Describe your behavioral and emotional battle with weight control before learning about bariatric surgery.
I was addicted to food. It gave me comfort when I was sad, it made every celebration even better and it brought my family together at meals. Most addictions are something your body can do without. Alcohol, drugs, gambling, etc are not like food. We need food to exist. It nourishes us. We cannot go without it and try to quit our addiction because we need to be exposed to it daily. It's a matter of understanding that I did not need the types or amounts of food I was eating. I knew I needed help in not allowing my body to consume the volume and unhealthy foods. I was hiding inside my body behind the fat. I was abused as a child and I used the weight to ward off anyone who might be interested in me do that I could avoid the hurt that was, in my mind, inevitably going to follow. No one was allowed in and the weight was the wall I used to keep them at bay.
I researched the specifics of the surgeries and opted for the gastric bypass surgery. It was time for me to face the world as who I was meant to be. I was able to take the leap and not look back except to remind me not to go back there again.
What was (is) the worst thing about being overweight?
If I had to pick the worst thing about being overweight was that, as a school teacher, I had to make it a point each year to make my weight a no-issue for my HS students by throwing the spotlight on my weight before giving them a chance to load it as ammunition to use against me. I would tell them, after my introduction, that I have mirrors at home and a scale as well. So if they think I don't know what I look like and want to use it to hurt my feelings they are going to be disappointed. And if there were any new "fat jokes" I'd like a good laugh so please share now, but I've heard them all so I don't think anyone has a new one.
It shut the issue down before it became an issue. They didn't know how to reply. But it hurt me so much to do that. However, had I not taken that initial hurt each school year I would have a hard time gaining the respect of these teens/young adults. And they always embraced my being real and putting myself out there. So having to prevent the world from judging me by appearance was certainly the worst thing about being overweight.
If you have had weight loss surgery already, what things do you most enjoy doing now that you weren't able to do before?
I enjoy walking and climbing stairs in my home without becoming winded or short of breath. I enjoy going for a spontaneous walk with the dogs. I enjoy sitting in a theater seat, an airplane seat or even in a waiting room without worrying if I am bothering the person next to me. I enjoy going to the gym and not having to give up during a workout because I couldn't do any more. I enjoy re-introducing myself to people who do not recognize me. I enjoy showing my before and after pics to people and proudly educate them that I did it thru gastric bypass surgery and explaining how its not an "easy fix" or the "easy way out". I enjoy interacting with people who don't recognize me and who might have been unkind in the past because it gives me the opportunity to show me kindness in my new body and affords me the chance to tell that I'm still the same person they decided awhile ago wasn't worthy if their friendship. And to sum it up, I enjoy the fact that I will be here to see my grandchildren one say. My daughter is an only child and I enjoy that she knows I did this for me because I don't want to miss out on seeing her grow into a successful adult.
iburgos
