BariatricEating.com Health & Nutrition

Rant - Teresa’s New Year’s Rant.

My name is Teresa but my friends lovingly call me Dolly and I am a 3 ½ year post op of life saving gastric bypass surgery. On September 11, 2003 I went into the operating room and allowed my surgeon to cut apart my insides, rearrange them, and staple me back together again so that I might live a longer and healthier life. It was not an easy decision by any means but one that I needed to come to grips with. I did not go into this procedure with any intention of failing. It was my only chance.

As many of you know, I now work in the world of bariatrics, for a company that I believe in that echoes my passion of seeing others succeed at this surgery. In the last few months I have met many pre and post ops though who honestly don’t even begin take this surgery seriously and it bothers me.

Too many patients are not going into surgery prepared. They actually think that this will be an easy way out and view it as another diet. They think that this new diet will just force them to change for just a while. Then once they lose the weight they can go back to normal food. Some don’t even plan on eliminating chicken nuggets, just cutting back. For most of us many years of yoyo dieting and starvation diets have destroyed our metabolism. This isnt going to be easy. Without positive and permanent intervention success is too far out of our reach to begin to grasp it.

When I went into this surgery I knew I had to do whatever it would take to make it to goal and formed my plan. I was determined to shed the 200 pounds that had hampered my life for many years. I developed an attitude that this would be a life altering surgery that required lifestyle changes and commitment.

If you are thinking of going into this surgery and are not dedicated to getting approximately 85 grams of protein in a day, a minimum of 64 ounces of water, some form of physical activity, and a serious vitamin regimen established no matter what it takes, you should rethink having surgery at all. If you can’t even start off on the plan then why bother? No one says that this surgery is all cake and roses. You have to forget the cake and smell the roses along this wild journey.

If you have already had surgery and yet find yourself sliding off the path, get back on! It is impossible to turn back so keep moving.

Stop thinking about what you cannot have as a post op, start redirecting your thoughts on what you can have. I am tired of listening to post ops standing at our protein bar whining when I tell them they shouldn’t have eaten Hershey Kisses. So what if you can’t have a piece of birthday cake, you have inhaled cake at every birthday you have ever celebrated? You know what it tastes like. You know how it sits on your thighs. Think about that wonderful dish of chicken parmesan that you can have as a post op or the juicy ripe frozen strawberry you blend into your shake. Stop focusing on the destination and start enjoying and embracing the journey as the journey is your life.

LIFE IS TOO SHORT to waste, and I am certainly not going to just sit back and watch others destroy a golden opportunity without offering my hand to help them along their journey.

We are beginning a new year, and we need a new attitude. Who needs resolutions? We need lifestyle changes. Are you ready to live?

– Dolly