The Power of Challenge

Note from a fellow bariatric patient…

When I had weight loss surgery, I knew it was a major turning point. But here’s the thing: the surgery was only the start. It gave me a powerful tool, but the real transformation came afterward. That’s when I had to decide: am I going to coast…or am I going to keep challenging myself?

I chose the challenge.

Building Healthy Habits After Weight Loss Surgery

At first, it was about learning a whole new way to eat. Managing portions. Hitting protein goals. Moving my body every day, even when I didn’t feel like it. I treated each step like a game, a target to hit, a streak to keep alive. Those little challenges kept me focused.

Weight Loss Maintenance Is Its Own Challenge

Once the weight came off, I hit a new reality: Maintenance is its own battle. Without a plan, it’s easy to slip. So I made maintaining my health a living, breathing challenge. Could I stay active every week without fail? Could I keep making healthy food choices, even on vacation? Could I get stronger, not just lighter?

Using Friendly Competition to Stay Motivated

Here’s where it got fun: I didn’t always do it alone. Sometimes, I made it a friendly competition. A step-count challenge with a friend, a jumping-jack competition at exercise class, or a race to see who could hit a new fitness goal first. Competing against someone provided the motivation that I didn’t always feel on my own.

It wasn’t about winning, well, okay, maybe a little, but about pushing myself further because someone else was pushing too. And it certainly held me accountable as I was tackling the challenge with friends.

Saying Yes to New Fitness and Lifestyle Adventures

As I stayed committed, I realized the power of a challenge doesn’t stop at health. It spills into everything. I started saying yes to things I never thought I’d do before surgery, hiking steep trails, signing up for a 5K, and taking the strength and flexibility class that I had been dreading.

Each one felt like a dare: Can you do this? And each time I said yes, I grew stronger, more confident, and more alive.

How Challenges Build Long-Term Weight Loss Success

Here’s the truth: Challenges feed on each other. The discipline I built after surgery made me braver in adventures. The consistency I built in maintenance made me better at competition. The thrill of trying something new kept me hungry for the next big adventure.

The Real Power of Challenge After Weight Loss Surgery

Challenges keep me accountable. They keep me growing. They remind me that surgery was not the end of the story; it was the beginning. Now, I look for challenges. Solo ones to prove something to myself, competitive ones to push past my limits, and new adventures to keep life exciting.

Every time I tackle a new challenge, I walk away stronger and more confident. I have become a better version of myself.

That’s the real power of a challenge. So what are you hoping to do? Take a leap of faith and give it a try, I promise you will love the new you.

Sincerely,

—Your bariatric friend