SG Meeting News

Hi gang. I went to a southeastern CT support group meeting last night that provided some interesting 'food' for thought. The guest speaker was a psychotherapist who specializes in eating disorders and is himself a WLS patient/survivor. Mark had his surgery 6 years ago and has maintained every pound of his weight loss. He looked great -- six years post surgery! You can imagine how refreshing, and indeed encouraging, it was for me to meet someone who has successfully maintained his weight loss so long after surgery. During his presentation, I inquired as to what he attribututes his success especially in terms of not regaining. He said the two most critical keys to success are: regular and regorous exercise (he's a cyclist); and a very small window to enjoy infrequent indulgences -- Mark gives himself a 5 lb. range in which he will allow himself to regain; once he hits that 5 lb. regain mark, he's back to a rigid adherence to the basics -- healthy eating with no snacks or junk food, the water, protein, vitamins and strenuous workouts. Might not be what we want to hear but what we need to hear nonetheless. It was also striking to here Mark speak anecdotally about his life now as compared to when he was obese (his top weight was 370). As he spoke, he constantly referred to himself as being fat -- and he wasn't at all -- but all of his stories were connected to his obesity, as if he still saw himself as obese. For instance, he told the story of how just last week he had to get into a Santa suit for a charity event (and he had to rent two bellies instead of one!) -- when he got into the car, he freaked because he felt his "belly" up against the steering wheel...remember those sad, sad days, folks? He said he really felt panicked and even found himself sliding out of the car seat like he used to when he was morbidly obese, rather than just jumping out the way we "normal sized" folks can now. Isn't that weird? The guy is 6 years out of his surgery! He said he remains terrified of gaining the weight back. Mind you, this is a mental health professional! So, the moral of this story is, let's stop beating ourselves up about the taste testing we're doing. It's all good! It's a natural course of events to begin testing the waters again after such a long period of food draught. We need to be able to put the brakes on, and we need to concentrate on our HEALTH, not on the scale or the size jeans we've squeezed into, or the fact that we ate something that we probably shouldn't have eaten. As long as we stay calm and focused, and do the RIGHT thing MOST of the time, we're gonna be ok. Ok? Love you guys. Maureen

So glad to hear this. Yes I have gained some back, but I have been thinking as long as I make a certain goal and do not pass that goal, do not beat myself to death and do something to keep from going past it. Thanks Maureenie.

Thanks Maureen I actually passed this info on to my local grad group as some of them are fighting that dreaded weight gain as well. Thanks & we do no that exercise is the key, it is just doing it. I have not been to the gym in about 2 weeks myself (bad girl) I am planning to go in the a.m on the way home. Thanks for the reminder to get my butt in gear. Marilyn, the Bearlady

Thanks for this encouragement, Reenie. It seems that everyone knows someone who has gained weight back or lost too much and I'm hearing all kinds of wls horror stories these days. On the plane home, I sat next to a nurse who works with someone who had wls. Her co-worker has gone the other direction and become anorexic, eating only carrots and is a stick figure. I know there are people out there who have been successful over the long haul and we need to hear more stories from them. Big Hugs, Connie