What I hate and love about obesity!

Hi there everyone newbie here and just want to start with a love hate post.

First of all the topic title is kind of silly after all know one really loves or likes anything about being obese. But the truth is its just to hard to give up a few things if you have not really started.

After all they say. "You don't put it on over night it wont come off over night."

Its the same way with our loves. Mine are ice cream and pizza and all the snack cakes I can eat. 

But if you truly think about things that you like. For example snack cakes. 

I will purchase the normal sized boxes of snack cakes for like 2.00 from my local aldi's for swiss rolls I love thous. But I never eat them in front of people I hate eating in the vehicle when we go out to eat. And even at home I don't eat in front of people I go to my room and eat.

So is it that I truly love these items or are they just quick and convenient.

That's one of my main problems with obesity I know I want to be a smaller size. And to lose weight and to be healthier. But sometimes its just easier to sit in front of my computer and eat a box of swiss rolls before I even know what happened.

Somethings are just so much simpler when your big. I personally have been over 300 pounds since 16 years old now I'm 359 and 26 years old and  high risk of diabetes and high blood pressure.

The really hard thing for me to do is give up my PC. I have been a daily youtube viewer and game player for a few years. But the biggest problem for me is I will start in the morning and not move until late evening. I love my Computer and sweets.

And Dislike exercising and worrying about being healthy. 

I know there are things I will need to change to get healthy. And things I will need to switch from list to list. But for now I'm going to start slow.

I was thinking about doing indoor small fitness changes like plus size yoga or even daily stretching to get me started. And cutting down on my pc time. I hope it helps me out in a long run. Even just the small steps to get started.

If anyone has any ideas of small changes and would like to comment on what they gave up from when they decided to lose weight please do not hesitate to respond in the comment below.

I'm three weeks post RNY. Prior to surgery I first gave up my soda which was a big deal for me. Start small. I miss my ice cream and pizza. Well I did. I tried a Tsp of ice cream made me sick and I didn't even like it!  It was too sweet!  And I hate how it made me feel. Just keep making healthier choices. It's all worth it

Well I'm a newbie too & weighed just a little more than you did when I first started out. I definitely had to start with small steps. Drinking & eating was one of the harder things to get into because it just didn't feel natural, but I had to do it. It doesn't stop me from feeling weird when going out to restaurants & everyone is eating & drinking at the same time & I'm looking at my watch doing a mental countdown as to when I could start drinking again. Liquids, not alcohol!

The love hate relationship with obesity is just way too screwed up for me right now. On the 1 hand yeah I want to get the weight off & on the other I just want to dive into a box of cookies & just stay there for awhile & eat my feelings away. Now its gotta deal with it, figure it out, & I'm doing the baby step way right now. Cross addiction is real & I so don't want to fall into that trap.

One thing about obesity is that after awhile its comfortable & familiar & it becomes all that you know. Moving into normal is what's exciting, but scary too. I don't know what normal looks like on me yet, giving up my shield, my armor of obesity is what I have to give up. It's coming off little by little. I'll apparently will be baby stepping my way to normal, in body & mind.

Hope this makes sense, I might be rambling, I'm kinda tired. 

Hi newbie, I am, too. I just opened the discussion of WLS with my husband yesterday. He's wary, but I'm hoping to have it in the spring.

I like your question!

I've already made a list of foods I will need to do some kind of goodbye ritual and pre-grieving for.

There are a few non-food-related things that I appreciate about being obese:

* One is that I can be invisible when I want to be.

* Another is that I can be friendly with men without worrying about them hitting on me, and then being in a position to reject them. (Not that that happened all that many times before I was obese, but I really hate rejecting people.)

* Third, I don't have to worry about being tempted to cheat on my husband, because even if I wanted to, there would be no opportunity.

* And finally, my kids like to rest on my softness :)

-Celesteeel 

The only thing I miss about being obese is eating with total abandon.  I just ate whatever I wanted as much as I wanted.  I ate fast food about 5 times a week.  I ate cookies and cakes or whole medium pizzas.  It is a freeing feeling when you just give up and eat whatever you want.

It is easier to be obese.  The down side of course is everything that goes along with obesity.   I didn't feel good a lot.  I got sick a lot more (since I lost weight I have been sick twice).  I didn't feel good about how I looked.  I hated the clothes that were available for plus sized women....and they were twice the money.   

I don't like exercise either but some how it's easier when you are losing weight.  It gets harder when you are just maintaining.  But you can live an active life and have it be fun.  This Friday instead of sitting in front of the TV like a sack.  I will be meeting my daughter for an all day hike.  It will be nice.  Not all exercise has to take place on a treadmill. 

Ya....it's harder but I rather be thinner.  And I do have my lazy PJ days ( I stay in my PJs all day)...usually happens in the winter.  Hey we all deserve our rest.  And I do have my cheat days, where I allow myself a couple indulgences (my last one was on my honeymoon...I had Italian food and a slice of cheesecake).  So all is not lost for the sake of thinness.   

Believe it or  not  I enjoy my food a LOT more now that I'm a size 0-2 ( and have been for five years ) .  For one thing hot men take me out to nice restaurants and pay for great food lol which 1) I don't have to provide and cook 2) its great company and nice experiences . 

I just eat a lot LESS and much healthier than I used to. A restaurant entree is usually two meals for me now . I don't need to open the refrigerator anymore every time I walk into the house- I don't have to eat all day and feel guilty. Now I enjoy my food and can trust that I'll still wake up an attractive healthy size the next morning .  I really live my life now not virtually through other people on my computer and devices .  

I also love getting dressed ... exercising ( I love rollerblading and waking and hiking) .  I love making strides in my career and c0ming closer to achieving my dreams .  I needed the WLS to start my journey but theres so much more to becoming who I dreamed of being ... therapy for childhood issues ,  twelve step groups to deal with food and other addictions , learning how to pick a good man out of a bunch ... its all a great fun rollercoaster ride.

 I haven't had a snack cake in years ... haven't wanted one to be honest and you brought me back to pre op when my delight too was a box of dates crumb cakes or Entenman's .  I'd eat the whole gosh darn thing and feel SO guilty and sick .  Thank God those days are over . (((()))) thanks for your honesty !

Hello DPSW. I love my indoor and/or youtube exercise videos. My mouth went wide open when I saw plus-sized yoga. Well thank you I will certainly check that one out. I love tai chi and pilates but my parts don't allow such free fluid movement!

If you're a "closet eater," therapy is probably needed. It's a big issue that surgery won't necessarily "fix."

I walked for miles yesterday. My shoe was hurting my foot and I was hot and sweaty, but I did it, in spite of those things, because I have to in order to control my diabetes. It's one of those "HAVE TO" types of things. My lapband surgery failed me and now it's up to me to take control of my life. That's just what it boils down to for me. No matter what I like or don't like. I tell myself, "It simply HAS to be done."

Thanks to being told to go do something else every time I asked someone to do something with me as a child all I would do was sit in front of the TV. My older brother had his own friends and my sister would hang out with my cousins and I pretty much just had mom and dad. But dad had a job from 5 a.m to about 4p.m. making pallets. The heavy wood and cases of nails and doing all that made him to tired to really do much when he got home and mom was also a bigger women. 

So when we had satelite I would sit in front of the TV from the time I got home until it was dark and then we would sit and watch TV as a family. And then time for bed. And then do it all over again the next day. There was school and then TV.

But then about the age of 12 or so dad decided we could have a TV in our room. So instead of going to town shopping and walking around in the store. I would say "No not right now my show is on. No that's ok I will go later or tomorrow." Tomorrow never really comes though. Dad passed from lung cancer 5 years ago and mom passed 2 years ago. Now there's really no one to scream at me about walking or going to the store and walking around in-side.

So now I will have to do it all on my own. I bought 4 12 packs of soda on Tuesday there mountain dew products. And some of my favorites so I drank about a 12 pack already of the blue voltage. I love the flavor of it. 

So you know what yesterday I felt so bad from all the sweating I did I sweat so bad my eyes burned and I never really did much just went to check the mail and its less then 200 feet from the house. I read online that soda makes you sweat so today I cut out the soda. So day one with no soda and only a juice. A Turkey Hill Strawberry Kiwi Lemonade I had half the bottle with my 2 year old niece so I had 1 serving which is 1 cup serving size 120 Calories total fat 0g 0% sodium 10mg 0% total carbohydrates 28g  9% sugars 26g protein 0g viteman c 8%. It was cool and good.

But then I decided to switch to Gatorade since it is 90 in our mobile home rite now. So I'm now drinking a fruit punch Gatorade fountain drin**** cold. Size is 32 oz. But that also includes a full 32 oz size of ice before the Gatorade.  

So hopefully today will be the starting point of no soda. Day one seams to be going well so far.

What was the first thing you gave up and hope hard was it and what switch did you make? And are you still living with the switch?

There will be a lot of changes but really... I think you will find life will be different but most things will be better. Even foods you used to LOVE may not call to you... as you lose weight and everyday activity becomes easier, you are feeling healthier and the added motivation of seeing #'s on the scale you haven't seen in years... doing things that would derail that becomes harder to do... for a time... I say that because WLS gives you a helping hand for making lifestyle changes... not temporary I can suffer through this for awhile type change.... real, lasting I have found things foods, movement, ways to cope, supportive relationships, etc that I can continue FOREVER changes. 

All this being said... the food, and moving... IMHO easier things to change... above the neck... head stuff... reasons why, demons, unresolved "stuff," etc. harder and MOST IMPORTANT. Work on those, start now. Trust me. It's the foundation of the house, without it... beware of the storms in life.  (just my 2 cents)

Getting involved online with support groups/online forums like OH will help... some really great people who get it.

Best best best to you!!

~Shelly

P.S. Try to focus in the things you will gain when you lose... that's probably a slogan already LOL if it isn't it should be. ;)