Life before bariatric surgery filled me with stress and unhappiness. I was unfulfilled, unmotivated and ate away my emotions almost daily. The benefits of bariatric surgery are numerous. My vertical sleeve gastrectomy allowed me to end the repetitive dieting and lose weight for good. Small changes led to significant results.
Additionally, my medical health improved. Most of all, the emotional and social benefits also allowed me to manage my stress better, motivated me and helped me find my purpose. The benefits of bariatric surgery extend beyond weight loss and include many health, emotional and social improvements.
I KNOW YOUR SECRET
I know that some days, the day’s stress eats at you like a starving lion devours its prey. Some days, life is more than you can handle. Your boss yells at you, there isn’t enough money to pay all the bills, your kids brought home more of the math homework you’ve never understood, you haven’t washed your dishes in a week, and let’s not even mention the mound of laundry waiting for you.
THE GUILT ATTACK
And you know you shouldn’t be getting it, yet you do anyway. You devour it on the way home, and, for a moment, as that juicy burger, tangy ketchup and buttery bun hit your mouth, you feel a sense of calm wash over you. Or maybe it’s a relief. Perhaps it feels like the only thing you have control over at that moment. Or maybe for the first time that day, you don’t feel like bursting into tears.
Then as you finish, a sense of guilt washes over you, and you quickly hide the bag under your seat until you get to a gas station and can discreetly throw it away. You pop a breath mint and pray to God that your kids don’t smell it on you.
Has this ever happened to you? I know it’s happened to me on plenty of occasions, and I used to be so ashamed of my binge-eating episodes. By changing my lifestyle habits with bariatric surgery, I overcame these episodes and became stronger than my desire to eat.
END THE REPETITIVE DIETING
However, you don’t have to enter your home after a binge like you just had with your fingers crossed that no one finds out. Life doesn’t have to be this way. You can take control of your body and conquer your emotional eating. After all, how many years in a row did you declare a New Year’s resolution to lose weight for good? If you’re anything like me, you’ll say, “Every year for as long as I can remember.”
