Are you stepping on toes? BEWARE.
Take a dose of humility along with your success.
Have you ever had someone tell you how they think you should live? Did you feel annoyed & even hurt? As you transform, your success can become a point of pride for you. But avoid the temptation to act as if you know it all, as if you know how others should lose weight, as if you are better than people who are struggling.
You can be satisfied with your progress and know it was the right path for you. But each person must choose their own destiny and come to their own decision. Remember how you felt when people tried to tell you what to do. Be gracious and compassionate with people, keeping your well-meaning opinions to yourself when they are not solicited.
Action for the day: Practice humility today. Start by thinking of a time when someone practiced humility toward you.
© 2007, National Association for Weight Loss Surgery. All rights reserved. Daily Inspirations are provided by the National Association for Weight Loss Surgery. Get our free report, How to Regain-Proof Your Weight Loss Surgery at .www.nawls.com
HW 611 Pre-opW 580 LW 302 GW 238
Post Date: 6/16/10 7:21 am
It's a common flaw to that what helped *me* will help *you*.
"We"
Often on the message board, there are questions like "Can We eat..." or "Can we take..." or "Do we need ...". The implication is that "We" are one collective, united group. This could not be further from the truth.
We've often heard we are unique, that there is no one in the world that is exactly like us, which is true. Most of the time, most people are trying to find and exploit similarities, by showing how much we are alike, perhaps we can find that secret to world harmony that has been eluding mankind for so long. In this search, we lose sight of the fact that our differences are actually what defines us as individuals.
There is no "UNIVERSAL WLS PLAYBOOK." There is no "We."
PRE-OP: Even before surgery we are all different. The 'normal' differences in human anatomy are amazingly broad. Our medical conditions vary dramatically. Something that is not politically correct, but nonetheless true, is men are different than women. Ethnicities are different. Age makes differences. We each start out with different tolerances to food, drink, medicines. We all have different habits, some good, some not so.
WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY: There are several different WLS surgeries. Even the same surgery, for example RNY, has broad variations: The amount of intestine bypassed (Proximal to Distal), the size, shape, position of the pouch. Even AFTER RNY, one persons intestine length could still be longer than a person that has not had WLS at all. We heal differently. Some people scar differently, others may have other complications.
NUTRITIONAL PLANS: Nutritionists, the people who should know, don't agree on eating plans for normal-biology folks. So why would our surgeons and nutritionists agree on post-op dietary approaches? Not only that, but we all don't even have the same dietary goals... Are you eating to lose weight? Developing a life-long habit? A healing diet? Low Carb, Low Fat, Unprocessed, Natural, all may be valid approaches. The ONE common principle I've heard is Protein First, beyond that it can all be different.
PERSONAL: Each of us have personal tastes and beliefs. Also, our bodies tolerate or dump on different foods for different reasons at different times during different stages of recovery. Some of us are able to eat even unhealthy foods in moderation, while others moderation will set them off into a binge so abstinence is necessary. Still others allow themselves to binge, though binging post-op is very different. Some count every gram of everything that they consume, making graphs and charts. Others, well, eat what feels right.
VICES: We each have different weaknesses and different trigger foods. What may be a moderate pleasure for one person could be a destructive addiction for another.
There is nothing that someone on the message board is not eating, drinking, smoking, or injecting regularly since WLS. If you are looking for permission to do something unhealthy or destructive, you will get it. In fact, you will often be encouraged. Just because someone else does, or you can, doesn't mean you should.
Unfortunately, many people believe that their experience applies to everyone else, and this could not be further from the truth. It may work for you, then again, you may have lost weight IN SPITE of what you did. What you think works for you may not work for you.
There is no "WE".
