Life isn’t about having it all, unfortunately

I’ve had a big realisation over the last week or so, when it comes to our bodies, weight and maintaining a healthy weight. Quite simply put, life isn’t about having it all. Life is full of choices, we all know that, we make thousands of choices every single day of our lives. Whether we like it or not we can’t eat like a Queen, maintain a slothful existence, have a banging body and keep a picture of health. Life sucks for being consistently unfair!

What got me onto this topic was a conversation I was having with a friend about how I get bored of people feeling sorry for me because of what I’ve had to give up completely or compromise on food-wise since having my gastric bypass. Many people can’t seem to cope with me not being able to eat whatever I like, whenever I like and they get especially confused when I turn down alcohol or soft drinks.

Along with this comes a complete fascination from some others about how little I eat. Generally, I eat nowhere near the amount a normal person eats but that’s also influenced by many other things. Some days I am just not very interested in food and my tummy has particularly small tummy days, and sometimes when I eat something I normally wouldn’t that’s carb heavy I really won’t be able to fit much in. I guess after a while of being watched and receiving what seems like endless comments it starts to grate on me.

It’s probably because of the magnitude of the decision I faced and it did take me a long time thinking it over and considering how different my life would be before I was committed to make those sacrifices for myself, but for me and the point of utter exasperation I was at with my weight it was a relatively easy choice to decide to give those things up. I had known for a long time that my way of eating, my activity levels and my biological makeup did not work in the way I wished it would to give me a body that was not morbidly obese.

Thinking it over and looking at my decision to have gastric bypass surgery in a wider sense it occurred to me that nothing great comes without sacrifice. Much as we might try and convince ourselves otherwise, we can’t have everything we want without some sort of sacrifice. You need to choose the things that are most important to you to focus on and you need to be okay with what you’re giving up.

I have gained the life I wanted and so much more quality of life by deciding to have gastric bypass surgery. I gave things up, first and foremost that I can’t rely on food for comfort, to help me out when I’m stressed and food is just not as fun anymore. You know what though, three years on from making this huge change I still don’t regret it. I came to realise I can’t have it all so I picked the things I wanted most and chased those instead.

I make the assumption that all of my awesome readers (that’s you!) are as awesome as me so you may not need this advice but here goes. Next time someone tell you about something they have given up in pursuit of something else, such as alcohol, caffeine, becoming vegan, eliminating sugar don’t tell them how hard it will be, they already know that. Don’t tell them why they’re crazy for trying to give it up or the 50 different reasons why you couldn’t do the same, newsflash they aren’t expecting you to do it! Most importantly don’t say you’re sorry they can’t have it, they chose to do this, maybe they don’t have the relationship or dependence on that thing that you do.

If you’re starting out on a new pursuit to improve your health, wellbeing or simply trying to make it easier to get out of bed in the morning then go you! You could also switch it around, change your priorities and suddenly you’re having it all! Do what you need to do and don’t worry what others think of your decisions to find that better place you want to be. Comment below and let me know the things you’re happy to live without in pursuit of a better life for yourself!