March 20, 2021
Published by Joan Gershman on March 20, 2021
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PANDEMIC POUNDS

29 Pounds! 29 pounds? Yes, you have gained 29 lbs. this past year if you are the average American slowly emerging from quarantine. Very slowly, since you are obviously spending a lot of time in your closet trying to find an article of clothing that will button, zip, or pull on over your hips. This was the news I tuned onto Friday night as I sat my tired “walked 5 ½ miles that day body”( more about that later) into my lounge chair. According to the story on NBC Nightly News, we have cooked, baked, eaten, and sat our way […]
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October 3, 2020
Published by Joan Gershman on October 3, 2020
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Pre-Surgery Education Class – The Fattest One in the Room

One of the requirements for being approved for bariatric surgery is that candidates attend a series of Pre-Surgery Education Classes, in which we examine our reasons for undergoing the surgery; learn the anatomical aspects of the surgery; learn the physical ramifications of the surgery, and learn how we are going to have to eat for the rest of our lives. I do not know how anyone could go through the surgery and be successful afterward without attending all these classes. They are invaluable. As I mentioned in the Introduction, my perspective on my actual size was apparently way off. I […]
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September 23, 2020
Published by Joan Gershman on September 23, 2020
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HOW MUCH DO EARRINGS WEIGH?

                                                                                               Whether it’s an appointment at the doctor’s office, your turn at the Weight Watcher scale, or your day in the privacy of your own home to get on that scale, you’re going to do everything in your power to make sure that the numbers that show up are as low as possible. You’ve taken your diuretic and have peed 8 times in the last 5 hours. If you are at the doctor’s office or weight loss group, you’ve taken off every stitch of clothing possible that won’t get you arrested for indecent exposure. You are left wearing lightweight shorts, […]
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September 12, 2020
Published by Joan Gershman on September 12, 2020
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Failing the Psychological Clearance

Before I get into the heart of this story, I must first repeat the background information that I explained in the Struggling Through the Pre-Surgery Medical Clearances.  I had looked into the bariatric sleeve surgery the previous year; had gone to a few appointments; a few nutrition classes; a few education classes; but after meeting with the bariatric surgeon, I changed my mind because when I told him about my previous open abdominal surgery of 20 years ago that involved a two-year recovery beset by complications and infections, he dismissed it as inconsequential. I warned him that I had no […]
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September 6, 2020
Published by Joan Gershman on September 6, 2020
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Struggling Through the Pre-Surgery Medical Clearances

As I discussed in the previous blog, The Road to Bariatric Surgery – Full of Potholes, there was a laundry list of requirements that needed to be fulfilled before being approved for the surgery. Going through these medical tests without my husband by my side, as he had always been throughout our marriage was devastating and more traumatic than any test I had to undergo. Our relationship and my arduous trek through life without him is discussed in the Widow’s Journey section of this website. Every test was made more difficult and emotionally upsetting by having to endure it alone. […]
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September 2, 2020
Published by Joan Gershman on September 2, 2020
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Clueless Scientists Conduct a Diet Study

                                                                         As you know from reading the Weight Loss Journey section of this website, I have struggled with my weight for my entire life. There is not a weight loss program in existence that I have not tried. Weight Watchers, Diet Workshop, Atkins, 900 calorie a day restriction, Physician’s Weight Loss, Jenny Craig, Richard Simmon’s Deal a Meal, Slimfast Shakes. The list is endless. I was unable to stick to any of them because I was always starving on them. Lunchtime seemed to be my breaking point. Depending upon which diet I was attempting at any given time, I ate […]
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August 22, 2020
Published by Joan Gershman on August 22, 2020
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The Road to Bariatric Surgery – Full of Potholes

******I am NOT advocating, suggesting, or telling anyone to have this surgery. I am simply relating my experience. When I decided to have Bariatric Sleeve surgery (https://www.obesitycoverage.com/gastric-sleeve-reference-manual/), I knew I did not want to announce it to the world. I needed to keep it quiet and secret to all but one or two close friends and relatives. My reasons were simple. I had made my decision based upon my own issues, needs, and what I felt was best for me. I did not want to listen to a litany of opinions and admonishments. Most of all, I did not want […]
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August 22, 2020
Published by Joan Gershman on August 22, 2020
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BARIATRIC SURGERY – The Background Life that Led Me to It

I have referenced my bariatric sleeve ( https://www.webmd.com/diet/obesity/what-is-gastric-sleeve-weight-loss-surgery#1) surgery in other sections of this site, but it is here that I will give you the background story of my fat life that led up to such a life-altering decision. My maternal side of the family carries the female fat genes. My mother had 3 brothers and two sisters. Her mother, aunts, and grandmother were………..fat. Her two sisters tended toward chubbiness but dieted themselves out of it most of their lives. Due to the luck of the gene draw, and the extremely unwise decision to smoke instead of eat, my mother […]
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