The Loser's Bench
Recent Posts
Topic: RE: Introductions
My name is Mark and I had the RnY surgery on 7/28/08. At the first of July I weighed 330 pounds. Last week I dropped below 230 pounds so have lost 100 pounds since surgery. I had my surgery in Durham with the Duke weight loss group. The surgery part of the experience was fine. I had no complications with the surgery and everything that happened to me since was explained and not a surprise, including my current hair loss. I have not been pleased with the follow-up and am not participating with it. Group meetings with the Nut and Shrink force the communications down to the lowest level of the least motivated or prepared member of the group. I am neither. I found that too many people in the support group did not prepare for the surgery and were not ready for the changes in eating, such as soft food and need for liquid protein. The group therapy approach was a waste. Secondly, I never received a call from the non-surgical professionals in the practice asking how things were going. They initiated nothing. I did not even get a call to give me a hard time for not attending the next follow-up!!! To be honest, I have concluded that I am nothing more than a name and number to the practice. They were paid for the surgery and need to move on to the next person, Assembly Line medicine. Thank god for the Internet and my primary care physician. Both have helped me follow through.
As advice for those looking at the surgery. You must, must, understand the process and the steps that you should take after the surgery. You must be ready for these and embrace them. The time to find out that you cannot tolerate protein drinks is not 4 days after the operation. I read and encourage you to read the Dummy's book on weight loss surgery. I found it to be a great tool to get ready.
If you are ready for this and have planned out your recovery, then you will breeze through this process. The weight will come off and your self esteem will grow instead. The common theme I read from the Internet support is that many of the complications are self induced and can be eliminated or controlled if you stick to the program.
At this stage I have two issues, the weight loss has stopped for 20 days. I travel alot and have not exercised like I should, and I am grazing more than I should. What are some sure fire ways to restart the weight loss?
Secondly, I started taking the calcium citrate because my blood work showed low calcium. I stopped going #2 and when I did go eventually, I think that I broke something. Can you get calcium without this stuff? I would rather die of insufficient calcium than have another "Come to Jesus" session in the bathroom.
That is my intro. The surgery is working and was not as difficult I had prepared for. If your get your head straight, the surgery can really make a positive difference. If you don't, then you will curse your decision to make this permanent change.
As advice for those looking at the surgery. You must, must, understand the process and the steps that you should take after the surgery. You must be ready for these and embrace them. The time to find out that you cannot tolerate protein drinks is not 4 days after the operation. I read and encourage you to read the Dummy's book on weight loss surgery. I found it to be a great tool to get ready.
If you are ready for this and have planned out your recovery, then you will breeze through this process. The weight will come off and your self esteem will grow instead. The common theme I read from the Internet support is that many of the complications are self induced and can be eliminated or controlled if you stick to the program.
At this stage I have two issues, the weight loss has stopped for 20 days. I travel alot and have not exercised like I should, and I am grazing more than I should. What are some sure fire ways to restart the weight loss?
Secondly, I started taking the calcium citrate because my blood work showed low calcium. I stopped going #2 and when I did go eventually, I think that I broke something. Can you get calcium without this stuff? I would rather die of insufficient calcium than have another "Come to Jesus" session in the bathroom.
That is my intro. The surgery is working and was not as difficult I had prepared for. If your get your head straight, the surgery can really make a positive difference. If you don't, then you will curse your decision to make this permanent change.
Topic: Sabotaging Thoughts
I think that we all have sabotaging thoughts, it's what we do about them that will make or break us. Sabotaging thought are those thoughts that would allow us to undermine our short or long-term goals. These often happen when we are feeling weak and insecure. One of the things I've learned from working through my 'Beck Diet Solution' workbook is that I can identify sabotaging thoughts and replace them with supportive
Here's an example of a self-distructive thought and alternative:
Sabotaging Thought: It feels uncomfortable and unnatural to withhold drinking with my meals.
Supportive Thought: With practice, I will get used to not drinking with my meals which will allow me to leverage the power of my pouch.
What are some of sabatoging thoughts you have to deal with and how will you manage those thoughts so that you can and will be successful in attaining and maintaining your goals?
Barbara
ObesityHelp Coach and Support Group Leader
http://www.obesityhelp.com/group/bcumbo_group/
High-264, Current-148, Goal-145
layla-thebadboycharm
er has deleted this message.
er has deleted this message.
Topic: RE: Introductions
Hi, my name is Becca and I am 29. I can only say that for another month; I'll be 30 in March. My husband is Luke (36 years old). I have two kids of my own and two step-kids that we see every other weekend. My husband and I do not have any kids between us, but all four kids together is plenty! Mine are Savannah, who is 11 (12 in April), and Anthony, who is 10. Luke's kiddos are Emily, who is 14, and Jacob, who is 11. Then there is our dog Holly who is our 10 pound, 9 year old chihuahua / shih tzu (more like mamma's baby).
I was never heavy as a child. I think that if I weren't so active then I probably would have been. In high school I seemed to be obsessed with staying thin. I would work out 2 hours a day after school and became very toned. I didn't eat very much at all. Obesity ran very heavily in my family and I was always scarred to end up that way. As I got into my older teenage years I became more involved with boys and hanging out with my friends that I just didn't have time to work out any more. My senior year of high school I ended up getting to 174 lbs and wore a size 12/14. That is also when I found out that I was pregnant with my daughter. I gained 52 lbs during pregnancy and could not get it off. Not too long after that I became pregnant with my son and put on another 40 lbs. I was in a really bad marriage and became depressed. All I ever did was turn to food. I ended up weighing 250 lbs. I couldn't believe what I had become. I didn't even recognize myself anymore. I had to pull myself together and I did. I left that miserable marriage and got my kids out of there and I lost 50 lbs. Then my body decided to stop and reverse. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get the weight back off; then I just gave up. I ended up right back at 250 lbs.
I met my current husband, Luke, and we seemed to just hit it off. We are getting ready to celebrate 3 years of marriage on Valentine's Day. Our kids just all seem to fit. The girls do their thing and the boys do their thing. Our family has it's ups and downs like any other family, but for the most part we are all really happy now.
I have been looking into WLS since about 2005, but I was always too scared to actually do anything more than go to an informational seminar. When I finally did get enough courage to go through with it I found out the insurance I had at the time would not cover it. What a bummer! All that did was give me more time to let fear sink back in. In 2007 my younger brother, Chris, had a gastric bypass. He was 450 lbs. Today he is 227 lbs!! I watched what he went through and asked him an overwhelming amount of questions about everything he had gone through. After seeing him, I wasn't afraid anymore. I got a new job with new insurance and began the process. Nine months later on 12/23/2008 I had a gastric bypass. I weighed 229 lbs the day of surgery and this morning I weighed in at 204 lbs!
I feel very blessed to have been given this opportunity and thank God for it. It is through His will that I have come to where I am and it will be through His will that I follow where He leads me.
I was never heavy as a child. I think that if I weren't so active then I probably would have been. In high school I seemed to be obsessed with staying thin. I would work out 2 hours a day after school and became very toned. I didn't eat very much at all. Obesity ran very heavily in my family and I was always scarred to end up that way. As I got into my older teenage years I became more involved with boys and hanging out with my friends that I just didn't have time to work out any more. My senior year of high school I ended up getting to 174 lbs and wore a size 12/14. That is also when I found out that I was pregnant with my daughter. I gained 52 lbs during pregnancy and could not get it off. Not too long after that I became pregnant with my son and put on another 40 lbs. I was in a really bad marriage and became depressed. All I ever did was turn to food. I ended up weighing 250 lbs. I couldn't believe what I had become. I didn't even recognize myself anymore. I had to pull myself together and I did. I left that miserable marriage and got my kids out of there and I lost 50 lbs. Then my body decided to stop and reverse. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get the weight back off; then I just gave up. I ended up right back at 250 lbs.
I met my current husband, Luke, and we seemed to just hit it off. We are getting ready to celebrate 3 years of marriage on Valentine's Day. Our kids just all seem to fit. The girls do their thing and the boys do their thing. Our family has it's ups and downs like any other family, but for the most part we are all really happy now.
I have been looking into WLS since about 2005, but I was always too scared to actually do anything more than go to an informational seminar. When I finally did get enough courage to go through with it I found out the insurance I had at the time would not cover it. What a bummer! All that did was give me more time to let fear sink back in. In 2007 my younger brother, Chris, had a gastric bypass. He was 450 lbs. Today he is 227 lbs!! I watched what he went through and asked him an overwhelming amount of questions about everything he had gone through. After seeing him, I wasn't afraid anymore. I got a new job with new insurance and began the process. Nine months later on 12/23/2008 I had a gastric bypass. I weighed 229 lbs the day of surgery and this morning I weighed in at 204 lbs!
I feel very blessed to have been given this opportunity and thank God for it. It is through His will that I have come to where I am and it will be through His will that I follow where He leads me.
Becca
Topic: RE: I have a surgery date
Congratulations!!! I'm sure that you are very excited.
Wishing you every success as you embark on the journey of a lifetime.
Please be sure to let us know how you are doing as you recover.
All the best,
Barbara
ObesityHelp Coach and Support Group Leader
http://www.obesityhelp.com/group/bcumbo_group/
High-264, Current-148, Goal-145
devilblkdress
on 1/21/09 9:09 am - NC
on 1/21/09 9:09 am - NC
Topic: RE: Let's get moving together!
The MS walk is April 4th in Fayetteville. It's a 5 mile walk. We did it last year and had a great time. This year we decided to try and put together a team. So far we don't have anyone but myself and my 11 and 12 year old! But we just signed up a few days ago! Our team name is Families4ACure. There is no fee to walk but you take donations. Our goal is $1000 this year (last year we made it to $500)
Here is the website;
http://walknct.nationalmssociety.org/site/PageServer?pagename=WLK_NCT_homepage
I really want to do an extended walk this year. I think the breast cancer society has a 30 miles in 2 days or something that I want to look into!!!
Here is the website;
http://walknct.nationalmssociety.org/site/PageServer?pagename=WLK_NCT_homepage
I really want to do an extended walk this year. I think the breast cancer society has a 30 miles in 2 days or something that I want to look into!!!
Topic: RE: Let's get moving together!
Gee... We think in the same circles ;-)
Let's talk about the walk you are going to participate in... I'm wondering about how many of these things we might be able to get going.
Barbara
ObesityHelp Coach and Support Group Leader
http://www.obesityhelp.com/group/bcumbo_group/
High-264, Current-148, Goal-145
devilblkdress
on 1/21/09 8:42 am - NC
on 1/21/09 8:42 am - NC
Topic: RE: Let's get moving together!
I would be interested in participating in either event!! Walking for charity kills 2 birds with one stone :-) My daughters and are are forming a group to walk for MS in April. Anyone who would want to come to Fayetteville to walk message me for info!!
Topic: RE: Why are you doing this?
I love the positive tone of your list.
Barbara
ObesityHelp Coach and Support Group Leader
http://www.obesityhelp.com/group/bcumbo_group/
High-264, Current-148, Goal-145
