Yeah, Baby!

I have a date! No, not that kind of date. I like being single, thanks. I have a surgery date!

MY VERTICAL SLEEVE GASTRECTOMY: APRIL 9, 2015*

So in just over three months, I'll have 75-85% of my stomach amputated and I'll have an amazing and effective tool in my weight loss arsenal.

If you're reading this blog, there's a good chance you have weight you're looking to shed and are curious about bariatric surgery options. If so, then what I'll say next will be like preaching to the choir. But if you stumbled across this site/post, or are here for other weight loss tips and posts, and are taken aback by the surgery aspect, let me briefly explain why surgery is an excellent option...

For those of us who are overweight, I doubt any of us chose to be tired all of the time, or unable to ride roller coasters, or unable to fit on airplane seats. I doubt a single one of us said, "I really like increasing my risk for diabetes, so let me shovel another piece of cheesecake my mouth."

The problem with weight gain is that it's a slow and insidious process, and by the time you realize there is a problem, you've already cultivated such bad habits that it's hard to break them. In fact: "The National Institutes of Health Experts Panel recognize that ‘long-term’ weight-loss, or in other words, the ability to ‘maintain’ weight-loss, is nearly impossible for those affected by severe obesity by any means other than metabolic and bariatric surgery."

Surgery gives us time to relearn eating habits in a way that offers feedback as we're learning. It gives us time for a boost in weight loss, which gives us a chance to regain energy so we can actually feel up to the challenge of being active more often. Being active more often gives us the energy to be active even more often. The combination of increasing levels of activity and better eating patterns can lead us to new lives.

Surgery is not a fix-all, though. It won't make someone unhappy with their life happy. It won't keep your hand away from the candy jar. It won't make relationships better. It won't add an attachment that drags a lazy butt to the car to go to the gym or off to a favorite hiking spot. Surgery is a tool that can help us get started on our journey in a big way. And success after surgery tends to hold better than diet and exercise changes alone would.

I'm excited for this upcoming jumpstart to the new me! And if bariatric surgery is something you might be curious about, I recommend starting by hopping over to Hulu and watching a show called Fat Doctor. It's a great show which is primarily about people getting gastric bypass surgeries, but offers a great deal of information that pertains to any type of surgery.