The Things That Get Me Through

On the OH RNY message board, the talk of stalls is pretty common. They can occur early on (like within the first couple of weeks post-op), every few weeks, months, whatever. I did a lot of reading of the message board before my surgery, so I knew that folks talking about and experiencing no weight loss for weeks at a time, despite doing everything "right," might happen. I had to make a decision to trust that my tool would work for me.

That was about the time that, in my head, I renamed Weight Loss Surgery to Health Gain Surgery. I think it's so easy to get focused on the number the scale reports, and the sizes we fit into. And hey, these are all really wonderful things to pay attention to...but they aren't ultimately the be all and end all of this surgery. For me, this surgery was about saving my life. I was afraid I would die before I finished raising my son.

In pursuing weight loss surgery (yes, that's still how I commonly refer to it because no one would know what I was talking about if I said I had health gain surgery), I knew that many lifestyle changes would need to be made...and they needed to be made for the long haul, not just until the scale said I reached a certain number.

So when stalls occur for me (and they do from time to time), I re-evaluate everything I'm doing. Am I eating and drinking as I should? Am I food journaling? Am I remaining accountable for what I put in my mouth and when/why? Am I exercising as I should? Getting enough sleep? (NEVER underestimate the effects of sleep-deprivation on your entire body...I know from first-hand experience that they are very vast and can be profound.) If the answer to above questions is "Yes, I'm doing what I'm supposed to be and I'm still on track," then I breathe a sigh of relief and say "ok then, my body is healthy and happy, and if the weight doesn't want to come off right now because my body is holding on to it, so be it."

I remember that I did this for my health, and not specifically the weight. As such, everything I'm doing for my body is contributing to that goal of good health. Ultimately, that's what really matters. The hot little body I'm getting as a result of my efforts is just an added bonus.