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Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Stop! WLS is not a Contest

5 Day Pouch Test Bulletin October 4, 2011

 Maybe it's the fall sports season that has so many of us in the competitive mood lately. Seems like things have really heated up on the weight loss surgery scrimmage lines where it is more popular than ever to compare and compete with one another in our weight loss. And while some healthy competition can be a great motivator the comparison of weight loss can lead to utter discouragement. I see it even with the 5 Day Pouch Test that people are making comparisons in how much weight is lost in the 5 days and if they do not meet that superficial standard they consider their 5DPT effort a failure.  It is not.

Unless you pound-for-pound and fork-for-fork competitively gained weight with another person you have no business competing to lose weight. Contrary to popular culture, weight loss is not a contest. Weight loss is a life saving initiative owned by the one taking action.

By all means we should compare our experiences. Let's share recipes and exercise tips. Let's give reminders to drink our water and take our supplements. But let's leave the competition to the amateurs. As weight loss surgery patients we understand that our lives were in danger from obesity and we took medical action to change the course. We are much wiser for it. Few people who join their positive energy forces in a united effort for better health ever feel burdened by not living up to an artificial contest.

If you are feeling beaten by the competition I invite you to download and print the copyrighted poster above. You can get it here. Please let it serve as a reminder the grand purpose of this weight loss surgery experience. You deserve to be healthy and pursue many prizes that far exceed the dot-marks on a weight loss ticker.

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