WLS support and inspirational information

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  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Weight Loss Surgery Support: Daily Inspiration for December 10, 2010
    Katie Jay, MSW

    Role play.

    Changing your behaviors and actions can be a daunting task. And when your change requires you to set new boundaries with people, you may find yourself putting off a boundary-setting talk you need to have with someone.

    Practicing what you want to say and how you want to say it will make those boundary-setting conversations much easier. You can write out what points you need to cover, practice with a safe friend what you will say and do, and only then carry out the real conversation.

    Action for the day: Select one person with whom you need to set a new boundary. In your journal, write down what you want to say, then do a role play with a friend. Finally, have the conversation!

    © 2007, National Association for Weight Loss Surgery. All rights reserved. Daily Inspirations are provided by the National Association for Weight Loss Surgery. Get our free report, How to Regain-Proof Your Weight Loss Surgery at www.nawls.com.
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Weight Loss Surgery Support: Daily Inspiration for December 13, 2010
    Katie Jay, MSW

    Avoid comparing your insides to their outsides.

    The problem with comparing yourself to others is that it's always a case of comparing apples and oranges. Even if you personally know the person you're measuring yourself against, it can never be an accurate comparison. Nobody completely knows another person.

    Perhaps that successful person at work is struggling in her home life. Perhaps your neighbor with the immaculate yard struggles with a secret addiction. The only person you should compare yourself to is you. As you continue to change, compare the old you to the new you. See how far you've come, and what you still need to work on.

    Action for the day: Today, try to avoid comparing yourself to others. Measure yourself against the old you, and congratulate yourself on how far you've come.

    © 2007, National Association for Weight Loss Surgery. All rights reserved. Daily Inspirations are provided by the National Association for Weight Loss Surgery. Get our free report, How to Regain-Proof Your Weight Loss Surgery at www.nawls.com.
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Weight Loss Surgery Support: Daily Inspiration for December 14, 2010
    Katie Jay, MSW

    Put off the next bite.

    If you are having a day in which you are thinking about food nonstop, you can adopt some strategies to get you through for the short run, and start a process to overcome your grazing or emotional eating in the long run.

    To stop the grazing in the short run, try putting off your eating. One strategy is to set a timer to go off when you can have your next meal, and keep yourself busy until you hear the bell. Another is to start a task that will take up all your time until your next meal. Tell yourself you'll eat when you've gotten all your papers filed, for example.

    Action for the day: If you have the urge to graze today, put it off by using a new strategy. Then, in your journal, write about how you were feeling when you began to crave the food, and how it felt to use your new strategy instead of eating.

    © 2007, National Association for Weight Loss Surgery. All rights reserved. Daily Inspirations are provided by the National Association for Weight Loss Surgery. Get our free report, How to Regain-Proof Your Weight Loss Surgery at www.nawls.com.
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Struggle and win.

    One day it may be so easy to do everything right you don't even need to think, whereas the next day everything is an effort. When you face a difficult day, it's easy to want to give up, yet this might be the day that breaks the plateau or the day you reach the next milestone. To give up at this point, when you have come so far, is not an option. Even though your goal may be far away, struggling one more step gets you closer, giving up just gets you further away and makes your task that much more overwhelming. When the labor of the day is too much, turn to your support whether that is another person, a book, a quote, or your higher power (or all of these things). Cling to the support you have to help you take the next step toward your goal. Much later, when you reach your goal and look back at this time, you will see the struggle as something that made you stronger, that made reaching the goal all that much sweeter.

    Action for the day: Days of struggle are bound to happen, but help is not far away. Today, reach for that help whenever you need it.
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
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    Have hit a plateau as I reintroduce foods...
    Water retention. It's pretty common as solid food gets re-introduced. If you are tracking your food and you are eating less calories than you burn, you are losing even if the scale doesn't show it.
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
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    Unlike other plans that recommend weighing in weekly or less often, we advise you to weigh yourself daily.
    I'm a big believer in weighing daily. There was this period where weighing daily was driving me insane so I had my dh hide the scale for a week or two and only bring it out on Mondays. But that was just a brief period. In general, weighing daily helps me to keep a 1-2 pound gain from becoming a 10-25 pound gain!
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Unlike other plans that recommend weighing in weekly or less often, we advise you to weigh yourself daily.
    I'm a big believer in weighing daily. There was this period where weighing daily was driving me insane so I had my dh hide the scale for a week or two and only bring it out on Mondays. But that was just a brief period. In general, weighing daily helps me to keep a 1-2 pound gain from becoming a 10-25 pound gain!

    I agree 199%.
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Mollie - no, I wasn't exercising... did start this morning though. Walked on the treadmill for 30 mins and included a couple of 2 to 3 minute runs in there. Am excited that I wanted to run and actually managed for more than a short burst. Yay! I'm thinking I may do it again tomorrow or will do the balance ball tomorrow. Need to work on my core again, now that I've been losing the weight I am carrying myself differently and my back hurts often.

    Have a great weekend!

    How is the exercise going?
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Weight Loss Surgery Support: Daily Inspiration for December 15, 2010
    Katie Jay, MSW

    Draw a line in the sand.

    With weight regain being so common, it is helpful to set up some parameters for yourself, so that you know how you're going to handle it when the scale creeps up.

    Choose a weight beyond which you do not want to gain. When you get close to that weight, implement a plan to take care of the extra weight right away. Waiting will only invite more regain. So, know your line in the sand and vow not to cross it.

    Action for the day: Do you know where you line in the sand is? Choose it today. And write in your journal the plan you will follow if you get close to your line.

    © 2007, National Association for Weight Loss Surgery. All rights reserved. Daily Inspirations are provided by the National Association for Weight Loss Surgery. Get our free report, How to Regain-Proof Your Weight Loss Surgery at www.nawls.com.
  • KristieKRN
    KristieKRN Posts: 71 Member
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    Exercise is not going well... did 2 days of power shopping, spent all day yesterday making pierogi for Christmas eve dinner, picked up an extra shift at work Monday night after all the shopping and hosting the team dinner for my son's swim team, tonight is back to work - 5 12's in a row. the 12 hour midnight shifts kill me, need to get to bed so I can get enough sleep to do it all over again the next night. Will have more time to get the exercise in my routine after I start my new position. Will still be working midnights, but only 8 hour shifts - so my game plan is to get home in the mornings, get the kids on the bus, and then off to the gym. At least I did a lot of walking during the shopping trips. Constantly working on it...
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Exercise is not going well... did 2 days of power shopping, spent all day yesterday making pierogi for Christmas eve dinner, picked up an extra shift at work Monday night after all the shopping and hosting the team dinner for my son's swim team, tonight is back to work - 5 12's in a row. the 12 hour midnight shifts kill me, need to get to bed so I can get enough sleep to do it all over again the next night. Will have more time to get the exercise in my routine after I start my new position. Will still be working midnights, but only 8 hour shifts - so my game plan is to get home in the mornings, get the kids on the bus, and then off to the gym. At least I did a lot of walking during the shopping trips. Constantly working on it...

    That is wonderful Kris!! All movement counts but nothing ever beats 30 to 60 minutes of cardio and additional 30 or so min of strenght training. Being mindful and working yourself up to something is good enough. Just keep challenging yourself and I know you will get there babe!

    Congrats on new position! After the 1st I am sure things will settle down for you! I am glad to see you are still with us here. If only a few of us, it still makes it worth my while to keep adding information that I think may be helpful to us as WLS patients. Keep up the good work and have a good week!
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Weight Loss Surgery Support: Daily Inspiration for December 11, 2010
    Katie Jay, MSW

    Get your game face on.

    The holiday season is heating up now. People are having parties, going caroling, shopping, and baking like crazy.

    Put on your game face now. It's time to get serious about your goals and your needs. Rather than use the holidays as an excuse to throw caution to the wind, use them to improve your health-building skills. Winning means you practice hard, take your lumps, and make real progress. It is an attitude and a way of life. Your challenge has been laid out. Are you ready to rumble?

    Action for the day: Get a notebook and label it, "WLS Game Plan for the Holidays." Write down a list of the games you will be facing: family gatherings, office parties, gifts of baked goods, etc. Under each item, make a list of strategies you can use to be a winner.

    © 2007, National Association for Weight Loss Surgery. All rights reserved. Daily Inspirations are provided by the National Association for Weight Loss Surgery. Get our free report, How to Regain-Proof Your Weight Loss Surgery at www.nawls.com.
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
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    I think it's important not to use the holiday season as an excuse to stuff yourself like a pig and loll around. But I also think it's important to give ourselves a break.

    My goal for Dec. is always to maintain, not to lose. In fact, I am deliberately taking off from triathlon training and just doing an occasional workout. I'll start back up again in Jan. refreshed and (hopefully) healed up.
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Weight Loss Surgery Support: Daily Inspiration for December 21, 2010
    Katie Jay, MSW

    Exercise your mind.

    Your mind needs to adjust to the major changes you've gone through. You have behavior patterns to correct, emotions to process, and information to learn. But where do you begin?

    Assess your mental condition and address your issues in that arena. For example, if you are feeling depressed, go talk to a professional about it. If you are confused about what you are supposed to be doing regarding your WLS, seek out experts who can provide you with good information. If you want to change your habits, get support and information so that you can work on the changes you want to make in a more productive way.

    Action for the day: Think about your mind today. Are you doing what you need to do to make a mentally healthy adjustment to the new you? If not, begin today.

    © 2007, National Association for Weight Loss Surgery. All rights reserved. Daily Inspirations are provided by the National Association for Weight Loss Surgery. Get our free report, How to Regain-Proof Your Weight Loss Surgery at www.nawls.com.
  • KristieKRN
    KristieKRN Posts: 71 Member
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    I am pleased that with the little bit of grazing I've been doing at work - I have managed to increase my weight loss! My doc has me on such a low caloric intake.... wondering if maybe it was getting to be too low as my activities increased?

    Went and bought a little black dress for Christmas... from a size 24/26 to a loose 16 (didn't want to hug all the sags too tightly)! It lifted my mood immensely! I am usually so depressed this time of year...

    If I don't post for a few - Everyone have a great Christmas!
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,357 Member
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    I am pleased that with the little bit of grazing I've been doing at work - I have managed to increase my weight loss! My doc has me on such a low caloric intake.... wondering if maybe it was getting to be too low as my activities increased?

    Went and bought a little black dress for Christmas... from a size 24/26 to a loose 16 (didn't want to hug all the sags too tightly)! It lifted my mood immensely! I am usually so depressed this time of year...

    If I don't post for a few - Everyone have a great Christmas!

    Keep up the good work Kris!!! Congrats on the little black dress too!! Don't worry about your calories being too low babe. That is a myth right now. Until you have a stall, keep doing what you are doing.

    Have a good week! I don't celebrate any of the holidays. You are doing great!
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Weight Loss Surgery Support: Daily Inspiration for December 22, 2010
    Katie Jay, MSW

    Tell yourself this too shall pass.

    If the holidays have put a dent in your healthy lifestyle, it's time to forgive yourself and know the holidays will end shortly. You will soon be moving on and getting back into your healthier habits.

    When you are in a bad place with food, the fear is that you will be there forever. But you won't be. This too shall pass. Tell yourself that and start making plans for better days. They are just around the corner.

    Action for the day: In your journal, write a loving and healthy plan for tomorrow that will help you feel in control of your eating and your life.

    © 2007, National Association for Weight Loss Surgery. All rights reserved. Daily Inspirations are provided by the National Association for Weight Loss Surgery. Get our free report, How to Regain-Proof Your Weight Loss Surgery at www.nawls.com.
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Weight Loss Surgery Support: Daily Inspiration for December 26, 2010
    Katie Jay, MSW

    Finish the year on an up note.

    You've made it through most of the holidays now. You've made some good choices and maybe some not-so-good choices. New Year's Eve will be here soon. Use the tips and tricks you've learned along the way to finish your year on an up note.

    If you're going to a party, bring a WLS-friendly dish to share. Make a point to take small bites and chew thoroughly. Use a smaller plate. If it's a buffet, let someone you trust put food on your plate and bring it to you. Don't drink with your meals. Plan things to do with your hands other than eating: knitting, puzzles, games. Don't skip one meal in anticipation of the next. Remember, small choices matter.

    Action for the day: Make a plan for the remainder of your holiday season. What a great way to kick off your new year.

    © 2007, National Association for Weight Loss Surgery. All rights reserved. Daily Inspirations are provided by the National Association for Weight Loss Surgery. Get our free report, How to Regain-Proof Your Weight Loss Surgery at www.nawls.com.
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Weight Loss Surgery Support: Daily Inspiration for December 27, 2010
    Katie Jay, MSW


    Skip the alcohol.

    It may be tradition to drink alcohol on New Year's Eve, but alcohol can be risky for WLS patients, depending on your type of surgery. For example, people who have had gastric bypass may become more easily intoxicated than before their surgery.

    But did you know that alcohol has 7 calories per gram, while protein and veggies have 4 calories per gram? That is why people who start drinking again after surgery can have more trouble losing weight or more easily gain weight. More importantly, though, alcohol can become an addiction for those already struggling with food.

    Action for the day: Think about how your behavior with alcohol can affect your WLS recovery. Maybe it's worth skipping. And if you suspect you may have a problem with alcohol, please seek help.


    © 2007, National Association for Weight Loss Surgery. All rights reserved. Daily Inspirations are provided by the National Association for Weight Loss Surgery. Get our free report, How to Regain-Proof Your Weight Loss Surgery at www.nawls.com.
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
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    This time of year a lot of people are posting that they've been eating badly and plan to get back on track next year. I say it's never too early to do what you know you need to do. So I'm going to get back on track today.

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