WLS support and inspirational information

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  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Our attitudes mean everything when we are embarking on making new healthy habits for ourselves. Our attitude will be the deciding factor on our success on this journey we are on. We have to believe the impossible is possible. A new healthy lifestyle is possible. Do you believe it is possible? I do.:flowerforyou: Some inspirational quotes I obtained from spark people. You can do it! We can do it! Just do it!:wink::wink:

    "If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress" - Barack Obama

    "Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference" - Winston Churchill

    "If you are going through hell, keep going" - Winston Churchill

    "Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher" -
    Oprah Winfrey
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Weight Loss Surgery Support:
    Daily Inspiration for August 5, 2010
    Katie Jay, MSW


    Shield yourself from your triggers.

    Are there trigger foods that get you every single time? All you have to do is smell them, or see them, and the next thing you know you're licking your fingers and savoring the lingering flavor. If you're like most WLS patients, though, you find that other than the fleeting moment of bliss you experience as you bite into the trigger food, you feel disappointed in yourself. And fear of completely losing control sets in. Why can't you resist that temptation?

    It doesn't matter why. Food is tempting, and certain foods are nearly irresistible. So what can you do? Shield your senses from the most alluring foods. If you don't see it, and you can't smell it, you are much less likely to eat it. Create a safety zone in which you do not have to see, smell, and resist trigger foods all the time.

    Action for the day: Choose a trigger food that has been enticing you recently. Remove it from your house today. If you think this will be difficult for you, enlist the help of a trusted friend. Have him or her come over and help you get rid of the trigger food.

    © 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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    "Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher" -
    Oprah Winfrey
    A friend of mine said something similar... Surround yourself with people who believe in you more than you believe in yourself.

    This made me realize that I need a new job. I am surrounded by people who seem to be actively willing me to mess up rather than people who believe in me. So screw them! :tongue:
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,357 Member
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    "Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher" -
    Oprah Winfrey
    A friend of mine said something similar... Surround yourself with people who believe in you more than you believe in yourself.

    This made me realize that I need a new job. I am surrounded by people who seem to be actively willing me to mess up rather than people who believe in me. So screw them! :tongue:

    Some people (more than I would have ever suspected) do want us to fail. A friend of mines had to change jobs because people were off the chain. She got down to a size 4 and is still a size 4. You would think people would be estatic about her success. Sad to say there were more people NOT happy for her than there were happy ones.

    I remember when I was down to 310 -- people were telling me I was getting too skinny!!! I was like what!! Well this time I will be ignoring all of the negativity. I was scared to go to the 200's but not anymore.
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Weight Loss Surgery Support:
    Daily Inspiration for August 6, 2010
    Katie Jay, MSW

    Hold your horses.

    Eating out can be an enjoyable social event, and most WLS patients don't want to miss out. But do you have a plan for how you'll handle the appetizers? It's hard to resist that mouth-watering fare as others at your table dig in. While you may not want to eat too much, you also don't want to avoid the appetizer all together if you will feel deprived.

    If you tend to feel deprived and then overeat later on in private, go ahead and have a taste. To keep the amount you eat to a minimum, put off your taste until most of the appetizer is gone. Just reassure yourself you're going to have some soon, and enjoy the conversation.

    Action for the day: If you are in a restaurant today and are faced with the appetizer dilemma, delay as long as you can. This way, you'll have less time (and less food) to eat.

    © 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
  • tiarapants
    tiarapants Posts: 1,015 Member
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    Thank you again Molly, for your posts x
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Weight Loss Surgery Support:
    Daily Inspiration for August 7, 2010
    Katie Jay, MSW

    Stay focused.

    Life is full of distractions. Your company is downsizing, your debt has become unmanageable, your basement has flooded again--the list is endless.

    What is the one thing that would make all this worse? You know all too well. Being obese and ill. Certainly, life can hand us whoppers--challenges beyond what we feel we can handle--but most of your stresses are distractions from what is truly important. Most of them need to take second place to your health.

    Action for the day: Are you allowing life's distractions to interfere with living the lifestyle (physically, mentally, and spiritually) that will keep you healthy in the long run? In your journal, write a list of the distractions that are robbing you of the success you desire. Resolve not to let distractions steal your resolve.

    © 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 August 9, 2010
    Katie Jay, MSW


    Make decisions based on facts, not feelings.

    In 12-step programs there is a saying: "There are only two times to go to a 12-step meeting: when you want to go and when you don't want to go." How can you apply this philosophy to your WLS lifestyle? Do you think it is a good idea to base what you do (with exercise and food choices) on how you feel?

    If you only do the right thing when you feel like it, how likely are you to lose your excess weight and keep it off for life?

    Action for the day: Today, do what supports your WLS success. For example, don't base your decision to exercise on whether or not you feel like it. Do it because you have planned to do it. No excuses.

    © 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'm typing this on my new iPad! I know that has nothing to do with motivation and support. It just makes me happy. :wink:
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,357 Member
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    QUOTE OF THE DAY ... CONSISTANCY

    Habit is Habit and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time. --Mark Twain

    Every giant leap forward is in reality a series of baby steps. For every major breakthrough you see in your performance, don’t forget all the hundreds of little things that had to happen, day after day, for that to happen. Habits are the basis of improvement, but they don’t happen overnight.

    The easiest – and most difficult – way to improve your life is to make or break a habit. It’s easy because habits are built one single action at a time. It’s difficult because you need to be consistent. It’s much more of a mental game than a physical challenge. If you don’t see progress right away, don’t be discouraged. In fact, some of the habits you have right now have been a lifetime in the making and repeating. They can be as stubborn as a mule. It might take some coaxing to get them to move.
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
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    Here is something interesting about habits. It turns out that it's a lot harder to break a habit than you'd think. This is because, with a new habit, you are not just trying to set a new behavior but also trying to erase the old behavior.

    If you think of yourself as a big hill of sand, when you drop a marble on top, it randomly falls down a path and makes a slight groove. The next time you do that behavior, the grove gets deeper. Then, when you randomly drop the marble the next time, it's much more likely to go down the path with the groove than some random path. Now you've got a habit.

    So then you decide to change your habit. Not only do you have to make the marble go down a different path, when it wants to go down it's same old groove, but you also want to erase the old groove. So you go down the new path and you get a faint groove and the old groove gets a little less deep. If you keep up with the habit, eventually the old groove wears away and the new groove gets established.

    But what most of us do is do the new habit for a little while but then one day we aren't paying attention and we drop into the old habit. Now, we've made our new habit's groove more shallow and BOOM our old habit's groove can be as deep as it was before!

    Once I learned this, I made two changes in my behavior/thinking. First, I try harder not to slip up when I'm establishing a new habit. I realize now that going to bed at 1am one day after going to bed at 11pm for 10 days in a row is going to really mess up my new habit. So I try harder not to go back to the old ways.

    The second thing I've done is to be less hard on myself. I realize now that one day of 1am bedtime can mess up my habit so when it happens, I don't despair and think it's hopeless. I remind myself that I'm now essentially starting over so of course it's going to take a while longer. Before I would slip up once, not thing anything of it, and then find myself slipping up over and over and give up. Now i don't give up because I understand what's happening.

    I hope that made sense!
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Here is something interesting about habits. It turns out that it's a lot harder to break a habit than you'd think. This is because, with a new habit, you are not just trying to set a new behavior but also trying to erase the old behavior.

    If you think of yourself as a big hill of sand, when you drop a marble on top, it randomly falls down a path and makes a slight groove. The next time you do that behavior, the grove gets deeper. Then, when you randomly drop the marble the next time, it's much more likely to go down the path with the groove than some random path. Now you've got a habit.

    So then you decide to change your habit. Not only do you have to make the marble go down a different path, when it wants to go down it's same old groove, but you also want to erase the old groove. So you go down the new path and you get a faint groove and the old groove gets a little less deep. If you keep up with the habit, eventually the old groove wears away and the new groove gets established.

    But what most of us do is do the new habit for a little while but then one day we aren't paying attention and we drop into the old habit. Now, we've made our new habit's groove more shallow and BOOM our old habit's groove can be as deep as it was before!

    Once I learned this, I made two changes in my behavior/thinking. First, I try harder not to slip up when I'm establishing a new habit. I realize now that going to bed at 1am one day after going to bed at 11pm for 10 days in a row is going to really mess up my new habit. So I try harder not to go back to the old ways.

    The second thing I've done is to be less hard on myself. I realize now that one day of 1am bedtime can mess up my habit so when it happens, I don't despair and think it's hopeless. I remind myself that I'm now essentially starting over so of course it's going to take a while longer. Before I would slip up once, not thing anything of it, and then find myself slipping up over and over and give up. Now i don't give up because I understand what's happening.

    I hope that made sense!

    I love it and yes it makes too much sense. Well I am definitely in this for the duration, meaning for life, so I am definitely not giving up and I do not beat myself up anymore for relapses or mistakes I make along the way. But you are right I will definitely keep trying not to revert to the engrained old habits.
  • tiarapants
    tiarapants Posts: 1,015 Member
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    I'm going to print out the habits analogy and put it on the wall. Thanks for that! x
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Weight Loss Surgery Support:
    Daily Inspiration for August 11, 2010
    Katie Jay, MSW


    Keep a short list.

    It's okay to have grand goals and a long list of things you'd like to eventually accomplish in your lifetime. Just make sure you don't use that master list as your day-to-day list. Reading such a long, daunting list may prove to be so discouraging you'll convince yourself you'll never accomplish anything.

    Better to make a short list that includes only a few goals at a time. Then work on your short list of goals for the day. You'll have plenty of time to get to the others on the master list. Each day brings with it the chance to accomplish more. Do it in manageable chunks, and you'll soon be pleasantly surprised at how fast you're checking items off.

    Action for the day: Review your "to-do" list to make sure it isn't overwhelming. Put your master list in a place where it won't be constantly visible, and vow to consult it only when you've completed your short list.

    © 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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    Let's post our goals here! I have to get mine off my blog so I'll come back later and do that. My Aug goals are in my signature.
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Goals for the month of August are:

    1. Continue to reduce grazing.

    2. Continue to reduce Aspartame intake.

    3. Continue to exercise 5 or more days a week.

    4. Lose 10 pounds.
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
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    (completed)Get off my BP meds
    (completed)Get rid of my plantar fasciitis once and for all
    (completed)Get rid of my GERD
    (completed)Go swimming with my daughter and stop making excuses every time she asks because I don't want to deal with appearing in a bathing suit in public
    (completed)Be at least a size 10, maybe smaller, and to shop in regular stores and not just the fat old lady department at Macys
    (completed)Get down to 175
    (completed)No longer be clinically obese
    (completed)Get down to 155
    (completed)Have a normal BMI
    (completed)Get down to 125 (possible goal weight?)
    (completed)Be in a true size 6
    (completed)Have a body fat percentage in the 18 - 22% range
    (completed)Get my resting pulse rate into the low 50s
    (completed)Walk 10,000 steps a day at least 4 days a week
    (completed)Complete a 5K
    (completed)Complete a Sprint Triathlon
    (completed)Complete a Sprint Triathlon in under 2:30
    (completed)Complete a Century Ride
    (completed)Complete a Half marathon
    Complete a Sprint Triathlon in under 1:30
    Get on the podium at a triathlon
    Complete a Half-ironman
    Complete an Ironman
    Qualify for Age Grouper Nationals
    Qualify for the Boston Marathon
    Qualify for Kona
    Give my inner "skinny *****" the body she deserves (going to need PS for this one)
    Have a "normal" relationship with food
    Get my personal life in order (yeah, that's kind of vague)
    Live into my 90s as one of those cantakerous little old ladies with 10x as much energy as the youngsters I run circles around (so far so good)
    I also have goals for the season:
    Run a stand-alone mile in 7:30 minutes
    Swim 1.2 miles in 45 minutes
    Be able to average 16-17 mph on the bike when the course is flat/fast
    Be able to run for two hours at a time without a lot of drama (gastro-intestinal issues, aches & pains)
    Be able to bike for four hours without getting exhausted
    Swim an average of 2 times a week
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
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    Oh, I just noticed I didn't mark the Half-ironman as completed!
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Weight Loss Surgery Support:
    Daily Inspiration for August 13, 2010
    Katie Jay, MSW


    Be patient in your efforts.

    Most people long for a quick fix to their eating problems. They don't want to have to work at it or wait for the much-delayed reward.

    But, patience is what it takes--countless hours of trying various tools and finding out which ones work best. Then, you have to put in more hours practicing new behaviors. Shaping a new life that really works requires painstaking effort.

    Action for the day: Pay attention to your attitude about your WLS lifestyle today. Are you impatient or rebellious? Practice patience today. Trust the process.

    © 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
  • mymeow
    mymeow Posts: 19 Member
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    I had a Lap Band on April 15, 2008. My highest weight was 310 and I have plateaued around 245-250, so it pretty effortlessly helped me lose 60 lbs. The rest is up to me, and I need to put the effort into it now. I am hoping this site will help me to do that! I would love to have any other WLS people out there add me as your friend!