New to this board and needing some motivation to get back on track!

Hello all!  I am new to this board, and Im hoping if I keep up with this board that I just might be able to get back on track.  I joined this website a couple of years ago when I was in the process of trying to get the Lap Band surgery.  I was denied at the last minute due to the fact that I am bipolar.  Granted, I ask the surgeon many times if this would prevent me from having the surgery and I was told "oh, no, you wont be, you take your meds and you have letters of recommendation from psychatrist and therapist...you are set to go!" Long story short after all the hard work and a whole lot of money, they denied me :( I recently went to another WLS seminar and decided that I am not ready for WLS.  It's a drastic change and I am not sure if I can handle it.  I was doing great at the start of the year and lost 20 lbs pretty quickly as I was eating eating better and going to the gym everyday.  But the usual happened and work got stressful, my dog died, got a stomach bug, went through a tiny depression cycle and pretty much stopped going to the gym about 6 weeks ago.  I really want to get back on track, bc I really enjoyed the gym and the compliments I got were amazing!  Even though I had only lost 20 lbs (I need to loose another 120lbs) I had lost so much body fat from exercising so much, I looked like I lost 50lbs!  Since I stopped going, I have actaully lost five more pounds but....I look heavier because I lost all that muscle that I built up.  I really just need some motivation right now bc I just dont know if I will ever be able to loose this weight.  I can't decide whether to do slim fast or weigh****chers.  I have an extremely stressful job (I love it tho!  I work in a mental hospital with violent teens with special needs) and I am always on the go because I work so much so it's hard to make food.  Sorry such a long post, lol.  I look forward to posting on here often!

You know that ole adage, "be careful what you wish for"???  Or this one:  "thank God for unanswered prayer?"  Well, I know people have terrific success with the Lap Band, but I was not one of them.  I was miserable!  Couldn't eat, vomited all the time, and so I turned to liquid calories and didn't lose any weight.  I self paid for that band, but luckily insurance paid to have it removed!  Since I had it removed in November, I started a diet in December and I'm having success doing it "on my own". 

I hear lots of great things about Weigh****chers.  I have not heard very good things about Slim Fast.  But do your research!  See what you can implement with your busy work life, and go from there.  I think you can get back on track for sure!

Best wishes!

Hi and welcome to our little neck of the OH woods. As far as diets - you have to choose one that you can enjoy and live with the rest of your life - it should just be about eating healthy and not just shedding weight. There are plenty of plans that can do that including weigh****chers - but not slim fast. So plan for the long term and not just for tomorrow.

As far as stress - someone here recently wrote a wonderful post about how she had incredible stress in her life and yet she kept on eating a healthy diet - it helps deal with the stress. I wish I had saved a version of it, it was so compelling. You can't let things like stress knock you off a healthy lifestyle. We all feel stress - sometimes it's overwhelming and other times it's minor. Instead of letting it derail your health, look for better way to handle it - going for a walk, listening to music, talking about it with a professional - find multiple ways to make it work for you.

You can do it and we can help. It really helps to come here every day and talk about your healthy lifestyle.

Thanks for the warm welcomes!  I have decided on weigh****cher.  Slim fast is more convient, but you guys are right, it's not a long term plan.  I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow and plan on getting back on track for monday!