VSG Maintenance Group
Daily Maintenance Weigh In - Saturday, Nov 27/10
I'm not in maintenance but already I can tell you that I will be as vigilant as others when I get there. I *know* that the surgery did not fix my head, and that I still have many behaviors I need to be aware of and in control of.
Cutting out my stomach did not make me "normal"; if I could have been normal I wouldn't have needed the surgery. The surgery did not make it any less real that certain foods are good for my health and weight and others are not; I need to eat the foods that are good for me.
The surgery did not make it so that I can't eat around it or eat more frequently just to enjoy food. The surgery did not make exercise unnecessary for me or bad for me. If anything I'm more abnormal than ever since most people around me "can" eat more than me if they chose to; the surgery makes it so that I can't even if I wanted to.
Weighing daily is a way of facing MY truth. I know that my behaviors effect what number I see on the scale. I know that if I play "ostrich" and ignore the scale, I can gain because I will justify my own bad behaviors and their results.
I know that all of this is just ME. I am jealous of the people whom the VSG did so much for. For those who had their hunger taken away, their lust for food, all their bad habits, all of their weight, their desire to binge or eat frequently, their desires for bad foods, and for those whose sleeve has done all the work for them.
How fortunate for you that the sleeve has done all the work for you and made you more "normal" with food. Unfortunately I will NEVER be normal and I have learned to embrace that as my burden to carry in life. I don't fight it, I deal with it with my strategies.
I am thankful I'm not a drug addict, alcoholic, compulsive shopper, gambler, etc. My food addiction is the burden I carry.. most of us have our burdens.. our struggles in life, and "normal" is not the status quo.
I don't believe my surgery made me "normal". I don't believe the surgery made all foods suddenly "healthy". I don't believe I can eat whatever I want and not gain weight. I don't believe that because I do not weigh myself daily or track my food daily that I am playing "ostrich".
My surgery did NOT take away my hunger, my surgery did NOT take away my desire for food, my surgery did NOT take away my bad habits. My surgery did NOTtake away my tendency to binge. My surgery without question did NOT do all the work for me.
I never said that, I never meant that nor did I intend anyone to get that impression from what I posted.
I am a compulsive over eater, I still have the tendency to binge, I still have the tendency to use food in an unhealthy manner to manage stress and feelings.
What the surgery DID do is give me a tool to more easily manage these things.
What the surgery DID do is help me find a way to be more mindful about what and how I eat and allowed me to develop more successful coping skills.
What the surgery DID do is allow me to feel less like a victim of my issues and more like a "survivor".
I have been in therapy and continue to go to therapy regularly to deal with my issues.
I continue to have and use a wonderful support system to address my issues.
I am a recovering alcoholic with many years of recovery behind me and I do not consider myself as a helpless/powerless alcoholic either.
I consider myself a strong capable woman who has issues and struggles that I will be dealing with probably as long as I am walking on this earth. I will be more successful somedays than others.
I have found a way of managing my issues with food, alcohol, feelings, issues etc that is working well for me.
my sleeve!!!
Start weight: 388, Current Weight: 185, Goal Weight: 180, Weight Lost: 203 lbs
Certified Nutritionist ♥ VSG FAQ♥ sublimate: To elevate or uplift.
3/2012 Plastics: LBL, 3 Hernias Fixed, BL/BA, Rhinoplasty & Septum Fix. 6/2013 Plastics: Arm and thigh lift
You could never have this discussion on the main board......
Although we may differ on reason and method. There have been no wrong answers here on this thread! Just great successful reason.....
We may have gotten a little off topic.... But it all relates to weight and maintenance.....
frisco
SW 338lbs. GW 175lbs. Goal in 11 months. CW 148lbs. WL 190lbs.
" To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art "
VSG Maintenance Group Forum
http://www.obesityhelp.com/group/VSGM/discussion/
CAFE FRISCO at LapSF.com
Dr. Paul Cirangle
My plan calls for me to weigh daily for the rest of my life. For me the scale shows my body balance the same way that my bank statement shows my financial balance. If I don't weigh daily, I won't know what works for me and what doesn't. I track every bite and weigh every morning. I was tracking my food for years prior to surgery so this really hasn't been a change for me. I always weighed but felt powerless to do anything about it. While I may be the slowest loser around, for the first time in my life of dieting for over 50 years, I feel like I may have a shot at getting to goal and maintaining.
Please keep writing your truths because they are helping me build a tool box of concepts and habits on which to build once I join the maintenance club.
HW: 249 SW: 229 GW: 149 Age: 63 - Body by Sauceda - 12/2011
Thanks so much for your input and feedback, it is appreciated.
You are sooooo close and have come sooooo far!! I am so very proud of you and look forward to you being a regular here at the VSG Maintanence Forum... feel free to drop by ANYTIME!!
Big hugs of appreciation for your point of view...
