Newbie: There's no shame in my game

So ok the word newbie & vet is getting tossed around a lot lately. Whose a vet, whose a newbie & everything in between. Some would consider me a vet, but I don't. I've seen some crazy **** on the boards & in life, ups, downs etc. There seems to be some kind of hard feelings felt by some newbies that vets are making light of the work newbies do on their way to goal. I really don't think vets are doing that, but it is a forum & things often do get misconstrued.

I remember years ago when I first started posting about this honeymoon period where I kept reading how so many people just seem to have the weight fall off during this "golden time" & I remember feeling hey where was my "honeymoon"?.

Everything felt overwhelming, that I was too busy playing "catch up"., catching up to water goal, protein goal, vitamins, bloodwork etc.  I even had a post that I titled this was so not a honeymoon period, & those same vets, that has taken a verbal beating lately, came out to support me & I remember wanting to pay it forward when I could.

Do I consider myself a newbie?, well I'm not fresh from surgery & I don't have a lot of years behind me, & no not a vet, but somewhere in between.

Cheers to the in betweeners!  Ok rant over.

"Cheers to the in betweeners!"

YASSSSS!!!

^^^^ What she said.

Thanks for this, T!  We all have a place on OH and there is no shame in names or game.   Here's my post to the OH collective:

It's not a competition to see who' s more or who's less, on this forum - that's in our individual heads.   It's a shame that we see the same people throwing barbs, just because we try to keep information on here factual.  Surgeons and the medical profession are not God's - many of them and their programs are quite honestly, crap.  Very few of them have lived with this surgery so they don't know much about it past the cutting.   No gum, no fizz, no caffeine, Flintstones for vitamins are all rubbish advice - but if people are happy to follow this blindly, have at it.  

Ive got a background in the medical profession, so I refuse to let someone (even a surgeon) treat me as a child, but you do you!  My doctors have always appreciated my knowledge and commitment to my health because I am my own best advocate!   It's worth the effort to become yours ...

 

Hi- my name is Mike and I am comfortable at 19 months being a WIP - Work in Progress or in betweener. I realize I need to set another goal as this will be a long journey. ( I had not put as much thought into long term as I should have)

I'm with you-- if I don't have a goal, I tend to slack. Non-scale ones are great in maintenance-- before getting pregnant, my goal was to increase my average cycling speed by .1 MPH every week :)

Amy merely asked for input on what makes someone a WLS veteran. It's a shame that some read the question and/or the replies with malicious intent. I'm sorry, but you can't be a veteran until you have experienced a variety of situations, and the stages, of the postop lifestyle. That doesn't mean that others, whether a preop, newbie or inbetweener don't have valuable insight or advice. It just means that one has to be cognizant of where they are in their journey, as the experience one has at 10 days out may not be the experience of someone 1000 days out.

 

I am three years out from my surgery. My journey is one day at a time. I don't need the title VET to prove anything to myself or others. WLS is not a completion. It's a process. Proud to be in between!

I won't forget my first post on here. I asked if it was okay to eat some mashed potatoes. I was sick,couldn't eat,my hormones were raging. I was just crying because I was sure I would never eat again. Someone said it's not the best choice and here are some you might want to try but if that's all you can eat tonight it's okay. I don't remember who it was but I'll never forget the hope in a really desperate place.

We all bring things to the table. I'm not ever going to answer any questions about bowel functions. I don't have to  ever talk about that but you know there is someone here who will. I hope that the 6 month out person is going help that 3 week person with their "I've stopped losing weight" because I have answered that question for the last time. I don't post about vitamins.

I lost my weight. I maintained my weight. I went away from here. I gained back over half of my weight loss. Now I'm back and losing regain. I got a lot of stories. I respect the word "vet" in this community because I know exactly how hard it is to do. Maintain weight loss for 5 years...who can do this? It's really the gift of WLS that we all have that potential. That is the miracle. Thank you for all who have helped me see this and believe it.

And I haven't eaten probably more than a cup total of mashed potatoes since 2008. 

Deb T.

I am a proud In-Betweener at 2 years, 5 months and 12 days out!  I have learned so much in the past 2.5 years, and look forward to learning more in the next three.  I am in no hurry to "grow up" -- and have learned that the journey at this point is just as amazing as during my "honeymoon" period.

I am not a vet yet, but half my joy is getting to that point.  Then again, I've never been one to want a title I didn't earn.  To each his own, I guess.  But I will end with one of my favorite quotes from Fight Club: