Tuesday...another new day-another new beginning...another new chance!

Hey Nancy and everyone else.  Ya notice how I said everyone else so maybe you won't notice that I just can't remember everyone who has posted.  Smart huh?

It's official....I'm dead.

Today was house cleaning day, then went to East end park and walked nearly 3 miles.  Then like an idiot I went to two line dance classes.  Just got home.  I also worked with my trainer yesterday.  Spent 1 hour working my legs with heavy for me weights.  WTF

I appreciate the posts today.  Sometimes we forget where we have been and what we have gone through to get where we are now.  We struggle and tend to focus on the struggle and the slips along the way and don't give ourselves enough credit.  As long as we keep in mind that we always have this wonderful tool and realize that it is always there to get us back on track we can do what we need to do.

10 years ago I was nearly 300 pounds.  Why that came as a shock to me I can't explain, but it did.  I was mortified to say the least.  I had other health issues but not what most doctors would expect.  My lipid panel was always very good.  I was not diabetic.  I did not have sleep apnea.  I did not have high blood pressure.  I did and do have arthritis that made it impossible to exercise without pain.  Once my knees prevented me from taking the 5-7 dance classes a week I was used to just to maintain a 250 pound body, the weight quickly rocketed. I still have knee issues and will see a doctor in a couple of weeks to evaluate the state of my joints.  I am hoping to put off replacement until January, 2017.  My hands, especially the thumbs, are also extremely painful. 

My doctor recommended I see a surgeon about WLS.  I did.  I was not as prepared as most of you.  My doc was a general surgeon that did RNY surgery among other general surgeries.  He no longer does WLS.  I did not know about OH.  I had no dietician training and no support group before or after surgery.  I found OH through a computer search.

I had no problems with the surgery.  My post op diet was pretty typical with liquids followed by soft foods followed my semi dense foods etc.  The first year was so easy.  I want to echo what Nancy said about the first year and caution you Kathy about the future.  I know you can't see yourself going back to old habits, none of us could imagine that but we did.  Just be mindful that you are human and if you find yourself in that position it is undoable.  I lost right at 100 pounds in the first couple of years.  I dipped down below 200 for about 30 seconds.  I never did again.  My goal was to reach 175.  It still is.  I have thought about 150 but that may not be realistic for me.  The biggest struggle for me was at the 5-6 year point.  I started to regain and got up to 240 or so.  I got back on track and got down to 215.  Thought I would never go back up.  Guess what, yeah, your right, I did.  Actually got back up to 258 and said whoa!!!  That was in January of this year.  I am now focused on doing what I know I should do.  I have no excuses.  I got lazy, I made excuses, I went back to the old comfortable me.  YADA YADA YADA.  I am now at 238 and think about all the time I wasted. 

Today I strive to move....even if it hurts.  If I hike I try to make 10,000 steps in a day.  If I don't, my target is 6,000.  Since January I hike 2-3 times a week.  I am slowing down on that because I can't tolerate the heat and this is Texas and the temps are rising.  This week is an exception so I am walking. So far today I have walked 13,015 steps.  Remember I said I was dead.  I don't have the reaction to food that many of you have.  Too much is my most bothersome issue.  I can and do drink soda.  It is sugar free, and caffeine free.  I can't not drink it on a daily basis.  That is my number one downfall.  I can not eat concentrated sugar.  Syrups, honey, cake icing, etc.  will make me sick.  I get hot, feel clamy, and just in general yuky.  Cake without icing, cookies, SF ice cream, no problem.  Luckily I don't think about sweets much.  Alcohol......I get drunk on a few sips.  I never was a drinker.  I did like some ****tails and I still do, I just can only have a sip or two.  I share with my hubby and he gets the lion's share.  I do not get cold.  Just the opposite.  I still have awful issues of feeling hot.  I keep my AC set on glacial.  My husband is not happy.  We compromised on 70 degrees.  I want it 68 he want at least 72.  70 is the best I can do and I am still hot, especially at night.  I do the covers on covers off shuffle all night long.

I travel a lot so much of the time I am making the "best" choices I can.  I do bring things on the road so I can mindfully eat.  I don't really have a large appetite.  Like Nancy I can easily forget to eat.  Funny how that is true when I am on track but if I am eating things I shouldn't I am hungrier than when I'm  eating properly.  Luckily for me I do not have and addictive personality.  I am an emotional eater and I have to be careful if things in my life are very stressful or upsetting but if I take time to de-stress and take care of myself I do fine. 

I have to take a moment to thank all those oldies who helped me when I was a newbie.  All my knowledge came from this forum.  I would have gotten very sick if Jeannie and Susan had not educated me about vitamins.  I would have struggled much more if everyone had not shared good websites and good protein drink info and good recipes with me.  I am not perfect, I fail from time to time but this journey has been so much more doable with the help I have received here.

Again thank you

I feel like I am rambling so I am going to stop now

Linda,

I love the positive tone the board is taking; I think we all we grow the more positive we are and the more information that we share. I'm always about learning. I love to hike too and we hike Devil's Den here and Mt. Magazine all the time. It's nice but tiring.  We need to plan a retreat in AR...wouldn't that be fun. 

I'm sitting in an urgent care with my daughter waiting, waiting, waiting. Quite a hell hole...couldn't get into her regular doctor because he was gone for a week and overwhelmed with appointments. Such a mess, but she is pretty sick so we are doing what we have to do..

My story...

I started looking into RNY in 2006. My top weight was about 365 pounds.  I also am tall and have a large frame so I did look fat but people were shocked if they knew the number. Of course almost no one knew the number since I was so full of shame about my weight. 

By early 2007 I was doing the preop things. I had a mammogram that led to a diagnosis of breast cancer, two surgeries and radiation. Then back on track for RNY. I had the surgery in San Francisco in December of 2007.  My total weight loss the first year was 125 pounds, but I have gained about twenty pounds since then. 

I have not been the best of patients...I do not eat exactly what I should and I do some things that I know are off limits such as drinking wine on occasion. I have not yet reached my goal...I am a work in progress. I have not regretted the surgery because I think 100 pounds is nothing to sneeze at and I am so much more mobile and 

functional.

Last September I had a complication, but it was a big one. My small intestine blocked completely and after a week of not keeping anything down they put me in the hospital. A few days later I had surgery to remove the scar tissue and put the intestine back together. That was quite an ordeal, but just a memory now. 

I am recommitting to losing my last 50 pounds. I do have a lot of loose skin and the only way to get rid of it is plastic surgery. I would consider it but as I get older I am less motivated to go through the expense, risk, and pain. 

I have been on OH throughout this nine years of my life. I have not always posted but I have been here. I am one of the oldies. This group has been here through thick and thin...it is mostly supportive though we did just go through an upheaval. It happens once in a while. I like to have  a group that is very honest and vulnerable. That is a big order though and I don't always get what I want...

Julia, I'm like you with the not always posting but I am going to try to do better posting and working toward being positive. 

I love the tone the board has taken. You know when there is so much negativity that you read and feel all torn up inside, you just cannot post...This is the only place that I can come to where people know exactly what I am going through...we are truly connected...in a way that is so different from other medical conditions or various surgeries...

We are all a force...that's for sure. 

Good evening ladies-

i started my weight loss journey in 2010 but did not have surgery until 2011.  My highest weight was 351 my lowest was 232 after one year.  At present I am back to 312.

while I've had regain I still have some restriction.  I am still off of all blood pressure medications.  I took up water fitness and became a certified instructor two years ago.  I teach water fitness four nights a week.

My issues with food are psychological.  I lack impulse control so I have to avoid certain foods.  Like many sleeve patients I do not have any dumping when I eat sugary foods.  I do have some discomfort with some foods.

i took up yoga during my first year post surgery. I enjoyed it and found it helped with tightening up some parts.  Water fitness gave me the aerobics I needed without impacting my lousy knees.

i enjoy reading the experiences and ideas they have for continued weight loss or maintenance.  My advice to newbies is use the surgery as a tool but if you suffer from binge eating disorder make sure your surgeon offers supports groups or psychological counseling for this disease.  While the surgery can be effective you need to deal with the emotional side of eating.

Im struggling with the issue of feeling like a failure because of the regain however I also have many non scale victories that I continue to celebrate.  The water fitness is one of those victories.  Lots of good ideas came out of today posts for me to consider.

Cindi B

Cindi,

I think the thing we all must remember that this is not a once and for a life time but a journey that begins and ends when we say.  I think when we gain, we just focus and we work at losing. Don't you dare feel ashamed because you know you have come so far and done so well....today is baby steps....