Self-Development is Fundamentally Rewarding
The sobering thing about life after weight-loss surgery is that it’s a lot of work. Anyone who thinks it’s “once-and-done” is deluded or ignorant. The truth is that it’s a full-time job, on top of all the other roles we perform daily! The uninitiated view is surgery as ‘the easy way out’. The assumption is that someone who has altered their anatomy simply cannot overeat, nor regain weight. I wish, with every bariatric patient, that his were the case. But it simply isn’t. The truth is that surgery is unprecedented in its success at helping a person reduce their weight. But as I’ve said numerous times before, when it comes to long-term maintenance, the patient is essentially on their own.
The work comes in the form of embarking upon a journey, which ascends and descends, bends, and winds, has ups and downs, setbacks and pitstops. And one which is for life. The nature of this journey is physical (exercise, sleep, hydration, etc), emotional (learning to do ‘life on life’s terms’, without the crutch of overeating) and educational (LEARNING! Mastering all the tools, skills and hacks to training, nutrition, and mind mastery)
The reward is untold spiritual and psychological growth, every step of the way.
The Real Rewards of Bariatric Surgery
I saw a quote the other day that said, “Entrepreneurship is self-development dressed up as business ownership”. Management is the content, but it’s simply a vehicle and conduit for exponential growth. The idea of course, being that every minutia of the experience will challenge and stretch the individual well beyond their perceived limits to cope, and, in so doing, cause cataclysmic change.
The weight loss surgery journey is no different. What starts as an attempt to solve a problem becomes a relentless schooling in all the things I’ve mentioned, and in SELF. And this schooling has the potential to alter a person, far beyond mere numbers on a scale or tape measure.
Self-Worth and Surgery
Coaches and psychologists, the world over, understand the impact of personal drivers, often referred to as a person’s “why”. This is a vision of the future that sustains a person through precarious terrain, where the means are justified by the desired end. I’ve often seen Facebook posts of “newby bariatric patients”, horrified at how awful they feel, post-surgery, and overwhelmed with how difficult the mechanics of their new realities are, initially.
It's in those moments that their intentions and goals need to be very clear in their minds, to justify the temporary suffering. Otherwise, all they’re met with is sheer regret.
Every time I sit down with my journal, and my coffee, and do my own self development work, I remind myself that my purpose is to be well, emotionally, and physically. My desire has always been to be present and impactful for my family, for my children, and for the patients in my private practice. Wellness, to me, is about tending to all the aspect of my inner and outer world, in a way that is authentic and congruent with who I wish to be in all arenas of my life. In terms of my weight loss surgery journey, this certainly involves regular follow-ups with surgeons, dieticians, trainers, coaches, and therapists, as well as tracking and logging nutrition, exercise, sleep, and hydration, while being really care-ful about regulating mood, emotion and energy.
It’s an exciting, rewarding and fulfilling undertaking, but not one to be entered into lightly or without good counsel.
“Once and done” / “the easy way out” is at best a myth, and at worst a sordid lie!
