Good Morning Buddies! A thought to ponder and share on.

I hope you all had a most wonderful christmas! Have you managed to get rested up yet? I am still feeling a little tuckered out, but improving.

Have you given any thought to what you hope to accomplish in the upcoming year? I have for sure! I have quite a few personal and professional goals that I hope to accomplish in this New Year. Now I am working on identifying how exactly I plan to accomplish them. Like the old saying goes, failure to plan, is planning to fail. I don't plan to fail, and so I am indeed working at creating a strategy (strategies) by which to accomplish the goals I have in mind for myself.

One of the keys to ensuring success in our goals, is to keep them obtainable. To not expect tooooooo much of ourselves, yet to stretch outside of our comfort zones a bit. If we are not stretching, we are not growing. If we are not growing, we are stagnant and staying where we are. If you find that a goal you have set seems tough to accomplish, try breaking it down into a series of smaller goals, and taking it in small steps, rather than creating a feeling of overwhelm, which will only serve to discourage us or cause us to give it up completely.

Wishing much success to us all in the coming year!

Hi Patrece..I had a really nice Christmas..I hope you did as well.

I've given some thought to what I want to accomplish. I'm not convinced I can achieve them. It seems everyone around me is losing when I'm not and it's very discouraging, which is why I'm not around much. I don't begrudge anyone their successes but it's just discouraging..as I said. I did talk to my Dr. about it and he asked me not to give up cuz he wasn't giving up on me.  So for right now that is my goal and my only goal: To not give up and try to take one day at time. My doc said not to be too hard on myself when I slip and eat crap b/c I am, afterall, human. I've also been thinking about seeing a counselor who is familiar with eating disorders or addictions, I'm thinking maybe this can help.

Great topic, Patrece...made me do a lot of thinking!
Hugs,
Sukie

Sukie,
I think that is a great idea for you. Many of us have some kind of addiction to food, and our surgeries, whatever kind we choose, do not fix those or make them go away. I know that my problem of compulsive/emotional eating will continue to be something I have to work on long after my surgery. It's great that your doctor is supportive. Is there a local support group that you can go to for additional support? I have read that for some people with the band, WL is slower in the first year but they continue to lose for 3 or more years, kind of opposite to the other surgeries. Never feel like you are a failure, you're just a work in progress like all the rest of us!  We're always here to support you too, so come here often and let us know you're out there.

Patrece,
Like Sukie said-great topic. I'm definitely planning away and coming up with strategies to help me succeed after my surgery. Like how to deal with my emotional issues without being able to turn to food as my drug of choice! That will probably be my biggest hurdle to overcome, so I am working on plans to do just that. I wish everybody success in the New Year, not just with weight loss itself, but all the emotional issues that are attached to our weight and body image, whether we're at goal or just beginning our journey, or even surpassing our goal and backstroking to maintain a healthy weight. Great success to all of you in 2010!

Hugs,
Rhonda

Sukie, I am glad the topic was a good one for you. I am also happy to hear you are not giving up! I am taking some continuing education and i am learning quite a bit more about banding. It teaches us that patients who get the band, have to work the hardest especially earlier on. It also teaches us that a loss of 1 to 2 lbs a week is a nice rate of loss for band patients. So know that you are facing a lot of work, but I know you will get to where you can make it work for you. I have faith in you! I also think that therapy is a good choice. We ALL have issues that we carry with us that affect our eating habits and lifestyle choices. I doubt there is anyone who wouldn't benefit from it, providing the therapist is good at what they do.

Keep hanging in there. I have been on a plateau for over 3 weeks now, Seems i may never break through this one.. but I shall keep trying and working at it. Eventually it will budge. Never give up on you! ever!
Big hugs!

WHAT  are my goals for 2010

 I plan on leading a healthier lifestyle 

 losing weight 

 wls

 start school ( see my blog 2009 a year of change)

 be more active as a person of God , working with people that have addictions . doing more    Evangelism

working on a relationship or starting one

Mark...what an excellent set of goals! I wish you much success in achieving all that you hope to! Thanks for sharing.

Yes, great topic Patrece.  I read the topic earlier, thought about it on and off during the day.  I am hard on myself, expect perfection and am so far from perfect.

So first goal is to be kind to myself.  Not stepping on the scale everyday.  It felt like a relief to not know my weight today.  Enlightening, of sorts.  Pun intended.

Check out my exercise options on my Wii, now that it is installed.  Continuing to go to the gym several times a week. 

Finding alternatives for the breakroom treats at work.  Tonight shutting the door helps.

I'm sure more will come to mind after further pondering.  Wishing the best to all my bariatric buddies.