I may not be like others when it comes to this but there is a reason why and it was confirmed for me recently why I don't really talk about it much.
I was talking with a family member who knows that I had the VSG surgery last year and they have put on a few pounds recently (well over time). We were speaking of the US standard of BMI and I had stated that with all i've lost i'm still considered "overweight", and they said oh yeah well what do they say about my weight and I said well I don't really know your size but it you are 200 lbs or more and based on your height you are probably considered "obese". I even said a year ago I was considered "morbidly obese" according to the standards but i'm glad i'm not there anymore.
Well once I said that they stated well if it had not been for the surgery you would probably still be but you "CHEATED"!!
I was like cheated - really?? At that point I confirmed that no matter how many people say congratulations or i'm proud of you or you did it! In the back of some of their minds they feel "I Cheated"! That's why I don't tell people I just say I had my gall badder removed (which is true) and I can no longer eat the way I use too and I exercise and eat right (which is all true).
I did not know there was a right or a wrong way; a honest way or a chearters way of losing weight?? Do you?! Just because I didn't join Weight Watchers again for the 4th time or try the lastest fad diet like most of my friends and drop some weight and then blow back up again shortly after does that make me a cheater? It doesn't matter if I slaved away in a gym 5 days a week or that I still need to eat right and be mindful of what I eat they still see me as a cheater! I hate that stigma but, at the end of the day I made a decision that was best for me and my life, i'm not coping out to being a cheater - I still have to put in the work both physically and mentally despite what people may think about bariactric surgery and it's supposed "quick fix".
I've seen people gain it all back so I know that it is not a quick fix and you still have to work at it - it's a tool. Used wisely or unwisely you will it the fruits of it.
I just needed to vent I guess and it hurt me to hear that from a loved one but like I said that's why it has been a personal choice of mine not to be forth coming with this journey of mine because of that very comment. Hopefully one day I will feel open enough to let more people in on my journey but until then that's why I have my VST family where i'm not judged!
