Many people who need to lose weight look at their goal weight like it’s the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. As if, when they lose the weight, they’ll have great self-esteem and better relationships, and life’s stresses will magically be solved. Sound familiar?
Reaching a healthy weight is a positive thing. Your well-being, strength and energy will all be improved. What’s more, by dropping excess pounds, you’ll be reducing your risk of a host of chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type II diabetes.
But weight loss isn’t the solution to all problems. In fact, the process of losing weight can affect relationships in both positive and negative ways.
Actor Seth Rogen slimmed down for his role in “The Green Hornet.” He looks great, but even Rogen said, “I think for chubby guys, I was theirguy so they were like, ‘I can be chubby. Seth Rogen’s chubby, so who cares.’ But now I’m not so chubby anymore. So now they’re like, ‘I have to lose weight.’ I’ve let them down. I’ve blatantly sold out.”
When you’re in the process of losing weight, you’ll probably see a variety of reactions from friends and family. Some will be supportive of your efforts, but others maybe put out and will react in more negative ways. Your significant other, in particular, may have problems with your weight loss efforts.
I asked Dr. Jana Klauer, a New York-based physician and weight loss expert about the issue. Dr. Klauer said, “To witness change in a partner can be disrupting — even if the change is necessary. Schedules can be disrupted if the person is getting up early to exercise. The partner not losing weight may think that the other is being a pain and high maintenance because they specify foods be prepared a certain way in restaurants.”
Dr. Klauer continues, “There are some good parts of (weight loss) like being more attractive and having more energy for the partner — but overall, I think it stresses the relationship.”
If you’re trying to lose weight and you’ve noticed friends, family members or your significant other responding in less than positive ways, try these tips:
- Express your needs. Tell your friends and loved ones what you need from them. You can’t expect them to support you in the ways you need without clearly expressing those needs. Be sure to be specific, stating your wishes like, “Please don’t criticize or question the foods I’m eating, but I would appreciate it if you serve some diet-friendly foods when I visit.”
- Involve them in your new healthy habits. Dr. Klauer said, “I would urge exercising together, cooking together, taking a healthy vacation together — making the new healthy lifestyle a joint effort.”
- Be patient. Just by nature, we all fill roles in the lives of our loved ones. As your habits, appearance and attitude change, your friends and family members may feel a bit threatened or worried. Go out of your way to spend quality time with those who are important to you and give them time to adjust.
Most of all, keep in mind the reasons why you want to lose weight. Ultimately, weight loss is a personal goal. You’re taking strides to improve your health and well-being and that’s worth all the effort. For many people, especially those who are severely overweight, weight loss isn’t simply about calories. There’s an emotional side to weight loss, too. It requires a hard and honest look at your relationship with food, and it requires dealing with underlying emotions or insecurities that may be hindering your quest for a healthy weight.
It stands to reason that your relationships might stumble a bit while you’re making changes to your body and spirit. But don’t chalk your relationships up as lost. Put in the effort to work through your changing relationships. Dr. Klauer says, “With work, (weight loss) can be a positive experience.” And it can be. For you, your body and the connections you have with others.
Get information today on weight loss surgery and the procedure that’s right for you by calling Dr. Frank Felts Weight Loss Solutions in Dallas.
The single incision is used by Dr. Felts to introduce a special tube into the abdomen. All of the instruments and the tiny video camera used to guide the instruments are passed through the tube during surgery. Although performing surgery through a single incision is more technically challenging than using the multiple small incisions of traditional laparoscopic surgery, Dr. Felts believes the benefits of the procedure make the additional difficulty worthwhile.
Sleeve gastrectomy patients normally experience weight loss at similar rates to LAP-BAND patients; however, some studies suggest that the sleeve gastrectomy can achieve weight loss results similar to gastric bypass with between 60% and 80% loss of excess weight.
LAP-BAND System is that the diameter of the band outlet is adjustable to meet the patient’s changing needs. The inner surface of the band can be inflated with liquid (saline solution) or deflated to modify the size of the stoma. The band is connected by tubing to a reservoir, which is placed well under the skin during surgery. After the operation, Dr. Felts can control the amount of saline in the band by entering the reservoir with a fine needle through the skin. The System is a unique surgical treatment because in many cases the size of the stoma can be customized to accommodate changing needs without further surgery.
