Every weight loss surgery patient I've met said they at sometime during the weight loss experience felt like a fraud. A fraud is someone who pretends to be what they are not, an imposter. Given this definition, of course we feel like a fraud! Almost overnight we become the exact opposite of what we have been for many years. We are in fact a fat person masquerading in a thin body. Of course we feel like a fraud!
Weight loss following gastric bypass is so fast and consistent; there is no time to pause and become familiar with ourselves as our size diminishes and our health improves. So, while the body adjusts to its new healthy weight, our mind is slow to catch up. It still sees a fat person and this smaller body is alien and unknown. It is an imposter. A disguise. A fraud.
Be assured, this phase of fraud is normal and consistent among people experiencing rapid massive weight loss, it is part of the transformation. Be comforted knowing feelings of fraud will pass. As we become familiar with our down-sized dimensions the haunts from our morbidly obese days will pass. If a bariatric patient after several years of successful weight maintenance rapidly regained the weight they would feel as much a fraud in their new super-sized body as they did in their newly trimmed body. Feelings of fraud are certain to result when a change is as rapid and effective as gastric bypass weight loss.
For many patients, a different feeling of fraud is manifest when others start to notice and comment about the weight loss. In addition to managing our own feelings of change, we must manage feedback from others, much of which is unsolicited. Patients who have kept their surgery private feel fraudulent when they answer "I'm losing weight by eating less, controlling my sugar and fat intake and exercising" all of which is true. Patients who speak openly about their weight loss surgery may be told surgery was easy way out of obesity. They may hear about surgeries gone bad, get the warnings about regaining the weight, and be treated to a host of other myths. This feedback can cause us to feel fraudulent.
One weight loss patient said it best: "what I find both interesting and sad about bariatric patients: we are ashamed when we are fat, and we are ashamed when we do something about it." It is not fraudulent to be medically treated for a disease that is killing you. The weight loss surgery patient who accepts this as fact successfully overcomes feeling like a fraud. That patient celebrates the miracle of modern medicine and a second chance at living.
I used to tell my husband, "I'm nothing but a fat lady masquerading in small clothes." He didn't like me to talk that way about myself and asked, "if your best friend succeeded at losing weight ? by whatever means medically available to her ? would you talk to her the way you are talking to yourself? If your best friend were treated for a life-threatening disease with the best medical science has to offer would you say she was a fraud for undergoing that treatment to save her life?" He made an excellent point.
I no longer feel like a fraud, but I miss the wonder and awe that was associated with the newness of rapid and massive weight loss. During that time I was shocked to see my own reflection and awed by the little clothes that fit me. I studied in wonder every body part, the way it moved and felt and looked. I counted my ribs and rolled my fingers over my hipbones ? I'd never felt that before discovering the miracle of the human skeleton. Nowadays it's all commonplace: this is who I am. It is no longer a surprising shock. I no longer feel like a fraud.
Kaye Bailey is a weight loss surgery success story having maintained her health and goal weight for 5+ years. An award winning journalist, she is the author and webmaster of http://www.livingafterwls.com and http://www.livingafterwls.com - Fresh & insightful content is added daily, check in often.
ohare limo service Grand Rapids ..Compulsive eating is characterized mainly by periods of impulsive bingeing... Read More
Close kept secrets to weight loss: Give me 9 days... Read More
Have a conversation about gastric bypass surgery with just about... Read More
You could try one of the many sexual enhancement drugs... Read More
Hot dang! If a few hundred other folks can peddle... Read More
Are you overweight? Then you probably want to lose some... Read More
If only there were a 'better body boot camp', we'd... Read More
More than any other time in history, people are all... Read More
Losing weight and keeping it off is much more than... Read More
I want to talk about the "all or nothing" outlook... Read More
Are you trying to lose weight?If you are, STOP!Funny thing... Read More
No One I Know Looks Like a Bathing Beauty, so... Read More
It is not recommended to lose more than 1 pound... Read More
Diabetes is one of the fastest growing diseases today. One... Read More
We have all heard of those new diets, Atkins, low... Read More
1. Start Exercising first thing in the morning.As soon as... Read More
As I was saying in my past articles, others have... Read More
In the early nineties I had the opportunity to work... Read More
Telling yourself you have to "struggle with this weight issue... Read More
If you want to find a way to lose weight... Read More
Thinking about weight loss surgery? You're not alone. Over two-thirds... Read More
"I'd love to lose weight, but I don't have the... Read More
When most people think of low carb diets they automatically... Read More
Everyone from politicians to parents is talking about fighting the... Read More
Have you ever stopped to calculate how much time you... Read More
executive chauffeured services Barrington Hills ..Discover secrets to overcome food addictions by releasing negative thoughts... Read More
Cleansing: How to Kickstart your Alkaline LifestyleDue to the highly... Read More
Humanity is always in search of a wonder drug that... Read More
What do you think of the hundreds of weight loss... Read More
Are you feeling down and out? Do you feel even... Read More
Many people have asked me what foods they should eat... Read More
You have heard enough about losing weight with various means... Read More
The weight loss protein debate centers around the effectiveness of... Read More
Are you overweight?Most people are afraid to admit they are.It... Read More
The South Beach Diet was not created by your typical... Read More
It seems everyone is looking for that magic bullet -... Read More
Reducing childhood obesity in the U.S. needs to be a... Read More
Everybody you know is on the latest weight loss bandwagon:... Read More
One of the most talked about topics in any political... Read More
Building a Perfect Body for Body Perfect Fitness and Health... Read More
Any dietary plan on the market has some portion of... Read More
CancerCoronary heart diseaseStrokeOsteoporosisMajor Depression from Brain StarvationHeadlines.WASHINGTON, Jun 22, 2004... Read More
Rules of day to day no longer apply as you... Read More
Whole grains and weight loss have a definite, scientific, and... Read More
In our quest to get that "perfect" body, we actually... Read More
You may have read the old stories about how much... Read More
America is in a health care crisis. More than 60... Read More
It happens every morning when you mosey out of bed,... Read More
This article is about making long-term changes in the foods... Read More
A healthy pregnancy almost always involves weight gain. But now... Read More
Weight Loss |