Gastric Bypass Surgery Support Group
Gastric bypass (GBP) is any of a group of similar operative procedures used to treat morbid obesity, a condition which arises from severe accumulation of excess weight in the form of fatty tissue, and the health problems ("co-morbidities") which result. If you are considering gastric bypass or have had it, join the community where we share our experiences and find support.
I have decided to adapt something I learned as a kid in Sunday School years ago to my current situation. Like many others here I have my good days and my bad ones, feel guilty over one thing or another (like I don't want to journal, it reminds me too much of the nasty productivity logs I now have to do for work! I don't want to eat, I don't exercise enough, I don't eat enough protein, I ate 30 m & m's today (yikes!), whatever). So when I get that "down-in-the dumps, I'm so bad, this will never work, I am too rebellious" stuff going on in my head, I put everying in order with these priorities.
FAITH: My doc and the team at the center I go to have the knowledge and the expertise to help me succeed. If I do what they tell me I will be all right. I trusted them to do the surgery, now I have to trust them to guide my weight loss.
FACT: Once I have my faith in place, I look at the facts: some things are good for me, others are not. I know what I have done and what I ought to do, so I need to look at the facts and be honest with myself and do the right thing. I also need to recognize that plateaus and different rates of weight loss are NORMAL so I don't take it all personally, give up and just eat the junk that got me here to begin with.
FEELING: This is the least important part of the process, even though many of us seem to dwell on it the most. But deep down, it doesn't matter how I "feel" about what I need to do (I am not talking about pain here, I am talking about acting like a spoiled child!) If I want the success I did this for, I have to suck it up and put my feelings about what I have to do on the back burner. I'll take them out and look at them later, when I have enough success under my belt (literally!) to take my feelings with a grain of salt.
So that's my new little strategy. Feel free to try it out if it appeals to you!
FAITH: My doc and the team at the center I go to have the knowledge and the expertise to help me succeed. If I do what they tell me I will be all right. I trusted them to do the surgery, now I have to trust them to guide my weight loss.
FACT: Once I have my faith in place, I look at the facts: some things are good for me, others are not. I know what I have done and what I ought to do, so I need to look at the facts and be honest with myself and do the right thing. I also need to recognize that plateaus and different rates of weight loss are NORMAL so I don't take it all personally, give up and just eat the junk that got me here to begin with.
FEELING: This is the least important part of the process, even though many of us seem to dwell on it the most. But deep down, it doesn't matter how I "feel" about what I need to do (I am not talking about pain here, I am talking about acting like a spoiled child!) If I want the success I did this for, I have to suck it up and put my feelings about what I have to do on the back burner. I'll take them out and look at them later, when I have enough success under my belt (literally!) to take my feelings with a grain of salt.
So that's my new little strategy. Feel free to try it out if it appeals to you!
Thank you for sharing this.
I made a huge leap ahead when I realized that I don't have to give in to the spoiled brat in my head. I can tell her to shut up. And she does. You see, my inner child is sometimes a brat. I have to remind her that she is not running the show any more. :)