Support Group Meeting - LifeStarts

Tonight is our monthly Support Group Meeting for the Tri-City Group - Lifestarts . Our topic tonight will be : MAINTENCE - WHAT NOW ? I have a really diverse group . Many pre-ops and Post ops . We will be discussing maintence after obtaining your goals . If you have never been to my support group meeting .. and you are in this area , I would love for you to come out . Also, I have been given the rights to my own website domain . It is sponsored by Bariatric Advantage . It is still under construction . But the link will be . www.lifestarts.com I am so excited about this . You will be able to come to the site and see up coming events , read success stories .. and you will be able to send to me your story or picutres . I am so excited to be able to offer this to my group . Keep a look out for the start up date . Tonights meeting is held at John Randolph Hospital - 6:30 in class room A and B . We meet until 8 . Come on out and join us for a great night of friends and education .. Love ya , Natalie

Natalie, Wish I lived closer and wasn't studying for finals....I could really use some support right about now! Here's the deal, my surgeon is not a bariatric surgeon. In fact I only go back to him once more for follow up. I"m seven weeks postop. He just doesn't have an extensive aftercare program. My"nut" is associated with the base (Quantico....where we go) fitness center , and she's where I was referred to for my diet consult. I think she can basically help me, but not bariatrically.....at least not expertly. I'm really concerned right now as I dont have dumping....or maybe it's just that I dont eat the stuff that will make dumping happen. Food does not get stuck. The only problem I get is discomfort int he area of my pouch if maybe I've eaten too much or something doesn't totally agree with my pouch. That's it. If I had willpower I wouldn't be in this boat. So like so many I chose to have surgery for all it's wonderful effects the tool can give you, inclujding consequences such as dumping and food getting stuck, etc. I am so worried about failing. I"m bawling as I type this, so it's taking me forver to type it. I calle dmy surgeons office the other day and he's actually made up a new pamphlet on servings size and other diet recommendations....so I'm waiting for that to come in the mail. Do you have anyting that gives recommended serving sizes for the different stages, and months after surgery? I dont know maybe I'm just stressed because I have finals coming up in my college classes. But I think I'm just really concerned. Remember back when I told you guys about eating the piece of toast with tuna on it. Now it was a low carb/high protein....but I still ate the whole thing bread. That was at about 3-4 weeks out and I just had the feeling of discomfort after that. I seem to remeber reading somewhere that after a couple of months or so post op when all the nerves are working and stuff that people start getting the full feeling and those that didn't have consequences such as dumping, or food getting stuck, actually started experiencing it then and beyond. I can only hope.....do you have any literature on this, or know anything about it? I appreciate you "listening" t ome. Thanks. Kirsten

Kirsten , I have some literature to send you tonight . I am at work now and do not have it with me . Or the best way for me to advise is to talk to you . I will email you my # .. and we can talk . Hugs sweety . Hang in there ok .. Nat

Natalie, I'm doing much better this evening then I was earlier! Thank you. I think it's abe careful what you wish for kinda thing though! Not an hour after I'd posted to you I had eaten my breakfast I started in w/ tummy pain....so long story short I ended up evacuating out both ends....it happened twice. TOday and it was HORRBILE! Then later after I'd tried eating "lunch". BUt after that and some rest I was good to go! WEird. I have IBS so I dont know if it was that, or dumping or what! But I know I am turned off what I ate both times for a while! I would still love to receive any literature you have to offer! I like reading about all this stuff. I haven't received the stuff from my surgeons office yet, tomorrow maybe. I did talk to them today cuz of the tummy troubles, and his assitant told me she'd sent copies of my operation report too! So I'm interested to find out how big my pouch is! Thanks for being there for me! Kirsten

Kristen, Ft Belvoir has a good support group headed by Cyndi Baker. The next meeting is May 16th at 6:30pm. You can call DeWitt Hospital if you need more info. Cathy

Cathy, Thanks for letting me in on that! Kirsten

Hello (again) Kristen ~ Ive been nosing around on a few threads and saw your reply to Natalie and wanted to jump in. DON'T let the fact that you're about to lose the "hands on" of your surgeon worry you too much. Your LONG term health, care and success is 90% in YOUR hands, 10% in the medical world. I have NOT had a "surgeon" oversee my follow up since I was 90 days post op. Not by choice, but by cir****tances. Hubby is in the Navy, we left WA State 3 months after my bypass. Regardless, I knew my surgeon did NOT have a very strong aftercare program in place (at the time, coulda changed since) so it didn't bother me to be leaving. I had every intention of being my LOUDEST health advocate, with research and staying active in many weight loss forums. Trust me, there is NO one in this world that will take bette care of yourself and health, then YOU!! As far as long term maintenance? It's a VERY SCARY THING!!!! Stay SCARED, it'll keep you on your toes and hopefully be what keeps you SUCCESSFUL long term. It just so happens that my MAY 3 update to my profile was on "Maintenance" .... it's a LONG one, but I'll cut and paste it here, if you're interested in reading it. Bottomline? WE CAN DO IT, half the battle is BELIEVING in ourselves. I believe in you! Hugs - Lei . ========= CUT and PASTE from my PROFILE ============ . 5/1/06 -- The long, winding and complex road of .....MAINTENANCE! There is no MAGIC wand (or answer) to long term success and weight loss maintenance. I've been wrestling with a 10 to 15 lb gain for about 9 months now and I really see myself like any other person out there struggling to stay fit. When I eat right, monitor my calories, up my activities, I get the gain to drop within 5 lbs of my goal. When I give up, get lazy, start grazing, etc - it jumps right back up. I remember at the beginning of my journey, I made a promise/pact with my higher being. "Please please please, give me this chance to be thin and healthy again. I just want to be NORMAL, have a level playing field and I promise I'll do the rest, whatever it takes, to maintain those results" I got my wish, lost the excess weight and now I'm struggling with maintenance just like everyone else! I'm healthy, happy and battling each day, to MAINTAIN, which sounds like a very LEVEL playing field to me! I knew it would be tough and I also knew I had one shot at rapid weight loss. Over time, once the mal-absorption levels diminished, the accountability and maintenance would shift from the SURGERY to me, and it has. Now, losing 10 pounds at 3 yrs+ post-op, is no easier and no harder then it is for someone who's never had the surgery... um, like my sister. I have much more compassion and understanding for her life long battle to STAY healthy within a normal weight. She's never been obese, ever, not even close, but it's because she's always worked HARD to keep it that way. I used to roll my eyes and wanna strangle her when she'd *****whine/express about needing to lose 5 or 10 pounds. Um, big whoop, right? Well, DUH!!!! Maybe that's how the NORMAL world is successful and avoids obesity? They work to get the weight off when it's still a very manageable amount. Gee - whatta concept! Whether we want to hear it or not - it's always going to equate to calories in -vs- calories out! If you're eating too much and not expensing it with activities, you're going to gain weight. Yah, it really IS just that simple. Another twist to our new bodies/health/weight and maintenance? After all these years of abusing our bodies with food, it's important to find out just what our bodies new SET POINT is. What the medical write-up suggests for maintenance stages, might not work based on OUR abused metabolisms. It stands to reason we've done a number on it through years of obesity and with that comes consequences and adjustments. Find out what your BODY allows, caloric wise, before it turns any excess into fat. Keep in mind, even HEALTHY calories turn into FAT if it's more then your body needs for maintenance. All the medical hoopla Ive researched on someone MY age, my height, my activity level, [5'9", 175 lbs, moderate activities] etc., says I should be consuming 2000 calories a DAY to maintain. Uh, wrong! My metabolism is shot to hell from 3 decades of dieting - if I kept it at 2000, I would NOT maintain, I'd gain. To maintain, I need to keep my calories around 1500. If I want more, I better plan on another hour [or 5] on the treadmill. Since Im lazy by nature (and honest about it) I try to talk myself out of eating the additional calories. For the record, I obviously DON'T always win that fight within my brain, hence the additional pounds. If you're struggling with some weight gain then stop beating yourself up over it mentaly and verbally. Instead fuel your mind and body with some positive ACTION. Try to get back to basics and maybe initially, purge yourself of white carbs for awhile. I like detoxing for 3 days with just protein shakes, and protein rich foods, etc. Also, tons of water, to flush the toxins, fats, WEIGHT outta my system and body. Then, slowly incorporate healthy food choices from all food categories, tracking and maxing calories, based on YOUR 'new' set point. Logic dictates that if you couple the above with increasing your activity levels, you WILL lose weight. Once again, it's important to blend it into YOUR lifestyle, what works for you and more importantly - what will help you to repeat the process, over and over. If you don't like it once, you can damn well bet, you won't like doing it twice! For me, it's important that it be things I find FUN! Once again, If I enjoy it, I'll repeat it, like scenic walking, or swimming, biking, dancing, etc. Bottomline, it's NOT easy. Yes, it is WORK. I am WORTH IT and I WILL DO IT!!!!! As of this mornings weigh in, I'm within 7 ½ lbs of goal - having lost a total of 8 from my 15 pound 'bounce back'! Top ****************END OF WEIGHT LOSS ENTRIES ********************

Leilani, That is so awesome. Thank you for your post. It's just what I needed! I've saved your maintenance entry in my surgery folder for future, if not daily reference! TYKirsten

Nat, Sorry I won't be able to make this evening. Hope you guys have a great meeting this evening. Keith

Keith, missed you at meeting last night. Nat told me you have had a rough time lately. In the hospital with a bleeding ulcer!! You poor thing. I know how rought that is. I was in St. Mary's for 7 days this month after my 5th EGD and dilation in 10 weeks and the GI dr. stretched a little too much and caused it to rip. OUCH!!! Man the pain was incredible. Anyway, they are still trying to treat my ulcer with 3 different ulcer meds and it just wont heal. Will see a Thorasic surgeon Tuesday to see about cutting the nerve in my chest that sends acid down. Not fun either. Anyway, hope you are doing better. Hopefully will see you next month. Praying for you guy! Lori 5-3-05 Open RNY 230/104/125 (Below Goal)