Do you still enjoy life?

[Seahawks Fan 771]

I keep wondering about that? Surgery Tuesday & now I'm freaked! Anyone else feel this way?

[DisneyMom2El 120]

I enjoy life so much more! I have energy and am now not afraid to take risks. For the first time ever, I'm looking forward to this summer, spending days at the beach, just being outside and active with my family and truly enjoying life for the first time.

[Joann454 1,329]

I felt like you. I was so happy in my current life before surgery that I was afraid the surgery would negatively impact it. Then I thought, "what if I can be even happier"? Being only 6 days out I'm still in the earliest stages but I can already tell that I made the right decision. Enjoying life is about so much more than food. We will still eat. Just much healthier. On special occasions we can eventually indulge but now we have the tool to help us not over indulge and not make a habit of choosing bad foods. We will still live life. I'm working on my all or nothing mentality. I want to learn that enjoying a less than perfect meal doesn't mean you go off the rails. I figure if I'm making the right choices most of the time I'll do ok.
We have to remember that we tended to associate food with fun. I want to start living without food being the star of my life. It's kind of exciting.

[blizair09 3,250]

It depends on how you define "enjoy life." In my case, I am happier than I have been in years and years. Weighing under 200 pounds is a dream; my relationships with people are stronger; I get out and am active every day; I don't hide in the shadows; I don't carry around shame anymore. The list goes on and on.

Part of my success in this area is that I spent the six months prior to surgery getting started, losing weight, and redefining my relationship with food. My insurance required the six month diet program, so my thought was why wait, get started now. By the time surgery day came, I had lost 100 pounds (from 397 to 298 -- I weigh 197 now). Dealing with the physical realities of the surgery and the first days and weeks post-op was MUCH easier because I had done all that work on the front end. (Stalls weren't as frustrating because I had already lost a massive amount of weight; food stages weren't as severe because I had already changed my relationship with food; mourning was limited because I had already gone through that stage, etc.)

I'll never eat like I used to eat again. I accepted that long before they ever made an incision. And I am SO okay with that. What I have now is worth so much more than any pizza, hamburger, Pasta dish, dessert, or cold beer.

Good luck!

[Diva T 62]

I'm 14 weeks out and down almost 70#s from where I started. For me this has absolutely been the right decision for me. Life is better for me and I'm more content and comfortable in my own body. Having less of me, physically, is so much easier. Easier to move around, walk, turn over in bed, fit in chairs in public places, find clothing that's not super expensive, breathe etc. Mentally/emotionally life is better too. I feel more free to really be me, who I am at the core of me. We still eat we just eat less and make heathier choice which I find leads to more contentment and happiness because I'm being more thoughtful about what I choose to put into my body. Not just mindless eating of sub-quality, highly processed foods. I enjoy the conversation and company more at meals as I'm focused on that and not the food. I've a long way to go yet and for me the challenge has always been in the maintaining of weight loss but I feel I'm up to that task now. So short answer: YES I ENJOY LIFE MUCH MORE NOW! Good luck to you and God Bless you in this journey!

[blizair09 3,250]

2 minutes ago, Diva T said:

I'm 14 weeks out and down almost 70#s from where I started. For me this has absolutely been the right decision for me. Life is better for me and I'm more content and comfortable in my own body. Having less of me, physically, is so much easier. Easier to move around, walk, turn over in bed, fit in chairs in public places, find clothing that's not super expensive, breathe etc. Mentally/emotionally life is better too. I feel more free to really be me, who I am at the core of me. We still eat we just eat less and make heathier choice which I find leads to more contentment and happiness because I'm being more thoughtful about what I choose to put into my body. Not just mindless eating of sub-quality, highly processed foods. I enjoy the conversation and company more at meals as I'm focused on that and not the food. I've a long way to go yet and for me the challenge has always been in the maintaining of weight loss but I feel I'm up to that task now. So short answer: YES I ENJOY LIFE MUCH MORE NOW! Good luck to you and God Bless you in this journey!

Congratulations!! Keep up the great work!

[PatientEleventyBillion 851]

For me I was absolutely miserable at my peak weight.

In my weight management program I noticed a lot of the people I talked to who were also getting surgery had been overweight their entire lives. For me, this was a new development, it happened so quickly. So many of the drastic changes, mostly bad, were extremely tough to cope with. It only added to the depression I encountered.

When I got the word that I was entering the pre-op diet which would mean inevitable surgery, I was thrilled, and it helped put a spark in my ass and I really focused on the changes I needed to make for all of this to be successful.

Thus far, physiologically and psychologically it has been an enormous boost. Sure, I'm not a fan of the sagging skin under my belly that I already have, but that can all be dealt with later. The real issue is that I've made serious changes to my lifestyle, I plan on living a long life, and this is just the beginning of the rest of my life of better choices. The idea of getting cut open can be scary, because once it's done it's done, right? But by the time you've gotten to this point of having a pre-op diet or OR date, there should be no doubt in your mind you've made the right decision and that you're mentally prepared. It's perfectly normal to be scared especially in the short time prior to having the surgery.. but the risk is much higher for the vast majority of people trying to live with comorbidities they have, or will inevitably develop (or worsen) with severe obesity.

For me, being able to move around with a lot less back pain is a huge plus. Going back to my old clothes I quickly grew out of shortly after buying is a huge plus. While I don't think I'm ready to go back to full exercise (i.e. skating, snowboarding, waterskiing, racquetball, handball, swimming, biking, etc.) until I get back under 200, the fact that I'm progressing so quickly toward it is only adding to the motivation, and a constant affirmation that the changes made were a good choice.

Edited May 28, 2017 by PatientEleventyBillion

[DaleCruse 756]

Generally, I enjoy life much more than before surgery. I'm able to do things physically that I wasn't able to do for years. That feels like to me. Good luck!

[The New Kel 1,312]

I enjoy life 1000x more.

Losing weight allows me to engage in real life! I am sure you will feel the same!

[teacupnosaucer 445]

My life has improved ten fold since surgery!

I get to shop where I want, I joined a dance class and go to social dances where people actually ask me to dance with them (!!!), I joined a soccer team, I'm way better at swimming now and have better endurance, strangers are nicer to me now, I have a great new group of friends who are also surgery sisters and we are all committed to trying new things together and putting ourselves out there, I have less day-to-day pain and fatigue...

My quality of life has improved in ways I couldn't have envisioned or predicted. I am SO HAPPY!

The quality of my life used to be measured by what food I could eat and how much downtime I had. I thought I was doing okay... but this new normal has taught me what I was truly missing out on!

So not only do I "still" enjoy life, I actually enjoy life MORE, and in ways I never thought possible!

[Seahawks Fan 771]

23 minutes ago, teacupnosaucer said:

My life has improved ten fold since surgery!

I get to shop where I want, I joined a dance class and go to social dances where people actually ask me to dance with them (!!!), I joined a soccer team, I'm way better at swimming now and have better endurance, strangers are nicer to me now, I have a great new group of friends who are also surgery sisters and we are all committed to trying new things together and putting ourselves out there, I have less day-to-day pain and fatigue...

My quality of life has improved in ways I couldn't have envisioned or predicted. I am SO HAPPY!

The quality of my life used to be measured by what food I could eat and how much downtime I had. I thought I was doing okay... but this new normal has taught me what I was truly missing out on!

So not only do I "still" enjoy life, I actually enjoy life MORE, and in ways I never thought possible!

Thanks for that!

[Julie norton 2,850]

I adore all the " can do" things that come with weight loss and changing your life.
No one has mentioned the fractured friendships that we had when we ate together a lot. No one happen to say I'd love to have a drink and an appetizer and a nice meal. Not gonna happen for many.
It is a wonderful healthy life, but personally. There are few occasions I miss the wild abandon of a second drink! And a dessert. All in one night , And not often , but occasionally would be fun.
I'm a 10 year bander so I get it is a bit different for many of us[emoji486]