A lot of factors go into deciding whether to have bariatric surgery. Some of the patients who schedule a consultation with our team at Endobariatric are very interested in the health benefits of gastric sleeve but seem to second guess having surgery because of how it may look to other people. If fear of judgment has held you back from making a dramatic change, I, Dr. Guillermo Alvarez, encourage you to explore and challenge those fears before making a final decision.
Mixed Public Perception
While polling has shown a positive uptick in people who believe that weight loss surgery is a positive choice for obese patients, overall attitudes continue to be mixed. Even among obese people, an equal number of people hold positive and negative attitudes toward bariatric surgery. The negative attitudes are largely due to misconceptions about bariatric surgery. Many people assume surgery is unsafe, and others believe it to be “lazy.” In truth, gastric sleeve meets high safety standards and patients must still commit to diet and exercise to achieve results.
Navigating Judgment
As an obese person, you are probably all-too familiar with feeling judgment from acquaintances and strangers because of your size. You may be nervous about gastric sleeve because you do not want to give people another reason to discuss your body and choices. However, what’s important to keep in perspective is that the people that judge you for being overweight are probably the same ones that would also judge you for losing weight in the “wrong” way. There is no pleasing some people, so it is not worth making decisions on their account.
Ultimately, your decision is your own and you should value your own opinion and happiness over that of people who make assumptions about your experiences. For many of us, not caring what people think is easier said than done, but it is worth overcoming. You would not crowdsource other important medical decisions to random judgmental people, so why do that here?.
Learn More from the Experts
Remember that the people who love you most want to see you live a healthy, active life. At Endobariatric, we offer support systems to help make your journey as manageable as possible. If you have struggled to lose weight and feel ready to try a new approach, you may be a great candidate. To ask me all your important questions, please call 1-800-381-8115 to schedule a consultation.
I invite you to follow us on all our social networks, we are on Facebook (Endobariatric), Instagram (@endobariatric), we also have our YouTube channel where where I answer frequently asked questions that are sent to me, subscribe to it! we talk about very interesting subjects, find us searching for Endobariatric.
If you want a more personalized experience and you have Instagram and Tik Tok, follow me (Dr. Alvarez) to see my day both in my daily routine and in the operating room, add me! We will have a great time! My username is: gmoalvarez (Instagram) and gmoalvarezofficial (Tik Tok).
“Changing lives…one sleeve at a time”.
