4th January 2024

It was a Thursday. I was waiting for a call from the community dentist as my local dentist could not see me as I was too heavy, which is against health and safety. During the various phone calls on the matter, one of them turned out to be from my surgeon’s secretary. She informed me that my surgery date was 18 January. I had just made myself some cheese toast when she informed me that I should start my special diet known as the Liver Reduction Diet (LRD) as soon as possible. On the one hand, I couldn’t wait for my wife to get back home to share this great news, on the other hand, I felt an inner fear because I knew, that for the past three years of waiting in the queue I hadn’t followed all the rules recommended to me, I hadn’t kept to the diet as I had planned. Everything depended on my mood. When my emotions were positive I even wanted to go to the gym or for a walk, but all it took was a minor argument at home or a setback at work for me to order myself a super tasty kebab.

I knew that time was running out, that I had to decide if I wanted to stop this emotional loop.

My wife came home. I told her straight away I couldn’t wait any longer. She was very happy. My wife is very supportive of me. She very much wants me to feel well, to be healthy, to be able to do more things with our children to spend time actively without having to agonise for days over back pain after a few hours’ walk. Often we don’t realise how such behaviours, float into family relationships, how they build up tension, how they can lead third parties into stress. It was time to email my Bariatric Team and find out my menu for the next 10 days…

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