A weird 'wow' moment.

It's been  while since I've had a really cool 'wow' moment, but this one is worth sharing.

I've had a sucky, horrible two days. Had personal problems, fights, drama, family going loco, blah blah blah..... Lots of icky stressful stuff.

Now there was a time (pre WLS) when I would have gone home, locked myself in my room and cried with a gallon of ice cream, or a huge burrito, a cheeseburger and fries (with a milk shake), or candy...

You get the idea.

This time, things were different. I called friends. I talked about what happened. It was over food, but it wasn't  a pig-out session, it was a small snack.  At the end of the day all I could think about was getting home changing into my running clothes and blasting my iPod on my run.

I ran outside in the sunshine and cleared my head and when I got angry I ran faster.  I worked up a good sweat and then walked home in peace.

It occured to me today that not only has my body changed but how I approach life and food has also changed. Even though life is not perfect and I'm not so perfect...I can now handle the bumps in life in a healthy way.

 

 

Monica...your story is sooo cool.  There is so much more to this journey than losing the weight. Beginning to understand how we got here and what we can do to change our behaviour is the beginning to recovery and a healthy life style.  Congratulations on finding a new way to handle the bumps in the road!
Nancy aka Sunray....so looking forward to meeting you in Pleasant Hill!

Good for you Monica!  That is such a cool way to go!  Thanks for sharing.

Chris

Monica,

That is awesome.  What you just shared is so important to the new-comers.  They need to know this stuff.  They need to know different and new ways to deal with the emotions that come up in life, and ways to deal with them after WLS.  It is Different.  Thanks so much for sharing your positive ways to deal with difficult situations.

Enjoy those northern girls on your visit, you will just love them.

Rhonda

I totally agree Rhonda, and when I made the decision to pursue WLS about 3-4 years ago I never imagined that I would change so much (beyond the physical of course).

To the newcomers, there is a big emotional/mental transforamtion that takes place as the weight comes off and it's not always discussed on the boards too often.

For some it's a new found confidence. There's a renewed desire to live life and try new things.

BUT...

There's also a rough transition when you realize you have to let go of food as a way of medicating yourself from pain in life. It's almost like a security blanket is taken away.

You can either face the transition head-on and learn to adapt or what sometimes happens...... is that you pick up a new vice.

 It's often referred to as 'addiction transfer'. For most its drinking alcohol, but I know there are others who have shopping addictions, sexual addiction, and other negative behaviors to avoid dealing with reality.

 

Thanks so much for sharing something with us that I honestly have never heard on here before.  The emotional thing is very hard and nowhere is it mentioned.  I wish that part of the after care of surgery would require a person to do a little group therapy to help deal with such issues.  You are so right that it is rarely discussused her, it needs to be and thank you so much for bringing it up and on the table.  I needed to hear it and I know others need to also. 

Rhonda

I think its difficult to talk about because it's such a personal issue, and also because it's hard to identify it when it's happening. It's not easy to admit you have developed a drinking problem....or that you're beginning to make bad choices in relationships because you don't know how to live life as a thinner person who doesn't yet have self-confidence.

As more and more people go through the WLS process there are more support options to help with the transition.

 

WOW...you go girl!!!

I'm still working on getting to where you got the other day......

Monica,

Thanks for sharing your wow moment with us.  So inspirational and so important.  It's so cool when we find out things about ourselves that have been masked for so long. 

Hugs to you and congrats too.

Barb

So cool, Monica.  You know know that you have "arrived" , not just physically but mentally also.