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tool works

No matter who you are, I'll bet my next meal that you got a tool for Christmas. Most of us recognize a hammer and a screwdriver as tools. But even if your stocking didn't have a hammer and a screwdriver, my bet is still on. The stakes are high, but most likely, you got a tool.

Tools are defined as any device used to carry out a particular function. So, whether you received a cookbook, an apron, a new pen and pencil set, a watch, a bicycle, a box of stationary, or a coffee mug—you received a tool. Something that would help make your life run a little smoother or make a job more doable.

Any tool, when fitted for the right job, and used properly, helps us do a task more timely, safely, and efficiently.

Weight loss surgery is a tool. For those of us who struggled for years to lose weight without success, a smaller stomach, called a pouch, restricts the amount of food one can eat—allowing weight loss to occur. In addition, for those who select a procedure such as gastric bypass, reduction in calories is further enhanced by mal-absorption which reduces calorie and nutritional intake to assist us in losing weight.

But a small pouch and a bypass procedure aren't the only tools we need under our belt. They are only the first step in the process.

We also need to know how to use our weight loss surgery tool effectively and efficiently. Weight loss surgery, just like a hammer, doesn't automatically do the job for us. Just as eating smaller portions doesn't keep us from eating more often or drinking more calories. But there are things that can help us to succeed.

Our surgery tool works to best if we are willing to make permanent lifestyle changes. Smaller portions, wiser food choices, healthy eating habits, and regular exercise can assist us with the additional physical changes needed for success...but, there's more...

Our new weight loss surgery tool works to its fullest potential when paired with a new mental, emotional and even a new spiritual transformation. Our determination to learn new mindsets and discard the old ones are necessary changes that will make the job easier. I have found that learning to identify old diet mentalities, striving to understand tendencies to swing from deprivation to over-indulgence, and considering the underlying causes of low self esteem, low self-confidence, low self-worth were needed to improve my self-image. 

Environmental changes are also helpful. Separating ourselves from unhealthy environments and toxic relationships. We can become more aware of unhealthy emotional triggers that set us on a path of self-destruction. It helps to understand how we sabotage ourselves and how to know when others are sabotaging us.

Learning how to use our weight loss surgery tool to its full potential is important for long-term success. Things that hinder our new tool of weight loss surgery from doing its job must be set aside, such as old mindsets, habits and excuses. Our surgery tool, along with our willingness to part with our old ways and embrace our new-found, wholehearted desire to be totally successful, will be the key to our success. I also found that spiritual growth was necessary when I realized I needed to discover who I was on the inside and who I was created to be.

Whether tangible or intangible, simple or complex, tools are necessary and indispensable. I invite you to  join me this year in clearing out the old and making room for the new. As we work together to gather tools for success, I encourage you to invest not only in the physical aspect of weight loss surgery but also in the mental and emotional aspects that offer us a lifetime of peace and prosperity. With a few new tools, along with weight loss surgery, we can discover a physically and emotionally healthier lifestyle that will see us through to a lifetime of weight loss success.

Yes, we can. We have many more miles to go!

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19

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