Sunday, September 1, 2013

Lying, Cheating, and Stealing

I'm tired of the lies people tell themselves to justify their behavior.  We all do it to some extent, but when it comes to lying to people in public when you put yourself out there as a "bari-celeb" I'll dub them, then you really lose all credibility in my mind.  When you behave like a jerk to other people in the community and think that your success matters to them, well, I think you've let your head get to you.

Cheating... there are lots of people who "cheat" on their bariatric nutrition plan.  They do.  We all need a little something special from time to time.  But when you make a vlog about how you eat pizza and act like walking away for 20 minutes is a practical option to food digestion management, I really think you're full of crap.  Yes, I do.  There's no one in this world who can take an extra crispy bite of pizza and then walk away for 20 minutes.  If you're having to wait that long, there's probably something else you're doing.

Stealing... there are a lot of people online who blindly follow others who've put themselves out there.  The bari-celebs will swoop in like sharks to get your money with their MLM coaching programs that bare no accreditation whatsoever.  These are not people who care about your well-being, I promise.  They are people who want to take your money so they can fund their own personal lifestyle. Their lifestyle change included becoming rich and "famous" so they could profit from your vulnerable need to connect with successful people.

Look around.  There are successful people willing to talk to you for free. 

Also, there are unsuccessful people here who were successful and had surgery that didn't work for them. There's more to be learned from those people who screwed it up, than those who want you to perceive them to have done nothing wrong in this journey.

Recently, there were a few heated posts about Rex Ryan.  I dropped my "weighing in" on the topic when I realized that I was talking to an audience that didn't want to her about what went wrong for me with my LapBand.  I am very happy to discuss with anyone what happened.  My stomach became convulsive, to the point where I could not keep anything down.  I had stuck episodes on occasion, I had that uncomfortable feeling many times, more than I would like to admit, but my doctor considered me successful.  My message is and has always been, it can happen to you anytime. Wouldn't you want to know about what happened so you can try to prevent it?  I realize the banded gastric procedures are not for everyone. I was one of the unfortunate ones it was not for, even though I was successful with it for 3 years. The last 6 months were hell.  So, instead of calling me a band hater, why don't you ask me what the hell happened and why it when wrong so you can learn from my horror?

But no... people want to pull wool over their eyes and act like it's all pooping rainbows all the time. It wasn't. I know some people are successful with it, but just because you're successful with it, doesn't mean you know everything about what could go horribly wrong with it in the future.  Grow up.  And if you get paid to promote it, don't even talk to me about it.  I'm not stupid, when someone pays you to promote something, you don't talk about the side effects, complications and hazards.  Why not?  Wouldn't it be beneficial to explain how those things happen to some, what those stats are, and how to prevent them?  Isn't that the socially responsible thing to do in corporate America?  No.

It's to turn a blind eye, ostracize those who speak negative words about your product, and never acknowledge the stats.  Never acknowledge that there are just some people who bands are not good for and for a good, long while, many surgeons were getting kickbacks from the company to get as many bands in as possible.  That's what they don't tell you.  It's to hard to act with integrity in corporate America.  It's to hard to have a warning label on a product that they've just installed inside you.  No, that's not good marketing.

Marketing... these perceived successful people toot their own horns so much.  But the sad part about it is they can't always empathize with you.  They never knew your story, your weight struggles, and they don't want to. They don't have the time to stop and listen to you.  They just want your money.  I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news.  I'm sorry to be the person that has to tell you not to open your wallet for online support, and not to trust a few people's good experiences without asking yourself the question of "what are they not telling me?"  They aren't telling this... They got into this with the sole intention of making money. Because that's what people who market for a living do.  They want your money, they want your attention when they speak, but they don't want to take the time to listen to you and hear your story.

There are many of us here online that will listen to you, care about you, and support you for free.

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