This Is Us.......

I adore the show This Is Us!  No really, adore is not the right word.  It is a show that touches me every time I watch it.  There are lots of powerful messages.

I was excited to learn they were going to do a story line around weight loss surgery, but I was also nervous that they wouldn't do the process justice.

The reason I have been so open about my journey is because I want people to understand it is not a quick fix, it is not the easy way out, I did not "cheat" because I chose surgery.

So to hear interviews with Chrissy Metz where she says she is losing weight, but didn't chose surgery because she didn't want a quick fix, I get frustrated.  Do you drop weight quickly at first...of course you do, because you have a significantly smaller stomach AND you can't fit much into it, so your body starves and feeds off of fat that is stored.

Trust me when I say the surgery itself, is the easy part of the journey.

My emotions have been ALL over the place for the past 7 days.  I am tired of always eating and drinking.  I am tired of weighing my food, tracking what I eat and struggling to get in all the protein I need, plus adding veggies.  It is frustrating to never have clothes that fit properly because you are dropping weight and it doesn't make sense to buy clothes because they will be too big in just a few weeks. 

It is an emotional journey and unless you prepare before surgery, really change your relationship with food, get active and surround yourself with supportive people, even surgery won't help you lose and maintain significant weight loss.

This morning, on my surgery center's FB support page, Dr. Dovec shared that the average person does 22 diets before they even look into weight loss surgery.  So, pretty sure that means those fad diets, diet programs, etc are not quick or long term fixes........

She also said that only 1% of all Americans who qualify for weight loss surgery actually have the surgery.  There are approximately 200,000 weight loss surgeries performed annually.

Surgery ONLY works IF the following formula is put into place:  (stolen from Dr. Dovec)




weight loss surgery + changing your understanding and relationship with food + getting more active + mental health strategies = LIFELONG SUCCESS

Here's hoping that the writers do this story line justice and it is accurate!

Anyway.........I will continue to share my story and journey so people understand what weight loss surgery is really about!