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"We don't do hand-holding" said the voice on the other side of the phone. Tough-love is not my thing. I have been tough-loved and tough-loved myself into this mess... ...or at least tough-love is what they called it. Why can't it just be love? What's wrong with hand holding? If someone held my hand maybe I could learn that hands aren't just for eating with. I know I should have faith in myself, inner strength and all that jazz... but why should I always do everything by myself. Why can't I reach out and ask for support and encouragement. I know I can do this. I can physically stop eating. I can get myself to the doctor. to the hospital. onto the OR table...... ... but what's so wrong with asking someone to hold my hand?

It is now 2012 in Kuwait and I have made a list of resolutions, er, goals (in no particular order): I will fly without a seat belt extender I will attend T & A's wedding in the UK in a fabulous, smaller dress size I will learn to manage what I put in my body I will sit in a chair at the KLT without it digging into my hips I will tie my shoes without propping my legs on the bed I think five is enough for now. I'm sure I'll think of others as the year progresses, and I know A has many for me as well, most of which include fabulous makeovers. He is so looking forward to shopping with me every time I need new clothes! He also wants to do a whole Moulin Rouge makeover and photo shoot with me. He should get on that, since I go in for surgery on Thursday. He can do my before and after. Oh, my! Cheers to all. Happy New Year, and blessings upon you and yours. I know the whole Mayan calendar is wrong, otherwise I wouldn't be bothering with the LapBand now!

Good morning VST!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and if you were anything like me, the pounds did NOT creep up this time! Yayyy!! LOL I wanted to touch on one subject, as I've seen a huge amount of posts lately commenting on their stalls, or slow losses. I feel this is an important subject because it can really get into our heads. Firstly you are not alone, and I myself have felt this too. Though here's what kept me moving, and kept my head in the game so to speak. In this journey the BEST ASSETS you will have are #1 Patience, #2 Positivity and #3 Perseverence. The 3 P's!!! These three virtues are a MUST in this journey. Patience: All good things come to those who wait. You didn't gain 100+ Lbs overnight and you're not going to lose it that way either. You likely gained it over many years worth of time, so think of it like this - you will still lose that weight in the fraction of the amount of time it took you to gain it. No matter how "slow" you think your losses are happening it is still GREATLY faster than your gain. You are still WAY ahead of the game, no matter how you slice it. Positivity: This is going to be a very rough journey. You're not always going to enjoy all the effects of your weight loss surgery. But regardless you will have to keep your outlook bright! If you have to, keep a list of all the things pre-surgery that you are looking forward to. Check them off as they happen, keep it around close when you just need that extra lift of motivation. Looking back is just as important as looking forward on this road to wellness. Speaking of looking forward... check out the Success Stories Forum. Look for Sleevers who are no less than one year post op. Check their befores and afters. YOU WILL BE AMAZED!! Trust me, we didn't lose overnight either. Also, taking before and after photos are super helpful as is taking monthly or bi weekly measurements. The scale is rarely going to say what you really want it to. If it does every time, that's great! Consider yourself lucky!! Perseverence: You know the saying, when the going gets tough... the tough gets going. You will find this is true in this journey. Again I say, nothing about WLS is easy! We may think of it a miracle, a cure from obesity and in some ways it really is. I thank GOD daily for it and having the means to have mine, BUT I do also know being that I'm 15+ months out and having hit so many goals I've lost count that it is STILL a lot of hard work!! You will find that to truly become healthy you're going to have to find some kind of physical activity that you can both handle without injury and keep to some type of good eating regimen. Call it diet or choose not too, doesn't matter. You're not going to hit your goals in any kind of healthy way by eating all your calories on M&M's... know what I mean? However some things I refused to ever do was to give up, give in or beat myself up for being what in the real world is called being human. I have eaten M&M's and by golly I sure don't regret it! I still hit all my goals and had a little bit of fun along the way. You just have to make all the right choices, but at the right times too. That's all I have to say about that... I do hope this helps - and as we are in the middle of Winter where its way too cold for outside activities (at least for me it is!) and all the best eating is all around us, that we can just keep up the hard work that goes into getting to the finish line. If you maintain all three P's, you WILL GET THERE. For sure. Source: Giving It Time To Work...