It’s been 6 months since my VSG surgery and I never could have imagined my life changing so much in this small amount of time.

Here are some take aways from my journey so far:

1. The honeymoon is over. The first few months after surgery were the easiest for me. I was physically unable to consume foods with high fat, high sugar or overeat. As my body has adjusted to my new tummy and the further out I get, the more food I am able to consume. The next 6 months will be a true test of the behavioral changes I have made surrounding food.
2. Don’t compare yourself to others or their journeys. Just. Don’t. Do. It. I know it’s hard not to compare numbers and such after having WLS but everyone’s bodies are so different and lose at the pace that is best for our bodies. One of my favorite sayings is, “we could all eat the same food and do the same amount of exercise and we’d still all have different bodies.”
3. My posture has got so much worse! You would think weight loss would fix my bad posture from carrying around all of those extra pounds but my experience has been the opposite. I’m still learning and working on how to carry my new body.
4. I enjoy food more!!! A common worry for people pre-surgery is that they won’t ever enjoy food or eating again. I was eating so mindlessly before my VSG surgery that I wasn’t even tasting or enjoying the food, I was just shoveling it in! Now I enjoy taking my time, being present and tasting the food as I eat it.
5. It’s NORMAL and perfectly okay to emotionally eat still! It looks much different than it used to for me when I ate my feelings but I still emotionally eat. It’s normal to want chicken noodle soup when you’re sick, it’s normal to eat a piece of cake during a celebratory event, it’s normal to munch on popcorn or snacks during a movie.
6. There’s 2 types of post op bariatric patients. The super supportive, cheerleader, mentor type and then we have the Karen’s. Please don’t ever use internet support groups to bash and scold.

I could go on and on about the things I have learned but these seem most poignant to share. My goal is to always keep it real with you guys, no one can relate to Instagram perfection.

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