May 5, 2025

Episode 17: Body Dysmorphia, Loose Skin & Life After Bariatric Surgery ft. @bypasskass

Episode 17: Body Dysmorphia, Loose Skin & Life After Bariatric Surgery ft. @bypasskass
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Episode 17: Body Dysmorphia, Loose Skin & Life After Bariatric Surgery ft. @bypasskass

What happens after the weight comes off? In this candid, heartfelt episode, Canadian content creators Hannah and Steph sit down with @Bypasskass to unpack the emotional aftermath of bariatric surgery.

From loose skin and body dysmorphia to changing relationships, shifting identities, and the pressures of content creation in the health space, nothing is off limits.

Whether you're considering surgery or deep in your own journey, this episode is your reminder: healing isn’t just physical. It’s mental. It’s emotional. It’s ongoing. And you’re not alone.

WEBVTT

00:00:04.879 --> 00:00:09.759
Hey, Steph and Cass. Hello. Welcome to the next

00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:13.400
edition of the Bariatric Banter podcast. I am

00:00:13.400 --> 00:00:17.500
super pumped. Me too. Highlighting my week. Well,

00:00:17.620 --> 00:00:20.539
we're pumped because you're here. We've been

00:00:20.539 --> 00:00:25.199
counting down, anxiously waiting for today. We're

00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:27.239
super excited. So thank you for coming. We're

00:00:27.239 --> 00:00:29.699
so pumped to have you here. Well, it's just nice

00:00:29.699 --> 00:00:31.739
to know there's other people creating like in

00:00:31.739 --> 00:00:35.119
the Canadian space. I love to hear it. And knowing

00:00:35.119 --> 00:00:37.060
that there are people like close by just living

00:00:37.060 --> 00:00:38.899
the same experience. I don't know about your

00:00:38.899 --> 00:00:40.859
friend groups, but obviously not a lot of people

00:00:40.859 --> 00:00:42.740
in my friend group have the bariatric experience

00:00:42.740 --> 00:00:45.679
to be shared. So it's always nice finding others.

00:00:46.500 --> 00:00:50.240
Oh, yeah, you nailed it. It was me and then Steph

00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:52.659
after me. And it was like we had each other.

00:00:52.979 --> 00:00:56.240
So that's about it. It wasn't much. And it doesn't

00:00:56.240 --> 00:00:57.719
mean there isn't people who are doing it, but

00:00:57.719 --> 00:01:00.659
nobody was like sharing that knowledge and that

00:01:00.659 --> 00:01:03.880
vibe online. So we were like, well, we'll take

00:01:03.880 --> 00:01:06.159
up the mantle then. We'll do this. Well, that

00:01:06.159 --> 00:01:08.159
was the thing. Like the Canadian content is so

00:01:08.159 --> 00:01:12.579
lacking. And I remember like when I was, thank

00:01:12.579 --> 00:01:14.840
goodness I had Hannah, because when I was going

00:01:14.840 --> 00:01:17.810
through my... pre -op. And first of all, when

00:01:17.810 --> 00:01:19.590
I was just even trying to decide, is this what

00:01:19.590 --> 00:01:21.530
I want to do? Is this the path I want to go on?

00:01:21.950 --> 00:01:23.950
I've been assigned Hannah. And then I can stumble

00:01:23.950 --> 00:01:25.609
across your TikTok. Like I've been following

00:01:25.609 --> 00:01:28.689
you since before I even decided to have surgery.

00:01:29.129 --> 00:01:32.650
Um, and like using your content as part of my

00:01:32.650 --> 00:01:35.650
criteria as to, okay, what is this really about?

00:01:36.049 --> 00:01:38.790
Um, do I want to do this? And then I would message

00:01:38.790 --> 00:01:42.010
Hannah continually. And then during the process,

00:01:42.269 --> 00:01:44.549
if I didn't have Hannah, I would have had nobody.

00:01:45.290 --> 00:01:47.870
to turn to. And so much of the content is American,

00:01:47.969 --> 00:01:49.950
which we've talked about on this podcast is very

00:01:49.950 --> 00:01:54.730
different. So the more I think for us, the more

00:01:54.730 --> 00:01:57.650
we can put out there just to help with some of

00:01:57.650 --> 00:02:00.049
the myths, help answer some questions. That was

00:02:00.049 --> 00:02:03.090
ultimately our goal really is just let's help

00:02:03.090 --> 00:02:05.730
people find some Canadian content where they

00:02:05.730 --> 00:02:08.310
can relate to it. They can get the answers hopefully

00:02:08.310 --> 00:02:10.870
they're looking for and clear up some of the

00:02:10.870 --> 00:02:13.009
confusion around what's out there and what's

00:02:13.009 --> 00:02:17.689
not out there. Yeah. love it yeah that's that's

00:02:17.689 --> 00:02:20.090
where this came from um there's some great people

00:02:20.090 --> 00:02:22.530
doing some stuff so we've shared them before

00:02:22.530 --> 00:02:24.550
like there's some cool people we've loved some

00:02:24.550 --> 00:02:26.469
of them have disappeared like i really want to

00:02:26.469 --> 00:02:29.770
know what happened to all about bariatric i loved

00:02:29.770 --> 00:02:32.129
following her in her grocery hauls haven't seen

00:02:32.129 --> 00:02:35.300
her in a while but yeah it was just Even to this

00:02:35.300 --> 00:02:37.919
day, we still struggle to find information that

00:02:37.919 --> 00:02:39.860
we're looking for. We've gone down rabbit holes

00:02:39.860 --> 00:02:43.340
on things like calories, on macros. Oh, I could

00:02:43.340 --> 00:02:46.259
do a whole rant on macros. Just like accessing

00:02:46.259 --> 00:02:49.819
info, we still struggle with finding results

00:02:49.819 --> 00:02:53.960
and answers. Like everybody varies so differently

00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:57.099
in what they recommend. That's what we're going

00:02:57.099 --> 00:02:59.219
to try to do. We want to talk to dietitians and

00:02:59.219 --> 00:03:01.039
people like you and people who've done different

00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:03.879
programs. And because we know we both did sleeve,

00:03:04.020 --> 00:03:06.620
but you didn't. So I think we'll let you introduce

00:03:06.620 --> 00:03:09.060
yourself to everybody who I guarantee you follows

00:03:09.060 --> 00:03:12.280
you already, by the way. But we want to do stuff

00:03:12.280 --> 00:03:14.259
like this because you have a different experience

00:03:14.259 --> 00:03:17.960
still in Canada, but we can't speak to the bypass

00:03:17.960 --> 00:03:19.680
side of things. So we were like, we should bring

00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:22.259
someone on. And a different program because Hannah

00:03:22.259 --> 00:03:23.840
and I went through the same program as well.

00:03:23.860 --> 00:03:26.789
Same program. Yeah. Yeah, and I was in a different

00:03:26.789 --> 00:03:29.150
area. I'm very open that I was in Hamilton, Ontario.

00:03:29.229 --> 00:03:31.449
I don't live there. So I feel comfortable sharing

00:03:31.449 --> 00:03:34.969
that my program was out of Hamilton, Ontario.

00:03:35.590 --> 00:03:40.469
And yeah, I so I had R &Y in April of 2023. Now,

00:03:40.509 --> 00:03:43.250
so I'm almost two and a half years, just past

00:03:43.250 --> 00:03:46.270
two years, actually similar to Hannah. A year

00:03:46.270 --> 00:03:50.039
after me, or a month after me. Yeah. Exactly.

00:03:50.139 --> 00:03:53.120
Exactly. Yeah. So we're very similar on the paths

00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:56.099
we're on. I would say I'm currently holding in

00:03:56.099 --> 00:04:00.719
maintenance phase. But yeah, I started tick tocking,

00:04:00.759 --> 00:04:03.199
I think only a few weeks or maybe a month or

00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:07.280
two prior to having my surgery, just because

00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:09.840
I needed a sounding board. A lot of people will

00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:11.780
say they start posting their journey because

00:04:11.780 --> 00:04:14.240
of accountability, which is kind of the case

00:04:14.240 --> 00:04:17.819
for me. I did have a friend in my life who had

00:04:17.819 --> 00:04:23.860
also had bypass at the time. And she, she wasn't

00:04:23.860 --> 00:04:26.620
really, she was helpful, but only to an extent,

00:04:26.800 --> 00:04:28.839
because I would say she was very much not a rule

00:04:28.839 --> 00:04:32.500
follower. And that's just not in me to not be

00:04:32.500 --> 00:04:35.600
a rule follower after surgery. So it was nice

00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:37.639
just finding other people. And like we said,

00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:39.360
we have a lot of American friends posting. So

00:04:39.360 --> 00:04:42.579
I found kind of camaraderie in posting my journey

00:04:42.579 --> 00:04:45.420
with that. But yeah, R &Y holding in maintenance

00:04:45.420 --> 00:04:48.540
phase. Yeah, I think that kind of sums up where

00:04:48.540 --> 00:04:51.180
I'm at right now. Can you take us through like

00:04:51.180 --> 00:04:53.800
high level why you chose bypass versus sleeve

00:04:53.800 --> 00:04:57.360
or how your program kind of determines which

00:04:57.360 --> 00:05:00.660
option you should go with? Yeah. So I actually,

00:05:00.779 --> 00:05:03.040
and a lot of people ask, how did you decide?

00:05:03.199 --> 00:05:06.279
And honestly, I didn't get a choice. My program

00:05:06.279 --> 00:05:09.680
said, you are going to be told once, essentially

00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:13.139
once the surgeon is in there, he's going to decide

00:05:13.139 --> 00:05:16.000
what makes most sense for you. Now they did say

00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:19.220
that based on research and how long bypass has

00:05:19.220 --> 00:05:22.410
been out there, the preference was bypass. But

00:05:22.410 --> 00:05:25.310
it all came down to, I guess, you know, all of

00:05:25.310 --> 00:05:28.009
the fatty liver and how much space you have in

00:05:28.009 --> 00:05:30.370
there to work with. That's what it was going

00:05:30.370 --> 00:05:33.730
to come down to. So I had to sign a waiver saying

00:05:33.730 --> 00:05:37.189
that if they get in there and RNY is not optimal

00:05:37.189 --> 00:05:41.050
for a healthy surgery, then they would switch

00:05:41.050 --> 00:05:44.269
over to sleeve. And I had to sign my life away

00:05:44.269 --> 00:05:46.529
just saying I was okay that they would do as

00:05:46.529 --> 00:05:49.310
a doctor what felt best for my body while they

00:05:49.310 --> 00:05:53.699
were working. my anatomy. Did you have to do

00:05:53.699 --> 00:05:56.500
a pre -op liquid diet before through your program?

00:05:56.839 --> 00:06:00.259
Yeah. I personally had to do, so my highest weight

00:06:00.259 --> 00:06:05.759
when I was going on shakes was 263. And then

00:06:05.759 --> 00:06:09.319
I had to do two weeks of the MediMeal shakes.

00:06:09.720 --> 00:06:13.459
Oh, MediMeal. Nice. We had OptiFast, which I

00:06:13.459 --> 00:06:16.939
heard is worse. I was going to say, I don't know

00:06:16.939 --> 00:06:20.069
which is better. I think they're both. They're

00:06:20.069 --> 00:06:22.810
both not great. You just got through it. Yeah,

00:06:22.810 --> 00:06:25.730
chug it down. How long were you in the program

00:06:25.730 --> 00:06:28.589
before you started the two -week liquid diet?

00:06:31.500 --> 00:06:34.079
Actually was in my, I was with an actual clinic

00:06:34.079 --> 00:06:36.600
that specialized with obesity who then referred

00:06:36.600 --> 00:06:40.480
me to the bariatric program. So I was on GLP

00:06:40.480 --> 00:06:45.300
-1s for about a year before I decided that, or

00:06:45.300 --> 00:06:46.980
actually it was my doctors who said, you know,

00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:49.300
you did the GLP -1s, you gave it a good college

00:06:49.300 --> 00:06:53.000
try. We think a referral for surgery, bariatric

00:06:53.000 --> 00:06:55.629
surgery would. be good for you. And then I said,

00:06:55.670 --> 00:06:58.089
okay, at that point in time, I also wanted to

00:06:58.089 --> 00:07:00.629
try myself, like give it that one last shot.

00:07:01.410 --> 00:07:04.310
And then, yeah, I was in the bariatric program

00:07:04.310 --> 00:07:06.790
for about nine months before I actually got that

00:07:06.790 --> 00:07:09.949
call saying, we're going to book you in. You've

00:07:09.949 --> 00:07:12.430
done all your, a lot of people don't talk about

00:07:12.430 --> 00:07:14.069
too, if you don't get your prerequisites fast

00:07:14.069 --> 00:07:15.790
enough, like seeing all your doctors, getting

00:07:15.790 --> 00:07:18.069
your blood work, your scopes. I ended up having

00:07:18.069 --> 00:07:19.910
to get two scopes because they found something

00:07:19.910 --> 00:07:24.819
abnormal. Yeah. So that could delay things and

00:07:24.819 --> 00:07:26.920
people don't realize that or there's not a lot

00:07:26.920 --> 00:07:28.660
of, I've noticed with comments I get, there's

00:07:28.660 --> 00:07:30.259
not a lot of patients there that there's going

00:07:30.259 --> 00:07:32.959
to be, you just got to follow the process before

00:07:32.959 --> 00:07:34.620
you have surgery and it could take some time.

00:07:34.920 --> 00:07:38.139
Yeah. It's crazy the difference between clinics.

00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:40.160
So your timeline is pretty close to mine. I was

00:07:40.160 --> 00:07:42.379
11 months. Hannah was longer because she was

00:07:42.379 --> 00:07:46.060
in COVID. But I have a friend who just went through

00:07:46.060 --> 00:07:50.939
Hamilton a couple months ago now and she was

00:07:50.939 --> 00:07:53.620
two months. From start to finish. Oh my goodness.

00:07:53.939 --> 00:07:58.839
Yeah. Blew my mind. Wow. Blew my mind. Two months.

00:07:59.100 --> 00:08:02.899
Crazy. I appreciated the time because it really

00:08:02.899 --> 00:08:05.879
allowed me. to figure out it's what I wanted,

00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:08.699
you know? Yes. And get your mindset. There's

00:08:08.699 --> 00:08:10.060
so many, like Hannah and I have talked about,

00:08:10.199 --> 00:08:11.939
there's a lot of physical changes, but there's

00:08:11.939 --> 00:08:15.360
a lot of mental, emotional mindset changes that

00:08:15.360 --> 00:08:16.899
have to happen, habits that have to come into

00:08:16.899 --> 00:08:19.860
place. And so as hard as it can be when you finally

00:08:19.860 --> 00:08:21.680
make that decision to have surgery, you're bought

00:08:21.680 --> 00:08:24.240
in, you're excited, you're ready to go, as hard

00:08:24.240 --> 00:08:27.040
as it can be to wait, I think that's so important

00:08:27.040 --> 00:08:28.980
and so crucial. And we talked about this where,

00:08:29.060 --> 00:08:30.699
you know, the programs in the U .S. where you

00:08:30.699 --> 00:08:32.299
go, you pay, you have your surgery, and you call

00:08:32.299 --> 00:08:36.509
it a day. I appreciated now looking back, having

00:08:36.509 --> 00:08:39.990
that 11 month timeframe because it gave me time

00:08:39.990 --> 00:08:43.269
to mentally wrap my head around what's about

00:08:43.269 --> 00:08:44.970
to happen, how my life's going to change, start

00:08:44.970 --> 00:08:46.950
implementing some of those habits, making the

00:08:46.950 --> 00:08:50.570
changes slowly and steadily to build up to where

00:08:50.570 --> 00:08:54.889
I needed to be to then. be successful afterwards.

00:08:55.250 --> 00:08:57.610
In the moment, I wasn't happy about winning.

00:08:57.629 --> 00:08:59.590
No, during the process, you're like, this is

00:08:59.590 --> 00:09:02.929
stupid. Call me and tell me some numbers, man.

00:09:03.149 --> 00:09:06.110
But in hindsight, I look back and go, good God,

00:09:06.289 --> 00:09:09.110
I would have failed spectacularly if I did not

00:09:09.110 --> 00:09:11.190
have this lead up, this ramp up. Because you

00:09:11.190 --> 00:09:12.909
almost reach a point where you're like, okay,

00:09:12.970 --> 00:09:17.870
guys, let's go. I'm ready. And I even said to

00:09:17.870 --> 00:09:20.970
my mom, I just feel so ready. And they would

00:09:20.970 --> 00:09:23.389
say things like, wow, you're really positive

00:09:23.389 --> 00:09:25.250
about this. I was like, Oh, guys, I've done my

00:09:25.250 --> 00:09:27.049
research. I've done everything I need to do.

00:09:27.169 --> 00:09:29.750
I was just me. I had nobody to talk to or lean

00:09:29.750 --> 00:09:32.559
on. So I was like, I feel Like, I know what I

00:09:32.559 --> 00:09:35.659
need to know. I did the work. And I remember

00:09:35.659 --> 00:09:37.840
telling my mom, like, I would rather walk into

00:09:37.840 --> 00:09:40.279
this surgery being, like, super excited than

00:09:40.279 --> 00:09:42.799
have to be wheeled into this operating room because

00:09:42.799 --> 00:09:45.600
I did not make this change in time. And they

00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:48.000
let you walk in, which was super fucking cool

00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:50.519
about Guelph. You're waiting outside the room

00:09:50.519 --> 00:09:52.980
in your little bed. And I'm still trying to not

00:09:52.980 --> 00:09:55.240
be anxious about it. And the nurse was like,

00:09:55.279 --> 00:09:57.139
you want to walk in? And I was like, yes, I fucking

00:09:57.139 --> 00:10:00.120
do. Like, I was so ready to go at that point.

00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:03.500
If I hadn't had that waiting time, I think I

00:10:03.500 --> 00:10:05.659
would have been like vomiting, anxious, stressed

00:10:05.659 --> 00:10:08.580
out. Like there's no way in two months. They

00:10:08.580 --> 00:10:13.419
let us choose at Guelph. Now I will say they

00:10:13.419 --> 00:10:18.080
did strongly suggest bypass. And we've told people,

00:10:18.139 --> 00:10:20.500
and I'll say this caveat here. If your surgeon

00:10:20.500 --> 00:10:23.330
tells you to go one way, like please. like listen

00:10:23.330 --> 00:10:26.710
to them for a reason. Yeah. And don't, don't

00:10:26.710 --> 00:10:28.129
just be like, well, Hannah and Steph pick sleeve.

00:10:28.169 --> 00:10:30.169
So I'm going to pick sleeve. Like don't, I researched

00:10:30.169 --> 00:10:34.169
duodenal switch, bypass sleeve. The other one

00:10:34.169 --> 00:10:37.009
I can't pronounce because there's like six or

00:10:37.009 --> 00:10:39.649
seven versions of this folks. So I researched

00:10:39.649 --> 00:10:42.250
the crap out of it and it did come down to bypass

00:10:42.250 --> 00:10:45.049
or sleeve. And I had long talks with my mom who

00:10:45.049 --> 00:10:47.509
is a nurse and was a cardiac nurse at the time.

00:10:47.950 --> 00:10:49.750
And I said, OK, let's walk through the pros and

00:10:49.750 --> 00:10:52.789
cons of each of these. And being in my early

00:10:52.789 --> 00:10:56.230
30s and being relatively healthy, like no diabetes

00:10:56.230 --> 00:10:58.909
or like just high blood pressure, high cholesterol,

00:10:59.009 --> 00:11:01.309
I said, I think sleeve would work best for me

00:11:01.309 --> 00:11:04.090
because I can reverse it to full bypass if this

00:11:04.090 --> 00:11:06.889
goes wrong. And I like the idea of being on my

00:11:06.889 --> 00:11:09.409
feet and moving. I don't, you know, I want to

00:11:09.409 --> 00:11:11.769
be same day surgery in and out. So my surgeon

00:11:11.769 --> 00:11:13.809
was like, my recommendation is bypass, but I'm

00:11:13.809 --> 00:11:15.190
going to actually let you pick whichever one

00:11:15.190 --> 00:11:17.830
you think. is best. And I said, sleeve. And we

00:11:17.830 --> 00:11:19.889
went through why. And he said, okay, those are

00:11:19.889 --> 00:11:22.309
really good reasons. And I'm fine with that.

00:11:22.409 --> 00:11:24.570
And he said, you could pick at the day, the day

00:11:24.570 --> 00:11:26.110
of, if you're laying on that bed in the operating

00:11:26.110 --> 00:11:29.169
room and you look at me and say, bypass, like

00:11:29.169 --> 00:11:31.850
you're allowed to choose up until, but only certain

00:11:31.850 --> 00:11:34.250
people are. So do not be offended or feel bad

00:11:34.250 --> 00:11:37.389
if your surgeon says, it's my very strong recommendation

00:11:37.389 --> 00:11:40.509
that you will be successful with bypass. We had

00:11:40.509 --> 00:11:43.269
the same surgeon and same program, same surgeon.

00:11:44.129 --> 00:11:46.710
And then, yeah, during the pre -op, same thing.

00:11:46.750 --> 00:11:49.429
He goes through, okay, this is bypass. This is

00:11:49.429 --> 00:11:52.169
sleep. These are the pros and cons of both. These

00:11:52.169 --> 00:11:54.610
are the complications of both. This is what I

00:11:54.610 --> 00:11:56.649
recommend. You tell me what you want and why.

00:11:57.529 --> 00:12:01.450
And then I will tell you if I agree or not. But

00:12:01.450 --> 00:12:03.730
yeah, there's all different reasons why one is

00:12:03.730 --> 00:12:05.970
recommended than the other. One is not better

00:12:05.970 --> 00:12:07.990
than the other. You have to do what's right for

00:12:07.990 --> 00:12:10.269
you or what medically they say is right for you.

00:12:11.409 --> 00:12:14.419
Yeah. So no, I think. And we've talked to people

00:12:14.419 --> 00:12:17.659
like I have now, um, us who have done sleeve.

00:12:17.799 --> 00:12:19.580
I said to my friend who went through Hamilton

00:12:19.580 --> 00:12:22.019
also, she just had bypass. She's crushing it.

00:12:22.059 --> 00:12:24.679
She had a great experience. So just trust with

00:12:24.679 --> 00:12:26.639
like, trust your surgeon, do what your medical

00:12:26.639 --> 00:12:30.460
team advises. Um, but it was super cool walking

00:12:30.460 --> 00:12:32.940
into, walking into the operating room. And I

00:12:32.940 --> 00:12:35.580
said to Hannah, I remembered, um, I was in like

00:12:35.580 --> 00:12:38.799
pre -op, I was in the bed and then the. porter

00:12:38.799 --> 00:12:40.980
I guess you'd call her came to move me and she

00:12:40.980 --> 00:12:43.360
was like okay let's go and I was standing there

00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:44.980
and I kind of went to walk and she looks at me

00:12:44.980 --> 00:12:46.779
because I remember Hannah saying you walked into

00:12:46.779 --> 00:12:49.000
the operating room and so like I go to walk and

00:12:49.000 --> 00:12:52.879
she looks at me and she goes uh in the bed And

00:12:52.879 --> 00:12:55.200
I was like, oh, this is crap. You were so pissed.

00:12:55.460 --> 00:12:58.500
You're like, Hannah fucking got to walk in. Why

00:12:58.500 --> 00:13:01.399
did I get to walk? I got into bed. I was so mad.

00:13:01.559 --> 00:13:04.679
But then they rolled me outside of the operating

00:13:04.679 --> 00:13:07.539
room and then gave me my IV and everything. But

00:13:07.539 --> 00:13:09.419
I literally was laying there. I'm like, this

00:13:09.419 --> 00:13:11.659
is crap. I could just tell. I could tell you

00:13:11.659 --> 00:13:14.139
were probably like, fucking Hannah. I was like,

00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:17.480
why is Hannah so special? Like, that sounds so

00:13:17.480 --> 00:13:19.519
cool to walk in there. And then after they did

00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:23.480
my IV. Yeah. Walk right in there. Right? Like,

00:13:23.480 --> 00:13:25.539
oh, yeah, right? So then the nurse comes. She's

00:13:25.539 --> 00:13:27.679
like, are you ready? And I was like, yeah. She

00:13:27.679 --> 00:13:29.559
was like, let's go. And then she started walking

00:13:29.559 --> 00:13:34.220
away. And I was like, oh, now I get to walk in.

00:13:34.639 --> 00:13:36.919
So then, yeah, then I got to walk in, which was

00:13:36.919 --> 00:13:40.279
super cool. Mine, I got wheeled in, but I was

00:13:40.279 --> 00:13:42.539
not very nervous the day of. I was actually very,

00:13:42.620 --> 00:13:46.179
like, excited. And then the only time I got nervous

00:13:46.179 --> 00:13:51.419
was in Hamilton. I guess the surgery area is

00:13:51.419 --> 00:13:56.519
like back to back doors of, um, surgeries happening

00:13:56.519 --> 00:14:00.220
with like windows and they're wheeling me past.

00:14:00.460 --> 00:14:02.580
And I'm like, we're going, okay, we're going

00:14:02.580 --> 00:14:04.419
through this whole hallway of surgeries and I'm

00:14:04.419 --> 00:14:06.799
seeing all these surgeries happening and just

00:14:06.799 --> 00:14:08.639
like surgeons all standing there doing their

00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:11.519
thing. And they're like, they're bringing me

00:14:11.519 --> 00:14:13.340
right to the end of the hall. So I got to see

00:14:13.340 --> 00:14:16.320
every door. Oh Christ. That would freak me out.

00:14:16.809 --> 00:14:19.450
Yeah. That would freak me out a little bit. I

00:14:19.450 --> 00:14:21.029
was like, okay, I wasn't nervous until I just

00:14:21.029 --> 00:14:23.210
saw all this like, and I'm not someone who's

00:14:23.210 --> 00:14:25.210
like, blood and stuff does not scare me, but

00:14:25.210 --> 00:14:27.490
it was just like the reality of that's about

00:14:27.490 --> 00:14:30.570
to be me. Over and over and over again. Yeah.

00:14:30.590 --> 00:14:32.450
I was like, I was not scared. They should have

00:14:32.450 --> 00:14:34.470
told me to look the other way because it was

00:14:34.470 --> 00:14:37.049
that or like brick wall on the other side. I

00:14:37.049 --> 00:14:38.809
would have preferred the brick wall, but obviously

00:14:38.809 --> 00:14:41.750
I was like, uh. Because I assume you're like

00:14:41.750 --> 00:14:43.809
us, like you've never had a major surgery before

00:14:43.809 --> 00:14:46.460
this surgery. I had never had surgery until that.

00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:48.580
Like I had wisdom teeth, which isn't really anything.

00:14:48.740 --> 00:14:50.700
I don't count that. No. And when I was little,

00:14:50.919 --> 00:14:53.659
I had tubes in my ears, but I was little and

00:14:53.659 --> 00:14:57.299
tonsil. But I'd never had surgery before. Yeah.

00:14:57.299 --> 00:14:59.080
So I had no idea what to expect. That's the thing,

00:14:59.080 --> 00:15:00.960
right? When you don't know what to expect and

00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:03.139
you just get to one door and then walk in, you're

00:15:03.139 --> 00:15:05.840
kind of like, this is new and cool. If you have

00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:08.259
to wheel past them for 15 minutes before you

00:15:08.259 --> 00:15:10.919
go in, then your thoughts start going, oh, shit.

00:15:10.960 --> 00:15:13.899
This is real. Oh, Jesus. This is real. But no,

00:15:13.940 --> 00:15:15.600
I love that you said that because I think we

00:15:15.600 --> 00:15:17.940
all, that's one thing I want people to kind of

00:15:17.940 --> 00:15:19.559
take away from it is it's okay to be nervous,

00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:21.740
but there's something weird about bariatric people

00:15:21.740 --> 00:15:23.919
where like the day of surgery, we're all kind

00:15:23.919 --> 00:15:26.879
of like, yes, because for the most part, we've

00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:30.360
been begging for this for so long in one way

00:15:30.360 --> 00:15:33.759
or another that like, I was so excited for this.

00:15:34.080 --> 00:15:36.519
I didn't even think about post -op or anything

00:15:36.519 --> 00:15:39.740
after. I was just like, let's fucking do. Let's

00:15:39.740 --> 00:15:42.200
go. I was excited for the surgery. I was terrified

00:15:42.200 --> 00:15:43.960
for the IV, but I was excited for the surgery.

00:15:44.139 --> 00:15:46.200
Yeah, and the heparin and all that jazz. Oh,

00:15:46.200 --> 00:15:50.080
the heparin. But what we're really here to talk

00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:52.779
about today, which we should do another episode

00:15:52.779 --> 00:15:54.960
just all about the differences between our programs,

00:15:55.019 --> 00:15:58.320
is something that I think rears its ugly head

00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:02.559
from day one straight through to year 10, and

00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:06.950
that is body dysmorphia. That is for those who

00:16:06.950 --> 00:16:08.950
don't know or have never experienced it yet.

00:16:09.110 --> 00:16:11.690
That is you look at yourself, whether it's in

00:16:11.690 --> 00:16:14.110
a mirror or just in general in life, and you

00:16:14.110 --> 00:16:16.730
do not see what is actually reflected there.

00:16:16.870 --> 00:16:20.289
You see yourself still as your obese self. And

00:16:20.289 --> 00:16:22.470
this happens not just to obese people. This is,

00:16:22.549 --> 00:16:26.049
you know, you see yourself with scars that aren't

00:16:26.049 --> 00:16:28.309
there, or it's just that you see your body in

00:16:28.309 --> 00:16:30.330
a completely different way than everyone else.

00:16:30.370 --> 00:16:33.529
And it's hard for you to. See the weight loss,

00:16:33.610 --> 00:16:36.490
see the journey, see the healing, see the changes

00:16:36.490 --> 00:16:40.470
in yourself. For our specific use case, we still

00:16:40.470 --> 00:16:42.950
see ourselves as our obese self. And it's really

00:16:42.950 --> 00:16:47.429
hard not to see yourself like that. And I didn't

00:16:47.429 --> 00:16:48.990
tell you, Hannah, I thought about it this morning

00:16:48.990 --> 00:16:51.370
when I was getting ready. I had my six -month

00:16:51.370 --> 00:16:55.129
post -op phone call this week. And the social

00:16:55.129 --> 00:16:59.049
worker did ask me, she said, when you look in

00:16:59.049 --> 00:17:02.990
the mirror, do you see the changes? And I kind

00:17:02.990 --> 00:17:05.690
of stopped for a minute and I said, yeah. And

00:17:05.690 --> 00:17:07.589
she said, but do you see? And I was kind of surprised

00:17:07.589 --> 00:17:09.529
she went down this path. She goes, but do you

00:17:09.529 --> 00:17:12.549
see the changes that other people have seen?

00:17:12.630 --> 00:17:15.089
Because I mentioned to her that I went to an

00:17:15.089 --> 00:17:17.250
event last weekend and there were people there

00:17:17.250 --> 00:17:20.109
that I hadn't seen since surgery. And so I was

00:17:20.109 --> 00:17:22.130
curious what reactions were going to be. And

00:17:22.130 --> 00:17:23.950
you get excited because you know you've changed.

00:17:24.509 --> 00:17:27.029
I told her how I had amazing feedback. People

00:17:27.029 --> 00:17:28.930
were awesome. Everybody was super supportive.

00:17:29.609 --> 00:17:31.950
So then she said, okay, but when you look in

00:17:31.950 --> 00:17:34.829
the mirror, do you see the change? And I said,

00:17:34.849 --> 00:17:37.430
well, yeah. And then I thought for a minute,

00:17:37.450 --> 00:17:41.230
I said, but honestly, but honestly, not to the

00:17:41.230 --> 00:17:45.369
extent that other people seem to see it. And

00:17:45.369 --> 00:17:48.769
I know part of it is the fact that, and it'll

00:17:48.769 --> 00:17:51.250
be interesting because we are at different parts

00:17:51.250 --> 00:17:55.589
of our journey, right? Part of it I know is because

00:17:55.589 --> 00:17:58.109
we see ourselves every day. From a day -to -day

00:17:58.109 --> 00:18:01.410
basis, the changes are minuscule, right? From

00:18:01.410 --> 00:18:03.910
one day to the next. So you see yourself every

00:18:03.910 --> 00:18:06.390
day. It's harder to see those changes, I think.

00:18:07.509 --> 00:18:12.210
But I said to her, no, I don't see it the same.

00:18:12.309 --> 00:18:15.230
I know my clothes are different. I know I'm down

00:18:15.230 --> 00:18:18.349
sizes. I know there's 92 pounds that are gone

00:18:18.349 --> 00:18:23.490
that weren't there. But I still see. the the

00:18:23.490 --> 00:18:27.569
flabby arms I still see the loose skin here I

00:18:27.569 --> 00:18:30.670
still see the bigger thighs because I've always

00:18:30.670 --> 00:18:32.210
had bigger thighs I know they're gonna be the

00:18:32.210 --> 00:18:35.309
last to go like I still see all of that I'm like

00:18:35.309 --> 00:18:38.109
okay my waist is smaller okay I have better this

00:18:38.109 --> 00:18:41.650
but there's the thighs or there's there's the

00:18:41.650 --> 00:18:46.430
love handles right um so it's interesting how

00:18:46.430 --> 00:18:49.529
you see it to an extent but you just can't get

00:18:49.529 --> 00:18:53.460
past some of those areas. Yeah. Do you guys have

00:18:53.460 --> 00:18:55.359
that moment where you're walking past a mirror

00:18:55.359 --> 00:18:58.279
and you like quite literally, like you're, you're

00:18:58.279 --> 00:19:00.420
not quite looking at yourself, but then as you're

00:19:00.420 --> 00:19:02.240
walking by, you're almost like, who is that?

00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:04.799
Yeah. You double take. You're like, Oh yeah.

00:19:05.180 --> 00:19:07.440
That was probably one of my first moments. I

00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:10.099
was like, I there's early on in my journey. I

00:19:10.099 --> 00:19:12.599
remember doing that and being like, it was such

00:19:12.599 --> 00:19:15.900
an out of body experience, kind of not realizing

00:19:15.900 --> 00:19:21.119
that was me. I'm used to always avoiding the

00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:23.960
mirror. So looking the other way, looking down,

00:19:24.279 --> 00:19:26.500
not looking in it. So when you catch yourself

00:19:26.500 --> 00:19:29.660
in it, you're like, what? And I almost wish that

00:19:29.660 --> 00:19:32.079
I could go back to like first year Hannah, because

00:19:32.079 --> 00:19:34.500
there would, there'd be moments where like that

00:19:34.500 --> 00:19:36.279
would catch me and then I would just stop and

00:19:36.279 --> 00:19:39.059
marvel at it. And I'd be like, holy shit. Like,

00:19:39.079 --> 00:19:41.859
and I wouldn't be so excited. And now two years

00:19:41.859 --> 00:19:45.359
post -op. No, like I've lost that wonder and

00:19:45.359 --> 00:19:50.019
that delight. Now I go, hmm, okay. Are you gaining

00:19:50.019 --> 00:19:52.900
weight again? Hmm, look at your belly. Like I've

00:19:52.900 --> 00:19:57.619
gone fully back into, hmm, mode instead of like,

00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:03.200
whoa, Marvel mode. And that kind of sucks. Yeah,

00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:05.460
I can relate to that. Actually, that once you

00:20:05.460 --> 00:20:07.460
get far out, far out enough from it, I remember

00:20:07.460 --> 00:20:10.160
that feeling of not recognizing myself and doing

00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:12.579
that double take in a mirror. But this far out

00:20:12.579 --> 00:20:14.500
for me, the loose skin and stuff is something

00:20:14.500 --> 00:20:17.769
that I'm like. Honestly, envy is one of those

00:20:17.769 --> 00:20:20.390
things that like kind of gets the best of you.

00:20:20.410 --> 00:20:22.529
You see all these wonderful creators getting

00:20:22.529 --> 00:20:25.569
surgery to get that loose skin. And it's something

00:20:25.569 --> 00:20:27.829
that is just not accessible to me, not affordable

00:20:27.829 --> 00:20:30.849
for me. And I just have to live with it for now

00:20:30.849 --> 00:20:34.269
anyways. And it's one of those things where it's

00:20:34.269 --> 00:20:37.000
all you look at. It is. And, like, everyone's

00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:39.519
doing it. And, like, good for them. It's not

00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:42.380
that it's not an option. They did tell us, like,

00:20:42.420 --> 00:20:44.700
after two years you could consider skin removal.

00:20:44.920 --> 00:20:47.859
But to your point, shit's pricey. Like, we're

00:20:47.859 --> 00:20:51.180
talking $10 ,000 to $20 ,000 that I just, part

00:20:51.180 --> 00:20:53.859
of me goes, for loose skin. And it looks so painful.

00:20:53.960 --> 00:20:57.799
Everybody you see in recovery looks so miserable.

00:20:59.579 --> 00:21:02.380
Because it's not easy. Like, bypass surgery,

00:21:02.579 --> 00:21:05.079
we've had a whole episode on. minimal minimal

00:21:05.079 --> 00:21:08.200
kind of pain that I you know to an extent but

00:21:08.200 --> 00:21:11.380
skin removal surgery they do multiple areas at

00:21:11.380 --> 00:21:13.220
the same time you have to have drains inserted

00:21:13.220 --> 00:21:16.559
massages too you can't really lift your arms

00:21:16.559 --> 00:21:19.420
and like so there's part of me that like yeah

00:21:19.420 --> 00:21:21.440
now I look at myself though and I go cool I have

00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:23.960
a gut and like I can't think like that like that's

00:21:23.960 --> 00:21:26.119
loose skin but I look at it and go oh I look

00:21:26.119 --> 00:21:29.140
so disgusting in these jeans um I don't know

00:21:29.140 --> 00:21:32.000
if this is the case for you but what I like and

00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:34.289
I hate this voice in my head but what I've kind

00:21:34.289 --> 00:21:36.130
of started struggling with is this voice that

00:21:36.130 --> 00:21:38.630
says well you haven't really lost that much weight

00:21:38.630 --> 00:21:40.410
or like if people saw you today they wouldn't

00:21:40.410 --> 00:21:42.509
think you were skinny so maybe you should stop

00:21:42.509 --> 00:21:44.430
talking about it because it's crazy because you

00:21:44.430 --> 00:21:47.990
have yeah like I mean we've lost a person yeah

00:21:47.990 --> 00:21:51.750
160 plus pounds is a considerable amount but

00:21:51.750 --> 00:21:54.849
when you're this far out like in your first year

00:21:54.849 --> 00:21:56.589
and it's not for everyone like I know that you

00:21:56.589 --> 00:21:58.710
I suffer from this in my first year and lots

00:21:58.710 --> 00:22:01.380
do but there was almost it was easier almost

00:22:01.380 --> 00:22:03.599
to convince myself to celebrate this and be like,

00:22:03.660 --> 00:22:06.039
holy shit, like, fuck that noise. Like, look

00:22:06.039 --> 00:22:09.480
how great I look. And now that I'm at the lowest

00:22:09.480 --> 00:22:12.579
I've been weight wise, I just find it really

00:22:12.579 --> 00:22:14.500
hard to celebrate it because the voice in my

00:22:14.500 --> 00:22:16.980
head says, well, if people don't know your story,

00:22:17.079 --> 00:22:18.200
they would look at you and think you're still

00:22:18.200 --> 00:22:20.700
overweight. And it's like, yeah, cool. Maybe

00:22:20.700 --> 00:22:23.109
I should just like, shut up. I experienced that

00:22:23.109 --> 00:22:25.849
with my apron belly really bad because, um, like

00:22:25.849 --> 00:22:29.170
the things I could fit into and what I, what

00:22:29.170 --> 00:22:32.390
I feel would look flattering on me if I didn't

00:22:32.390 --> 00:22:34.190
have it are two different things. And there's

00:22:34.190 --> 00:22:36.210
just certain things I'll avoid wearing because

00:22:36.210 --> 00:22:39.750
of the way it is. Like I have to wear or feel

00:22:39.750 --> 00:22:42.089
the need to wear like Spanx with it and things

00:22:42.089 --> 00:22:45.779
to like hold it. And then I think, oh, I'd be

00:22:45.779 --> 00:22:48.900
another five pounds if this thing was gone off

00:22:48.900 --> 00:22:51.019
of me. It almost feels like a limb I wish I didn't

00:22:51.019 --> 00:22:54.619
have, to be honest. Like, so, yeah, I can relate

00:22:54.619 --> 00:22:58.240
to that. feeling of uh to i i allow it to limit

00:22:58.240 --> 00:23:00.900
myself to be honest i wish i didn't care so much

00:23:00.900 --> 00:23:03.559
but uh the reality is you thought all this weight

00:23:03.559 --> 00:23:05.160
would come off and you wouldn't care anymore

00:23:05.160 --> 00:23:07.740
because you've got this wonderful body that you've

00:23:07.740 --> 00:23:10.140
been like begging for and it is wonderful and

00:23:10.140 --> 00:23:12.240
i can do so many more things with it but then

00:23:12.240 --> 00:23:16.059
i also uh look i still pick it apart the way

00:23:16.059 --> 00:23:19.710
i did prior to surgery Yeah. And I I get angry

00:23:19.710 --> 00:23:21.710
some days because I'm like, fuck, I've lost a

00:23:21.710 --> 00:23:24.150
lot of weight and I just want to, you know, feel

00:23:24.150 --> 00:23:26.750
fucking smoking hot and awesome. But I'll put

00:23:26.750 --> 00:23:29.109
jeans on that like do fit me and they button

00:23:29.109 --> 00:23:31.130
up and I'll look in the mirror and go, yeah,

00:23:31.230 --> 00:23:33.750
there's that goddamn hanging belly, though, which

00:23:33.750 --> 00:23:36.569
like is loose skin. And I resent it and I get

00:23:36.569 --> 00:23:38.970
really fucking angry about it. And I'm like,

00:23:39.049 --> 00:23:42.680
come on. Like, but then I remind myself. There

00:23:42.680 --> 00:23:44.640
was a point in time that you said you'd celebrate

00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:47.380
the fuck out of having loose skin, that you would

00:23:47.380 --> 00:23:51.720
just proudly wear it because you've never had

00:23:51.720 --> 00:23:55.779
loose skin. And it's just so mentally hard. The

00:23:55.779 --> 00:23:58.079
face is starting to bug me because it's like,

00:23:58.200 --> 00:24:01.460
I will tell Steph, we'll be on podcast. Do I

00:24:01.460 --> 00:24:05.920
have a jowl? Do I have jowls? And I will ask

00:24:05.920 --> 00:24:07.720
her on a weekly basis, like, are these jowls?

00:24:07.740 --> 00:24:10.250
Is this what this is? Or I'll be like, am I,

00:24:10.250 --> 00:24:12.509
are my eyes going crooked now? Am I like, is

00:24:12.509 --> 00:24:16.789
my face like, but it's just, I wish that I didn't

00:24:16.789 --> 00:24:19.769
care. I think a large part is like, I'm also

00:24:19.769 --> 00:24:22.589
single and trying to get back into dating. And

00:24:22.589 --> 00:24:24.569
boy, my poor therapist is really earning her

00:24:24.569 --> 00:24:27.269
a living. But I was like, I feel like I have

00:24:27.269 --> 00:24:29.009
to tell everybody my story before they meet me

00:24:29.009 --> 00:24:30.329
or they're not going to be impressed with how

00:24:30.329 --> 00:24:32.710
I look. And that's so fucked up to think. That's

00:24:32.710 --> 00:24:35.849
so fucked up to think. Yeah, it is. And I'm,

00:24:35.849 --> 00:24:40.200
I'm. trying to figure out from like from the

00:24:40.200 --> 00:24:44.319
six month point that's what I'm trying to I'll

00:24:44.319 --> 00:24:45.839
say almost get ahead of but I don't even know

00:24:45.839 --> 00:24:47.579
if it's possible because I Hannah I've talked

00:24:47.579 --> 00:24:50.099
about like the skin the loose skin surgery um

00:24:50.099 --> 00:24:52.339
and I said for me I don't think I would do it

00:24:52.339 --> 00:24:54.640
only because I'm so chicken and because everybody

00:24:54.640 --> 00:24:58.180
looks like they're in so much pain afterwards

00:24:58.180 --> 00:25:02.240
um so I'm trying to like tell constantly tell

00:25:02.240 --> 00:25:06.049
myself now over and over again it's part of your

00:25:06.049 --> 00:25:08.329
journey. It shows how far you've come. It shows

00:25:08.329 --> 00:25:10.430
what you did. It shows the effort you put in.

00:25:10.490 --> 00:25:12.769
It's like, be proud of it. And I'm trying to

00:25:12.769 --> 00:25:16.210
like constantly get this in my head because I'm

00:25:16.210 --> 00:25:18.210
thinking, okay, if I say this to myself every

00:25:18.210 --> 00:25:21.430
day, will I maybe actually believe it by the

00:25:21.430 --> 00:25:24.609
time I get there? Because it's already starting.

00:25:24.710 --> 00:25:26.630
Like, and I know I have areas that are going

00:25:26.630 --> 00:25:28.890
to be bad. Like, no, my arms are going to be

00:25:28.890 --> 00:25:30.470
bad. They've always been bad. I don't, Hannah

00:25:30.470 --> 00:25:32.730
knows, I don't wear t -shirts in public. I don't

00:25:32.730 --> 00:25:36.049
really. I don't, I maybe went out once last year

00:25:36.049 --> 00:25:38.309
in a t -shirt. It'll be 40 degrees. I'm not in

00:25:38.309 --> 00:25:42.049
a t -shirt. I don't, they're bad. My thighs have

00:25:42.049 --> 00:25:43.910
always been big. I'm starting to get like loose

00:25:43.910 --> 00:25:45.769
skin on my inner thighs already. Like little

00:25:45.769 --> 00:25:50.109
wrinkles. Oh, the wrinkles are there. I got those.

00:25:50.369 --> 00:25:53.109
And so like, I don't, I don't wear shorts. I

00:25:53.109 --> 00:25:55.509
don't own a pair of shorts. And my goal for the

00:25:55.509 --> 00:25:58.259
last year had been. In the summer when it's 40

00:25:58.259 --> 00:26:00.740
degrees out, I don't want to be in jeans. I don't

00:26:00.740 --> 00:26:03.019
want to – I want to wear shorts. But now I'm

00:26:03.019 --> 00:26:05.400
like, oh, shit, here go the thighs. Am I still

00:26:05.400 --> 00:26:07.900
going to wear shorts? And I know like my lower

00:26:07.900 --> 00:26:10.740
below my belly button is always a problem area

00:26:10.740 --> 00:26:12.920
for me. I know I'm going to have the apron belly

00:26:12.920 --> 00:26:16.619
there too. So I'm trying to get ahead of it mentally.

00:26:17.059 --> 00:26:20.089
But we're so – I think the hard part, too, is

00:26:20.089 --> 00:26:22.450
we're so used to already focusing on those areas

00:26:22.450 --> 00:26:25.410
before surgery. We do have it in our mind that,

00:26:25.470 --> 00:26:26.890
yeah, I'm going to crush this surgery. I'm going

00:26:26.890 --> 00:26:28.170
to lose the weight. I'm going to have the body

00:26:28.170 --> 00:26:30.150
I've always wanted. I'm going to be so happy.

00:26:30.190 --> 00:26:33.309
I'm going to feel so great. But we can't stop

00:26:33.309 --> 00:26:35.369
fixating on these areas. And then when the loose

00:26:35.369 --> 00:26:39.329
skin sets in, it just brings all of those negative

00:26:39.329 --> 00:26:41.049
comments that we've told ourselves for years

00:26:41.049 --> 00:26:46.009
in the mirror back. And that's kind of my worry.

00:26:46.619 --> 00:26:51.500
too, is how at six months out, can I get ahead

00:26:51.500 --> 00:26:53.859
of it? Can I do anything now? I'm doing strength

00:26:53.859 --> 00:26:55.500
training. I'm lifting weights. I'm trying to

00:26:55.500 --> 00:26:57.799
do the things they say to do. Take it, Hannah.

00:26:58.319 --> 00:27:00.660
Okay, old Hannah's not doing any strength training.

00:27:01.339 --> 00:27:03.319
She's going to start. I brought this on myself.

00:27:03.599 --> 00:27:06.680
I'm doing vitamins. I'm doing protein. I'm trying

00:27:06.680 --> 00:27:11.500
to do all the things, but I worry that same thing.

00:27:11.559 --> 00:27:14.039
Once I get to that further out, that kind of

00:27:14.039 --> 00:27:16.619
magic's going to be gone. I'm still going to

00:27:16.619 --> 00:27:18.960
look at myself and go, okay, you lost weight,

00:27:19.059 --> 00:27:23.740
but you still look like crap here, here, and

00:27:23.740 --> 00:27:26.279
here. I read this thing recently that was talking

00:27:26.279 --> 00:27:29.279
about just like as human beings, we like naturally

00:27:29.279 --> 00:27:31.940
always want to go into like almost like self

00:27:31.940 --> 00:27:34.279
-improvement mode or things can always be better

00:27:34.279 --> 00:27:37.500
than your current state. Yeah. And it made me

00:27:37.500 --> 00:27:39.400
feel a little bit better to be like, you know

00:27:39.400 --> 00:27:42.460
what, even if I had the body and I will say I

00:27:42.460 --> 00:27:46.440
do. a person in my life who had surgery and she,

00:27:46.500 --> 00:27:48.819
she went to Dominican Republic. She had every

00:27:48.819 --> 00:27:51.039
single surgery you can think of. She had every

00:27:51.039 --> 00:27:53.700
kind of lift tuck that you can think of. And

00:27:53.700 --> 00:27:56.220
there are still things to this day she would

00:27:56.220 --> 00:27:58.799
change or have done differently or still feel

00:27:58.799 --> 00:28:01.680
she needs. So I don't know if it ever stops.

00:28:01.880 --> 00:28:03.960
And I think that there's a little bit of comfort

00:28:03.960 --> 00:28:07.359
to be had in that, that it may not stop. Even

00:28:07.359 --> 00:28:10.980
if you give yourself, I think. I'm never against

00:28:10.980 --> 00:28:13.380
surgery. You, I, cause I likely will have it

00:28:13.380 --> 00:28:15.880
one day for myself. I'm hopeful that one day

00:28:15.880 --> 00:28:18.680
I'll have that for myself, but I don't, I need

00:28:18.680 --> 00:28:21.039
to accept too, that that might not bring me the

00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:23.960
happiness on the other side that I think it's

00:28:23.960 --> 00:28:26.200
going to bring me. Right. Right. Do you know,

00:28:26.259 --> 00:28:29.839
do you fear that you would end up not like, I'm

00:28:29.839 --> 00:28:31.359
not shaming your friend, but do you fear that

00:28:31.359 --> 00:28:33.920
you, this could turn into that slippery slope?

00:28:34.059 --> 00:28:35.900
Cause they always say after surgery, like watch

00:28:35.900 --> 00:28:38.339
for transfer addiction. You never think about

00:28:38.339 --> 00:28:40.980
it in terms of cosmetic. uh things but do you

00:28:40.980 --> 00:28:43.819
worry that because now i'm scared of that but

00:28:43.819 --> 00:28:46.119
um that you'd start and then be like okay that's

00:28:46.119 --> 00:28:49.599
it i have to keep going Yes, 100%. I've seen

00:28:49.599 --> 00:28:53.740
it. And I think that does scare me. It absolutely

00:28:53.740 --> 00:28:57.000
scares me to think that you just don't know when

00:28:57.000 --> 00:28:58.759
to stop. There's always something now that I

00:28:58.759 --> 00:29:00.640
know I can just pay to get something fixed. It

00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:03.420
becomes almost like, you know, that Amazon overnight

00:29:03.420 --> 00:29:06.799
shipping. I'll just get my apron belly removed.

00:29:08.380 --> 00:29:11.599
Do you ever do you see a world where like so

00:29:11.599 --> 00:29:13.359
that that's my fear, too, is once we start, we

00:29:13.359 --> 00:29:15.579
don't stop. But the more I think about it, the

00:29:15.579 --> 00:29:18.269
more I think. The belly would be the area that

00:29:18.269 --> 00:29:21.450
needs to go because it physically just stands

00:29:21.450 --> 00:29:23.970
out so much. Like I do have loose skin on my

00:29:23.970 --> 00:29:27.529
thighs and my arms, but I've had people say,

00:29:27.650 --> 00:29:29.890
and I'm starting to come around on, oh, it's

00:29:29.890 --> 00:29:33.170
actually not as bad as you think it is. But the

00:29:33.170 --> 00:29:35.529
belly I think is like, I just can't. Like that's

00:29:35.529 --> 00:29:38.509
so much excess weight hanging there that just

00:29:38.509 --> 00:29:41.069
gets in the way. Do you think you could do a

00:29:41.069 --> 00:29:42.829
one and done? Like I'm just going to do the belly

00:29:42.829 --> 00:29:45.109
and then I'll learn to live with the rest of

00:29:45.109 --> 00:29:47.960
the body. I very much thought that for myself.

00:29:48.059 --> 00:29:50.599
I think I'm going to just do the belly. I also

00:29:50.599 --> 00:29:52.740
don't have children yet. So it's a conversation

00:29:52.740 --> 00:29:56.359
of do you do that now or do you wait? Right.

00:29:56.500 --> 00:29:59.619
So I very much I'm leaning towards waiting for

00:29:59.619 --> 00:30:02.759
that reason as well. My arms do hang as well.

00:30:02.819 --> 00:30:06.559
But I something that I've kind of I don't hate

00:30:06.559 --> 00:30:08.380
it about myself. You know, I feel like I could

00:30:08.380 --> 00:30:11.980
live with it. So it may be an area I leave. And

00:30:11.980 --> 00:30:14.910
I think. Honestly, if it were to be between my

00:30:14.910 --> 00:30:16.609
arms or my inner thighs, it would be my inner

00:30:16.609 --> 00:30:18.849
thighs because they are much, there are areas

00:30:18.849 --> 00:30:21.410
that I didn't think would be a problem that I

00:30:21.410 --> 00:30:25.019
dislike much more than others. My butt. My butt's

00:30:25.019 --> 00:30:27.099
great, by the way. I got a great butt for those

00:30:27.099 --> 00:30:29.619
who are applying to date me. Steph said, send

00:30:29.619 --> 00:30:33.140
your resumes in. So keep sending them in. But

00:30:33.140 --> 00:30:35.740
it's like I kind of looked at it and was like,

00:30:35.799 --> 00:30:38.259
oh, on the side of my thigh, there's there's

00:30:38.259 --> 00:30:39.980
some loose skin coming, which is interesting.

00:30:40.180 --> 00:30:42.599
My face is starting to drive me fucking nuts,

00:30:42.740 --> 00:30:44.539
which is hilarious because everyone looks at

00:30:44.539 --> 00:30:46.240
it and goes, what are you talking about? But

00:30:46.240 --> 00:30:49.599
I was used to a fat, swollen face where like,

00:30:49.640 --> 00:30:52.460
yes, I had double chins like this, but. Everything

00:30:52.460 --> 00:30:54.900
was good. And now I'm like, oh, God. Oh, God.

00:30:55.039 --> 00:30:57.799
Oh, no. Like, I'm just, you know, oh, no. But

00:30:57.799 --> 00:31:00.279
that's the thing. We're so used to being so critical

00:31:00.279 --> 00:31:02.299
of ourselves, right? Don't want to touch my face.

00:31:02.339 --> 00:31:04.599
Yeah. At all. And we're so used to looking at

00:31:04.599 --> 00:31:07.420
ourselves in the mirror and just picking ourselves

00:31:07.420 --> 00:31:11.480
apart and being like, this is crap. This is crap.

00:31:11.579 --> 00:31:15.240
This sucks. This is too bad. It's so hard to

00:31:15.240 --> 00:31:18.910
get out of that mental. And even like Hannah,

00:31:18.930 --> 00:31:22.069
your face is so different. It's very different.

00:31:23.150 --> 00:31:25.049
I feel like my face has changed a little bit.

00:31:25.230 --> 00:31:28.470
Oh no. Don't feel like my face is, like everybody

00:31:28.470 --> 00:31:31.369
always says your face changed so drastically.

00:31:31.990 --> 00:31:34.529
I feel like mine's changed a bit. But I don't

00:31:34.529 --> 00:31:37.750
feel like I've had as drastic of a face. Two

00:31:37.750 --> 00:31:40.130
years. You got to give it time. Because even

00:31:40.130 --> 00:31:42.789
my mom and like God bless her, but I would share

00:31:42.789 --> 00:31:44.869
face photos and be like, whoa, look at my face.

00:31:44.930 --> 00:31:46.329
She goes, that's the same face. And I was like,

00:31:46.349 --> 00:31:48.910
what? fuck you. Like, don't say that. I was like,

00:31:48.950 --> 00:31:50.529
what do you mean? She's like, no, your face is

00:31:50.529 --> 00:31:52.970
your face. And I was like, mom, but like, you

00:31:52.970 --> 00:31:55.210
need to give it time. Cause like you are narrowing

00:31:55.210 --> 00:31:57.589
in, especially in like your workout photos. And

00:31:57.589 --> 00:31:59.990
you're like, I think the hard thing too, is when

00:31:59.990 --> 00:32:02.250
you're in this perspective, sure. I can see my

00:32:02.250 --> 00:32:04.150
old face when we're this close to the screen.

00:32:04.289 --> 00:32:06.269
But when you take your workout photos, like you

00:32:06.269 --> 00:32:09.470
are like, you are narrowing in changes, but you

00:32:09.470 --> 00:32:11.789
got to give it two years. The best advice I had

00:32:11.789 --> 00:32:15.250
was. I have a cleaner that comes every now and

00:32:15.250 --> 00:32:16.650
then because, you know, the dog and all that

00:32:16.650 --> 00:32:20.349
jazz. But she had bariatric surgery and she said,

00:32:20.490 --> 00:32:22.369
oh, I didn't mean to pry, but I saw that you

00:32:22.369 --> 00:32:25.369
had the calendar that you're counting down for

00:32:25.369 --> 00:32:27.390
surgery on your fridge. And I was like, well,

00:32:27.430 --> 00:32:29.190
it's not prying. It's taped to the front of my

00:32:29.190 --> 00:32:31.650
fridge. She's like, I had it too five years ago.

00:32:31.690 --> 00:32:33.569
And I was like, oh, my God. you look amazing.

00:32:33.750 --> 00:32:35.450
She said, Oh, blah, blah, blah. And she said,

00:32:35.470 --> 00:32:37.609
best advice I can give you is watch your hands.

00:32:37.769 --> 00:32:40.710
And I said, watch my hands. So you'll start to

00:32:40.710 --> 00:32:42.970
notice the weight loss in your hands. It's going

00:32:42.970 --> 00:32:45.650
to be a very surreal moment, but you'll notice

00:32:45.650 --> 00:32:49.210
it there. And I remember thinking on about, and

00:32:49.210 --> 00:32:51.549
then there was a day and it was not during my

00:32:51.549 --> 00:32:54.309
first year. It was probably into like a year

00:32:54.309 --> 00:32:58.309
and a half that I looked down and went, they're

00:32:58.309 --> 00:33:01.069
sausage fingers. Like they're, they're thin.

00:33:01.660 --> 00:33:04.380
The day that I could put my – I haven't worn

00:33:04.380 --> 00:33:07.599
– so my engagement ring sat on the ring holder

00:33:07.599 --> 00:33:12.339
for four years. Whoa. Because I couldn't put

00:33:12.339 --> 00:33:14.160
it – I was so swollen. I would wake up swollen,

00:33:14.259 --> 00:33:16.059
so I couldn't wear it to bed. And then it would

00:33:16.059 --> 00:33:17.539
take forever during the day for the swelling

00:33:17.539 --> 00:33:20.259
to go down to then put it on. I'd wear it for

00:33:20.259 --> 00:33:22.259
like half an hour, and then I'd have to take

00:33:22.259 --> 00:33:25.660
it off. The day that I could put this back on

00:33:25.660 --> 00:33:28.220
and wear all my rings and feel like – and the

00:33:28.220 --> 00:33:30.819
fact that they move, like I can pull them off.

00:33:31.470 --> 00:33:33.529
I now have to get it tightened. I'm not going

00:33:33.529 --> 00:33:38.029
to yet. But that to me was bigger than the face,

00:33:38.230 --> 00:33:41.849
bigger than the clothing. The fact that I have

00:33:41.849 --> 00:33:44.750
to now be careful that my rings don't fall off

00:33:44.750 --> 00:33:50.950
was like my major. That was a massive thing.

00:33:50.950 --> 00:33:53.269
So watch your hands, guys, and necklaces. Watch

00:33:53.269 --> 00:33:55.730
your hands and necklaces. It's weird, but you

00:33:55.730 --> 00:33:57.230
just start to notice like, oh, a necklace is

00:33:57.230 --> 00:33:59.980
supposed to have room. Fuck. All right. Oh my

00:33:59.980 --> 00:34:02.039
gosh. The amount of times I said no to a necklace

00:34:02.039 --> 00:34:03.779
because it wouldn't fit around my neck at the

00:34:03.779 --> 00:34:06.240
time. And that goes to say with your measurements

00:34:06.240 --> 00:34:08.320
too, like you don't realize unless you're taking

00:34:08.320 --> 00:34:11.320
them how. how many inches you're losing, but

00:34:11.320 --> 00:34:14.320
my rings, I was a ring girl before and now none

00:34:14.320 --> 00:34:16.119
of them fit me, but I've kept them just for the

00:34:16.119 --> 00:34:18.539
purpose of every so often, like to put them on

00:34:18.539 --> 00:34:20.519
and just realize how loose they are. Like it

00:34:20.519 --> 00:34:23.940
is a good reminder. So I've kept a lot of the

00:34:23.940 --> 00:34:26.780
rings I used to wear and I got engaged last year

00:34:26.780 --> 00:34:30.199
and I already have a tightener on my engagement

00:34:30.199 --> 00:34:31.980
ring, but it fit me perfectly at the time of

00:34:31.980 --> 00:34:35.760
my engagement last year. Incredible. I think

00:34:35.760 --> 00:34:37.320
that's the stuff that's important, right? Like

00:34:37.320 --> 00:34:39.000
we talk about non -scale victories, which are

00:34:39.000 --> 00:34:41.300
one thing, but I think when we talk about like

00:34:41.300 --> 00:34:44.360
body dysmorphia, not seeing the changes and not

00:34:44.360 --> 00:34:46.800
seeing what's happening, having physical things

00:34:46.800 --> 00:34:49.860
like rings that you can actually pull on and

00:34:49.860 --> 00:34:53.139
off, having physical reminders of things like

00:34:53.139 --> 00:34:57.260
that to reinforce the positives. It reminds me

00:34:57.260 --> 00:34:59.900
of like, not in the word, I don't mean this to,

00:34:59.980 --> 00:35:03.300
phantom limb syndrome. When people have to have

00:35:03.300 --> 00:35:05.719
an amputation, what they tell them to do is like

00:35:05.719 --> 00:35:08.579
put the mirror there or like snap yourself out

00:35:08.579 --> 00:35:11.579
of it by like hitting the limb. And I'm not trying

00:35:11.579 --> 00:35:13.260
to say that we went through anything that they

00:35:13.260 --> 00:35:15.000
went through, but it's almost like you have to

00:35:15.000 --> 00:35:17.739
have something that hits you and snaps you out

00:35:17.739 --> 00:35:20.340
of this because dysmorphia is not a 10 minute

00:35:20.340 --> 00:35:23.639
thing. You can be in this for. weeks you can

00:35:23.639 --> 00:35:26.539
just hate how you look be really upset so you

00:35:26.539 --> 00:35:29.440
almost need to have the ring the old pair of

00:35:29.440 --> 00:35:32.460
jeans the old like something that physically

00:35:32.460 --> 00:35:37.000
hits you out of this for me it's photos and that's

00:35:37.000 --> 00:35:39.940
why I continuously look at the same old photos

00:35:39.940 --> 00:35:44.300
and I go holy shit like you have like there's

00:35:44.300 --> 00:35:46.059
something I can't stand in a mirror and snap

00:35:46.059 --> 00:35:49.059
myself out of this at all but I can pull up a

00:35:49.059 --> 00:35:51.610
photo And then look at another photo and go,

00:35:51.710 --> 00:35:55.449
whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay, like this is snapping

00:35:55.449 --> 00:35:58.449
me out of this more. But I describe it as that,

00:35:58.510 --> 00:36:00.070
like a phantom limb thing. Like what is going

00:36:00.070 --> 00:36:03.190
to be your physically hit that and see that there's

00:36:03.190 --> 00:36:06.329
nothing there to pull you and snap you out of

00:36:06.329 --> 00:36:09.510
this. Yeah, absolutely. I actually had on my

00:36:09.510 --> 00:36:11.750
calendar for my first year post -op, like an

00:36:11.750 --> 00:36:14.170
automatic reminder on my phone that reminded

00:36:14.170 --> 00:36:16.670
me to take photos because otherwise it was just

00:36:16.670 --> 00:36:18.469
something that didn't come naturally to me. And

00:36:18.469 --> 00:36:21.409
as bigger people, we just never took photos of

00:36:21.409 --> 00:36:23.070
ourselves. We were always behind the camera.

00:36:23.489 --> 00:36:27.489
So I forced myself to have like that every month

00:36:27.489 --> 00:36:29.690
I took a photo. So for my first year post -op,

00:36:29.750 --> 00:36:32.030
I have a photo every month in like a similar

00:36:32.030 --> 00:36:35.409
pose. I think a lot of us do that. But those

00:36:35.409 --> 00:36:38.090
are huge. And I think though what I didn't realize

00:36:38.090 --> 00:36:40.949
is I thought like, I feel like it's very naive

00:36:40.949 --> 00:36:42.590
to think, but you think one year post -op, I'm

00:36:42.590 --> 00:36:44.570
going to be exactly where I thought I would be.

00:36:44.570 --> 00:36:49.309
I thought that. Yeah. I thought that. I'm now

00:36:49.309 --> 00:36:51.269
coming to the realization. One year post -op,

00:36:51.309 --> 00:36:52.809
that's not the mark you're going for. I think

00:36:52.809 --> 00:36:54.949
it was about, I didn't hit what I would think

00:36:54.949 --> 00:36:58.449
now is my maintenance, probably for like a year

00:36:58.449 --> 00:37:02.559
and six months. I was pretty close to the two

00:37:02.559 --> 00:37:05.280
-year mark and was like, oh, so I literally haven't

00:37:05.280 --> 00:37:07.599
gone up or down in a couple of months. I guess

00:37:07.599 --> 00:37:11.199
I've hit where I'm at maintenance -wise. I'd

00:37:11.199 --> 00:37:14.239
like to go a little, but that's fine. I have

00:37:14.239 --> 00:37:16.039
room to play with. 1 ,200 to 1 ,500 calories

00:37:16.039 --> 00:37:19.039
gives me room to just go 1 ,200 to 1 ,300 instead.

00:37:19.599 --> 00:37:21.559
And when you start weight training. Yeah, okay,

00:37:21.659 --> 00:37:22.960
so I haven't been doing that and I really need

00:37:22.960 --> 00:37:24.880
to do that. And that's a whole thing. I think

00:37:24.880 --> 00:37:26.980
once I start weight training and I get back into

00:37:26.980 --> 00:37:29.829
a very consistent. pattern will be fine. But

00:37:29.829 --> 00:37:32.449
yeah, you don't hit it your first year. I'm seeing

00:37:32.449 --> 00:37:35.010
more and more research saying buckle up three

00:37:35.010 --> 00:37:38.269
years. That's when you get where you actually

00:37:38.269 --> 00:37:40.969
want to go. And that seems pretty on par like

00:37:40.969 --> 00:37:42.750
to to their credit with a lot of influencers

00:37:42.750 --> 00:37:45.650
who have shown their journey. They did not hit

00:37:45.650 --> 00:37:47.369
that journey in their first or second year. But

00:37:47.369 --> 00:37:49.590
I think that goes back to like all of this right

00:37:49.590 --> 00:37:52.650
is setting. We're also not good at setting realistic

00:37:52.650 --> 00:37:55.809
expectations of ourselves because we're so hard

00:37:55.809 --> 00:37:57.989
on ourselves. And so I've been saying to Hannah,

00:37:58.679 --> 00:38:02.480
I turned 40 at the end of this month and I don't

00:38:02.480 --> 00:38:05.800
know why, but I set myself a goal that on my

00:38:05.800 --> 00:38:07.820
40th birthday, I want to be down a hundred pounds.

00:38:08.679 --> 00:38:11.840
Why I set this for myself, I have no idea because

00:38:11.840 --> 00:38:13.820
I said it like at the start of surgery when I

00:38:13.820 --> 00:38:16.380
had no idea what was realistic. I had no idea

00:38:16.380 --> 00:38:18.300
what my weight loss was going to be like. I had

00:38:18.300 --> 00:38:20.860
no idea what to expect, but I got this in my

00:38:20.860 --> 00:38:26.840
head. I'm close. I'm at 92. I've got three. Just

00:38:26.840 --> 00:38:29.980
under three weeks. Am I going to hit it? Probably

00:38:29.980 --> 00:38:33.800
not. Am I going to be bummed? Yeah. But should

00:38:33.800 --> 00:38:38.719
I be bummed? No. Because even now, like 92 pounds

00:38:38.719 --> 00:38:42.139
in six months, I'm happy with it. Yeah. I should

00:38:42.139 --> 00:38:45.599
be phenomenally happy with it. But we get these

00:38:45.599 --> 00:38:49.179
unrealistic expectations that we put on ourselves

00:38:49.179 --> 00:38:52.639
and then we beat ourselves up to no end when

00:38:52.639 --> 00:38:54.659
we don't hit it or we don't like the outcome

00:38:54.659 --> 00:38:57.300
or we don't like what we see. That was based

00:38:57.300 --> 00:39:02.579
on no facts whatsoever. Don't factor that in.

00:39:02.780 --> 00:39:05.760
No, and that's why they don't even ask you. This

00:39:05.760 --> 00:39:08.579
is going to happen. Our clinic doesn't say, and

00:39:08.579 --> 00:39:10.139
what's that goal weight that you're trying to

00:39:10.139 --> 00:39:12.159
get? Like they mentioned, do you have a goal

00:39:12.159 --> 00:39:13.679
weight? And I was like, I do. And they were like,

00:39:13.679 --> 00:39:15.820
mm -hmm. And I was like, yeah, I just picked

00:39:15.820 --> 00:39:18.460
a random fucking number out of thin air. There's

00:39:18.460 --> 00:39:21.980
no guidance. There's no rhyme or reason as to

00:39:21.980 --> 00:39:25.280
why. But again, it goes back to us picking ourselves

00:39:25.280 --> 00:39:28.559
apart. not being happy with where we are ever,

00:39:28.659 --> 00:39:32.099
always wanting something more or something different.

00:39:32.320 --> 00:39:36.340
And I think out of this whole journey, that's

00:39:36.340 --> 00:39:39.179
I think been the hardest mental shift for me

00:39:39.179 --> 00:39:42.099
is accepting where I am, accepting what I've

00:39:42.099 --> 00:39:44.920
done and being, being happy about it in the moment.

00:39:45.860 --> 00:39:49.079
Yeah. Not always looking to, okay, but now what?

00:39:49.199 --> 00:39:54.260
Okay. So I hit this, but now. I need to do this.

00:39:54.260 --> 00:39:58.539
But now that's not enough. Like this constant

00:39:58.539 --> 00:40:02.039
drive and need for better. Yeah. And this far

00:40:02.039 --> 00:40:04.960
out for me, like now that I'm like two years

00:40:04.960 --> 00:40:06.880
out and I don't know if Hannah's had this happen

00:40:06.880 --> 00:40:09.860
at all. Like I have had family members specifically

00:40:09.860 --> 00:40:13.250
who have been like. I remember I was having a

00:40:13.250 --> 00:40:16.190
conversation and they were like, well, what was

00:40:16.190 --> 00:40:18.469
the lowest weight that your doctor gave you?

00:40:18.590 --> 00:40:20.550
So my doctor's team was they wanted me to get

00:40:20.550 --> 00:40:23.210
to 165. That was what they thought would be a

00:40:23.210 --> 00:40:26.909
healthy weight for me as a 5 '2 female. That's

00:40:26.909 --> 00:40:30.429
what my program wanted me to strive towards or

00:40:30.429 --> 00:40:34.690
thought I would get to. And it's funny, I'm talking

00:40:34.690 --> 00:40:36.070
to this family member and they're like, that

00:40:36.070 --> 00:40:38.849
seems kind of high. And I'm like, that just ruined

00:40:38.849 --> 00:40:42.829
everything. Thanks so much for that. Yeah. Not

00:40:42.829 --> 00:40:45.449
helpful or constructive at all. And also your

00:40:45.449 --> 00:40:47.929
opinion versus my doctor. Like, why should I

00:40:47.929 --> 00:40:51.289
care? Exactly. And that's the thing, like nobody

00:40:51.289 --> 00:40:53.289
knows weight. And I think that's why picking

00:40:53.289 --> 00:40:55.969
an arbitrary number before surgery makes no sense

00:40:55.969 --> 00:40:58.849
because you, it has nothing to do with the weight

00:40:58.849 --> 00:41:00.829
you hold. It's the frame you have, the shape,

00:41:00.829 --> 00:41:03.449
the size. I go through the same thing. I text

00:41:03.449 --> 00:41:06.190
Steph. Comparison is a thief of joy, man. It

00:41:06.190 --> 00:41:08.469
drives you nuts. But I will text Steph all the

00:41:08.469 --> 00:41:10.969
time and be like, Jesus, mother aging Christ.

00:41:11.190 --> 00:41:14.429
Like I cannot break, like I can't get below 170

00:41:14.429 --> 00:41:16.230
and it's driving me nuts. And I was like, but

00:41:16.230 --> 00:41:18.670
I was below it before. And she'll be like, when

00:41:18.670 --> 00:41:21.429
you had pneumonia. And I was like, yeah, and

00:41:21.429 --> 00:41:24.389
it's true. When I was dying and I was in the

00:41:24.389 --> 00:41:28.019
hospital, I was like. I'm in the 160s, but I

00:41:28.019 --> 00:41:32.219
was like pneumonia. So I tell her like, I keep

00:41:32.219 --> 00:41:36.579
ping -ponging like 170, 171, 170, 171. Now, truthfully,

00:41:36.619 --> 00:41:38.059
I do need to start weight training and stuff.

00:41:38.119 --> 00:41:40.099
But I remember like I would do the same thing.

00:41:40.159 --> 00:41:42.179
I'd go, oh, that's so fat. Like, and that was

00:41:42.179 --> 00:41:43.780
such a horrible, like I would never say that

00:41:43.780 --> 00:41:46.239
to a human, but in my mind I'd go, oh my God,

00:41:46.260 --> 00:41:48.039
Hannah, that's nothing to brag about. 170 is

00:41:48.039 --> 00:41:52.079
fucking huge. However, I had, I wear a size eight

00:41:52.079 --> 00:41:54.480
now, which I was like, holy shit. I've never

00:41:54.480 --> 00:41:57.019
in my life. And I had a friend message me stuff.

00:41:57.059 --> 00:42:00.400
You'll know Katie from Vidyard. Like Katie could

00:42:00.400 --> 00:42:02.760
be slender, man. Like she is a gorgeous blonde

00:42:02.760 --> 00:42:05.559
haired slender. Like she just looks great. And

00:42:05.559 --> 00:42:07.559
she was like, Oh my God, Hannah, we wear the

00:42:07.559 --> 00:42:10.809
same size now. And I was like, what? Right. What?

00:42:11.369 --> 00:42:13.909
I was like, no, Katie. And you know what I did?

00:42:14.050 --> 00:42:15.989
I went, oh, Katie, like these jeans probably

00:42:15.989 --> 00:42:17.989
shouldn't fit me. Like they're, they're, they're

00:42:17.989 --> 00:42:20.710
too snug. Like I had, I made all these excuses

00:42:20.710 --> 00:42:23.349
that there's no way this like slender, gorgeous

00:42:23.349 --> 00:42:26.150
friend of mine and I were wearing the same size.

00:42:26.230 --> 00:42:28.750
And I felt like I had to say, oh, I'm too fat

00:42:28.750 --> 00:42:30.969
to be wearing this size. Don't worry about it.

00:42:31.050 --> 00:42:33.650
And then I was like, what is the matter with

00:42:33.650 --> 00:42:35.809
you? Like, she's first of all, closer to six

00:42:35.809 --> 00:42:39.719
feet than she is to my five, four. So like. yeah,

00:42:39.780 --> 00:42:41.840
there's, she probably could wear what I wear,

00:42:41.920 --> 00:42:43.820
but that's the, that's the thing that's crazy

00:42:43.820 --> 00:42:46.380
is I'm so obsessed with weight versus the sizes

00:42:46.380 --> 00:42:48.840
I'm wearing, how I'm looking in clothes. But

00:42:48.840 --> 00:42:51.219
yes, the same thought cast goes through my mind

00:42:51.219 --> 00:42:53.519
that that's not a weight that I should be proud

00:42:53.519 --> 00:42:56.320
to share. Yeah. I think with the body dysmorphia

00:42:56.320 --> 00:42:58.139
too, like you were sharing with the pant sizes,

00:42:58.139 --> 00:43:02.320
like you don't. realize that even visually you

00:43:02.320 --> 00:43:04.480
when you picture yourself in your own brain how

00:43:04.480 --> 00:43:08.099
you think of yourself like my grandma gave me

00:43:08.099 --> 00:43:10.760
some nightgowns that she had my grandma is like

00:43:10.760 --> 00:43:13.880
the thinnest person um you've probably ever seen

00:43:13.880 --> 00:43:16.099
she's been a Weight Watchers warrior since she

00:43:16.099 --> 00:43:19.300
was in her 60s bless her heart yeah bless her

00:43:19.300 --> 00:43:22.039
heart so she gave me these 90s and I'm like grandma

00:43:22.039 --> 00:43:24.000
these are like an extra small I'm not usually

00:43:24.000 --> 00:43:26.360
an extra small let me say that too I usually

00:43:26.360 --> 00:43:28.900
fit in about a medium but I was like, there is

00:43:28.900 --> 00:43:30.500
no way these are going to fit. And they, like,

00:43:30.500 --> 00:43:34.099
fit perfectly. Like, you know, I don't care what

00:43:34.099 --> 00:43:36.179
I wear to bed. My grandmother's 90s are perfect

00:43:36.179 --> 00:43:40.239
for me. Comfort. Comfort. But it's, yeah, and,

00:43:40.340 --> 00:43:43.260
like, it doesn't go away. So anyone who thinks,

00:43:43.320 --> 00:43:45.159
like, well, I'll be certain years out of surgery

00:43:45.159 --> 00:43:46.760
and it'll all, like, it doesn't. If anything,

00:43:47.059 --> 00:43:49.079
I want to go back to something Steph just said

00:43:49.079 --> 00:43:50.860
a couple of minutes ago because, Cass, I'm curious

00:43:50.860 --> 00:43:53.619
about your opinion on this here. So she's constantly

00:43:53.619 --> 00:43:55.280
saying, like, what's next, what's next, what's

00:43:55.280 --> 00:43:58.159
next. i felt like in my first year it was just

00:43:58.159 --> 00:44:00.480
so celebratory and there was new things all the

00:44:00.480 --> 00:44:02.639
time even in like the you know lead up to my

00:44:02.639 --> 00:44:06.940
second year and now i feel like oh who am i now

00:44:06.940 --> 00:44:09.139
without that major weight loss like i won't be

00:44:09.139 --> 00:44:11.300
dropping weight like crazy all the time and documenting

00:44:11.300 --> 00:44:13.199
that journey and like now where it's maintenance

00:44:13.199 --> 00:44:16.340
and there's kind of this weird like grief isn't

00:44:16.340 --> 00:44:18.280
the right word but there are days where i'm like

00:44:18.280 --> 00:44:21.599
oh so now what do i do with my life like Oh my

00:44:21.599 --> 00:44:23.360
gosh, I'm having thoughts of like, do I need

00:44:23.360 --> 00:44:25.940
to revamp my whole wardrobe? Because I feel like

00:44:25.940 --> 00:44:28.579
it doesn't suit. I've almost, you almost evolve

00:44:28.579 --> 00:44:31.139
into a new person. I do feel like my confidence

00:44:31.139 --> 00:44:32.980
has changed when I watch my TikToks from the

00:44:32.980 --> 00:44:35.539
beginning versus how I speak now. Like I speak

00:44:35.539 --> 00:44:37.280
with a lot more confidence and I didn't even

00:44:37.280 --> 00:44:39.559
notice it until my sister had brought it up.

00:44:40.019 --> 00:44:43.300
And I look at my wardrobe that I've slowly picked

00:44:43.300 --> 00:44:45.760
up to this point and I was kind of just going

00:44:45.760 --> 00:44:48.800
with what fit, what was on sale. Black, yeah,

00:44:48.920 --> 00:44:51.239
yep. And now I'm like, does this actually suit

00:44:51.239 --> 00:44:54.219
who I want to show up as in the world? You know,

00:44:54.239 --> 00:44:56.579
is this what I want for myself? Or do I want

00:44:56.579 --> 00:44:59.440
a new wardrobe? Like you want to like reinvent

00:44:59.440 --> 00:45:01.780
yourself almost. Yeah, because you're just like,

00:45:01.880 --> 00:45:05.980
I don't. Oh, you're on kind of autopilot in that

00:45:05.980 --> 00:45:07.920
first year and a bit where you're like, my life

00:45:07.920 --> 00:45:10.059
is this weight loss journey. And like that's

00:45:10.059 --> 00:45:12.460
and then when the weight stops coming off so

00:45:12.460 --> 00:45:15.659
quick, you're left going, oh, OK. okay, so who

00:45:15.659 --> 00:45:19.739
am I now? And like, what do I do now? And yeah,

00:45:19.860 --> 00:45:21.519
I'm in that same spot, right? Where I'm like,

00:45:21.539 --> 00:45:23.340
oh, was I just buying clothes because they fit

00:45:23.340 --> 00:45:25.460
versus like, what do I actually want to be known

00:45:25.460 --> 00:45:29.199
for? The confidence thing is amazing. I'm going

00:45:29.199 --> 00:45:30.739
to let the cat out of the bag on this one, but

00:45:30.739 --> 00:45:33.219
I have a new job. I'll tell people more about

00:45:33.219 --> 00:45:34.920
it later. That's why I've been so absent from

00:45:34.920 --> 00:45:37.679
Instagram. But like, I'm more confident everywhere,

00:45:37.860 --> 00:45:41.099
not just like the way I speak at work, how I

00:45:41.099 --> 00:45:46.170
hold myself, how I do things. Yeah, but we're

00:45:46.170 --> 00:45:47.949
now in this weird phase. I don't know how to

00:45:47.949 --> 00:45:49.630
describe it to people. You'll get there when

00:45:49.630 --> 00:45:51.210
you get there, folks, but you're in this weird

00:45:51.210 --> 00:45:55.789
post -rapid weight loss. Who the fuck am I? And

00:45:55.789 --> 00:45:59.670
what do I celebrate now? And some days it's a

00:45:59.670 --> 00:46:01.590
bit depressing, not in a bad way, but some days

00:46:01.590 --> 00:46:06.039
you're like, oh, that journey is over. okay and

00:46:06.039 --> 00:46:07.539
you kind of wish you spent more time on that

00:46:07.539 --> 00:46:09.219
journey there's days where I was like I should

00:46:09.219 --> 00:46:11.139
have maybe celebrated a bit harder because like

00:46:11.139 --> 00:46:13.239
that journey's over for that part of my life

00:46:13.239 --> 00:46:16.420
and now I'm in this new journey and um there's

00:46:16.420 --> 00:46:17.880
days where I'm like oh are people bored with

00:46:17.880 --> 00:46:19.659
maintenance mode Hannah do they do they miss

00:46:19.659 --> 00:46:22.360
seeing rapid weight loss Hannah um and maybe

00:46:22.360 --> 00:46:24.739
I tied too much of myself to this but then I

00:46:24.739 --> 00:46:26.900
that's just kind of like dysmorphia and self

00:46:26.900 --> 00:46:29.300
-esteem I rip myself out of it and go no it's

00:46:29.300 --> 00:46:31.599
cool that I've made my life about this and there's

00:46:31.599 --> 00:46:33.550
nothing wrong with that No, and now people want

00:46:33.550 --> 00:46:35.829
to see that fresh. It's like a fresh start. It's

00:46:35.829 --> 00:46:38.269
a new beginning because we've talked about, and

00:46:38.269 --> 00:46:40.510
I've said on this podcast, even though I'm only

00:46:40.510 --> 00:46:42.429
six months out, I'm not the same person I was

00:46:42.429 --> 00:46:45.409
three months ago. I'm not the same person I was

00:46:45.409 --> 00:46:47.190
when I started the journey. And it's a constant

00:46:47.190 --> 00:46:50.469
evolution. Then, like you said, then you have

00:46:50.469 --> 00:46:52.760
to almost sit back and go, okay. Who's really

00:46:52.760 --> 00:46:56.019
underneath all of that, that I was hiding, that

00:46:56.019 --> 00:46:57.780
I was suppressing, that I was making excuses

00:46:57.780 --> 00:46:59.699
for? Because you had to be the happy fat friend.

00:46:59.880 --> 00:47:02.880
Or I didn't want to do those things because I

00:47:02.880 --> 00:47:05.019
was scared, because I was obese. I couldn't do

00:47:05.019 --> 00:47:07.860
these things because physically, I physically

00:47:07.860 --> 00:47:09.300
couldn't. But you convinced yourself you didn't

00:47:09.300 --> 00:47:12.519
want to do those things. Who's really underneath

00:47:12.519 --> 00:47:15.079
all of that? And as you go through this journey,

00:47:15.219 --> 00:47:18.260
and as we've said, you have so many mental mind

00:47:18.260 --> 00:47:21.000
shifts that happen and emotional mind shifts

00:47:21.000 --> 00:47:23.400
that you start. kind of peeling back those layers

00:47:23.400 --> 00:47:26.980
of and weight, layers of weight, layers of everything

00:47:26.980 --> 00:47:29.760
until you finally get to who you really were.

00:47:29.880 --> 00:47:33.610
And that's scary. Yeah. But like you said, you're

00:47:33.610 --> 00:47:36.130
not the same person. Whether you want to admit

00:47:36.130 --> 00:47:38.610
it or not, you're not the same person. Yes. I

00:47:38.610 --> 00:47:40.989
feel like you outgrow different areas of your

00:47:40.989 --> 00:47:43.250
life with that. Like you hear about relationships

00:47:43.250 --> 00:47:45.929
not working out after. I've had some friendships

00:47:45.929 --> 00:47:49.090
actually that just, you know, I feel like I outgrew

00:47:49.090 --> 00:47:52.050
during the process too. And I think that's okay.

00:47:52.090 --> 00:47:54.230
You do become a new person. Some people don't

00:47:54.230 --> 00:47:57.369
receive your new confidence well. I've had friends

00:47:57.369 --> 00:48:01.179
too, my TikTok. They were honestly just annoyed

00:48:01.179 --> 00:48:03.659
with me filming my food all the time. And I wanted

00:48:03.659 --> 00:48:06.019
people that celebrated that part of me and they

00:48:06.019 --> 00:48:08.519
didn't fit into my new life that way, you know?

00:48:08.519 --> 00:48:11.099
And that's okay. Friends are seasons. They come

00:48:11.099 --> 00:48:12.579
and go. We did an episode on that where you have

00:48:12.579 --> 00:48:14.860
to surround yourself with the people that are

00:48:14.860 --> 00:48:16.880
going to support you, that are going to help

00:48:16.880 --> 00:48:18.980
you succeed and are going to help you build that

00:48:18.980 --> 00:48:20.920
foundation. And if they're not there for that,

00:48:21.079 --> 00:48:23.440
then that's fine. And maybe they come back later.

00:48:23.840 --> 00:48:25.539
Maybe they don't. Maybe not. But you have to

00:48:25.539 --> 00:48:27.119
kind of be a little bit selfish and say, this

00:48:27.119 --> 00:48:29.519
is what I need. This is what's important to me.

00:48:29.559 --> 00:48:32.300
And if you're not on board, that's fine. I've

00:48:32.300 --> 00:48:36.320
had family that are that way. Like my brother,

00:48:36.420 --> 00:48:38.079
who I know is probably not listening to this,

00:48:38.099 --> 00:48:39.980
so I'll just say it, was like, I don't know,

00:48:39.980 --> 00:48:42.000
maybe stop posting so much online. And I was

00:48:42.000 --> 00:48:43.800
like, I don't know why it upsets some people,

00:48:43.840 --> 00:48:45.920
but it does. And in that broadcast episode, we

00:48:45.920 --> 00:48:48.159
did say, don't internalize it. Please don't take

00:48:48.159 --> 00:48:51.139
it personally. People get really uncomfortable

00:48:51.139 --> 00:48:54.269
when people better their lives. You are not making

00:48:54.269 --> 00:48:57.030
them judge their own life, but they will feel

00:48:57.030 --> 00:48:59.230
like they're being left behind or they're not

00:48:59.230 --> 00:49:01.309
doing enough and they'll take it out on you aggressively.

00:49:01.869 --> 00:49:04.170
And it's just easier to judge people. It is.

00:49:04.210 --> 00:49:06.510
But like, just let it go. Don't be like one of

00:49:06.510 --> 00:49:08.030
those influencers who's like, here's all the

00:49:08.030 --> 00:49:10.570
hate comments I get every day. Oh, come on. You

00:49:10.570 --> 00:49:12.690
get five times more positive comments. Like,

00:49:12.710 --> 00:49:15.250
don't don't give in to that. But yeah, people

00:49:15.250 --> 00:49:18.710
just like you will evolve. People will also evolve

00:49:18.710 --> 00:49:21.320
and maybe they're not the right fit. I think

00:49:21.320 --> 00:49:23.920
it's a scary feeling. It can be a sad feeling

00:49:23.920 --> 00:49:27.619
because you can realize, wow, I was treated very

00:49:27.619 --> 00:49:29.440
differently. And you just put a post up about

00:49:29.440 --> 00:49:32.179
this, which I loved and resonated with so hard

00:49:32.179 --> 00:49:35.119
that the confidence is great. But it's also that

00:49:35.119 --> 00:49:37.780
the world is just open to me like it never was

00:49:37.780 --> 00:49:40.760
when I was obese. I get more opportunity. I get

00:49:40.760 --> 00:49:44.719
treated differently. I'm celebrated more. And

00:49:44.719 --> 00:49:48.280
like that is heartbreaking for old Hannah. Because

00:49:48.280 --> 00:49:50.800
there is always a fear that you regain this weight

00:49:50.800 --> 00:49:53.199
and go back that way. And, like, I was treated

00:49:53.199 --> 00:49:55.199
differently. I wasn't treated meanly or poorly.

00:49:55.280 --> 00:49:58.860
But I almost was just not given the same life

00:49:58.860 --> 00:50:01.260
that I'm able to have now. And it's not just

00:50:01.260 --> 00:50:03.820
all because I have confidence now. I was treated

00:50:03.820 --> 00:50:07.199
very differently as an obese person. This is,

00:50:07.219 --> 00:50:09.260
I'm learning to live again. Like I'm learning

00:50:09.260 --> 00:50:11.900
how to function. Like most of you have functioned

00:50:11.900 --> 00:50:14.599
your whole life. You have to give bariatric people

00:50:14.599 --> 00:50:16.800
time to catch up because this is not what life

00:50:16.800 --> 00:50:19.659
was like for us at all when we were obese. Yeah.

00:50:19.860 --> 00:50:22.739
I feel like there's a bit of a, almost in the

00:50:22.739 --> 00:50:25.579
body dysmorphia, it's like a mental game with

00:50:25.579 --> 00:50:28.619
that about where you realize that, yeah, your

00:50:28.619 --> 00:50:31.280
voice is heard in a room a little bit more. than

00:50:31.280 --> 00:50:34.320
you would anticipate post -op. And once the weight

00:50:34.320 --> 00:50:36.480
starts coming off and yeah, the opportunities

00:50:36.480 --> 00:50:38.820
are there and you're just, you're received so

00:50:38.820 --> 00:50:41.039
differently. The amount of people that will hold

00:50:41.039 --> 00:50:44.000
the door open for me who wouldn't have bothered

00:50:44.000 --> 00:50:48.079
before, you know, is astounding. It's just bizarre.

00:50:48.159 --> 00:50:51.579
And you don't notice it until you notice it.

00:50:51.639 --> 00:50:54.800
And you're like, wow. Just my health is taken

00:50:54.800 --> 00:50:57.539
more seriously. Now, my family doctor is an amazing

00:50:57.539 --> 00:50:59.659
man and I've praised him several times on this

00:50:59.659 --> 00:51:02.559
podcast. But it's other places that I notice

00:51:02.559 --> 00:51:05.920
I just get slightly better treatment where it's

00:51:05.920 --> 00:51:08.340
almost like some things were discredited a little

00:51:08.340 --> 00:51:11.340
when you were overweight. Like a great example

00:51:11.340 --> 00:51:12.920
is having pneumonia. I had to go for cardiac

00:51:12.920 --> 00:51:15.519
testing after because they were like, well, we

00:51:15.519 --> 00:51:17.260
should just make sure everything's good. And

00:51:17.260 --> 00:51:18.619
we're going to like check every because you're

00:51:18.619 --> 00:51:21.679
not obese or overweight. But when you were obese

00:51:21.679 --> 00:51:23.440
and overweight, it was like, of course, you probably

00:51:23.440 --> 00:51:25.480
have heart disease. Oh, my God. Like we don't

00:51:25.480 --> 00:51:26.920
have to run a battery of tests. We're going to

00:51:26.920 --> 00:51:29.320
find it pretty quick. And it's like. Okay, cool.

00:51:29.460 --> 00:51:31.380
Great. Thank you. I feel like we need to do a

00:51:31.380 --> 00:51:35.019
whole episode on the difference. Oh my gosh.

00:51:35.059 --> 00:51:40.019
Yes. Pre and post in terms of the world and how

00:51:40.019 --> 00:51:42.280
you're treated. World, your friends. And like,

00:51:42.300 --> 00:51:43.980
I'm not trying to say we should throw your friends

00:51:43.980 --> 00:51:46.780
under the bus, but you do kind of notice like.

00:51:48.539 --> 00:51:50.699
okay all right and it wasn't like they were mean

00:51:50.699 --> 00:51:53.119
or like I love my friends to death there were

00:51:53.119 --> 00:51:55.039
some people that I let go in this journey but

00:51:55.039 --> 00:51:57.519
you just kind of realize like holy shit I was

00:51:57.519 --> 00:52:01.780
the fat friend for fuck's sake um and like even

00:52:01.780 --> 00:52:03.420
just little things I've had this argument with

00:52:03.420 --> 00:52:05.699
my mom she was like yeah I would park as close

00:52:05.699 --> 00:52:07.840
to the door as possible when we'd go shopping

00:52:07.840 --> 00:52:09.639
because like I just didn't think you could walk

00:52:09.639 --> 00:52:13.929
that far and I was like But, like, it's true.

00:52:14.030 --> 00:52:15.329
I was a Huffy Puffy. You don't realize the thoughts

00:52:15.329 --> 00:52:17.090
they had of you, though, because they do come

00:52:17.090 --> 00:52:20.110
out, actually. They do. And you're like, wow,

00:52:20.230 --> 00:52:22.510
I didn't know you thought of me that way. Or

00:52:22.510 --> 00:52:25.250
you're even having your own internal realizations

00:52:25.250 --> 00:52:27.389
of how you handle food. And those conversations

00:52:27.389 --> 00:52:29.050
come out with your friends. And they'll be like,

00:52:29.190 --> 00:52:31.389
yeah, no, we knew you were addicted to sugar.

00:52:31.449 --> 00:52:33.349
Or, like, we knew because we knew the portions.

00:52:33.369 --> 00:52:35.210
Or, like, you always suggesting that we get a

00:52:35.210 --> 00:52:37.269
little treat right after the dinner. You know,

00:52:37.329 --> 00:52:40.500
like. Always have an appetizer, the meal, a dessert,

00:52:40.599 --> 00:52:43.300
maybe go out after. But the thing that kind of

00:52:43.300 --> 00:52:46.420
annoys me, this could be a whole episode, why

00:52:46.420 --> 00:52:49.139
did you enable it then? Why didn't you speak

00:52:49.139 --> 00:52:52.739
up then? No one said anything. No. I can guarantee

00:52:52.739 --> 00:52:54.980
you if we fall off the wagon now, they're going

00:52:54.980 --> 00:52:57.039
to be the loudest motherfuckers in that room

00:52:57.039 --> 00:53:00.380
being like, you sure you need that? Right? But

00:53:00.380 --> 00:53:03.480
before it was like, you enabled this, like you,

00:53:03.599 --> 00:53:06.340
because by me being gluttonous, it gives you

00:53:06.340 --> 00:53:09.179
the freedom in your mind to indulge because,

00:53:09.260 --> 00:53:11.059
well, I'm not as bad as Hannah. So it's going

00:53:11.059 --> 00:53:15.699
to be totally fine. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and some

00:53:15.699 --> 00:53:18.260
people too, you were okay with you always being

00:53:18.260 --> 00:53:19.940
the fat, funny friend, right? They were okay

00:53:19.940 --> 00:53:23.039
with you being that person. So as long as they

00:53:23.039 --> 00:53:24.920
don't say anything, you get to remain that person.

00:53:25.889 --> 00:53:28.349
My gosh, there's so many, so many future episode

00:53:28.349 --> 00:53:31.130
topics. Yes, I think we should definitely do

00:53:31.130 --> 00:53:33.969
a when we were when we were fat episode. I think

00:53:33.969 --> 00:53:36.269
it would be just to tell people like what life

00:53:36.269 --> 00:53:37.929
was like, who maybe don't know what it's like

00:53:37.929 --> 00:53:40.150
to live in an obese body. And it's not going

00:53:40.150 --> 00:53:42.289
to be a scathing reflection on the medical system,

00:53:42.329 --> 00:53:43.829
because honestly, my problems were elsewhere.

00:53:44.269 --> 00:53:46.909
But I think just like it is a different world.

00:53:47.230 --> 00:53:50.230
It's different. And just like, yeah, the praise

00:53:50.230 --> 00:53:52.170
we get now and the difference we get now. And

00:53:52.170 --> 00:53:54.489
maybe that will shed light to people on why we

00:53:54.489 --> 00:53:56.469
talk about what we talk about. Because if one

00:53:56.469 --> 00:53:57.869
more person is like, well, why do you have to

00:53:57.869 --> 00:54:00.389
post everything? Okay, frig off, Karen. Like,

00:54:00.389 --> 00:54:03.469
don't follow them, right? This is how you unfollow

00:54:03.469 --> 00:54:06.010
me. Yeah, it's accountability. It's to take me

00:54:06.010 --> 00:54:08.210
out of my body dysmorphia. It's to help my self

00:54:08.210 --> 00:54:11.090
-esteem. Like having to be single after all,

00:54:11.110 --> 00:54:12.989
like dating through this is going to be just

00:54:12.989 --> 00:54:15.090
a whole thing that stresses me right the fuck

00:54:15.090 --> 00:54:18.440
out. So if sharing. my life online can help build

00:54:18.440 --> 00:54:21.900
my confidence more and keep me accountable it's

00:54:21.900 --> 00:54:25.619
just one better tool in my toolbox so maybe an

00:54:25.619 --> 00:54:28.480
episode yeah where we all talk about this I think

00:54:28.480 --> 00:54:31.400
too Hannah we like and even Steph we really got

00:54:31.400 --> 00:54:34.039
into how with the body dysmorphia for those people

00:54:34.039 --> 00:54:36.940
who are listening to this and struggling with

00:54:36.940 --> 00:54:38.320
that currently or don't know how they're going

00:54:38.320 --> 00:54:41.059
to react to it you talked about those moments,

00:54:41.119 --> 00:54:42.920
having those things to rely on that snap you

00:54:42.920 --> 00:54:46.239
back into it, that elastic band or however you're

00:54:46.239 --> 00:54:48.340
going to choose to do it. I actually, you mentioned

00:54:48.340 --> 00:54:51.219
Hannah trying some weight training. I actually

00:54:51.219 --> 00:54:53.519
find that when I'm flexing and looking and I

00:54:53.519 --> 00:54:55.619
can see my muscle tone, that's like a snapback

00:54:55.619 --> 00:54:58.099
moment for me because I could not see it under

00:54:58.099 --> 00:55:00.760
the layers of just fat I had before. Like I just

00:55:00.760 --> 00:55:04.260
could not see the muscle tone. That's a snapback

00:55:04.260 --> 00:55:06.579
moment. Having photos of yourself is a snapback

00:55:06.579 --> 00:55:09.809
moment for body dysmorphia. don't get rid of

00:55:09.809 --> 00:55:12.309
some of your I kept some of my favorite dresses

00:55:12.309 --> 00:55:13.969
and stuff like summer dresses that were like

00:55:13.969 --> 00:55:16.469
my comfort clothes as a bigger person and like

00:55:16.469 --> 00:55:18.610
sometimes I just put those suckers on because

00:55:18.610 --> 00:55:21.869
it feels good to like know that I loved it so

00:55:21.869 --> 00:55:24.230
much then I still love the dress but like I just

00:55:24.230 --> 00:55:27.369
look so different in it now you know I have kept

00:55:27.369 --> 00:55:29.869
I've kept a few like gowns that I had to buy

00:55:29.869 --> 00:55:33.710
for Christmas parties and it's like okay all

00:55:33.710 --> 00:55:39.219
right like yes have snapbacks um As we wrap up

00:55:39.219 --> 00:55:41.619
this episode, what's kind of everybody's, I'd

00:55:41.619 --> 00:55:44.420
say like, I mean, Cass just gave it, but does

00:55:44.420 --> 00:55:47.019
anybody want to end with like, what advice do

00:55:47.019 --> 00:55:48.659
you have for people going through body dysmorphia?

00:55:48.800 --> 00:55:51.539
Or, I mean, if we don't have advice, what we

00:55:51.539 --> 00:55:54.960
can tell them that we've gone through or experienced,

00:55:55.000 --> 00:55:56.500
but what's the one thing you want to leave people

00:55:56.500 --> 00:55:59.000
with? I think just giving yourself time every

00:55:59.000 --> 00:56:03.360
day to praise yourself, right? At least once

00:56:03.360 --> 00:56:06.119
a day, find something positive about yourself.

00:56:06.199 --> 00:56:10.280
Take the time to stop. Stand in the mirror and

00:56:10.280 --> 00:56:13.900
say something good. Tell yourself something good.

00:56:14.199 --> 00:56:16.900
Or for every negative that comes in your head,

00:56:17.039 --> 00:56:20.500
give it a positive. Always counteract it with

00:56:20.500 --> 00:56:24.559
a positive. I like that. Yeah, that's a good

00:56:24.559 --> 00:56:29.920
one. Cass took mine, so I know. I think, yeah,

00:56:30.019 --> 00:56:32.539
body dysmorphia is hard. So I think if you are

00:56:32.539 --> 00:56:35.230
suffering from it, my advice is... please talk

00:56:35.230 --> 00:56:38.250
to a therapist. I know that the health care or

00:56:38.250 --> 00:56:41.489
mental health care is not as affordable as it

00:56:41.489 --> 00:56:44.630
should be in this country. So if you have access

00:56:44.630 --> 00:56:46.929
to a clinic, book a call with a social worker.

00:56:47.090 --> 00:56:49.150
They actually offer, like I could have booked

00:56:49.150 --> 00:56:51.190
lots of calls with a social worker. I just, I

00:56:51.190 --> 00:56:53.829
had access to my own therapist, but I just encourage

00:56:53.829 --> 00:56:55.349
you to talk to them because they can actually

00:56:55.349 --> 00:56:57.329
give you really good tips and tricks, kind of

00:56:57.329 --> 00:56:59.989
like what Steph said, having a thought record,

00:57:00.150 --> 00:57:01.909
having things to counter those thought records,

00:57:02.030 --> 00:57:04.369
but just talk to someone because like it's. it

00:57:04.369 --> 00:57:06.849
is hard to go through that. And there is no shame

00:57:06.849 --> 00:57:09.750
in that game. There's no shame in saying, man,

00:57:09.889 --> 00:57:13.280
why do I not see myself in the mirror? But I

00:57:13.280 --> 00:57:14.820
think, yeah, the big thing for me is pictures.

00:57:14.900 --> 00:57:16.579
And if you need to print them out, print them

00:57:16.579 --> 00:57:18.960
out. If you need to just have them hanging up

00:57:18.960 --> 00:57:20.880
in your house, there is nothing wrong with seeing

00:57:20.880 --> 00:57:23.000
them. So when you walk past the mirror, they're

00:57:23.000 --> 00:57:25.719
there on the mirror so that you don't have to

00:57:25.719 --> 00:57:27.840
sit there and stare at yourself and overanalyze

00:57:27.840 --> 00:57:30.760
yourself. And then don't compare yourself to

00:57:30.760 --> 00:57:33.420
others. So what you see on social is a fraction.

00:57:33.659 --> 00:57:36.019
You don't know if they're on GLP -1s. You don't

00:57:36.019 --> 00:57:37.500
know if they're eating behind the scenes. You

00:57:37.500 --> 00:57:40.820
don't know if they've had cosmetic surgery. follow

00:57:40.820 --> 00:57:44.139
your own path track your own measurements and

00:57:44.139 --> 00:57:47.619
just try to compare yourself to yourself yeah

00:57:47.619 --> 00:57:50.719
more comparison is the thief of joy as you said

00:57:50.719 --> 00:57:54.440
it that like I live by that me too because I

00:57:54.440 --> 00:57:57.239
compared myself to fucking everyone because I

00:57:57.239 --> 00:57:59.239
had no one at the beginning so I was constantly

00:57:59.239 --> 00:58:01.940
like oh am I gonna and that's the one thing we

00:58:01.940 --> 00:58:03.800
try to tell people is please don't use those

00:58:03.800 --> 00:58:06.599
online calculators or try to like guesstimate

00:58:06.599 --> 00:58:09.179
how much you're going to lose it is such a spectrum

00:58:09.179 --> 00:58:12.239
it's like between 30 to 70 if you think every

00:58:12.239 --> 00:58:14.300
single person is at 70 that goes through the

00:58:14.300 --> 00:58:17.400
program come on so don't set yourself up for

00:58:17.400 --> 00:58:19.800
that success either and remember like it's a

00:58:19.800 --> 00:58:21.639
three -year process minimum to get where you

00:58:21.639 --> 00:58:24.099
want to go but like yeah you could potentially

00:58:24.099 --> 00:58:27.239
lose 30 or maybe 40 of your excess body weight

00:58:27.239 --> 00:58:29.880
and so don't set yourself up to be like, I thought

00:58:29.880 --> 00:58:32.559
it would be 70 and I'd be 122 pounds. And like,

00:58:32.579 --> 00:58:34.579
there was a moment where Hannah was like, I'm

00:58:34.579 --> 00:58:36.460
gonna be 120 pounds. This is gonna be fucking

00:58:36.460 --> 00:58:39.099
dope. And now I'm like, not a, not a chance,

00:58:39.159 --> 00:58:42.059
not a chance. I'm shedding 40 more pounds this

00:58:42.059 --> 00:58:44.699
year. But you also get to a point where you're

00:58:44.699 --> 00:58:46.980
like, I don't need to lose 40 more pounds. I'm

00:58:46.980 --> 00:58:49.719
totally great with where I am. Yeah. And when

00:58:49.719 --> 00:58:51.280
people say you look different and you're showing

00:58:51.280 --> 00:58:53.460
up different, it's easier said than done, but

00:58:53.460 --> 00:58:57.429
like, believe it. Believe it. And if you're not

00:58:57.429 --> 00:59:00.210
believing it, that's probably a good time for

00:59:00.210 --> 00:59:01.769
you to do a check -in with yourself. I feel like

00:59:01.769 --> 00:59:03.289
we don't do a lot of check -ins with ourselves

00:59:03.289 --> 00:59:05.010
on how are we feeling about how we're looking,

00:59:05.289 --> 00:59:07.349
how are we feeling about what we see in the mirror,

00:59:07.530 --> 00:59:09.110
because we're kind of just going through the

00:59:09.110 --> 00:59:11.969
motions. We're so focused on our hydration, protein,

00:59:12.170 --> 00:59:14.590
am I doing the right thing, carbs are bad, and

00:59:14.590 --> 00:59:18.630
all these things that we're just forced into

00:59:18.630 --> 00:59:21.360
our head. post up. So it's okay when somebody

00:59:21.360 --> 00:59:23.519
says, you know, you're looking good. You're looking

00:59:23.519 --> 00:59:25.940
great. We're so happy for you. You look so healthy.

00:59:26.260 --> 00:59:28.360
Be happy by those compliments. And then also

00:59:28.360 --> 00:59:30.000
you're going to start taking record of what the

00:59:30.000 --> 00:59:33.159
compliments you don't like receiving. But we

00:59:33.159 --> 00:59:35.079
need to believe it a little bit more when we

00:59:35.079 --> 00:59:37.659
hear it. And if you don't believe it, okay, maybe

00:59:37.659 --> 00:59:39.679
we need to sit back and see why can't we take

00:59:39.679 --> 00:59:42.199
the compliment? Why can't we accept it? Don't

00:59:42.199 --> 00:59:44.639
discredit the compliment, which I struggled with

00:59:44.639 --> 00:59:46.260
my whole first year. I even told my therapist,

00:59:46.260 --> 00:59:48.360
like when people comment, I go, oh my God, stop.

00:59:48.519 --> 00:59:51.019
No. Like I would try to shut the compliment down

00:59:51.019 --> 00:59:54.260
so fast because I was like, well, I'm, I've only

00:59:54.260 --> 00:59:56.380
lost 40 pounds. I have so much more to go. And

00:59:56.380 --> 00:59:59.420
it's like. Cass is right. Like accept the compliment

00:59:59.420 --> 01:00:01.440
and understand that like people in your life

01:00:01.440 --> 01:00:03.420
are not just blowing smoke up your ass. Like

01:00:03.420 --> 01:00:06.199
they're genuinely complimenting you on what has

01:00:06.199 --> 01:00:09.380
happened. But you're not used to it because when

01:00:09.380 --> 01:00:11.059
people said that when you were obese, you were

01:00:11.059 --> 01:00:14.219
like, well, you're a fucking liar. But take the

01:00:14.219 --> 01:00:18.820
compliment. Yeah. Agreed. Own it. Well, Stefan,

01:00:18.900 --> 01:00:20.679
I just want to thank you so, so much for being

01:00:20.679 --> 01:00:22.519
on the podcast. And like, we definitely need

01:00:22.519 --> 01:00:24.199
to do this again. We need to have you on. There's

01:00:24.199 --> 01:00:26.059
a million other things I want to talk to you

01:00:26.059 --> 01:00:28.920
about. But just thank you. I think our listeners

01:00:28.920 --> 01:00:30.860
are going to absolutely just love your insights

01:00:30.860 --> 01:00:32.820
and hearing from you and probably beg for you

01:00:32.820 --> 01:00:35.739
to come back to talk more. Yes, I would love

01:00:35.739 --> 01:00:37.619
to. I would absolutely love to. I'm a yapper

01:00:37.619 --> 01:00:41.280
at heart. Love it. Hey, we love it. So thanks,

01:00:41.380 --> 01:00:44.059
everybody, for listening. We have no hints on

01:00:44.059 --> 01:00:46.079
what next week's episode is in this one because

01:00:46.079 --> 01:00:48.460
we just want to savor the moment of body dysmorphia

01:00:48.460 --> 01:00:51.119
and having Cass on with us. So please go follow

01:00:51.119 --> 01:00:53.739
her on TikTok if you don't and on all her channels.

01:00:54.260 --> 01:00:57.519
But we will be posting again next week. We'll

01:00:57.519 --> 01:00:59.699
tell you on Instagram what that topic is. But

01:00:59.699 --> 01:01:02.000
like always, just thanks for listening along.

01:01:02.139 --> 01:01:04.480
And Cass and Steph, thanks for joining me today.

01:01:05.139 --> 01:01:07.780
Thanks, guys. This was awesome. Bye, everybody.

01:01:08.019 --> 01:01:08.400
Bye.