Katie Jay’s Tips on Losing the Obesity Mindset
Are you haunted by negative self talk? Do you set yourself up for failure because deep down you feel inadequate? Many WLS patients do. It is not uncommon for feelings of hopelessness, fear, self doubt and even self loathing to continue to plague bariatric surgery patients sometimes years after their surgeries.
Shedding the pounds is an extraordinary accomplishment, but shedding the pounds is only a physical manifestation of a physical surgery. If you want to shed the mental and emotional roadblocks to your success, you’ll need a different kind of “surgery.”
No, you don’t need a lobotomy. Ok, maybe some of us do. What I’m trying to say is that you need to be prepared mentally to let go of your old habits and your old ways of thinking before you can fully embrace the new, thinner person staring back at you in the mirror.
It is very easy to analyze this to a fault. Years of therapy may be one option. Sometimes, though, I think that simply taking action is overlooked. And, if you don’t feel motivated to act, act anyway; motivation follows action — not the other way around.
People change when they stop talking and start acting. What concrete (and simple) things can you begin today that will make a positive impact on your life? Take time for yourself because you are worthy. Maybe you love bubble baths and hot tea. Why not make a new nightly ritual? If you struggle with self esteem as I did, you’ll be surprised at how much a simple act of self love will affect you.
Before surgery, I ate a bowl of chocolate ice cream with Spanish peanuts on top every evening. Through one simple act of self love, I have managed to replace my ice cream with a cup of hot peppermint tea. Every night, I look forward to my peppermint tea more than I would ever have imagined. Are you ready for some self love?
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- Tags: bariatric surgery, bariatric surgery support, carbohydrate addiction, Carbohydrate Sensitivity, Emotional Eating, food addiction, head hunger, holiday coping, Katie Jay, NAWLS, sugar addiction, sugar sensitivity, transfer addiction, weight loss surgery, weight loss surgery support, weight regain, WLS, WLS Lifestyle, WLS support
4 Responses to “Don’t Just Sit There…Do Something!”
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About Katie
The author of Dying to Change: My Really Heavy Life Story, How Weight Loss Surgery Gave Me Hope for Living, and Small Bites: Daily Inspirations for Weight Loss Surgery Patients, Katie Jay, MSW, Certified Wellness Coach, is a nationally recognized expert on weight loss and weight loss surgery. She is the founder and director of the National Association for Weight Loss Surgery (www.nawls.com). An online membership organization created to help weight loss surgery patients master their eating, mindset, and lifestyle to achieve long-term weight loss success.
Ginnie
November 20th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
I’m right there with you with the bath and hot drink. I love the sugar free hot chocolate this time of year, and I don’t take a bath for cleaning purposes - it’s like that saying “Calgon take me away”. My bath time is the time when I reflect about the day, and I do my best thinking. It’s my sacred place where I can finally be alone with myself and just rest, relax. Occasionally my cat comes into the bathroom and sits on the floor, but that’s okay as she doesn’t talk. I could never get into camping - no bath tub. Showers are for the morning!!
admin
November 20th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Hi Ginnie,
I have a beautiful jacuzzi tub and I have never taken a bath in it! I think I don’t consider baths, because for so many years I didn’t fit in the bath tub. I’m going to have to give it a try. Peppermint tea and a bath….hmmmmm…. Sounds good to me.
Katie
Wilmington SEO
November 21st, 2008 at 3:12 am
Katie,
I love your “self love” thought. It’s amazing the self discipline you had, and have, to keep the the diet up. Thanks for the encouragement.
admin
November 21st, 2008 at 3:18 am
Thanks, Ty. It’s a one-day-at-a-time thing :o)
Katie