MY CONFESSION: I'm struggling

Hugs! So sorry u are going through so much!!! Life just doesn't seem fair at times. :-(

Hopeing that your luck changes soon!

Bette, you have my support, prayers, good juju, and all that jazz. *smooch*

BTW....I have been off track since my unfill at the holidays and up 10 lbs. I think there are probably MANY of us here that are struggling with being off-course.

Bette
There is nothing I can say, except I understand how you are feeling. Sometimes life just doesn't seem fair and you have had your fill. I also have learned alot from you and I love *****fest.

I'm wishing you a better year and that the snow melts soon. BTW menopause is a *****

Hugs, Karen

Bette - {{{{{hug}}}}}.  You ARE a great woman.  Give yourself permission to be human, okay.  You need to take care of YOU right now.  If you need to, give yourself permission to put your weight issues on the back burner while you take care of other, more critical stuff.  You will never be a failure to your friends and loved ones.  You are greatly admired, and I feel more of a kinship to you knowing that you are not SUPERWOMAN and are human, just like me!   

   I'm sending you some good luck!       (( Hugs))

I wi**** was that simple, but just know that you are special to a lot of people and we are behind you hoping that this journey will get a little easier for you. 

I appreciate all that you do for us on the band board.  You have been here since I started and you have a kind heart.

Hugs,
Kristi

I'm sorry to hear what you are going thru.  Now that you are in my prayers

Bette,
Throughout the years you have been such a positive influence on this sight.  Look at your track record.  You are a success.  Hang in there we are all pulling for you.

Bette -- I think it's great that you are sharing like this here. We all go through tough times and need some support. This is the right place for it. We all know (or will find out) that the band does not "fix" us. No matter how thin and healthy we get, on some level our tendency is to look to food.

On the bright side, with the economy here in Michigan and the dumpy real estate market, you could come here to live and live really well on your income. Of course we do have more snow......

Trixie

Bette, at some point, we have all had or will have many of the same struggles that you are facing right now.  I too lost my job, post-op, became a bit frightened and depressed and gained weight in the process.  I felt like I was going to fail at weight loss, once again.

But now that I am on the other side, I want to share something with you: THERE IS OPPORTUNITY IN OBSTACLES.

I know that when you are enduring a challenging season in life, it can feel lonely, isolating and overwhelming, but know that this season will pass.

I have no idea what the opportunities are that you might be being lead towards, but if you take a step back and take a survey of things, are there some things that you can offer to others right now?  Could you possibly volunteer to speak with new patients at the surgeon's office?  You never know...you might meet someone there that can offer you your next employment opportunity.  Or you might realize that the small setback with your weight loss is just temporary simply by hearing the stories of others.

Of course, I just tossed out hypotheticals, and I am sure that you can come up with a few things that might be opportunities for you right now, if you really thought about it.

You are such a phenomenal motivator to everyone else; now please allow us to motivate you...

Best wishes to you.

Oh my gosh, you have been through it lately. I am so sorry to hear about all the stressors in your life.

I differ a bit in that I do feel that I've had an addiction to food for awhile (I believe the foods I sought trigger a dopamine response similar to that of certain drug responses) and I've been working with a therapist to try and sort some of this out and develop different coping mechanisms becuase I know that after these early honeymoon months are over, it will try and sneak back in.

I know you said that therapy is out of the question for you, so I wanted to share some books that have been recommended to me by a veteran VSGer. The first is Shrink Yourself. I am actually reading this one right now and it has provided me with some great insight already.

The other is The Thin Commandments. I haven't even begun this one yet, but she refers to it often and it addresses binge eating (this may not be your issue exactly) and helps you identify trigger foods.

I don't know it this is THE answer for you, but I thought it would be worth a shot to share just in case it could help.

I also couldn't imagine anyone saying you are an example of band failure. You have rocked it out and these are issues that can challenge (haunt) all of us despite WLS type.

Lindsey