What are your favorite self-care/soothing activities and products since WLS?

I have tried a lot of those. I love Wild Orange Blossom and I do like Dragonfruit Devotion--if I remember not to brew it too long. I will look for Almond Plum Perfection. Sounds delish.

For me (this is only me speaking...I'm not speaking for anyone else)...I didn't think I could fight a lifetime of programming that basically equated food to comfort. I was right. It has been a lifetime crutch for me. Thankfully because of the amount of malabsorption, it has not been an issue.

I LOVE chamomile tea. I drink coke zero and that all day. It doesn't put me to sleep...just relaxes me. I have a stressful job and it makes all the difference in the world!

Scott

I get what you are saying --

My friend manages an Ulta -- otherwise, I wouldn't really be willing to spend the money on higher end things because, well, I am cheap. I definitely enjoy make up more -- and I use a Clarisonic with Origins Mega Mushroom by Dr. Weil for skin care -- something I wouldn't have ever done before. I also use Living Proof shampoo -- a definite splurge I wouldn't have made before. Even with my friend's appreciable discount, it's really overpriced -- but I love it.

I used to be more cheap. As I have gotten older, and as our income has increased, I have been more willing to splurge on things for myself more. Also, now that we have high school and college-aged kids, it just seems like we are just throwing massive amounts of money out--like candy at a parade. They wear adult sized clothing, but they wear it out fast or grow out of it fast. All the extra curricular stuff--so much money even for school teams/performing groups. And the college prep and tests and all that. I also have a sense of time passing, and would rather spend money on something than using all my time to shop. I truly admire people who are good shoppers! We tend to keep our overall expenses down by having a smallish house and simple cars that we maintain and keep a long time. But I wish I were a better bargain hunter.

Regarding cosmetics, I too have settled on a mushroom based skin care system! (A different brand, but I really love it the mushroom stuff.) I will look at that shampoo. Even when MO, I have always had great hair, and when I was young, I would splurge on Aveda shampoos. However, I got cheap with that and have been doing the Suave thing for years and years now. Time to pamper my awesome hair again! :-)

I always thought of myself as someone who valued the inner life more than the outer life. Education, music, reading, friendships, spirituality. I still believe these are most important--we should avoid judging people on their appearance; we need thoughtful approaches to problems; we need deep friendships; etc.

But I really am finding that my body is so connected to my sense of spirituality, on a kind of mystical or earthy level, as in my connection to the earth. I feel like nourishing my body in all ways shows more respect to God the Creator, to Mother Earth, and connects me to Them. It makes me connected to other people too.

I love Belleruth Naparstek! My therapist is a big fan and turned me on to her. The only problem is I rarely can stay awake listening to guided imagery....

So glad to find another Belleruth fan! I wish she were my neighbor.

I totally get the staying awake thing . . . Happily, she convinces us that even sleeping, we absorb her words. Ha!

Running, yoga, meditation, massages, therapy. All things I didn't really do pre-op!

I would love to hear more about what you do for meditation.

I heard a TED talk by Andy Puddicombe (I might be spelling that wrong) a year or so ago and got hooked on his app - Headspace. The basic gist is ten minutes a day of guided mindfulness. It's amazing for me. I follow the headspace blog too. Mindfulness is a daily practice for me (practice because I'll never be perfect!) but I definitely notice differences in my life when I can use the app on a regular basis and when I can't.

I highly recommend the app. After finishing the first 10 days which have the focus of learning how to find your "headspace" you can choose themes to focus on. Like relationships, forgiveness, pregnancy, cancer, change, etc.

For me, the phrase I tell people about mindfulness is that "when I'm peeling a potato, I want to just be peeling a potato." I want to be there, in that moment, instead of fifty billion other places.

Thank you. I will definitely look into this.