At Goal Weight? Get a New Passion!

[Sara Kelly Keenan LC 350]

After Weight Loss surgery there are many months or years of losing excess weight during which we have a focus and a goal we are moving towards. We are moving towards a healthier body, possibly without obesity related diseases. We are moving towards a body-size that we may not have known since our teen years or maybe never. Oprah moved toward that famous size ten pair of Calvin Klein jeans, and many of us also have an outfit from our thin days as our "finish line." Some, like me, might just want to be able to fit into an airline seat again. I'd outgrown even the seatbelt extender and could not manage to crush my hips enough to fit into a coach seat at 333 pounds.

When a WLS patient meets whatever goal he or she has set many wonder what comes next? One client said, "The driving force of my life for 18 months was reaching the point I've now reached. Now what do I do?" She and others have expressed this feeling that they are suddenly without a mission, except to keep the weight off. But keeping the weight off can feel less exhilarating than the months of big weight drops and the attention from friends and family as our bodies shrunk before their eyes.

It is important to cultivate a new passion once the passion for food is cut-off by surgery and the passion of extreme weight loss has been taken to its' end point. This should be an activity that we can embrace as much as we once embraced food and then the WLS journey. Also, it is best if the new activity is one that can't be enjoyed if the weight is regained. If chess becomes our new passion we can regain and still enjoy that passion. But if the new passion is mountain hiking, outrigger canoe racing, running half-marathons or cycling Centuries (100 miles) through wine country then we are more likely to have long-term success keeping the weight off.

We go through a re-education process after surgery during the weight loss period. Reaching goal weight begins a new phase of re-education. So, consider, what activity requiring a slim, strong, healthy body would you like to check out? Think outside the box! This can be something completely new in your life....something that you never imagined would be possible for you. In my post- weight loss life I've become a long-distance hiker and skydiver. These are two activities I never thought would ever be an option for me. I also never dreamed of doing them and never thought they would be fun. But they are, to me. They are surprising sources of joy in my life.

Look for the surprising sources of joy in your life. Rather than limiting yourself to the activities you think you would be interested in ask the question, "What do slim, fit, healthy people like to do?" Now make a list and one by one experiment with those activities. You might be very surprised that you come to love an activity you never thought would be "your cup of tea." The reason for this is that you are no longer who you were and it takes time for the mind to broaden its' thinking to embrace what the body is now capable of. A Life Coach can help with this.

Also, Meet-ups at meetup.com are a great way to experience many different activities and see which are of interest to you. Hiking, running, cycling, swimming, sailing, canoeing, cross-training are all activities people enjoy together at meet-ups. You will gain new friendships with active people who have similar passions and that will fuel your new passion for an activity and lead to prolonged and permanent weight loss. Pick an activity and get started!

(The photo above shows me sitting on the rocks while meet-up friends below me sit on the bench. We climbed from sea level to that spot twice and it was exhilarating. An unexpected, delightful passion!)

[HotButterFly 981]

I NEED A NEW PASSION!!!

[Quest4TheNewMe 225]

I can wait to get to find a new passion (though cycling is already a passion and I've already done 75 mile rides). First off, getting from pre-op to post-op.