WHOA - surgery date is set in stone!

I got a call from the surgeon's office coordinator, and my surgery has been approved and the date is set for August 14th! They actually wanted to get me in earlier (July 30th), but my brother couldn't take off work so soon (he's going to be the one to take me to and from - and I'm crashing with him for a week after surgery, so it needed to accommodate his schedule). I can't believe this is becoming a reality for me. After thinking long and hard about this for such a long time, and then finally attending a seminar in late April, here I am today, just a few short months later, getting ready for the biggest moment of my life. I am so ready to take my life back into my hands and run with it (you like that? RUN!).

I still feel guilty that this is something that I'm even struggling with. Like, why haven't I been able to just do this on my own? I have seen people do this on their own before - shouldn't I be able to also? I guess I'm my own worst critic. My brother is also super concerned about this choice I'm making, but is still VERY supportive, and said he will be there for me from start to finish. I understand his concerns though, it is surgery we're talking about, and that can be scary stuff.

Anywho, I've been a bit of a watcher on this site since joining, but now I feel like I'm a part of the team and I wanted to share the good news with everyone!

Congratulations on getting your date.  I've tried for 53 years to lose this weight by myself, and have only managed to put on more and more and more.  I needed the help, and am so glad I've finally got it.

Jane

Shed the guilt!

Look, I've known others who have lost weight on their own. I have lost weight on my own, many times. Yet, I could never maintain it. And those others I've seen lose all their weight, I mean my truly obese friends, not one of them has been able to keep it off either.

It was so freeing for me when my surgeon pulled out the stats and showed me long term weight loss statistics for non wieght loss surgery patients. 4% of those people in the obese category  maintained 50% of their weight loss over a 5 year period. My surgeon was quick to point out that I was the norm, not exception. He also pointed out that I was going to an extreme measure to improve my health and that I should be proud of the courage it takes to make such an important but scary step to improve my well being.

So, shed that guilt, my friend. Step up and be proud of your bravery. What you are about to do takes a lot of courage.

That voice of doubt. That's your fat brain talking. Don't let it win.

We all had that guilt. 

Congrats on your date!!  You'll be on the loser's bench in no time.

 

Guilt appears to be normal. I had it too. Then I had someone very close to me tell me that I wasn't failure for not being able to do this on my own without surgery, that clearly my body needed more help than I could legitimately provide without the tool of WLS. So I shed my guilt, embraced my future, and feel really good about the decision.

I'm excited for your date. You'll be on the loser's bench before you know it!

Woohoo! Congrats! It will be here before you know it. I was sleeved last Monday and it still feels surreal over a week later!

 

As for the guilt, DON'T. My surgeon said something that has stuck with me since my bariatric seminar in December. We have "permissive genetics" - i.e. genetics that allow us to become obese. Some people do not have this. We also live in a society that makes it VERY easy to gain the weight.

Think about it. People always say that it is in a family's genes for everyone in the family to be tall, or slim, or redheaded. Why not overweight? I mean, I have the exact same body type and my mother, my grandmother, and several other women in my family. This is not my genetics.... how? It has become such a social taboo to be overweight and the nation is not calling it a "disease" or an "epidemic". NOPE, permissive genes are just spreading.