This or That: Becoming Decisive to Lose Weight

Posted: Sep 18 in Weight Loss Blog by Staff

I’m painting the room green. Wait, no. I’m painting the room blue. Well, what do you think? Does blue sound good to you? Maybe a greenish-blue would be better? Maybe we shouldn’t paint the room at all.

Some people have trouble making decisions, even over simple things like what to have for lunch, what to wear or what color to paint a room. This can become a problem when you are faced with life-altering decisions like getting weight loss surgery. Your weight loss surgeon can offer you medical advice and expertise to help you manage your uncertainties, but indecisiveness can really interfere with your weight loss progress if you aren’t careful.

Learning to be more decisive is a valuable skill. In order to do so you need to learn what you want, how badly you want it and what your priorities are. Once you are in touch with yourself you will have a much easier time making decisions.

Nobody can give you wiser advice than yourself. ~ Cicero

Indecisiveness often stems from a fear of making the wrong choice. To overcome that, you need to figure out why you think there is a wrong choice in each situation, and what is so bad about it.

In the situation of choosing a weight loss surgery, you might be confronted with indecisiveness over whether or not to pursue the surgery, which surgery you would like to pursue and where you are going to get that surgery. These are big decisions, and making them can be stressful. No one is going to play that down. However, becoming paralyzed in the depth of the decision isn’t going to help you make any choices.

When you really break down all of your choices piece by piece you might find that the best answer for you is clear all along:

Is weight loss surgery right for you?

The fact is that weight loss surgery is not the best choice for everyone. Give yourself some honest answers to the following questions and the decision may become obvious to you:

• Have you tried other weight loss methods and been unsuccessful?
• Does your health or even your life depend on losing weight quickly?
• Do you have Type 2 diabetes or other serious medical condition that weight loss surgery may resolve?
• Is weight loss surgery covered by your insurance?
• Are you knowledgeable about the lifestyle changes you will need to make and are you prepared to make them?
• Will your family support your decision?
• Have you spoken with someone willing to share their experience of bariatric surgery?
• Do you feel in your heart that this is the right choice for you?

The more “yes” answers you give the more likely it is that weight loss surgery is a good choice. A higher number of “no” answers may indicate that other options are better – at least for now.

When do you want to get weight loss surgery?

If you decide to move forward with surgery timing is going to be important. Here are some questions that may help you find the best schedule for your bariatric surgery:

• Have you received approval from your insurance OR have you completed arranging finance for surgery?
• Do you have vacation time that you can use for surgery?
• Are there important events or deadlines coming up that you cannot change?
• Do people close to you that will be supporting you right after your surgery agree with your timing?
• Do you feel in your heart that you are ready?

Where do you want to get weight loss surgery?

Sometimes the lure of the so called “Medical Tourism” industry and the promises of exotic locations and lower cost surgery appeals to people intending to self-pay for bariatric surgery. Here are some questions that may help you with this decision:

• What are the credentials and what level of experience will your weight loss surgeon have?
• Can you meet your weight loss surgeon and evaluate his or her level of expertise and caring?
• What follow up do you receive after surgery?
• What is the procedure if something goes wrong in the hours, days or weeks following your surgery?
• Will your weight loss surgeon be available after your surgery to follow up and monitor your progress?
• Do you feel in your heart that this is the right surgeon for you?

What type of weight loss surgery do you want?

Unlike gallbladder surgery or an appendectomy which are usually one size fits all, there are different types of bariatric surgeries available. Your choice will be easier if you ask yourself these questions:

• Have you received education on the types of surgery available?
• Does your weight loss surgeon offer all varieties of bariatric surgery?
• Does your weight loss surgeon recommend one that best suits your needs?
• Do you understand the lifestyle changes necessary with each surgery and does one fit your current lifestyle better than the others?
• Is the weight loss you can expect from the weight loss surgery what you want to achieve?
• Have you spoken with people who have had each surgery and listened to their experience?
• Do you feel in your heart that this is the right surgery for you?

The decision to get weight loss surgery isn’t one big decision. You make a series of smaller choices that lead to one big life changing experience. Breaking apart your decision by making the process into smaller bites might make it easier for you to process and feel confident in the choices that you make.

Everyone is different, so what is right for you won’t be right for someone else. That means that you are the best source to determine your needs. Talk to your doctor about any uncertainties you still have, but feel confident in the decisions that you have made. By trusting yourself you might find that making decisions isn’t so hard after all.