The First Step in a Positive New Direction

By Martin Perea, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

From a therapeutic standpoint, working with LAP-BAND® recipients is a highly rewarding experience.  Traditionally clients begin therapy when they’ve hit one of their lowest points in their lives. 

At Weight Loss Centers, however, I have the pleasure of talking to people who have already made a momentous decision to institute a positive change.  I am uplifted when I hear their stories of how they are determined to free themselves from the shackles of obesity. 

Recently I have been hearing from patients who are determined to slim down in order to have a more active vacation this summer with their families.  One of the most common cases I hear involve parents who want to lose weight because they want to keep up with their young children and give them the fullest possible experience of that parent/child relationship.  I am also touched when I hear from couples who are making this positive change together.  I feel that they are committed to making changes to their entire lifestyle.  This helps not just the couple but their children as well, who benefit from the sensible nutrition that should accompany the lap band. 

I love to hear our clients’ stories of developing the ability to successfully navigate the temptations of our culture, not just during the holidays, but also during social gatherings and in everyday life.  Many of our clients already have the skills to lose weight successfully; keeping the weight off has proven much harder.  In these cases, the LAP-BAND® may be seen as a little extra support to keep the person on track for the long term. 

Many clients I speak with consider the LAP-BAND® a helpful reminder when it comes to portion sizes.  It is beautiful to witness our clients becoming the people they once were, or finally becoming the people they always wanted to be.  Just as a major weight gain becomes a downward spiral of decreasing health and negative emotions, a major weight loss has an equal and opposite effect.  Following the LAP-BAND® procedure, the initial weight loss allows the person to become more physically active, which frees the person to increase their physical activity and henceforth their metabolic rate and emotional state.  The world becomes a positive and inviting place again. 

When a person has a major weight loss, such as the kind one can get with the lap band, weight is not the only thing a person sheds.  They also shed years of disappointment, frustration, and self-consciousness, allowing the person to be their true and authentic self.  I applaud all of the people who decide to make that call and sign up free seminar to investigate this simple yet life changing procedure.