So thankful for the throught provoking posts!

From Maureen and Dorota and the rest.  Incentive to get my  butt off the couch and find what's good for ME in this new life of mine! You are both in inspiration and I needed that little knudge to get me to reflect upon myself and to find out what my "niche" can be. Come on people...post what you're all doing to enjoy this new, wonderful life you've been given since surgery!  We need to hear/read them...they're so enjoyable and uplifting. Paula

Pardon me for being such a dummy and not seeing that you are from Windsor RIGHT NEXT TO YOUR NAME LOL

Good for you, Paula! The best place to start is self-reflection. Perhaps you can start with a list of your top 5 passions - these are things from which you derive the most pleasure, that you would love doing no matter what - yours and yours alone. What gets you excited, what do you LOVE to do?  Tell you what, I'll post what I wrote for my next article for the column I write, "Living Normal" in WLSLifestyles Magazine - I offer this only to help clarify what I mean and hope it helps you or anyone else reading it, understand the concept of grabbing this new life of ours and living it fully, joyfully, and then being able to give ourselves away so that we are living with great purpose - here's what will be published in the Fall edition:

Living Normal

 

 

By Maureen Boyd

 

 

Living Normal is a featured column devoted to weight loss maintenance for post-ops who have achieved their goals and are looking to improve their chances of avoiding regain.  As a successful post-op having undergone gastric bypass surgery in March, 2004, Maureen Boyd is maintaining a weight loss of 214 pounds.  She shares through personal experience and reflection her strategies for sustaining weight loss and living a joyful, passionate life—what it means to be Living Normal.  Maureen welcomes your comments and questions at [email protected]

 

 

 

 

A Day in the Life of the Physically Fit

 

 Morning.  I rise and dress, anticipating my jaunt through neighborhoods that will not stir for hours.  I hit the pavement and jog steadily along the edge of some of the most beautiful rural countryside in Connecticut , the rhythmic flap flap flap of my feet accompanied only by bird song.  The morning is my time.  I realize that in the nearly four years since my gastric bypass surgery I have come to take this ritual for granted and have settled into a routine.  Today I shift my thinking toward celebrating my ability to move and push on, harder and more determined to break a sweat.  Four miles later I return home, winded and sore and satisfied with my effort.  Life is good.  Afternoon.  With a light hold on the reins, I slip my foot into the stirrup and effortlessly lift my body into the air, swinging my right leg over the saddle and then settle deep into it.  Marcel, a massive 17 hand-high quarter horse, does not move until he is asked to do so.  I gather the reins with equal distribution between both hands and with a gentle prod of my heels, ask Marcel to move forward.  He complies, a willing partner used to the give and take of my shifting body weight: a squeeze of the lower leg urges him to press forward, while pressure from the inner thighs requires him to slow or halt.  For the next hour, I communicate to my giant equine friend by constricting and easing various muscles throughout my body.  Through a steady process of tension and release, Marcel and I work through the gaits until we are both dripping with sweat under the August sun.  I dismount with the litheness of a ballerina and pat Marcel on his flank, a gesture of gratitude for his hard work.  I am sore and satisfied with my effort.  Life is good.  Evening.  The air is heavy with humidity as I lower myself into the hull of my kayak and push forward into the deepening waters of the Mansfield Hollow Dam.  To the east, a summer storm gathers with its half-hearted threats of heat lightening and rumbles of thunder.  My husband shouts for me to stay close to shore; I dig in, picking up speed as the oars dip and rise and deftly cut through the still waters.  With each pull, I feel the muscles of my abdomen tighten to aid my powerful strokes.  I cruise through the water, torpedo-like, reveling in wonder at the strength that surges through my fit body.  The sky darkens, the advancing storm more threatening now and I hear the smallness of Jim’s voice calling for me to return to shore.  I stop for a moment to appreciate the solitude as I sit alone in the middle of open water.  Resting the oars along the top of my kayak, I lift my arms, bending at the crooks of my elbows.  My biceps offer a well defined bulge, a tribute to my physical strength and health.  I close my eyes and try to visualize myself four years earlier in a body that was so burdened by fat I could barely move.  I could not walk, let alone jog; I was unable to stand close to a horse for fear of not being able to get out of harms way; getting on a boat, let alone inside a kayak, was a fantasy.  So many years lost to me yet none of it matters in the face of what I’ve gained these past few years.  Jim’s voice, more urgent now, lulls me out of my reverie and I look toward where he stands on the distant shore.  Rain begins to fall and thunder pops through air that is heavy with the smell of ozone.  Living Normal for me is not about movement; it is about the ability to move.  As if transplanted, my heart is beating strongly and healthily in a body that is for the most part, fit and firm.  Once again, my strong arms begin to pitch me forward until I run my kayak aground and scramble into my husband’s arms.  I am sore and satisfied with my effort.  Life is very, very good.  May you find peace in the strength that is Living Normal .

 

Maureen, What a beautifully written article.  I love writing.  It is a passion.  It may be one thing for me to pursue, actually.  I get compliments on my writing all the time.  But, where do I get started?  How did you get to have a column? Thanks for the encouragement.  I am going to my first PTO meeting tonight.  Just two years ago, when I was 330+ lbs, I was too ashamed to go for I didn't fit into the chairs in the children's library at the elementary school...Tonight, it's a different story. Shyness keeps me from attending support group meetings, being on the post op panel and attending certain functions...Fear and panic attacks too.  I'm going to work on these things...try to overcome myself...life's too short... Thanks again. Paula ps. once I get somewhere and get going, I'm like you knew me for years..outgoing and happy.  It's the initial anxiety of "getting in/there" is what's hard.

Paula, I know what you mean about shyness keeping you from things.  I have fought it my entire life and still do every day.  I'm hoping that having the surgery will at least reduce one thing that makes me self conscious and hesitant to be a "joiner" -- my weight.  Hang in there and, if you ever want to go to a support group meeting together, just let me know.  We don't live all that far apart and I would be happy to have someone to go with!  Laurie

Hi Laurie. YES! Definately...I'd love to drive into a support group meeting with you...My MIL lives in WL right in the condos behind ADS pizza and the hotel.   Surgery and losing weight will definately "help" you with getting out more and not feeling so self conscious, but it won't take the shyness away totally.  THat 's just part of your psyche (a lot of our's) that we've developed over many, many years. I'm learning that life is just too damm short to be missing out and it's up to me to make it happen.  I can sit back and be shy and not participate, or I can spread my wings out and take that chance of making a fool out of myself (which is all in my head, usually) and enjoy things.  To hell what people think...even if we are heavy. Heck.  I lost 130 lbs, but still weigh 200 and am a size 16-18...i'm still a big woman!  But, a far cry from what I was...and I didn't know I was THAT HUGE until I saw a pix of myself.  YOWZA! Email me privately at [email protected] and we'll plan on going.  Some Mon's are tough for me cause Bob works at Bradley Air Traffic Control Tower every other Monday night and I have two kids 9 & 7...so, it will have to be scheduled.. Paula

Paula, it sounds like a plan!  I am tentatively scheduled for surgery THIS MONDAY, October 1, so it looks like when we go to our first meeting together, we will both be going as post-ops!!!!  I am still awaiting insurance approval, so it's not definite that I will be actually having surgery on Monday but I am really hoping.  My insurance co. has already come back and asked for more documentation which, luckily, wasn't a problem to provide.  However, I don't know how much longer they will need to make their decision.  I have my pre-surgical tour of Middlesex Hospital scheduled for tomorrow, so I will be all ready when the insurance says OK.   I'm so excited but it's been so busy with work stuff and doing things with my kids that I haven't even felt anxious or nervous.   Speaking of what you said about life being too short to miss out on things: I took my kids to the Big E this past weekend and promised them that, when we go next year, I will go on every ride!  There were several I would have gone on with them this year, but I was just too afraid that i wouldn't fit!  No more of that...post-surgery, it's every ride in the park every time (OK, maybe not the ones that go upside down, but that has nothing to do with my weigh).  Anyway, I will keep you posted on my surgery date and will get in touch with you about when we might be able to go to a support group meeting together!  Take care, Laurie

Hey, Paula, I feel like we're soulmates in this regard. I'm quite shy - I have to push myself out of my shell and out of my own way to engage with other people. I want to be of help if at all possible - and I never want to forget where I came from for fear of going back there. I'd love to meet you at one of the SG meetings. As for the writing, it's something I've always wanted to do - so as my new life started to unfold and I started experiencing living fully from a normal sized body, I began writing about it - people started reading and one thing led to another and I was invited to submit a "success story" article in WLSLifestyles Magazine (that's the article that I think Dr. A has posted in his office, written about 3 years ago). From that, came the invitation to write a featured column, which I call "Living Normal" - the short answer to your question is: JUST DO IT!  Hope to see you soon. Maureen

Hello All, Here's what I'm enjoying in my new life.. Energy & plenty of it! Loving how my body feels after working out & sweating.. Who would have thunk it? Wearing a push up bra because... I CAN... LOL... My thighs not rubbing together My confidence in myself and abilities have increased a thousand fold.. Saying "I CAN" because I KNOW I can overcome an obstacle.. Looking forwards to trips without feeling ashamed of myself in public Amusement park rides... need I say more Seatbelts that fit Being a size 8/10 and getting to wear clothes that are form fitting.. whooty whooty! Looking in a full length mirror instead of ones from the shoulders up... HMMMM... smaller feet.. LOL yes my feet shrunk!  2 sizes Playing "kick" the can with my son on a walking trail and LOVING every minute of it. Walking into Victoria Secret to buy pretty things without getting "the look" from sales clerks Oh my the list does go on.. & on & on... HEALTHY HEALTHY HEALTHY Tops my list... no more high blood pressure, anti-depressents etc...  Who's next gang?? Tag your it! Mickey    

Ok, this is fun! I have had a few things happen to me over the past few months that have been so awesome that I have to share in this thread.

I started my journey at 363 pounds.  I now weigh 250.  I still have a good 100 - 120 to go to get to my ultimate goal, but I have all the faith in the world that I will get there.  So here are the things that I do now that I couldn't 113 pounds ago:

I sit comfortably in those wobbly plastic outside chairs, in booths, and in movie theater seats.

My steering wheel no longer touches my stomach and it is in a normal position - not adjusted all the way up to leave room for my belly.

I am back in school and am going for nursing.  A year ago, I wouldn't have gone for fear of not fitting in the chairs and because I was so tired, I couldn't imagine doing anything but my 8 hr a day sit down job.

I speak up! I introduce myself to people and am not ashamed at the way I look.  Although I still have far to go, I am more confident in myself than I ever have been in my life!

I walk without feeling like I'm going to pass out.  I take the stairs and am not out of breath and don't feel like my legs are jelly afterwards.

I make plans and don't back out because I'm "not feeling well"

My diabetes is completely under control without medication

I no longer use a CPAP to sleep

I am finally figuring out that my eyes are too big for my stomach, so I guess I need to work on my eyes now.

I am growing in my spiritual journey.  I am no longer stagnant in an "all about me" kind of place.

I look forward to my future as a nurse, a mother (in a few years), and a wife.

This surgery is the best thing that's ever happened to me.  I am living.  I am trying to make something out of my life instead of staying at a "comfortable", yet completely unsatisfying job because I can.

And Paula, congrats on almost 2 years! Do you realize that I had my surgery exactly 1 & 1/2 years TO THE DAY after you??? Funny huh?

I'm interested to see what others say.

Michelle