Weight Loss Surgery Forums

Once you’ve started to see results from your weight-loss surgery or pre-op weight-loss plan, you’re bound to become excited, eager to continue the great feeling of limitlessness and freedom that improved health can bring you. While ObesityHelp features thousands of people who have transitioned into a healthy, successful lifestyle, there are unfortunately some people who shift from an addictive relationship with food to dependencies of other natures: alcohol, gambling, casual sex, and so on. One such unhealthy lifestyle can be an obsession with thinness: dieting and exercising to unhealthy extremes.

Dr. Steve Ritz is a licensed clinical psychologist in Decatur, Georgia, who specializes in working with bariatric surgery patients, some of whom struggle with disordered eating. Dr. Ritz explained some of the issues associated with disordered eating, including the role that obsessive thinking can play in compromising post-surgery weight-loss success. While there are a number of different factors at play, Dr. Ritz said that a person who is obsessed with something generally has an unhealthy preoccupation that consumes most of their waking life. Those mired in obsessive thinking are under the mistaken impression that they can increase their sense of control. “Ironically, by engaging in that behavior, they’re giving that control away,? Dr. Ritz explained. “The person sees himself as broken or flawed and engages in self-loathing. When you do that, you’re giving away your sense of choice about what’s important in life.? In essence, when you give in to an obsession, you’re letting the obsession run the show.

Bariatric surgery gives you the best chance to finally take charge of your life with regard to the excess weight that you may have been carrying around for years. Unfortunately, the more you become preoccupied and obsessed with post-surgery weight loss, the more it has control over you. When a person is obsessed with something, thinking becomes more rigid and narrowed in scope. “People get caught up in black-and-white thinking,? Dr. Ritz said. “It’s like having a crayon box with two colors in it instead of 64 colors: you’re filtering out all the richness and complexity in life.? Obsession is like a toxin that penetrates every aspect of life—your social life, your work, your family life—and causes you to neglect other daily self-care routines. While exercising and healthy eating are good for you, Dr. Ritz emphasized that self-defeating obsessive thinking has a tangible negative physical impact: the release of cortisol, a hormone that has an inflammatory effect in large quantities and can potentially damage your internal organs over time.

Obsession and addiction go hand in hand. There has been a lot of talk about addiction transfer, but, according to Dr. Ritz, there has been far too much emphasis on eliminating addictive behavior with not enough time devoted to making sense of its underlying reasons or functionality. “I think the trick is not to focus so much on the behavior itself, but what the behavior is about,? he said. He likened relying upon an addiction or obsessive thinking to attempting to fix a bucket with holes in its bottom by filling it with food or some other substance; while one may feel a sensation of relief from emptiness, the experience is fleeting and never reparative. The addictive behavior that produces this brief positive effect never addresses the holes in the bottom of the bucket, and the bucket will empty and need filling again and again in a self-destructive cycle. The key is to take the time to address the underlying feelings of emptiness and unhappiness, thus repairing the holes in the bucket. Psychotherapy can be invaluable in facilitating this.

Body image can also play a role for the bariatric surgery patient. Dr. Ritz said that an interesting and paradoxical phenomenon affects individuals at both ends of the weight spectrum: both have misperceptions about their size. Anorexics have body image distortions; they are hypersensitive about their size and appearance, believing that despite their frighteningly diminutive presence, they are too big and too visible. Similarly, some obese individuals have a disconnection between their size and how they are perceived. They believe that the larger they are, the more invisible they become, an unfortunate reality in our very image-conscious society. “There are those at both ends of the weight continuum,? he explained, “that have obviously lost touch with themselves; their perspective and sense of self-being dangerously out of whack. In both situations, these individuals may engage in repetitive, obsessive, and addictive behavior that may leave them exhausted, depressed, and empty, while perilously affecting their health status.?

How to Recognize Obsession

You may be dealing with obsession if you feel guilty when you’re not engaged in the obsessive behavior, if you feel helpless and unable to live life without the behavior, if the behavior is your priority in life, and if your obsessive behavior affects others around you. Extreme behavior such as participating in hours of continuous exercise may be a red flag. “I’ve seen people spend hours and hours involved in exercise,? Dr. Ritz recalled. “What are they trying to accomplish? There’s no data that shows that hours and hours are what it takes to maintain a healthy post-surgery life.? As can be said about so many other things in life, moderation is the key.

What to Do About Obsession

Self-monitoring, including mindfulness, is one of the best tools for protecting against the development of obsessive behaviors and the oppression, stress, and risk they can pose in your life. “In part, it’s a mindset issue,? pointed out Dr. Ritz. “Focus not on what’s wrong, but on what’s right.? He suggested identifying and practicing behaviors that enrich and enhance life and thinking about the quality of life not just in physical terms, but in spiritual, emotional, cognitive, and social ones. He emphasized, “Find ways to expand your life from the two-color crayon box to the 64-color crayon box.?

Dr. Ritz encouraged that we think of healthy behaviors as those that expand our lives, allowing for choice, personal control, and endless possibility versus obsessive and addictive behaviors that restrict life and limit a sense of possibility, keeping us stuck or emotionally paralyzed. He offered some healthier post-surgery lifestyle possibilities:

• Start a list of healthy milestones besides weight loss to pay attention to or check off. These milestones are much more life-affirming.
• Don’t just focus on weight loss, but on all of the wonderful things you have gained in your life.
• Practice mindfulness. Be more aware of how you’re living life; go about it with your eyes wide open.
• Rely on others for meaningful feedback and support. Ask others if they have concerns about the extent of your weight-loss efforts.
• Deepen relationships. This may be facilitated by joining a bariatric surgery support group.

After your surgery, no matter what plateaus you hit or what other challenges life throws your way, staying on an even keel can help you live life fully, richly, and deeply.

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