Made it to 1-Year Post-Op!

Well, after having been nudged (none too gently, either) by my "better half" to get with the program and sign on to OH.com, I finally have. There were a few teeth-grinding and hair-pulling moments before I was finally able to get everything the way I wanted it, but it is done. It also didn't help that my company laptop has a "no can go" filter on a few sites and my home laptop has Norton anti-virus on it, which really S-L-O-W-S things down. But after having been infected with every spyware and virus known to man, I've decided it's the lesser evil. Anyway, it's been a real journey to get from "severely obese" to "healthy" over the past year. I will say that I'm glad it's behind me, but I have concerns about how well I'm going to be able to keep the weight off. Based on what I've heard (from my "better half") those who post indicate that the weight can creep back up after a few years. I'm in the gym 3 times a week and our elliptical trainer was just delivered this afternoon to keep our treadmill company. So now I'm going to be strength training in the gym and doing a cardio workout at home on my non-gym days (so I can make "10,000 steps" every day). So far, I've been pretty good about doing the workouts, but the real question is, "Will I be able to stay the course over the long run?" DJ -- I hope you see this before the next support group meeting at Banner Estrella on April 14! I'm looking forward to not being the only one there who's not a member of OH.com...

WELCOME RAMONA!!! I'M SO GLAD JOHN NAGGED YOU TO GET ON BOARD!!! I'm not really sure that everyone in our group is a member of OH but most are. You won't be sorry you joined though, this is the BEST place to get questions answered. I meant to ask you two; are y'all planning on going to the Spring Fling? Ask John about it. Joyce has been posting announcements for some time. Y'all need to go. Earl & I went last year and had a good time. We could car pool if you want. See ya later, Dj

IT'S OFFICAL... Hell has frozen over... Ramona has posted! I still love you baby.. Dj, I have not really looked into the Spring Fling. I will check into it and let you know. Doc

Doc! You are personally invited to come "fling" with all of us!!!! It's sounding like a wild and crazy bunch! Woooooooooo Hoooooooooo! (just check out the latest Spring Fling post for detail!) Joyce

Wow! Your regime is inspiring! I think I"ll grab my tennies and run to the gym for another round! ......You do NOT have to regain weight! YOU determine your destiny and it sounds to me llike you have set yourself on a great course! .... I work for Dr. Gitt and NVPS and am able to see many successful WLS post-ops come through the door who have not regained their weight! Sooooo......just decide that you'll stay on track and that it's a journey to keep an eye out on! Good luck and welcome to this fun support site! Joyce

Thanks for the warm welcome. I've taken a few minutes to read each of your profiles. I think I also fall in the "how on earth do I maintain?" category. I've modified my weight "goal" to always be a few pounds less than what I currently weigh, because after a year I've finally figured out what I need to do to make the scale move in the "down" direction. But I still feel somewhat clueless on what to do in order to keep it level. I imagine that's a matter of time, though. I'm looking foward to reading more about your individual stories and from benefiting from your experiences. I'm not much of a "forum" person, but I sure wish that I'd taken the time to do more online research. If I had, I would have gotten up to speed on protein supplements a lot earlier! :gossip: And maybe the protein number on my lab blood work would be a little higher. Still looking into the Spring Fling thing. Both Doc and I down for the night at an embarassingly early time (our kids stay up later on the weekends :-$) If we go, we'll both probably have to down a caffeine-laden protein drink not to nod off at 8:00 pm! Thanks again,