The path may look difficult but the journey will be more interesting
We went into weight loss surgery with open eyes but let’s face it the screening process is minimal, and the education is more a sales pitch or worse there is no after surgery support. You Wanted to lose weight for a long time. It was a substantial amount of weight. You understood how little you would eat and how you were going to get most of your food as liquids. That is not the issue. The issue is that what you did not find were the long-term solutions to the problem. The realization that it is hard to cope with the day to day stress, the fact that others can eat what you should not and the constant pressure to look and be a certain way.
You are not alone. You are not unique. You just need to learn the new skills necessary to be successful in creating a new life. The surgery was a step but it was only the first step to learning how to live a different life.
The best advice I was given came from the therapist when I said I did not understand why I could not do some of the things others found easy, such as being organized, how to balance a checkbook, and how to make plans for the future. He said, “WHO TAUGHT YOU HOW TO DO THOSE THINGS?” I was taken aback. What do you mean who taught me? It never occurred to me that these were skills that were taught. I just thought people knew how to do it.
The truth is we need to be taught a whole new skill set. How to move past using food for things other than fueling our body and how to cope with stress, find new friends and support systems and how to dream big dreams that will allow us to step outside our comfort zone. We need to learn how to socialize in a way that does not revolve around food. We need to learn how to move our body but not make it feel like drudgery or punishment. We need the skills that say I have reached one goal how to create new goals that will inspire me outside of just losing weight.
It is not a short process. In fact, it is a lifelong journey because new things will come up and you may revert to your old habits because they are comfortable. You need to be willing to look at your life and see what is and what is not working and then be willing to put yourself out there to make changes and fail and get up and move forward. It is not easy. You have no one that you need to answer to but yourself.
However, when you are willing to find the group of people who will support you in your visions for your future it is worth the energy to change your current path and adventure onto a new path.
Join me on the journey that is life after our wls. We will create new habits and find support along the way to a life you never dreamed of having.
