relationsipsWeight loss surgery has many benefits, both physical and emotional. However, often people underestimate the impact that dramatic weight loss can have on relationships. At Weight Loss Surgery Mexico we understand the complex physical and emotional changes that occur when a person undergoes lap band surgery, gastric bypass surgery or gastric sleeve surgery and we provide our patients with the ongoing support to help them to understand and embrace these changes.

Weight Loss Isn’t Just About You

Losing weight doesn’t involve and affect only you; it has an impact on all of the people around you. By helping you to understand the impact that your family, social network and environment have on your weight and your frame of mind, we can help you to lose weight more easily, and for good.

Evidence shows that when a person in a relationship loses weight, that relationship can change. These changes are usually for the better, but there can be adverse effects which, armed with this knowledge, you can avoid.

The Benefits of Weight Loss Surgery on Relationships

There are many studied and understood benefits for a couple’s relationship when you lose weight. These include:

  • Better communication.  People who are losing weight tend to communicate better about their health and health concerns. Studies show that, before weight loss surgery, couples rarely discussed their health. In relationships where one couple was overweight, the person who was not overweight failed to be honest, using statements such as “you look fine as you are”.  Following weight loss, couples were more honest about their health fears and how they really viewed their partner when they were overweight.
  • Working together. When one partner in a couple undergoes weight loss surgery, changes their eating and lifestyle patterns and loses weight, the other person becomes inspired by the weight loss. This has a positive impact on both partners; they inspire each other to exercise more and eat well. Evidence has shown that, in families with children, these positive changes occur within the whole family.
  • Improved dedication. The person who loses weight develops a stronger sense of commitment to their weight loss and feels more confident in refusing unhealthy food, that second portion, or insisting on doing more physical exercise. This provokes a cycle of healthy behavior in both partners and can encourage the partner who isn’t losing weight to adopt a healthier lifestyle.
  • Getting closer. Couples where at least one of the partners loses weight report feeling emotionally and physically closer than they were before their weight loss journey.  As a result, the couples tended to be more honest with each other and stress in their relationships were reduced.
  • Spending time together. The weight loss journey is much more fun if you are doing it with the person you love. Couples in which one of the partners had weight loss surgery tend to go out more together, whether it is to the movies, traveling, walking or going to the gym.

So are there any potential downsides to weight loss surgery and the significant, life changing loss of weight that will inevitably follow?  To be honest, yes. Everything has some kind of downside. Many people blame being overweight on everything that is wrong in their lives. It is easy to say “I didn’t get that job because I am too heavy” or “we don’t talk as much these days because my partner doesn’t think I am attractive”. People who see losing weight as the magic solution to everything that is wrong in their lives are likely to be disappointed. Yes, you will feel more attractive, you will improve self-esteem, feel more confident, healthier and less self-conscious. However, losing weight will not make you happy in an already unhappy situation (although it can often improve a happy relationship).

In some relationships where one person loses a significant amount of weight, the weight loss can lead to insecurity of the other partner, or the perception in either partner that they are being needled by their partner, whilst the partner simply believes he or she is being supportive! This can lead to conflict and cause tension in the relationship.

If your partner is losing weight, or if you have had weight loss surgery and are encouraging your partner to adopt your new, healthier lifestyle, try praising the positives instead of asking if they should really be eating those chips, or cookies, or if they should be having fries with their meal. By being honest and thinking about how you approach your role as a supporter, you can improve your relationship and help to maintain the new, open couple that you have become thanks to weight loss surgery.

At Weight Loss Mexico we are committed to offering every weight loss patient the best facilities, procedures and support possible to help make their weight loss journey as easy as we can. To find out more about our weight loss procedures and which procedure would be best for you, contact us today.