I am very fortunate that the great majority of my family and friends understand me and my eating disorder struggles. They are incredibly supportive of my efforts and recovery. Not everyone is this fortunate.
I also count myself extremely lucky that I have some good friends who have also had weight loss surgery. There are aspects to this journey that they also know and experience so the depth of their understanding is, understandably, greater. They can and do offer insights that I can’t expect others to have and share.
During this annual round of holiday visits, I get to see a couple of my weight loss surgery sisters-in-arms. I spent some time and a couple of meals with one yesterday. We talked a bit about how it feels to struggle some after an extended period of success. We also achieve a strong level of no-bullshit in which we can acknowledge to each other where we can and need to do better in our efforts. We talked about recommitting to long term goals. Near the end of the evening she said we should check in with each other every day. We live in separate states but we have the internet and our cell phones. January 1, let the daily text messages of support, encouragement and, when necessary, strong reminders, begin!
In a little while I’m meeting another friend. Of all of my friends, she is the one who has long term time in OA and the one with whom I can best talk about the craziness of this eating disease. We aren’t really crazy in the clinical sense. (Non-politically correct terminology aside.) There are simply some aspects, behaviors, and attitudes that make me feel a little nutty sometimes because, you know, “normal” people would do/think/act this way with food.
The timing couldn’t be better for me to get together with these ladies. As I set up to knuckle down after the holidays, I can reconnect with what I need to know and do to be successful. Hopefully, speaking to me will help them with things they need too.
Weighty Matters 
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