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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 LivingAfterWLS.com and livingafterwls.blogspot.com – Fresh & insightful content is added daily, check in often.

By: admin

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We, as a society, are always trying to lose weight. Some of us are concerned about a lot of extra weight, and some of us are trying to lose that pesky unwanted ten to fifteen pounds. We will go back and forth, playing the dieting games, and really getting nowhere.

The problem with over-the-counter diets is that people rely on what the packaging promises. Take this pill and eat what you want to lose weight. Lose weight while you sleep is another claim. Success never comes over night, and weight loss is no different.

With a common sense approach to diet and weight loss, results will come. There are no secrets as to what types of food are healthy and which are not. The internet offers many research solutions for those questions we have about particular foods. Overall, common sense rules the dieting game. The foods we eat, and maybe more importantly how we eat them, have a direct impact on how our bodies are able to properly digest the food.

There are some tips to remember when losing weight. They are easy tips to remember and they always come down to common sense.

• You are what you eat. This is the most important fact to remember when you are in the grocery store. Check the ingredient labels for words you cannot pronounce. If there are many, don’t buy
• Fruits and vegetables. Mothers have been preaching this for years. This has not changed. Raw fruits and veggies are full of nutrients that are gifts to your system.
• Control food portions. By controlling the amount of food you eat at meals, you are able to eat what you want, just a little less.
• Take food classes. There are many classes available at grocery stores and community education outlets. They are inexpensive or free. Learning new ways to prepare meals gives us the edge in healthier menu planning.
• Any exercise will do. Regardless of your athletic ability, find exercises that get you out of the house. Walking for thirty to sixty minutes a day will get your blood flowing and metabolism rising.
• Drink water. Many reports indicate that most of us are overly dehydrated. Water helps our endocrine systems eliminate toxins in our bodies. Eight to ten eight ounce glasses will keep you energized throughout the day.
• Take a break. A short nap or meditating for fifteen minutes allows your body to rest. Pushing ourselves to much increases stress which may cause many of us to eat, or our bodies to shut down.

Changing your diet is not an overnight formula for success. It takes hard work and dedication to get serious results, but following a common sense plan is a great start. Learn more about foods and develop a passion for a healthy lifestyle. You’ll learn that you really can succeed and enjoy yourself at the same time. Don’t feel guilty by eating certain foods, just don’t overindulge. A happy lifestyle is just around the corner, so embrace life and get the most out of it.

Robb Ksiazek is a successful author and publisher for Body-Mass-Index-4U.com. He has researched diet and wellness and written hundreds of articles on the topic. He believes that what you put into life is what you get out of it.

By: admin

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