WLS support and inspirational information

IsMollyReallyHungry

Thanks MacMadame for information!

Welcome Angel! - I have not had the issues your describe but I agree with MacMadame on the exercise and definitely on starvation mode being a myth at your size for sure. You are not small enough to be starving. I was told that our bodies can survive a long time on our fat and water. Just give the body time to drop the pounds and it will. Our bodies can be very stuborn sometimes when it comes to letting go of the fat.

IsMollyReallyHungry

Weight Loss Surgery Daily Inspiration for January 3, 2011
Katie Jay, MSW

Lie down.

When it's time for a dog to rest, she stands on her little doggie bed and circles around and around and around. It's funny, and you may think, for goodness' sake, lie down! Humans circle around like that when they are ambivalent about doing a thing. If you have a habit you want to break, a new food plan you want to try, or an exercise regimen you want to adopt, you might be circling around and around -- talking about it, thinking about it, planning for it, setting and resetting a date for it, and so on.

Instead of following your tail in circles like a dog, lie down. Get started. Do the thing you've been mulling over. The thing you've been considering and planning, instead of doing.

Action for the day: In your journal, make a list of the things you have had circling in your brain. What is it you want to do that you haven't done? Review your list and pick one to do RIGHT NOW.

© 2009, Katie Jay. All rights reserved. To buy Katie Jay's book, Daily Inspirations for Weight Loss Surgery Patients, visit www.nawls.com and click on "Buy Books and Audios."

IsMollyReallyHungry

Weight Loss Surgery Daily Inspiration for January 4, 2011
Katie Jay, MSW


Bend.

Sometimes people get caught up in the illusion that they have to be perfect, and perform perfectly. This attitude can be sabotaging to WLS people. Whether you make an imperfect choice or you do something, and despite your best efforts, you somehow fall short of your goal, you will benefit from assuming a flexible attitude.

When you make a poor choice, take an attitude of hope. Yes, your choice wasn't great, but you will live to make another choice -- a better choice. If you work hard for something and it doesn't work out, don't give up. Call it an experiment and vow to make another experiment that is based on learning from your previous attempt.

Action for the day: Approach today as a grand experiment. Do you best, but be flexible. Accept the good that has taken place, and look forward to the improvements you will make as you conduct experiments and learn from them.

© 2009, Katie Jay. All rights reserved.

priskar

Thanks for the info MacMadame!

Have been reading the posts and taking down the info - thank you to Mollie! Angel...will reply to you msg as soon as able. Entire family down with either flu or bad colds...including me.

Am reading posts and taking them so I'm not ignoring...just quiet and restful right now. Will jump back in when I'm perkier!

Everyone is doing a great job. Keep up the good work!

mnheather

I just found this site today. Thank goodness I did because I am having trouble. I had RNY on June 21, 2004. I lost 120 pounds. I was super happy. Last year I had a baby and am struggling to lose the weight. I made a New Years resolution to get my lazy butt in gear and exercise and watch what I am eating. I unfortunately don't have the nasty side effects if I eat sugar. I sure wish I did because I crave sweets all the time. I want to lose 35 pounds to get to my goal weight. Hopefully this site will help keep me honest and accountable for what I am doing.

IsMollyReallyHungry

I just found this site today. Thank goodness I did because I am having trouble. I had RNY on June 21, 2004. I lost 120 pounds. I was super happy. Last year I had a baby and am struggling to lose the weight. I made a New Years resolution to get my lazy butt in gear and exercise and watch what I am eating. I unfortunately don't have the nasty side effects if I eat sugar. I sure wish I did because I crave sweets all the time. I want to lose 35 pounds to get to my goal weight. Hopefully this site will help keep me honest and accountable for what I am doing.

Welcome Heather!! Just get back to basics to detox your body. Easier said than done, right? There is a nice packet supplied for WLS patients on ObesityHelp.com's Back On Track Together Group. Check it out!

IsMollyReallyHungry

I just found this site today. Thank goodness I did because I am having trouble. I had RNY on June 21, 2004. I lost 120 pounds. I was super happy. Last year I had a baby and am struggling to lose the weight. I made a New Years resolution to get my lazy butt in gear and exercise and watch what I am eating. I unfortunately don't have the nasty side effects if I eat sugar. I sure wish I did because I crave sweets all the time. I want to lose 35 pounds to get to my goal weight. Hopefully this site will help keep me honest and accountable for what I am doing.

Welcome Heather!! Just get back to basics to detox your body. Easier said than done, right? There is a nice packet supplied for WLS patients on ObesityHelp.com's Back On Track Together Group. Check it out!

revjackie04

Hi all,
I am new to MFP and this group. I have read over lots of the older post and I am really excited about finding some much needed support and hopefully encouraging someone along the way.

My battle for the day....days..weeks.. is exercise and water..then the eating and protein and all that. I guess over the years I have really fallen off track. Medication "helped" my gain back about 40-50 pounds and I have been struggling the last 5 years to commit and get it off. I have arthritis and one partial knee replacement and I really want to avoid the second one for as long as I can.

I can't wait to get to know you guys better. I really liked the daily motivations.

KristieKRN

Welcome to Angel, Heather & Jackie!

not much to say here today, just fighting off this nasty cold and thinking that after 2 weeks of it - it may be time to go see the doc and get antibiotic. Hope everyone else is staying healthy! pushing my fluids, hoping to keep hydrated and flush some of it out.

MacMadame

About getting back on track... I find picking one or maybe two things to improve at a time works really well for me. If I try to fix everything, it gets kind of overwhelming and nothing gets fixed.

IsMollyReallyHungry

I hope you feel better Kris!!

Welcome Jackie!! You can do it! Glad you found us.....:-)

IsMollyReallyHungry

Weight Loss Surgery Daily Inspiration for January 5, 2011
Katie Jay, MSW

Be uncomfortable.

When you want to change, it is impossible to be comfortable all the time. Change makes your brain work harder and sometimes your body, too. When you are making a change, you can't go on automatic pilot, which means you are going to be mentally present and conscious of what you are doing. You also have to make the effort to move your body in a different direction.

To stop grazing, for example, you have to make a plan and pay attention to what you are eating in the moment. You also must interrupt old patterns, choosing to avoid the kitchen in the evening, or driving a route to work that doesn't pass Starbucks. You will be inconvenienced, frustrated, anxious, and maybe even annoyed. These uncomfortable emotions can sabotage your efforts to change. So, allow yourself to be uncomfortable and accept the process.

Action for the day: Identify something about your WLS lifestyle you want to change. Think about the ways in which you will be uncomfortable during your process of change. Spend a few minutes visualizing yourself handling the discomfort in a healthy, self-loving way. Do this visualization for a few days to prepare for your change -- and then go for it.

© 2009, Katie Jay. All rights reserved.

IsMollyReallyHungry

Weight Loss Surgery Daily Inspiration for January 6, 2011
Katie Jay, MSW

Have hope.

Life can be very challenging. From small annoyances to big stresses, being a WLS person, you try to deal with what gets thrown at you without turning to food for comfort. It can be a battle, and sometimes the food wins.

When you notice you are eating to relieve emotions, try to be encouraging to yourself, rather than critical. While you may have temporarily turned to food to relieve your stress, you can acknowledge your misstep and resolve to make a different choice next time. Do this as often as necessary. The hope lies in your ever-present option to start over.

Action for the day: If you are using food to relieve life's stresses, spend a few minutes making a plan for how you will respond to stress today, instead of by eating. Start over, and tell yourself to have hope. (Start over as often as you need to.)

© 2009, Katie Jay. All rights reserved.

mnheather

Thanks for the info. I will have to check it out.

angelintx

When I get the growly thing in my stomach, it's almost always acid. I was on a PPI for the first 20 months and it took care of that but every time I tried to get off it, I'd find myself eating all day.

After a few weeks of eating all day this past month, I realized I do have some low-grade heartburn so I'm back on the PPI.

Luckily, the first one I tried worked for me and I only have to take it once a day and just one kind of pill. I do know some people who had to experiment with different PPIs and had to add things like Pepcid to the PPI or take it twice a day or all 3.

I did find that this time around I had to work out a lot more to get the same rate of loss as with prior dieting attempts but I think that's just age. It kind of sucks, but it turned out well as I went from being a coach potato to an athlete and I don't think that would have happened if I'd lost just fine going to the gym a couple of times a week as I have in the past.

P.S. Don't get me started on so-called starvation mode! :laugh:

I'm sorry, but what is a PPI? I'm familiar with Pepcid and I took that for the first month I suppose after surgery, but then the PA said I could stop taking it and did. I was already experiencing the growling/aching pain with taking it though. What are you taking that resolved your symptoms -- maybe I could give it a shot?

angelintx

Thanks MacMadame for information!

Welcome Angel! - I have not had the issues your describe but I agree with MacMadame on the exercise and definitely on starvation mode being a myth at your size for sure. You are not small enough to be starving. I was told that our bodies can survive a long time on our fat and water. Just give the body time to drop the pounds and it will. Our bodies can be very stuborn sometimes when it comes to letting go of the fat.

Thanks for the welcome! Maybe I need to clarify something -- I definitely don't think I'm starving, LOL, I'm quite sure my body could live quite a long time on my big 'ol fat body! I was just saying that I'm feeling actual hunger as opposed to "head hunger." My nutritionist and the PA both brought up "starvation mode" as a reason for being on the plateau. They saw my food/exercise logs and thought that my cals weren't high enough based on my activity therefore my body is "holding on" to everything instead of allowing the weight loss. I'm frustrated as all get out over it too!! GRRR!

angelintx

Welcome newbies like me! LOL Hope we can beat this thing together!

IsMollyReallyHungry

Thanks MacMadame for information!

Welcome Angel! - I have not had the issues your describe but I agree with MacMadame on the exercise and definitely on starvation mode being a myth at your size for sure. You are not small enough to be starving. I was told that our bodies can survive a long time on our fat and water. Just give the body time to drop the pounds and it will. Our bodies can be very stuborn sometimes when it comes to letting go of the fat.

Thanks for the welcome! Maybe I need to clarify something -- I definitely don't think I'm starving, LOL, I'm quite sure my body could live quite a long time on my big 'ol fat body! I was just saying that I'm feeling actual hunger as opposed to "head hunger." My nutritionist and the PA both brought up "starvation mode" as a reason for being on the plateau. They saw my food/exercise logs and thought that my cals weren't high enough based on my activity therefore my body is "holding on" to everything instead of allowing the weight loss. I'm frustrated as all get out over it too!! GRRR!

LOL! Well this could certianly be true Angel!! If you are exercising a lot you do need to eat a little more. Just keep experimenting and you will break your stall. If you search on here there is plenty of advice on brake pleauteus on this site because it is common. The longest I had a pleatue was almost 6 weeks.

MacMadame

My nutritionist and the PA both brought up "starvation mode" as a reason for being on the plateau. They saw my food/exercise logs and thought that my cals weren't high enough based on my activity therefore my body is "holding on" to everything instead of allowing the weight loss. I'm frustrated as all get out over it too!! GRRR!

Yes, but the idea that this happens is a completely myth. I'm kind of sad that a PA and a NUT are spreading it. They really should know better.

Calories are energy and one law of energy is that it can't be created or destroyed. If you are operating at a calorie deficit then you are burning off stored energy. It's impossible not to. Now, your scale might not show it for a week or two due to water retention. But you can't consume 400-800 calorie a day and not lose weight.

Think of it this way: if your car gets 20 miles to the gallon and holds 10 gallons you can only drive 200 miles before you have to fill it up again (from the reserves at the gas station). Your car can't "hold on" to the gas and refuse to burn it so that you can somehow drive 300 miles. It's the same with calories. If you burn 2000 calories and you eat 800 then those 1200 extra calories have to come from *somewhere*. So they come from your fat (and maybe a bit from your muscles). Your body can't refuse to burn the fat because that would involve creating 1200 calories of energy from thin air!

Here's an article about the myth of starvation mode:

http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=35501

And here's what I ate and how much I exercised my first year to give an idea of what is typical at various stage and what kind of exercise you have to be doing to be able to still lose at a good clip on higher calories:

http://fattyfightsback.blogspot.com/2010/07/calories-protein-carbs-exercise-weight.html

Lisamarie1226

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.

I agree! I went on vacation to northern Cali to visit my family for the holidays. I had PLANNED on working out "as usual" but only got in 2 FORMAL workouts. I did indulge a bit but not to excess, maybe some hershey's kisses with almonds here, an ice cream there. it was not an all out "hey! the holidays are here" pigout. We kept busy, lots of running around and stuff. I just wanted to spend quality time with my family.

Somehow, I also managed to maintain. I was thrilled! And now that I'm back home and back to my normal routine, I'm hitting the gym and back on track as far as training for my first half marathon at the end of March.