Non-Scale Victory: Ordering the Sweet Treat

There was a time, not too long ago, when ordering a dessert or a sweet drink in public made me feel embarrassed. I’d glance around to see if anyone was watching. I’d over-explain myself to the barista or waitress, as if I needed permission to enjoy something sweet. I’d hear that voice in my head: “People are judging you. You’re not supposed to want that. You’ve had surgery, you should know better.”

But recently, I walked into an ice cream shop and ordered a scoop of ice cream without looking over my shoulder, without explaining myself, and without feeling like I had to earn it.

That moment? It was a non-scale victory that meant more to me than losing a pound ever could.

One of the biggest mental shifts after bariatric surgery isn’t just about how we eat, it’s about how we feel about food. Surgery changed my body, yes. But the mindset work? That’s ongoing.

For so long, I saw food as the enemy. I believed certain choices made me “bad,” and others made me “good.” I carried shame with every bite that didn’t fit into someone else’s idea of “healthy.”

But healing means giving ourselves permission to enjoy, to choose intentionally, and to do it all without guilt.

Ordering a sweet treat used to feel like failure. Now, it feels like freedom.

I didn’t go off track.
I didn’t binge.
I didn’t spiral.
I made a choice. I enjoyed it. I moved on.

That’s what a healthy relationship with food actually looks like. And the truth is, I didn’t have that before surgery. I had control or chaos. Now, I have balance and it feels so much better.

Sometimes we get so fixated on the scale that we forget why we started. Yes, weight loss was the goal, but healing my relationship with food and with myself was the real prize.

So whether it’s:

• Fitting into a booth comfortably

• Going on a hike without needing to stop

• Saying yes to a spontaneous night out

• Or ordering dessert without shame...

Those are the victories that make this journey sustainable. And worth it.

So here’s to the small moments that feel big. To enjoying a sweet treat without the emotional weight of shame. To trusting ourselves. To knowing that one iced mocha doesn’t undo progress, it represents it.

Because healing looks different for all of us, but for me? It looked like ice cream in a wffle cone with zero guilt attached.

Stay Golden,

B