#wlsjourney

Progress

You got your demons

And you got desires

Now this topic right here…is the KICKER.

You are on your way to bariatric/weight loss surgery but some of your family and friends don’t understand why you chose that route. “Can’t you just eat less and exercise more?” “You’re not even THAT fat so you don’t need it!” Or you get the folks that have heard these conspiracies about folks eating so much after surgery that their new stomach/pouch explodes and they die…yeah I’ve heard all of this, too.

You can’t control everyone’s opinions about WLS but you can control how you respond to them.

First of all, your body - your choice. Ultimately, you are the one that knows what is best for you and your health. No one else can tell you that. They obviously don’t live in your body so how would they know what you need to get healthy? In my journey, I had got to a point where my appetite was outrageous and I could no longer put on my clothes comfortably. I was huffing and puffing trying to put on shoes 🙄 I couldn’t take walks without my ankles swelling so much to where I had to sit and let the pain ride on. I knew I had to do something. I tried the gym, eating less, restricting (which is a BAD idea) and it didn’t work. That’s why I decided to go the WLS route and it was (and still is) the best option for me.

Second of all, keep yourself educated on all things WLS. This helps with dispelling those WLS rumors. Ask your doctors questions. Find workshops or classes related to WLS. Find “peer reviewed” articles and sources to learn. This helps you have a well rounded knowledge of WLS and to help educate your loved ones on what actually happens. Will they still bring up dumb stuff? Oh yeah! As long as you keep educating them, they’ll eventually understand your choice…or they won’t and that is still OKAY!

Lastly, this is the hardest thing to grasp and accept but there are going to be individuals that will not open their minds to the WLS world. They are going to say things like, “WLS is the easy way out” which grinds my everlasting gears. They won’t ever understand. And some of these people will be your own folks! The best thing to do is pray for them (I’m Christian so that’s what I do personally) and leave them be. You don’t need that kind of negativity in your life. WLS and this journey is hard enough on us and we have to stay focused on the task at hand!

I’m going to try and post every Saturday from now on. It’s the only day I get to focus on this project. Thanks for reading and let me know what other topics you’d like to discuss!