007, 10:36 AM

Amen. I was welling up in the eyes and everything you've said surely touched my heart. If it doesnt touch one's heart then there is a person with a stone cold heart.
Very well written

Claire-in-Texas · 12-14-2007, 10:54 AM

Jeff, magnificently stated, and so true. SO VERY TRUE.

On Emotional Support recently I posted a thread that coincides with your post, Jeff. It had to do with finding the authentic you. During this journey is an opportunity to find the authentic you, where the layers peel away in many respects, the real you CAN emerge, if you let him/her.

I am going through my own metamorphisis. I am evolving to a more athentic me. And I thank you for validating my own journey, and I am on yours, in your spirit, in your heart, in my heart.

HUGS!

katzz87 · 12-15-2007, 01:08 AM

Papa Bear never let's us down. You're a poet, and you know-it. Yeah, I know boooo-boooo, but Bear on the other hand, let us know when your book is out. Then we can say "We know BigBear before he was famous!"

Mrs. Karen79 · 07-13-2008, 04:15 PM

I know this thread was written sooo long ago...I just have to say...WOW, I made my husband read this and my sister read this. You explained everything so well...and WOW, WORDS PUT TO PERFECTION!

Phoenixfire · 07-13-2008, 06:09 PM

I'm glad this thread was resurrected and now shows up as a new post, for those of us that visit and only pull up new posts (me). I quoted the parts that really hit home for me personally, and I really hope that pre-op people read this. Primarly because somewhere along their journey post-op they will find themselves at those crossroads of the old self vs. the new self. And it will be a very foreign and new experience. Like very few, if any, other times in your life

Its a journey like no other I'm familiar with and it's astounding that one surgery could change a person so much. Recently there have been posts about "do you remember/what do you think about the old you." This old thread (2007!?) sure brings some of those issues out in a new way

Good read Jeff, and it pulls to the surface the truths of the huge transformation one goes through with this life-changing event called weight loss surgery.

What I noticed were the signature lines of those who posted when the thread was first put up, and the weight loss those individuals have had since their posts in 2007. Anyone else notice that? Very interesting. Makes me want to climb into their heads and peek around...

To the pre-ops, I sit here and look at two pictures of my wall that are me before surgery. One at my highest of 300, the other at my "usual fat self" at around 240. And that woman is like someone who is dead and gone, and forgotten. I don't forget the feelings and thoughts of feeling trapped but I forget what it felt like to move in that body. That's very bizarre. And is it any wonder that we struggle with more than food after WLS? God there's so much internally that is tied to one simple thing: food. It's like an octopus.

It feels as though my life started three years ago. That was THREE YEARS after surgery. Strange huh? But that's how long it took me personally to see myself in the mirror as I truly was. And that's when I took a look at all the things Jeff mentions below, the things in my life that I clung to as the old slug-like caterpillar, and I saw the cocoon fall away...and then over the last three years I've become that butterfly. It's a tremendous journey and it doesn't happen just when you hit goal. That's just 1/10th of the process I think. The other 9/10ths come when we wake up every day to our new bodies and the realization hits us that THIS IS ME. It's hard to put into words just how revolutionary that reality is.

I plan to revisit this thread and pop it up to the "new posts" every few months. It's very thought-provoking and eye-opening for the new people that find this forum.

And if you posted in 2007 to this thread, take a look at your prior post...and think about where you are today vs. where you were then: in your mind, relationships, your body, spirit and most of all: who you are. I bet your old self is somewhere behind you on the beach huh?

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigbearjeff

This is an opportunity for rebirth, but do you want to birth the same person you have always been? This is a great chance for change in your life. Why would you want to be that old person, when you can be the person you really want to be?

I don’t know if caterpillars know what they will become one day, but what a change to go from a creature that lugs its body along branches all day eating leaves to this magnificent entity the flies from flower to flower. Ever see a butterfly try to go back and eat leaves? Then why would you? *smile*

Do you follow the same old person that did the same old things, or this new person who shows promise of a new exciting life?

This breaking away is very emotional. That old person is taking lots of food issues with them. I chose to let the person disappear into the sunset. You can too.

Now this is not about hating the old you, or disliking the old you, but instead this is about developing the new you. Your body is going to change, your mind is going to change, and with it your spirit will change.

Be thankful, be humble, and be kind. Guard your words, guard your heart.

Warmest Regards,
Jeff

'thann · 07-14-2008, 06:45 AM

WOW! I can't believe I missed this post in December! Back then I was in the middle of what then was a 12-month PCP weight loss program dictated by BCBS. It had already been 6 months since my first consultation at Barix, and surgery seemed so far away.

In January BCBS lowered the required diet to 6 months, and now here I am nearly 3 months post-surgery.

This post hits the nail on the head, particularly the part about who you were before you lose weight who you will be after. You might lose hundreds of pounds, but you're not having a personality transplant! Problems you had before will probably still be problems afterward.

Thanks for resurrecting this terrific thread!

'thann

LyndasRoom · 07-14-2008, 08:53 AM

Love it Jeff.
One of my favorite sayings is, "the only way to get through it is to go through it."

Toony · 07-14-2008, 10:51 AM

It was good to re-read this... I read it first as a pre-opper... now that I'm nearly 6 months post-op, it rings so true - and my journey has been pretty much as Jeff said it would be. I read EVERYTHING that Jeff posts --- always worth the time, be it for a chuckle - or a knock on the side of the head!

Karen: Thanks for brining it back to the surface!

Katie

Vim&Vigour · 07-14-2008, 05:22 PM

Hear Hear to All Above!
Thank you Jeff - your words still ring as true today as when originally written - thank you for your warm, realistic and supportive insight! Graded this thread 5*.
Cheers,
Vim