It's a Small World

A few days ago I received an email in my account for my local weight loss support group which I help to run (I started our local group). Anyway, the name was a familiar one and it ended up being my two former student's Mom! Talk about a small world. Anyway, I emailed her back and both she and her husband will be having weight loss surgery in the New Year! How exciting for the two of them. We have quite a few couples in our support group who have done surgery together. I only wish I could convince my hubby who has a thousand more health issues than I ever had...but *sigh* Oh well.

Anyway, that's kind of neat to run into a face from the past. It's funny how many people I've seen or have talked to in the group - one of my Mom's from last year is having surgery later this month I believe. A lady from the library where I worked for over 2 years has joined the group. It reminds me of the old adage of the six degrees of separation and makes me think of people in the past who I knew struggled with their weight. You just want to be an outreach and say, did you know that OHIP will pay for your surgery?

But it brings me to the point, that if you are a newbie, expect a struggle down the road. Weight loss surgery although it is a wonderful thing to help point you in the right direction is not an end to your weight loss struggle. I'm not saying this to dissuade you or to make you depressed - but realistically you need to know that the struggle will eventually come back. You will revert to old habits at some point, and you'll struggle with eating things that you shouldn't. If you were a binger before surgery, old habits die hard. A lot of people go for counselling after surgery because they struggle with inner demons. WLS is a help but not a cure for the triggers that got you eating in the first place. It's sort of like being an alcoholic - once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. Use your tool wisely and make the most of your first year or two while the "window of opportunity" is there and weight is flying off you!

Dawn