A year ago today, I took the very first step in a journey that has changed the trajectory of my life. After years of struggling with my weight and many attempts to shed the pounds with diet and exercise only to regain the weight and then some, I had a vertical sleeve gastrectomy (i.e. the gastric sleeve). It was the scariest thing I had done up to that point in my life. Aside from the medical concerns I had with regards to the surgery, I was also consumed by how much importance I placed on what other people would think of me once they found out that I took the “easy way” out. (For the record: There is nothing easy about bariatric surgery.) But I carried on despite my fears and it turned out to one of the best decision I’ve ever made. Not only because of the physical changes following the surgery, because of the mental/ emotional changes that would also ensue.
Aside from losing the physical weight, I started to lose the mental baggage I had been carrying around as well. I learned that in order to be there for my family and loved ones, I had to first show up for myself. I had to prioritize my health – physical, mental and emotional – and believe that everything else would fall into place. It was my first exercise in doing the scary thing and one that would be the catalyst to many “scary”, but rewarding changes in my life thereafter. It’s a muscle that requires constant flexing, but as with everything in life, it gets easier with practice. To celebrate my “surgiversary” and to keep exercising that muscle in new ways, I recently did the next scary thing and cut off my long hair! This is the shortest I’ve ever gone but surprisingly, I didn’t debate the chop too much. Like my surgery, I closed my eyes and went for it. And after years of struggling with the reflection in the mirror, I now see a woman who is happy, healthy and living her best life – one scary decision at a time.