Pre-WLS party/shower

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Silvervixen79
Silvervixen79 Posts: 116 Member
OK. Please tell me if this is a stupid idea, but I was wondering if anyone has ever had a WLS shower i.e. like a baby shower but instead of celebrating a new baby it is celebrating a new life? I am having my op in May and was thinking about all the great gym clothes I will be able to get into and show off and if my friends wanted to shower me with gym clothes, gift cards or maybe a juicer.. it would be so fantastic LOL. Sorry if that sounds really greedy- Im just so excited to claim back my life!

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  • ki4eld
    ki4eld Posts: 1,215 Member
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    I'm not a fan. The stuff is fine and if people want to give, they will. I received quite a few "congrats" gifts, but I never asked for them. The other reason I'm not a fan is the attention. Sure, the attention is a great motivator, but at some point, that attention is going to go away. You need to find the motivation and celebration within yourself. Otherwise, when the external attention ends, you're going to go through withdrawal and food is often the way you find to feel better. And then it was all for nothing.

    People think I'm kidding about the external validation being addictive, but then we see the "no one is paying attention anymore" posts. They start falling back into bad patterns, because no external attention is motivating them any longer. If people want to celebrate with you, they will. I doubt people need a reason to party.
  • cmchandler74
    cmchandler74 Posts: 510 Member
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    On top of what @ki4eld said, there's a practical reason this isn't a great idea as well. You're going to be spiraling down through so many sizes of clothes that most anything like that is honestly going to be wasted. Consignment shops and second-hand stores are going to be your best friends for clothes on the way downward. Even YOU have no idea how much weight you're going to lose. I set a pie-in-the-sky weight loss goal thinking that I'd be happy if I lost down to 30 lbs. above it, and I'm only 8 lbs. away from that "outrageous" goal. I seriously just did not believe what my body was willing to lose. So clothes that people will give you? You'll likely be too small for them within a year.

    That said, if you'd like to celebrate, why not invite your friends for a night out someplace doing something you all love? If the idea is to reclaim your life, get out there and do something with them to celebrate. Spending time with the people who support your lifestyle change? Great idea. But asking for gifts is stretching the limits of what encompasses "support," IMO.
  • NicoleL874
    NicoleL874 Posts: 684 Member
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    So, my quote function doesn't work here at work. Grrr. ^^^^ A LOT of what she said. The external validators and motivators are a HORRIBLE thing to get used to. My wellness coach had to beat me over the head with lectures about it. My problem were external motivators (STOOPID FITBIT CHALLENGES!). She made it clear to me that any success had to come from within. External prompts will only get you so far, as @ki4eld said, once those prompts are gone...then what?

    Also, my opinion, I made myself this way. I don't need, or want my friends to feel like they need to "donate" to the cause. On top of that, you don't know how much you're going to lose, how quickly, or where you'll end up. You don't know how comfortable you'll be in different styles, so I wouldn't buy anything too trendy or off from what you currently wear. I've dropped 111 lbs, and buy my workout pants from Walmart for $9.99 as needed. I have bought one or two pieces from Walmart, but refuse to spend a lot of money right now since I've been dropping sizes so quickly. The rest of my clothing has been from Goodwill.

    If you want to have some type of gathering with your friends to celebrate this transition, have at it! I just think asking/expecting gifts seems not right. I totally get being excited, I still am! Good luck!
  • anbrdr
    anbrdr Posts: 621 Member
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    Yeah, not something I'd be in to personally as well. I did have a "last weekend" of sorts, where I eased up on my 1600cal diet for the weekend, and spent time with friends enjoying somewhat responsibly a few things that I had already cut back on/given up totally. I did this about a month before the surgery, and didn't make a thing out of it.

    I do agree with waiting and getting the clothes as needed; and shopping cheap until you are close to goal. The weight loss won't be linear. You may jump 2 sizes in a month, and never even wear some of it.
  • Silvervixen79
    Silvervixen79 Posts: 116 Member
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    OK thanks for the replies :)
  • charmainemonk
    charmainemonk Posts: 18 Member
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    I had a game night and potluck with my closest friends before my preop diet as a celebration on my new journey it was really nice and a stress relief. Plus they have all been getting married and having kids over the past few years so it was really nice for them to acknowledge my life changing as well. We didn't do gifts but one brought me flowers and I got a few cards with words of encouragement.
  • nakeddog
    nakeddog Posts: 79 Member
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    I had a game night and potluck with my closest friends before my preop diet as a celebration on my new journey it was really nice and a stress relief.

    I was thinking of doing something like this too. As a fun thing, one last hurrah of no guilt...I can have my favorites...before pre-op diet starts.

  • charmainemonk
    charmainemonk Posts: 18 Member
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    Naked dog and silver vixen. I don't think it was weird at all plus it wasn't even my idea but it really helped me emotionally, some times this journey is really lonely.