Michelle Ritchie

Michelle Ritchie's personal and readable account of her gastic-bypass surgery isn't like the others on the market. As a certified addiction counselor, she gets to the heart of the matter for many people: why they overeat. Of course, there is good information about weight-loss surgery and if you are a candidate or not, but the emotional/psychological component is what sets this book apart from so many others on the topic.

Ritchie reminds readers that weight-loss surgery is not a quick-fix to show more either weight loss or their problems and reinforces the importance of personal responsibility both before and after surgery. Fitness, meal plans, shopping lists and even post-surgery intimacy flesh out the book to make this a very complete and personal look at weight-loss surgery and whether or not it may be the right decision for readers. Even though I am not a candidate for this surgery, I enjoyed reading this book. show less

Another book by a gastric bypass patient explaining how to make things work long-term. This book is certainly different than several others I’ve read by post-bypass patients. The author is a certified addictions counselor, and she tackles one of the most difficult aspects of weight loss by ANY means, be it weight-loss surgery or a diet and exercise regimen and that is the psychological aspects of what cause us to overeat and become obese in the first place. There is some very basic show more information about WLS itself and about post-op care and eating, but not much. It is refreshing to read a book that doesn’t give lists of what you can and can’t eat, huge recipe sections, long lists of do’s and don’ts. It’s also refreshing to read a book in which the majority of the content is not all about the author and her story from fat to fit and how fabulous life is now. This book is about YOU. There are some anecdotes about the author’s personal experiences and the experiences of some of her clients (she facilitates WLS support groups and deals with chronic overeaters), but it’s mostly exercises encouraging you to find your own answers and gives you tools to help you work through your own “demons” and to develop strategies let go of the old behaviors. It also encourages you to come up with a post-op program that works for YOU rather than just following someone else’s lists of do’s and don’ts. This is an aspect of obesity in general and WLS in particular that I feel is very neglected and this book is a welcome addition to any collection of books dealing with WLS.

That said, I do feel it’s somewhat incomplete with regard to the lack of information about the surgery itself, physical followup care, and I don’t believe it emphasizes enough the importance of putting protein first, and her protein requirements run lower than my own research indicates is necessary. The vital necessity of vitamin supplementation after gastric bypass is also not addressed forcefully enough, I don’t think. But since so many others of these types of books are just the opposite—emphasizing the physical aspects but ignoring the psychological, I do feel this book is an essential addition to any WLS patient’s library, but I cannot say that it is a complete and comprehensive guide to WLS.

I myself am a year post-op RNY, and I did find the book very helpful, although not always pleasant, as some of the psychological things I have put on the back burner and it wasn’t easy dragging them into the light. Still, I believe for long-term success, the author is absolutely correct in stating that these things MUST be addressed. The book will remain on my "keeper" shelf and I intend to drag it out periodically to refer to. Well done, and many thanks to Michelle for writing this book! show less

This is a well thought out approach to changing your life as it invovles food. This is not a diet. This is not some fad way to lose 20 pounds or fit into your thin jeans or be thin for some reunion or special event.

What this is is a toolkit to changing your life and overcoming your dependence on or addiction to food for those who eat emotionally, binge eat and unable to break their dependence on food as a mood altering substance. The author is a counselor who has herself had the gastric show more bypass surgery and helps counsel those who are preparing for it. However, you don't need to be planning to have the surgery to benefit from the strategies and tools offered in this book. If you keep trying to lose weight but somehow keep doing things to sabotage your goals, or you find yourself in that sugar stupor stuffing you face with junk food in the middle of the evening and don't even remember how you got to the fridge, or if you are using food as a way to stuff yourself into silence instead of speaking up about your needs and boundaries, then this book presents tried and true techniques to find out why, discover the source and create new, healthier ways to live.

In my opinion, even people who have spent years on the diet and regain rollercoaster will benefit from reading this, but again, it's deep work, dealing with the issues that make you eat, not recipes or skills to deprive yourself in the short term and lose 5 lbs. If you want a better life where food is nutrition and appropriate pleasure, not a driving force or addiction that seems to occupy you every waking thought, then give this book a look. Chances are there's something in here that will shine light on the deeper issues to why you overeat. show less

This self-help book about weight loss surgery has some great strengths, but also might not be quite what you're looking for.

On the upside, this book is very well written, and is a much smoother, more enjoyable read than the majority of self-help books out there. The author has also done her research, and does a good job of combining factual information with her own experiences and stories from other people she's talked to.

That said, the content of this book wasn't quite what I expected. show more This really wouldn't be the book to turn to if you're deciding whether or not to have weight loss surgery, or which type of weight loss surgery to have -- there's really very little information in the book to help readers make those decisions. Rather, the book seems very much targeted to people who are several steps down that road, and have already:

* decided to have the surgery,
* know which doctor or clinic they will use, and which surgical technique will be used, and
* whose doctor has already given them health and diet guidelines to follow.

For people who are already at that point in their journey, this book works to help emotionally prepare them, and helps them focus their motivation around following their doctor's guidelines for life after the surgery.

I think the book probably does a great job at that -- but a large chunk of the material isn't even specific to weight loss surgery, and is instead the same ideas and suggestions you'd find in most health or diet related self-help books.

All in all, I think this is a good book, and both easy and fun to read -- but I also think that many people might come away from reading this book wondering why they didn't learn more than they did. show less