So many people have the wrong idea about weight loss surgery. They assume that if you have it, that you automatically lose weight, and even to a point, that you are losing weight the easy way. As a person who has had a gastric banding, weight loss surgery, I am here to tell you that having bariatric surgery is not a guarantee of weight reduction.
I had to work damn hard to lose those one hundred and twenty pounds, damn hard. I have to work even harder, a rigid diet and a strict exercise routine, to keep the pounds from coming back. Despite popular belief, losing weight as a result of a bariatric surgery is a long journey.
Along the way, you’ll find many green lights, things that are easier for you to do, and quite a few red lights as well, roadblocks that may cause you to stumble. For me, the biggest roadblock was the exercising. Eating wasn’t really my problem; I was so used to sitting on my butt all the time that getting off the couch really was a Herculean effort for me. Sticking to a routine was even harder.
Once my body had healed enough after the surgery (within a couple of weeks), I started with baby steps. Instead of asking my children to get the mail, I started walking to the mailbox myself. Each day, I would challenge myself to go a bit further than the mailbox. When I made it to the stop sign, several houses away and back without breathing hard, there was no stopping me. I even managed to talk to a few neighbors I had never spoken to before on my daily escapes.
With my diet, walking, and a water aerobics class I had signed up for, the pounds started dropping. Sure I miss my chocolate, my butter pecan ice cream, my cheese puffs, and my Mai Tais and my wine (you get the picture), but I like what I see in the mirror and I like the fact that I can play badminton with my kids in the backyard.
If I keep this up, I might even live long enough to be called, “Grandma” one day. It’s a never ending journey though that takes an everlasting commitment. My family and I are both glad that I chose to take it.