G&M article - Mom's bariatric surgery helps her yet-to-be-born children

Mom's weight-loss surgery good for baby

Andre Picard,

Globe and Mail

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/healt h/moms-weight-loss-surgery-good-for-baby/article4699181/

Good article. It is however just another way we moms can beat ourselves up. If we had only done this before we had kids! We my kids are adults and are going to have to deal with it just like I did. Hopefully not with surgery but with diet and exercise. My son was always under weight until he was about ten and gained weight which he has fought ever since. My daughter was skinny up until her 20's and now is over weight.

so how much is genetics and how much is changing food habits. Every study seems to change the last one.

It is an interesting article!  I do agree that it makes me feel a bit badly about having my kids before the surgery (they are 3 and 6 now).  On the flip side, there are risks to getting pregnant after surgery, particularly if it's too soon after surgery.  I'm hoping that our positive lifestyle changes will help my girls combat their not-so-stellar genetics! 

Yep, that was my knee-jerk reaction too. My daughter is overweight, but my son in skinny. I only breastfed my daughter for six weeks, my son 8 months (I had a breast reduction and was told to give up with my daughter, but I soldiered through with my son). I also was very depressed, and had Gestational Diabetes when pregnant with both, but on insulin with my son. I ate crappy food that I didn't eat much of before, and allowed my daughter to have these "treats" daily, instead of once every few weeks (by treats I mean chips, popcorn, and other crap).

So now I read this, and think of what else I have done to my poor daughter.

And then....I know I am changing her life by having the surgery. She is eating healthier, starting to thin out and make better choices for her. I will stop thinking, "What If" and move forward knowing that my having surgery at the time I did, DID change her for the better, because I got healthier.

I don't see how one has anything to do with the other but that is why they keep doing studies.  Another one will come out to say the opposite at some point.  I have zero regrets or guilt about having my son when SMO.  He is 22 years old and a very lean young man.  I ate healthy just way too much so he ate healthy but didn't have my appetite.  To me they are painting the old all fat people eat crap all day long  and teach their kids those habits, when in reality many of us got fat not by eating junk food.

I think it is an interesting read but at the same time... I question it, and how it is making some of the women feel.

I guess I didn't have that reaction. I read it and thought... Well... I can see how that could apply to some. Looked at my daughter and raised my eyebrow.

Which of my slim parents should beat them self up over me having a big ass? Which of my grandparents should have beat them self up? Should I beat myself up for it considering I eat healthily, and my husband and daughter who consume the same foods (if not more junk at times) are both slim... My siblings are slim... My cousins are slim... In fact I have to go to second cousins to find others and then boom... They are all there. I actually lucked out to be proportionate. My one 2nd cousin has to buy size 16 jeans and alter the waist to suit her size 6-8 inch waist... ALL arse and thighs. I can relate but at leas tI have balance still...

Do I think she is like me? No... She already shows a body type similar to my sisters. All 3 of them are slim. 2 are rather athletic.

Do I think she will potentially end up with a similar shape to mine only slimmer... absolutely. It's the family build. Hourglass... I just happened to be a 1 week glass really.

Looking to the past and regretting something we did or didn't do... Will only cause us to feel guilty about something that we didn't have a choice in at the time for the most part. Change the future and support your children in the best way possible.

Do I regret having been a part of "Power lifting",or any other sports I played which contributed to my current build? No... Have I found a handful of others who did the same thing, and are all struggling to lose weight, and even going through for surgery? Yes... A subset but it is there.

The only thing I can do is encourage my daughter to play sports that encourage leaner muscle  mass. That... I have some control over.