ShelleKarena
WLS words of wisdom from a veteran (ldb1095) *** I didn't write
Jun 07, 2013
Just some thoughts as I read through posts this morning.
Surgery is the easy part, you lay there and sleep while everyone else does the work. Weight loss really isn't bad, overall it is fairly easy and especially compared to pre op. Maintenance is when you really have to work and work hard. You think you are working hard now? Wait until maintenance. That's when it is time to sincerely put everything you have learned into action. Maintenance is hard and regardless of what anyone tells you, that is the hardest stage.
Transfer addictions happen to all WLS types. It does not have to be alcohol, it can be gambling, exercise, spending money, anything to an extreme is a transfer addiction. When you have your first extreme emotional episode post op and you turn to food and you realize you can't eat your way out of the bad things in life anymore, that is when that food demon will stare you in the face and you realize just how much you 'used' food pre op. You can find another addiction or you can deal with your issues. It honestly is a choice. Make it a choice you are fully aware and approve of.
Starvation mode in the obese population is indeed a myth. It does not exist in our population. Read this again and again if you must. It does not exist in our population. Starvation mode literally means there is no fat to burn and you have a deficit of calories vs. energy burned. Our population has plenty of fat stores, we cannot BE in starvation mode. It is a myth.
We are not exhausted post op because of a lack of food. Fat *is* stored energy. The reason you want to crawl under your desk and take a nap is because you just had major surgery and your body is healing. You don't need extra calories because you are completely, totally, and utterly exhausted.
For a great many, maybe even most, the first month post op is torture. Food commercials will make you cry, people you perceive as looking at you wrong will make you cry. You may well abhor your choice to have surgery. This is normal. You can't have one lifestyle pre op, have surgery, and suddenly your choices for food, food quantity, coping methods, and the way you live your life ... you are literally forced to change them an hour post op - then expect to be happy with it. Many times "Happy with WLS" doesn't come for 1-3 months post op. And you know what? That's okay. You will indeed survive this stage but it may not seem like it at the time.
You will not lose weight every single day, that is unrealistic. It is not a stall when you haven't lost weight in a week. You will eventually learn to refer to that week of no weight loss as normal and expected. And yes, that includes three weeks post op.
You will learn more about yourself as well as the people around you during weight loss. The funny thing is, you won't even realize just how much you have learned about you and your world until you have been in maintenance for a couple of years. One day the light just goes on.
White carbs are evil. Rice, pasta, sugar, flour, and potatoes. We did not get fat from a garden salad with full fat dressing. We did not get fat from a steak. We do not sneak downstairs and binge in private on raw veggies. We binge and hide from the world that we are eating a bag of cookies, a cake, a pie, a bag of Fritos, a 2# chocolate bar. I will write it again, WHITE carbs are evil.
Our population 'gets' things that naturally thin people will never in a million years comprehend. We have a type of compassion for our fellow human beings that others do not. This is a good thing and quite frankly, you would not have that level of compassion if you hadn't been fat at some point in your life. Respect that fact.
Our population is invisible to the world, they don't see us. They don't even notice us. I have news for you, you didn't see them either. Post op all the sudden one day you take a look around yourself at Walmart and you will be shocked at how many fat people are sharing this planet with you. So no, you aren't the only fat person. We are huge in number.
The first time you get a totally new hair style post op is the day you can be proud. THAT is the day you started getting your self esteem back.
Don't be the food police. YOU had WLS, not the rest of the world. They need to come to terms with their issues in their own time just as you did. You do not need to tell every fat person you love that they need WLS. You don't even need to drop hints. We don't need a WLS awareness day, everyone already knows WLS exists. You don't need to remind them.
The #1 piece of advice I can give you today is this: The foods you eat during weight loss set the tone for how you will eat during maintenance. You will lose weight during the honeymoon stage, that doesn't mean goal is the same. Change your behaviors now, reset your brain today. Tomorrow is coming quickly. Honeymoons don't last forever. What you eat during weight loss sets the tone for maintenance. Make that your mantra.
