More to measure than only one number.
I chat a lot with my bariatric clients. I spend my mornings/ afternoons, on the phone with them, and when I am not on the phone, I am texting and writing emails to them. My life is very entwined with pre-op and post-op bariatric clients.
I’ve learned that bariatric surgery is not just about that number staring back at you on your scale. It’s about so much more.
Let me start a list. Please add to my list.
- Improved sleep
- Less inflammation
- Reduced medications
- More energy
- Better mental health
- Fewer aches and pains
- Reduced hunger
- Clearer mind
- Healthier outlook on life
- Reversing diseases like diabetes
- Lowered cancer rates
- Improved fertility
Now, whether you are starting your journey, closing in on your goal, at goal, at maintenance – the list above applies to YOU.
Please don’t be in a race against the scale. Understand that this journey doesn’t suddenly end. It continues for the rest of your days. You don’t magically “stop” one day because it’s over.
Write out the list above. Place this list on your fridge, and bathroom mirror. Have one in your car. Remind yourself that you have come this far and that you are not going back. Remind yourself that your “self-worth” is not some number on the scale.
Sure, it’s overwhelming and exciting to see the numbers on the scale go down, down, down…. But what happens when it slows down dramatically? What happens when stalls occur? Take out your list, and add to it. Remind yourself about all these NSVs that are occurring every day.
Celebrate all the wins along the way. Share these wins with your bariatric support group. Did you resize your wedding ring? Get a new driver’s license photo? Buy a smaller pair of pants? Say “no” to the drive-thru.
Celebrate ALL of it. I see you.
Healthy Hugs.
About the Author: Sheri Burke is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Bariatric Surgery Coordinator at International Patient Facilitators in Tijuana and Cancun, Mexico. She has worked with bariatric surgery clients for over 10 years and especially enjoys providing nutritional guidance to pre and post bariatric clients. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two teens and cooking up a nutritional storm in the kitchen.
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