There are still people out there who think that WLS is “the easy way out”  or “she was too lazy to lose weight so she had surgery”  I am here to set that line of thinking straight.  There is no one who can be lazy and get through WLS or be a lifelong success!  Much the contrary!  You have to be a strong person, mind, body and will!  You have to dig deep, get to the root of your weight problems and accept that food is not your friend.  You have to accept food is here to keep you alive.  You have to accept that you give up pure sugars, high fats and bad carbs.  You have to accept that you are a new person.  I have not lost the feeling of just having the surgery.  I still think like I am newly out of surgery and eat several times a day and very small portions.  I exercise even though I have always loathed it.  I do not loathe it because I am lazy!  I also have Fibromyalgia so I am in pain a lot…exercise does not make it better.  When I have the extra energy I take full advantage of that!  I don’t stop!  I also do little things like never look for close parking spots…I always park farther out.  Just little things help.  I don’t look at distance and think “ugh!”  I loved walking when we were on vacation from the Main street where the bus dropped us, over 3 blocks and about 20 blocks up and down the Boardwalk.  It is a life change and you have to know that before you even see a Doctor or start  a program.  Don’t think about asking about different surgeries because of foods you CAN eat with the different surgeries.  If you have a sweet problem and you want to Lapband just so you can keep eating sweets then having surgery is NOT for you yet.  You have to be prepared to change your mind about every point in your life.  How you look at yourself (you will be thin and may not see it).  How you shop (what the heck is the misses section?  LOL)  How you eat and prepare foods.  How you order when you go out.  Asking questions about how things are cooked when you do go out if you have fear about it.  Getting your family on board and having a staunch support system around you.  Prepare yourself to take your vitamins, drink you water, exercise, shop right, see your doctors and caregivers, get therapy if you need it, attend regular support groups forever, support others, be an inspiration – because helping others also helps yourself.  Learning to tell others you do not want to hear from them if they are not supportive.  I used a line before surgery and told others “I am not asking your permission I am asking for your support.  If you cannot give me support I will not discuss this with you because I will not hear ‘horror stories’ about people you actually do not know”  Almost no one can actually tell you of someone they actually KNOW who had issues and IF they do you can be almost certain the person who did not succeed did not follow the program correctly.

Questions welcome!

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