What changes will weight loss surgery bring to my life?

Weight loss surgery is one of the few things that will bring on change in almost every part of your life. There are not many single actions or decisions that you make in your life that will influence, shape and change almost everything around you. The possibilities and uncertainty that an upheaval like this brings can be absolutely terrifying, and I’m sure in some cases it puts people off having bariatric surgery completely. I want to frame it in a different way for you today, the way we think about things is very powerful and if we get excited about the possibilities, instead of being afraid of them, we take back the power.

When I say almost every aspect of your life will be touched and changed by bariatric surgery I’m not kidding around or exaggerating in the slightest. The obvious things like your weight, (that’s kinda the whole point!), your health, your appearance and your relationship with food, including the way you eat, is never going to be the same again. These are some big, grounding parts of our lives and as they change it will spill over and start affecting everything else around it.

The thing you need to remember is that you are crying out for change. You have got so sick of where you’re at you’ve started considering bariatric surgery. It’s an extreme and life changing decision but you’ve decided you can’t live like this any longer. No one can tell you what in your life is going to change and how it’s going to change, in some ways it’s all up to you. This is your chance to fully embrace the change that’s coming for you.

There’s things that we don’t think will change that inevitably do. Relationships and friendships is one big area that most people are surprised don’t stay the same. Relationship breakups are common after weight loss surgery. So much changes in really fundamental ways and unfortunately it can be the case. Friendships can change and evolve too. I think it would be unwise to blame the changes in relationships and friendships on the physical changes, the personal transformation one goes through is huge and there are so many factors that feed into this.

After your bariatric surgery it will take a while for your head to catch up to the changes that are happening to your body. Your brain holds onto all sorts of junk and for some of us there can be an element of body dysmorphia happening too. Your brain does catch up again eventually but you will catch your reflection in shop windows and wonder who on earth that person is. New ideas and opportunities will come to you and it can be dizzying the amount of choice you now have. It’s your time to move consciously through life and find your new style, go for that dream job, evaluate your friendships and make sure you’re getting as much as you’re giving to them. After bariatric surgery you will figure out your new way of living.

It’s important to confront the things that have held us back in the past to be able to change in a way that’s true to yourself. Don’t leave the new you to be defined by anyone else. You’ve got this! After weight loss surgery the physical changes come easy (for the first year at least) but the mental change in terms of our attitudes, ideas and letting go of the things that have not served us well before can be really difficult.

When we are going through transformative change we have the most amazing opportunity to grow. If you’re comfortable and not being challenged, you’re not growing and learning. Bariatric surgery pushes you so far outside your comfort zone that you will grow, that’s a given, it’s time to seize this once in a lifetime opportunity and make the absolute most of it.

I can’t tell you what exactly in your life is going to change as a result of weight loss surgery. Apart from telling you that everything will change. The overwhelming majority of that change is going to be positive and for the better, you actually can’t imagine the amount of amazing things waiting for you in the future. The perfect analogy to sum all this up is diamonds. You don’t get a shiny precious diamond without time and pressure and as Rihanna once sung, “Shine bright like a diamond.”

** This post was originally published on my Bariatric Gold coaching website.** If you want to make the most of the changes coming your way and actively manage them to get the absolute most out of your bariatric journey working with me as a bariatric coach is your best bet. We can work together to help you uncover exactly what it is you want from life, in any and all aspects of it. We can set goals, reflect on where you’re going and you have me as your biggest cheerleader and accountability partner. I have coaching packages for each stage of the process where we will focus in on the areas that are most important to you at that point in time. Have a look at my Bariatric Coaching page which lists the available coaching packages and get in touch with me, I’d love to walk some of your bariatric journey with you.