Tips for Pre-Ops & Newbies

Nov 27, 2009

I got together with some gals the other day at a restaurant.  With this particular group of women, we are all new friends and the subject of me being a bariatric patient had not been brought up to this point.  A gal sitting next to me mentioned that she was having bariatric surgery next week.  So I shared that  I had the surgery over 9 years ago.  I carry a before and after picture with me in my purse so I shared my before picture below with the group.  They were all absolutely shocked that was me.  They never guessed that I was ever that morbidly obese & lost over 200#.  They said I don't even resemble that person anymore.  They had all kinds of questions for me.  I have always said that I won't sugar coat anything.  I will tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to  hear.  Sometimes that makes me unpopular but I didn't have bariatric surgery to win a popularity contest.  I had it to be able to live a healthier lifestyle & hopefully pay it forward to others along the way.  They had lots of questions for me about what I can & can't eat now, & how life has changed for me in the past 9 years.  I could write a book about all those things.  But at the core of all of it, I had my faith in God. I believed in myself.  I was willing to walk through my fear.  I trusted God with what I could not yet see.  I surrounded myself with positive people & attitudes. 
 A few tips are:

The surgery didn't work---That's true.  I DO the work!  So many will say that the surgery didn't work for them but did they do whatever it takes or did they fall back into their old habits? 

I won't be depressed anymore once I lose the weight---Losing the weight doesn't fix why you are depressed inside your head.  You need to heal the wounds inside of you to maintain your weight loss.  Thin doesn't equal happy.

It won't happen to me!----(Complications, plateaus, setbacks, sabatage) Expect the unexpected.  Think positive but be prepared and plan for obstacles along the way.  They will happen.  It's not the adversity but how we react to it.  Fight or flight!

I can eat whatever I want & still lose weight---That's false sense of security.  You may get away with that short term; some even a few years.  But as your body adjusts and stablizes, long term maintenance does require healthy eating habits.

  You don't know what you don't know and what you don't know can hurt you by limiting and compromising your success. Be willing to Listen & Learn from others.  I'm still willing to listen and learn.  Because I don't ever want to look like THIS ever again!!!!

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