When you lose a massive amount of weight after undergoing the Gastric Bypass Weight-Loss Surgery, it’s difficult to change our mindsets and how we incorporate our new lifestyle habits. As we slim down, it is important that we begin to “think as a thin person” or rather (let’s all practice this tongue-twister together) “thinking as the thin think.”
Why should we do this?
Because if we fail to do this, we can run the risk of easily falling into those unhealthy and bad habits that strolled us down the paths of obesity in the first place. No matter what stage along your weight-loss journey you are currently experiencing, sooner or later you will fall prey to those nasty life-long ugly companions (aka habits). They will devour your positive thoughts and urge you to glutinously consume all of the wrong things so you’ll succumb to your food bondage again. But DON’T DO IT! Put on your armor of THIN THINKING quickly to thwart all advances!
I recall as a young teenager, I knew many peers who, even at a young age, were obsessed with watching their weight, counting calories, worried about getting enough physical activity, and monitoring the snugness of their clothing. I thought this was very bizarre since I didn’t have any weight issues then. I could virtually eat anything and it would never show a pound on the scale. Of course, thinking back, I was a high-level physically active person, and so this is why weight-watching was not a critical factor in my life at the time. I didn’t need to think like a thin person.
However, when I gradually became very heavy (317 pounds), I realized that I got that way partially because I didn’t have the foundation of “thinking as the thin think.” And without that foundation to utilize, I missed great opportunities to change some of my bad habits. Take into consideration that morbid obesity is far deeper than just succumbing to unhealthy habits… morbid obesity has many facets to it; but for this writing, I want to focus on one element, and that is how we “think” we are.
When I explore the rationale of how thin people think, I discover some interesting behaviors. Thin people think about:
•Food portions
•How full they feel at each meal. They know when they can’t take another bite and they stop eating
•How snug their clothes are fitting
•How they look in the mirror
•How they appear to others
•Exercising or doing something outside that is fun rather than doing something sedentary
•Parking further away from the store entrance for extra walking
•Taking the stairs rather than the elevator or escalator
•Drinking water rather than soft drinks
•Using sugar substitutes, protein supplements, and religiously taking their vitamins
•Eating fruit rather than potato chips for a snack
•Maintaining a “low-burdensome” weight for any EMT squad in case of an emergency
OH, how the list of concerns in the minds of thin people goes on and on! I bet you are thinking of a few right now!
I have to laugh when I think of one of my high-school friends who asked me everyday after school lunch if I wanted to go outside with her and “freeze off my calories”….. REALLY! She believed that shivering caused the burning of calories; so no matter if it was five degrees outside during a snow storm, she would march outdoors for a full five minutes and SHIVER her calories away! CRAZY, huh? Well, each time I see her at my class reunions, she is STILL the same slim gal she was way back when….so maybe she knew a thing or two about shivering off calories! Today the scientists call it “fidgeting”, which has been proven to burn calories throughout the day. So when you tap that nervous foot, you are burning calories.
What we once viewed as odd obsessions by those who are thin, we should now view as having more value and importance, and we should incorporate some of their wisdom into our own daily lives so as we become slimmer and trimmer people, we will be thinking and acting like one too.
Thinking like a thin person everyday does not happen overnight. It is something that must be practiced continually.
Now of course, I would NEVER endorse the sad eating disorders that anorexic or bulimic people partake in, nor would I ever endorse or encourage starvation as some super-thin folks do to maintain that “waif” look. Such disorders are dangerous and have no part in thinking like a thin person! Such thinking and practices are warped and do not represent the norm.
They say that after the surgery, it takes the mind about three years to truly get used to the “new you.” And I can vouch for that, as I am over three years post-op now and at times will forget I have lost so much weight as I find myself still inadvertently wandering in the Plus Size department! The scale and the label in the clothes may say one thing outwardly; but inwardly our mind hasn’t totally been convinced we are thin.
Make some commitments today to begin changing your mindset. Observe the good practices of thin people and find a place in your life for those same good practices. Little by little you will become a thin person, both inside and out!