SKCUNNINGHAM

I had a very thought provoking encounter yesterday. I went to get a new set of custom orthotics made yesterday (I have foot problems that pre-date my sleeve surgery). I mentioned to the tech I wanted to get a new pair, as my old ones were not fitting well because I had recently lost a bunch of weight. We got to talking about weight loss, and come to find out she was also a sleeve patient. Her surgery was around Thanksgiving of 2010.
The first question she asked me was "Do you regret having the sleeve?" I said "Absolutely not, it's the best thing I ever did for myself." She got quiet and I asked her whether she regretted surgery. And, to my surprise, she said she did - she wished she hadn't done it. And, she said she hadn't lost all the weight she wanted to yet (she is about 30 pounds from goal). I don't know how much she had lost, or where she started from - she looked about a size 14 to me.
As we were talking, and I was sharing all of my positive health benefits, she told me she had gotten off of all blood pressure medication, all cholesterol medication, all diabetes medication and gotten rid of her CPAP machine. To me, sounds like she should be pretty happy. I have the same results as her (except I wasn't diabetic) and I am ecstatic about it.
I asked her why she was unhappy with the sleeve. She said she didn't like not being able to go to restaurants like she did before. She didn't like having to be so careful planning before she went somewhere (like a day at an amusement park) to make sure she could get her Protein in when she needed to. And, she is having some digestion problems with eating certain food (hamburger patties, for one) - although she doesn't routinely take any PPI's or acid medications.
We got to talking about waking up at 2 or 3 am ravenously hungry if we didn't get enough protein in during the day. This has happened to me occasionally, and I now make sure to get enough protein in for dinner!
Not a hard problem to overcome.
Our experiences were so very similar - yet I am absolutely THRILLED and HAPPY with my sleeve and she is UNHAPPY and REGRETS her decision. I look for solutions to the bumps in the road I experience - she seems to just keep hitting the same bumps, and is unhappy and regretful.
So, my take-away from this encounter is this. Your attitude towards what happens with your sleeve is critical to whether you view your experience as a success or not. Your attitude will determine whether you are a happy post-sleeve patient or an unhappy one. I also think have realistic expectations about goal weights and life after sleeve are important for people to understand. If you are unrealistic in your expectations, you can set yourself up for failure.
I don't know if she goes to a support group (there are plenty here locally) and I don't know if she uses this forum. I think both types of support have been very helpful to me in helping me find solutions for the bumps in the road, and for having realistic expecations for this new life.
I challenge all of us to view the glass half full. I think many of us got accustomed to viewing it half empty when we were obese. There are great resources on getting or keeping a positive attitude towards life. Lil Miss Diva here in Vertical Sleeve Talk is a great source for inspiration and for positive attitude.If she could bottle her attitude and sell it, she could be a millionaire! I recommend you read her posts to soak up some positivity about this sleeve journey we are all taking.
Another source is Norman Vincent Peale - his "Power of Positive Thinking" was the first in a long line of attitude books - and Peale is the precursor to other motivational speakers like Tony Robbins. Both of them have wonderful writings on keeping things positive.
Both Peal and Robbins were influenced by a book called As A Man Thinketh. It has a great message. It was written by James Allen in 1902 and is based on his meditations on Proverbs 23:7. "Your mind is like a garden, it will bring forth. If you cultivate it, it will produce good results, results that you want. If you let anything grow then your results will be the same as if you let your garden grow – you will get weeds."
Didn't mean to make this so long and rambling. I am going to keep a positive attitude! I am going to keep looking at my glass as "half full". And, in the garden that is my mind, I will strive to "plant flowers" and "pull the weeds".

Congratulations! You have done great!
Sharon

My size 12p jeans are now so large they fall down. I really can even wear them with a belt. I just bought new size 10 petite jeans. How sweet it is! I am still wearing size either size 12p or 10p in dress pants - depends on the brand.
Love my sleeve!
Sharon

My size 12p jeans are now so large they fall down. I really can even wear them with a belt. I just bought new size 10 petite jeans. How sweet it is! I am still wearing size either size 12p or 10p in dress pants - depends on the brand.
Love my sleeve!
Sharon

Dooter - that is great!

Here's the background data. I took an early retirement package from my employer at the end of December of 2011. They were having some tough times financially and wanted to reduce costs - so when they offered the package, I accepted it. I took a gamble on myself and my skills being marketable in the bad economy.
Not a fun time to be in the job market. For those of you who haven't looked for a job recently - it is completely different than it was even two years ago. If you don't know how to use social media, have a great "content-rich" resume, and are willing to network almost continuously, you are going to have a difficult finding a new job. I am 55 years old, and am competing with "kids" half my age and willing to take less money than me for the very same job.
Here's the NSV - I received four job offers! The first was about 3 weeks ago, for a contract position - which I accepted. That seemed to bring all sorts of other good things my way. I received three additional job offers in the last ten days. All three of them were good offers for permanent positions (if any jobs these days are really "permanent"). I had the amazing task of deciding which one was the one I wanted - because I would have accepted any one of the three. I did a little negotiating with the companies - to maximize the offers - and picked the winner. I resigned from my contract job, accepted the job I decided on, and told the other two companies, "no thanks".
I think the fact that I had successfully lost 100+ pounds and am a "normal" weight both really helped me have a successfull job search. I believe the confidence boost I got from having beat my personal demon carried over into my interviews. I know people looked at me differently during the interview process at a size 12 petite than they would have at a size 26W. I didn't have to worry about hiring managers or human resource people worrying about the costs of insuring an obese person. I think I look younger than I did 100+ pounds ago - and younger is definately better in today's job market.
It is going to be nice at the new company to just be known as "Sharon - the new woman" rather than "Sharon - the fat woman who is new". I look forward to planning what I will be wearing the first week of work!
Sharon

Here's the background data. I took an early retirement package from my employer at the end of December of 2011. They were having some tough times financially and wanted to reduce costs - so when they offered the package, I accepted it. I took a gamble on myself and my skills being marketable in the bad economy.
Not a fun time to be in the job market. For those of you who haven't looked for a job recently - it is completely different than it was even two years ago. If you don't know how to use social media, have a great "content-rich" resume, and are willing to network almost continuously, you are going to have a difficult finding a new job. I am 55 years old, and am competing with "kids" half my age and willing to take less money than me for the very same job.
Here's the NSV - I received four job offers! The first was about 3 weeks ago, for a contract position - which I accepted. That seemed to bring all sorts of other good things my way. I received three additional job offers in the last ten days. All three of them were good offers for permanent positions (if any jobs these days are really "permanent"). I had the amazing task of deciding which one was the one I wanted - because I would have accepted any one of the three. I did a little negotiating with the companies - to maximize the offers - and picked the winner. I resigned from my contract job, accepted the job I decided on, and told the other two companies, "no thanks".
I think the fact that I had successfully lost 100+ pounds and am a "normal" weight both really helped me have a successfull job search. I believe the confidence boost I got from having beat my personal demon carried over into my interviews. I know people looked at me differently during the interview process at a size 12 petite than they would have at a size 26W. I didn't have to worry about hiring managers or human resource people worrying about the costs of insuring an obese person. I think I look younger than I did 100+ pounds ago - and younger is definately better in today's job market.
It is going to be nice at the new company to just be known as "Sharon - the new woman" rather than "Sharon - the fat woman who is new". I look forward to planning what I will be wearing the first week of work!
Sharon

Here's the background data. I took an early retirement package from my employer at the end of December of 2011. They were having some tough times financially and wanted to reduce costs - so when they offered the package, I accepted it. I took a gamble on myself and my skills being marketable in the bad economy.
Not a fun time to be in the job market. For those of you who haven't looked for a job recently - it is completely different than it was even two years ago. If you don't know how to use social media, have a great "content-rich" resume, and are willing to network almost continuously, you are going to have a difficult finding a new job. I am 55 years old, and am competing with "kids" half my age and willing to take less money than me for the very same job.
Here's the NSV - I received four job offers! The first was about 3 weeks ago, for a contract position - which I accepted. That seemed to bring all sorts of other good things my way. I received three additional job offers in the last ten days. All three of them were good offers for permanent positions (if any jobs these days are really "permanent"). I had the amazing task of deciding which one was the one I wanted - because I would have accepted any one of the three. I did a little negotiating with the companies - to maximize the offers - and picked the winner. I resigned from my contract job, accepted the job I decided on, and told the other two companies, "no thanks".
I think the fact that I had successfully lost 100+ pounds and am a "normal" weight both really helped me have a successfull job search. I believe the confidence boost I got from having beat my personal demon carried over into my interviews. I know people looked at me differently during the interview process at a size 12 petite than they would have at a size 26W. I didn't have to worry about hiring managers or human resource people worrying about the costs of insuring an obese person. I think I look younger than I did 100+ pounds ago - and younger is definately better in today's job market.
It is going to be nice at the new company to just be known as "Sharon - the new woman" rather than "Sharon - the fat woman who is new". I look forward to planning what I will be wearing the first week of work!
Sharon

The first Success Habit Principle TM identified in the Success Habits of Weight-Loss Surgery Patients by Colleen Cook is: PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY. I recognize that I alone am responsible for my success and failures. This is the most important factor contributing to optimum weight loss and long-term weight control.

If each of us was asked the question, “Who is responsible for your success?”, each of us would probably answer “I am”. The religious among us would also likely give credit to God’s help in achieving success. The study that was done on the Success Habits identified that the most successful people at maintaining their WLS weight loss long term had a very strong sense of personal accountability that exhibited itself in some key behaviors.

They developed an indicator that identified WHAT they were doing regularly that was helping them stay in control and remain accountable for their weight every day.

You must be personally accountable for the decisions you have made, take responsibility for your choices, and be honest with yourself. Ms. Cook believes (and I agree) that we are where we are because we have made the choices to be so. Our lives must be serving us in some way (whether we are fat or thin at the point you are reading this), or we would already have made changes. Take responsibility for who you are, why you are and where you are right now and take responsibility for how you arrived there.

Don’t wait for someone else to have to change for you to achieve your goal of long-term weight control. You alone are responsible for this.

Long term weight control is about managing the ratio of Calories-In versus Calories Out. If you eat more than you expend, you gain weight. If you eat less than you expend, you lose. The sleeve is an outstanding tool to help us control the amount we eat (if we use it correctly). You alone are responsible for what you eat, when you eat, and how much you eat.

We are also responsible for the other side of the equation – I alone am responsible for what exercises I do, how often and how I manage making exercise a part of my life.

Successful people do those things which unsuccessful people are not willing to do.


(The above is excerpted from the book with a few minor changes by me)

So what was the great learning I had from this? Bye-bye blaming anyone but myself. Good-bye to any excuses that don’t start with the word “I” at the front. I thought back to the FOUR OTHER TIMES I have lost around 100 pounds and failed to make it past two years in maintaining – before I would gain it all plus more, back.

I identified how I had framed my failures to myself – who or what I had blamed on those failures. Then I rephrased them in my mind, taking accountability for my actions.

Rather than go through all four failures, I’ll just do the last one.
I lost 103 pounds through hypnosis, diet and exercise. I was well on the way to celebrating my one year at goal mark when I had a person in my family close to me die suddenly, I changed jobs to one that required me to travel out of state 80% of the time and didn’t give me the time to exercise, was on an expense account living out of hotels, and forgot to take my hypnosis material with me for a couple of weeks. I went up 3 to four sizes by the time the first year in the new job was over – from a 10 to a 16-18.

So here is the rephrased version of what happened, taking full accountability for my actions.

After the sudden death of my stepfather, I decided life was too short to worry about monitoring everything I ate. I told myself if he could die like that, what was the point.
I didn’t make time to exercise, even though every hotel I stayed in had a gym.
Consoling myself with food was much more important to me than the pleasure I got after working out.
I chose to quit listening to the hypnosis CD’s, even though I knew they could have helped me get back on track. I felt guilty listening to them while I was overeating and not exercising, so I chose to “forget” to take them on a trip.


Here is an accountable version of where I am now.
I am almost at my initial goal weight, and I am pretty content with where I am.
I have been letting the outside stresses of looking for work (I recently left my employer) distract me from my goal of getting rid of the 10 pounds that stand between me and reaching my goal. This stops TODAY.
Whether I find a job that is commensurate with my education and skills quickly, or whether I have to take a job far below my capabilities, I will practice the Six Success Habit Principles. TM My employmentsituation has NO BEARING on my attaining or maintaining my goal weight.
I understand that I must embrace exercise as a life long part of my life. Diet alone will not do it for me.


So this is the first thread for the first habit. I will put up two more threads in the near future that are also on this habit. Once will be on building new “good” habits to replace old “bad” habits. The other will be on goal setting. Both skills are really necessary for mastering this accountability thing.

Hope this helps. Good Luck.
Sharon

Here are some things you might want to do to put time before your surgery to good use:
Go through all the clothes you have stashed in your house. Organize them by size. After surgery, you are going to be dropping weight fast, and will need to move out of your current clothes that fit into the smaller sized ones. You don't want to buy stuff needlessly if you have clothes that fit stashed somewhere.
Figure out a plan on what you are going to do with your fat clothes as you shrink out of them. GET RID OF THEM in some way. I donated mine to a thrift store that supports a women shelter, gave them to a group that puts women back into the workforce (my business suits) and gave them to friends/family that were the size I shrunk out of.
Look to see what you are going to need once you shrink into a certain size. For example, I have to had to have black dress pants and jeans in every size I went through. I had some gaps in my stash of skinnier clothes, because I had given stuff away.
Write yourself a long detailed letter as to why you want the surgery, how you feel being the way you are now (before surgery) and what you are willing to give up to be the person you want to be. Put the letter away, and as you hit bumps in the road during your sleeve journey, you can pull it out and read it.
Take before pictures - and don't be shy. Take some in your underwear or a swimsuit so you can compare your results as you start to shrink. No one else will have to see these (unless you are comfortable sharing).
Take before measurements. You will want to have accurate before statistics, so you can track your inches lost.
Get a copy of the book "The Success Habits of Weight Loss Surgery Patients". Read it and start working through the material. It really helped me.
Do some soul-searching. Try to figure out what your relationship with food is, and has been the reason for your problems. Start planning how you will deal with the emotional triggers when numbing yourself with food is no longer an option for you. Read some books on emotional eating (if that's an issue with you). The surgeon operates on your stomach, not your brain - you have to work on that part. Everyone is different here. The earlier you get a handle on your issues and start working on them, the better.
Start working on your behaviors that you will have to practice after your sleeve. Stop drinking sodas and other carbonated beverages. Stop drinking when you eat. Start waiting 30 minutes after you eat to drink anything. Start drinking 64 ounces of calorie free liquid each day. Start reducing the junk food and carbs that you eat. Start reducing (or stop eating) sugar. The earlier you embrace these habits, the better for you.

The time will pass quickly. Good Luck!
Sharon

Here are some things you might want to do to put time before your surgery to good use:
Go through all the clothes you have stashed in your house. Organize them by size. After surgery, you are going to be dropping weight fast, and will need to move out of your current clothes that fit into the smaller sized ones. You don't want to buy stuff needlessly if you have clothes that fit stashed somewhere.
Figure out a plan on what you are going to do with your fat clothes as you shrink out of them. GET RID OF THEM in some way. I donated mine to a thrift store that supports a women shelter, gave them to a group that puts women back into the workforce (my business suits) and gave them to friends/family that were the size I shrunk out of.
Look to see what you are going to need once you shrink into a certain size. For example, I have to had to have black dress pants and jeans in every size I went through. I had some gaps in my stash of skinnier clothes, because I had given stuff away.
Write yourself a long detailed letter as to why you want the surgery, how you feel being the way you are now (before surgery) and what you are willing to give up to be the person you want to be. Put the letter away, and as you hit bumps in the road during your sleeve journey, you can pull it out and read it.
Take before pictures - and don't be shy. Take some in your underwear or a swimsuit so you can compare your results as you start to shrink. No one else will have to see these (unless you are comfortable sharing).
Take before measurements. You will want to have accurate before statistics, so you can track your inches lost.
Get a copy of the book "The Success Habits of Weight Loss Surgery Patients". Read it and start working through the material. It really helped me.
Do some soul-searching. Try to figure out what your relationship with food is, and has been the reason for your problems. Start planning how you will deal with the emotional triggers when numbing yourself with food is no longer an option for you. Read some books on emotional eating (if that's an issue with you). The surgeon operates on your stomach, not your brain - you have to work on that part. Everyone is different here. The earlier you get a handle on your issues and start working on them, the better.
Start working on your behaviors that you will have to practice after your sleeve. Stop drinking sodas and other carbonated beverages. Stop drinking when you eat. Start waiting 30 minutes after you eat to drink anything. Start drinking 64 ounces of calorie free liquid each day. Start reducing the junk food and carbs that you eat. Start reducing (or stop eating) sugar. The earlier you embrace these habits, the better for you.

The time will pass quickly. Good Luck!
Sharon

Here are some things you might want to do to put time before your surgery to good use:
Go through all the clothes you have stashed in your house. Organize them by size. After surgery, you are going to be dropping weight fast, and will need to move out of your current clothes that fit into the smaller sized ones. You don't want to buy stuff needlessly if you have clothes that fit stashed somewhere.
Figure out a plan on what you are going to do with your fat clothes as you shrink out of them. GET RID OF THEM in some way. I donated mine to a thrift store that supports a women shelter, gave them to a group that puts women back into the workforce (my business suits) and gave them to friends/family that were the size I shrunk out of.
Look to see what you are going to need once you shrink into a certain size. For example, I have to had to have black dress pants and jeans in every size I went through. I had some gaps in my stash of skinnier clothes, because I had given stuff away.
Write yourself a long detailed letter as to why you want the surgery, how you feel being the way you are now (before surgery) and what you are willing to give up to be the person you want to be. Put the letter away, and as you hit bumps in the road during your sleeve journey, you can pull it out and read it.
Take before pictures - and don't be shy. Take some in your underwear or a swimsuit so you can compare your results as you start to shrink. No one else will have to see these (unless you are comfortable sharing).
Take before measurements. You will want to have accurate before statistics, so you can track your inches lost.
Get a copy of the book "The Success Habits of Weight Loss Surgery Patients". Read it and start working through the material. It really helped me.
Do some soul-searching. Try to figure out what your relationship with food is, and has been the reason for your problems. Start planning how you will deal with the emotional triggers when numbing yourself with food is no longer an option for you. Read some books on emotional eating (if that's an issue with you). The surgeon operates on your stomach, not your brain - you have to work on that part. Everyone is different here. The earlier you get a handle on your issues and start working on them, the better.
Start working on your behaviors that you will have to practice after your sleeve. Stop drinking sodas and other carbonated beverages. Stop drinking when you eat. Start waiting 30 minutes after you eat to drink anything. Start drinking 64 ounces of calorie free liquid each day. Start reducing the junk food and carbs that you eat. Start reducing (or stop eating) sugar. The earlier you embrace these habits, the better for you.

The time will pass quickly. Good Luck!
Sharon

Here are some things you might want to do to put time before your surgery to good use:
Go through all the clothes you have stashed in your house. Organize them by size. After surgery, you are going to be dropping weight fast, and will need to move out of your current clothes that fit into the smaller sized ones. You don't want to buy stuff needlessly if you have clothes that fit stashed somewhere.
Figure out a plan on what you are going to do with your fat clothes as you shrink out of them. GET RID OF THEM in some way. I donated mine to a thrift store that supports a women shelter, gave them to a group that puts women back into the workforce (my business suits) and gave them to friends/family that were the size I shrunk out of.
Look to see what you are going to need once you shrink into a certain size. For example, I have to had to have black dress pants and jeans in every size I went through. I had some gaps in my stash of skinnier clothes, because I had given stuff away.
Write yourself a long detailed letter as to why you want the surgery, how you feel being the way you are now (before surgery) and what you are willing to give up to be the person you want to be. Put the letter away, and as you hit bumps in the road during your sleeve journey, you can pull it out and read it.
Take before pictures - and don't be shy. Take some in your underwear or a swimsuit so you can compare your results as you start to shrink. No one else will have to see these (unless you are comfortable sharing).
Take before measurements. You will want to have accurate before statistics, so you can track your inches lost.
Get a copy of the book "The Success Habits of Weight Loss Surgery Patients". Read it and start working through the material. It really helped me.
Do some soul-searching. Try to figure out what your relationship with food is, and has been the reason for your problems. Start planning how you will deal with the emotional triggers when numbing yourself with food is no longer an option for you. Read some books on emotional eating (if that's an issue with you). The surgeon operates on your stomach, not your brain - you have to work on that part. Everyone is different here. The earlier you get a handle on your issues and start working on them, the better.
Start working on your behaviors that you will have to practice after your sleeve. Stop drinking sodas and other carbonated beverages. Stop drinking when you eat. Start waiting 30 minutes after you eat to drink anything. Start drinking 64 ounces of calorie free liquid each day. Start reducing the junk food and carbs that you eat. Start reducing (or stop eating) sugar. The earlier you embrace these habits, the better for you.

The time will pass quickly. Good Luck!
Sharon

I had a very thought provoking encounter yesterday. I went to get a new set of custom orthotics made yesterday (I have foot problems that pre-date my sleeve surgery). I mentioned to the tech I wanted to get a new pair, as my old ones were not fitting well because I had recently lost a bunch of weight. We got to talking about weight loss, and come to find out she was also a sleeve patient. Her surgery was around Thanksgiving of 2010.
The first question she asked me was "Do you regret having the sleeve?" I said "Absolutely not, it's the best thing I ever did for myself." She got quiet and I asked her whether she regretted surgery. And, to my surprise, she said she did - she wished she hadn't done it. And, she said she hadn't lost all the weight she wanted to yet (she is about 30 pounds from goal). I don't know how much she had lost, or where she started from - she looked about a size 14 to me.
As we were talking, and I was sharing all of my positive health benefits, she told me she had gotten off of all blood pressure medication, all cholesterol medication, all diabetes medication and gotten rid of her CPAP machine. To me, sounds like she should be pretty happy. I have the same results as her (except I wasn't diabetic) and I am ecstatic about it.
I asked her why she was unhappy with the sleeve. She said she didn't like not being able to go to restaurants like she did before. She didn't like having to be so careful planning before she went somewhere (like a day at an amusement park) to make sure she could get her Protein in when she needed to. And, she is having some digestion problems with eating certain food (hamburger patties, for one) - although she doesn't routinely take any PPI's or acid medications.
We got to talking about waking up at 2 or 3 am ravenously hungry if we didn't get enough protein in during the day. This has happened to me occasionally, and I now make sure to get enough protein in for dinner!
Not a hard problem to overcome.
Our experiences were so very similar - yet I am absolutely THRILLED and HAPPY with my sleeve and she is UNHAPPY and REGRETS her decision. I look for solutions to the bumps in the road I experience - she seems to just keep hitting the same bumps, and is unhappy and regretful.
So, my take-away from this encounter is this. Your attitude towards what happens with your sleeve is critical to whether you view your experience as a success or not. Your attitude will determine whether you are a happy post-sleeve patient or an unhappy one. I also think have realistic expectations about goal weights and life after sleeve are important for people to understand. If you are unrealistic in your expectations, you can set yourself up for failure.
I don't know if she goes to a support group (there are plenty here locally) and I don't know if she uses this forum. I think both types of support have been very helpful to me in helping me find solutions for the bumps in the road, and for having realistic expecations for this new life.
I challenge all of us to view the glass half full. I think many of us got accustomed to viewing it half empty when we were obese. There are great resources on getting or keeping a positive attitude towards life. Lil Miss Diva here in Vertical Sleeve Talk is a great source for inspiration and for positive attitude.If she could bottle her attitude and sell it, she could be a millionaire! I recommend you read her posts to soak up some positivity about this sleeve journey we are all taking.
Another source is Norman Vincent Peale - his "Power of Positive Thinking" was the first in a long line of attitude books - and Peale is the precursor to other motivational speakers like Tony Robbins. Both of them have wonderful writings on keeping things positive.
Both Peal and Robbins were influenced by a book called As A Man Thinketh. It has a great message. It was written by James Allen in 1902 and is based on his meditations on Proverbs 23:7. "Your mind is like a garden, it will bring forth. If you cultivate it, it will produce good results, results that you want. If you let anything grow then your results will be the same as if you let your garden grow – you will get weeds."
Didn't mean to make this so long and rambling. I am going to keep a positive attitude! I am going to keep looking at my glass as "half full". And, in the garden that is my mind, I will strive to "plant flowers" and "pull the weeds".

I had a very thought provoking encounter yesterday. I went to get a new set of custom orthotics made yesterday (I have foot problems that pre-date my sleeve surgery). I mentioned to the tech I wanted to get a new pair, as my old ones were not fitting well because I had recently lost a bunch of weight. We got to talking about weight loss, and come to find out she was also a sleeve patient. Her surgery was around Thanksgiving of 2010.
The first question she asked me was "Do you regret having the sleeve?" I said "Absolutely not, it's the best thing I ever did for myself." She got quiet and I asked her whether she regretted surgery. And, to my surprise, she said she did - she wished she hadn't done it. And, she said she hadn't lost all the weight she wanted to yet (she is about 30 pounds from goal). I don't know how much she had lost, or where she started from - she looked about a size 14 to me.
As we were talking, and I was sharing all of my positive health benefits, she told me she had gotten off of all blood pressure medication, all cholesterol medication, all diabetes medication and gotten rid of her CPAP machine. To me, sounds like she should be pretty happy. I have the same results as her (except I wasn't diabetic) and I am ecstatic about it.
I asked her why she was unhappy with the sleeve. She said she didn't like not being able to go to restaurants like she did before. She didn't like having to be so careful planning before she went somewhere (like a day at an amusement park) to make sure she could get her Protein in when she needed to. And, she is having some digestion problems with eating certain food (hamburger patties, for one) - although she doesn't routinely take any PPI's or acid medications.
We got to talking about waking up at 2 or 3 am ravenously hungry if we didn't get enough protein in during the day. This has happened to me occasionally, and I now make sure to get enough protein in for dinner!
Not a hard problem to overcome.
Our experiences were so very similar - yet I am absolutely THRILLED and HAPPY with my sleeve and she is UNHAPPY and REGRETS her decision. I look for solutions to the bumps in the road I experience - she seems to just keep hitting the same bumps, and is unhappy and regretful.
So, my take-away from this encounter is this. Your attitude towards what happens with your sleeve is critical to whether you view your experience as a success or not. Your attitude will determine whether you are a happy post-sleeve patient or an unhappy one. I also think have realistic expectations about goal weights and life after sleeve are important for people to understand. If you are unrealistic in your expectations, you can set yourself up for failure.
I don't know if she goes to a support group (there are plenty here locally) and I don't know if she uses this forum. I think both types of support have been very helpful to me in helping me find solutions for the bumps in the road, and for having realistic expecations for this new life.
I challenge all of us to view the glass half full. I think many of us got accustomed to viewing it half empty when we were obese. There are great resources on getting or keeping a positive attitude towards life. Lil Miss Diva here in Vertical Sleeve Talk is a great source for inspiration and for positive attitude.If she could bottle her attitude and sell it, she could be a millionaire! I recommend you read her posts to soak up some positivity about this sleeve journey we are all taking.
Another source is Norman Vincent Peale - his "Power of Positive Thinking" was the first in a long line of attitude books - and Peale is the precursor to other motivational speakers like Tony Robbins. Both of them have wonderful writings on keeping things positive.
Both Peal and Robbins were influenced by a book called As A Man Thinketh. It has a great message. It was written by James Allen in 1902 and is based on his meditations on Proverbs 23:7. "Your mind is like a garden, it will bring forth. If you cultivate it, it will produce good results, results that you want. If you let anything grow then your results will be the same as if you let your garden grow – you will get weeds."
Didn't mean to make this so long and rambling. I am going to keep a positive attitude! I am going to keep looking at my glass as "half full". And, in the garden that is my mind, I will strive to "plant flowers" and "pull the weeds".

I had a very thought provoking encounter yesterday. I went to get a new set of custom orthotics made yesterday (I have foot problems that pre-date my sleeve surgery). I mentioned to the tech I wanted to get a new pair, as my old ones were not fitting well because I had recently lost a bunch of weight. We got to talking about weight loss, and come to find out she was also a sleeve patient. Her surgery was around Thanksgiving of 2010.
The first question she asked me was "Do you regret having the sleeve?" I said "Absolutely not, it's the best thing I ever did for myself." She got quiet and I asked her whether she regretted surgery. And, to my surprise, she said she did - she wished she hadn't done it. And, she said she hadn't lost all the weight she wanted to yet (she is about 30 pounds from goal). I don't know how much she had lost, or where she started from - she looked about a size 14 to me.
As we were talking, and I was sharing all of my positive health benefits, she told me she had gotten off of all blood pressure medication, all cholesterol medication, all diabetes medication and gotten rid of her CPAP machine. To me, sounds like she should be pretty happy. I have the same results as her (except I wasn't diabetic) and I am ecstatic about it.
I asked her why she was unhappy with the sleeve. She said she didn't like not being able to go to restaurants like she did before. She didn't like having to be so careful planning before she went somewhere (like a day at an amusement park) to make sure she could get her Protein in when she needed to. And, she is having some digestion problems with eating certain food (hamburger patties, for one) - although she doesn't routinely take any PPI's or acid medications.
We got to talking about waking up at 2 or 3 am ravenously hungry if we didn't get enough protein in during the day. This has happened to me occasionally, and I now make sure to get enough protein in for dinner!
Not a hard problem to overcome.
Our experiences were so very similar - yet I am absolutely THRILLED and HAPPY with my sleeve and she is UNHAPPY and REGRETS her decision. I look for solutions to the bumps in the road I experience - she seems to just keep hitting the same bumps, and is unhappy and regretful.
So, my take-away from this encounter is this. Your attitude towards what happens with your sleeve is critical to whether you view your experience as a success or not. Your attitude will determine whether you are a happy post-sleeve patient or an unhappy one. I also think have realistic expectations about goal weights and life after sleeve are important for people to understand. If you are unrealistic in your expectations, you can set yourself up for failure.
I don't know if she goes to a support group (there are plenty here locally) and I don't know if she uses this forum. I think both types of support have been very helpful to me in helping me find solutions for the bumps in the road, and for having realistic expecations for this new life.
I challenge all of us to view the glass half full. I think many of us got accustomed to viewing it half empty when we were obese. There are great resources on getting or keeping a positive attitude towards life. Lil Miss Diva here in Vertical Sleeve Talk is a great source for inspiration and for positive attitude.If she could bottle her attitude and sell it, she could be a millionaire! I recommend you read her posts to soak up some positivity about this sleeve journey we are all taking.
Another source is Norman Vincent Peale - his "Power of Positive Thinking" was the first in a long line of attitude books - and Peale is the precursor to other motivational speakers like Tony Robbins. Both of them have wonderful writings on keeping things positive.
Both Peal and Robbins were influenced by a book called As A Man Thinketh. It has a great message. It was written by James Allen in 1902 and is based on his meditations on Proverbs 23:7. "Your mind is like a garden, it will bring forth. If you cultivate it, it will produce good results, results that you want. If you let anything grow then your results will be the same as if you let your garden grow – you will get weeds."
Didn't mean to make this so long and rambling. I am going to keep a positive attitude! I am going to keep looking at my glass as "half full". And, in the garden that is my mind, I will strive to "plant flowers" and "pull the weeds".

I had a very thought provoking encounter yesterday. I went to get a new set of custom orthotics made yesterday (I have foot problems that pre-date my sleeve surgery). I mentioned to the tech I wanted to get a new pair, as my old ones were not fitting well because I had recently lost a bunch of weight. We got to talking about weight loss, and come to find out she was also a sleeve patient. Her surgery was around Thanksgiving of 2010.
The first question she asked me was "Do you regret having the sleeve?" I said "Absolutely not, it's the best thing I ever did for myself." She got quiet and I asked her whether she regretted surgery. And, to my surprise, she said she did - she wished she hadn't done it. And, she said she hadn't lost all the weight she wanted to yet (she is about 30 pounds from goal). I don't know how much she had lost, or where she started from - she looked about a size 14 to me.
As we were talking, and I was sharing all of my positive health benefits, she told me she had gotten off of all blood pressure medication, all cholesterol medication, all diabetes medication and gotten rid of her CPAP machine. To me, sounds like she should be pretty happy. I have the same results as her (except I wasn't diabetic) and I am ecstatic about it.
I asked her why she was unhappy with the sleeve. She said she didn't like not being able to go to restaurants like she did before. She didn't like having to be so careful planning before she went somewhere (like a day at an amusement park) to make sure she could get her Protein in when she needed to. And, she is having some digestion problems with eating certain food (hamburger patties, for one) - although she doesn't routinely take any PPI's or acid medications.
We got to talking about waking up at 2 or 3 am ravenously hungry if we didn't get enough protein in during the day. This has happened to me occasionally, and I now make sure to get enough protein in for dinner!
Not a hard problem to overcome.
Our experiences were so very similar - yet I am absolutely THRILLED and HAPPY with my sleeve and she is UNHAPPY and REGRETS her decision. I look for solutions to the bumps in the road I experience - she seems to just keep hitting the same bumps, and is unhappy and regretful.
So, my take-away from this encounter is this. Your attitude towards what happens with your sleeve is critical to whether you view your experience as a success or not. Your attitude will determine whether you are a happy post-sleeve patient or an unhappy one. I also think have realistic expectations about goal weights and life after sleeve are important for people to understand. If you are unrealistic in your expectations, you can set yourself up for failure.
I don't know if she goes to a support group (there are plenty here locally) and I don't know if she uses this forum. I think both types of support have been very helpful to me in helping me find solutions for the bumps in the road, and for having realistic expecations for this new life.
I challenge all of us to view the glass half full. I think many of us got accustomed to viewing it half empty when we were obese. There are great resources on getting or keeping a positive attitude towards life. Lil Miss Diva here in Vertical Sleeve Talk is a great source for inspiration and for positive attitude.If she could bottle her attitude and sell it, she could be a millionaire! I recommend you read her posts to soak up some positivity about this sleeve journey we are all taking.
Another source is Norman Vincent Peale - his "Power of Positive Thinking" was the first in a long line of attitude books - and Peale is the precursor to other motivational speakers like Tony Robbins. Both of them have wonderful writings on keeping things positive.
Both Peal and Robbins were influenced by a book called As A Man Thinketh. It has a great message. It was written by James Allen in 1902 and is based on his meditations on Proverbs 23:7. "Your mind is like a garden, it will bring forth. If you cultivate it, it will produce good results, results that you want. If you let anything grow then your results will be the same as if you let your garden grow – you will get weeds."
Didn't mean to make this so long and rambling. I am going to keep a positive attitude! I am going to keep looking at my glass as "half full". And, in the garden that is my mind, I will strive to "plant flowers" and "pull the weeds".

My surgeon has asked me to be in an ad for him! I was surprised and pleased. I have been interviewed by his ad agency, and the "shoot" will be later this month. I think it will be fun. There will be a video testimonial on his web site it may also be used in other ways.
It surprised me because I am not some tiny size 4 person like some people get to at goal- I am happy with my size 10's and 12's. I am also not a "spring chicken" - I turned 55 last Christmas. I really would like to get rid of some jiggly saggy skin and would like my waist to be 2-3" smaller - but neither of those are happening before the end of the month!
When everything is complete, I will post the link to the finished product.
I am absolutely a believer in Dr. Nick (or I wouldn't have picked him). I am NOT becoming a "Paid Spokesperson" for him, or anything like that. I am doing this for him because I am thrilled with the changes I have made in my life since the sleeve. If I can help someone in their desision process to get WLS, that's great.
So now the big question - what am I going to wear?

My surgeon has asked me to be in an ad for him! I was surprised and pleased. I have been interviewed by his ad agency, and the "shoot" will be later this month. I think it will be fun. There will be a video testimonial on his web site it may also be used in other ways.
It surprised me because I am not some tiny size 4 person like some people get to at goal- I am happy with my size 10's and 12's. I am also not a "spring chicken" - I turned 55 last Christmas. I really would like to get rid of some jiggly saggy skin and would like my waist to be 2-3" smaller - but neither of those are happening before the end of the month!
When everything is complete, I will post the link to the finished product.
I am absolutely a believer in Dr. Nick (or I wouldn't have picked him). I am NOT becoming a "Paid Spokesperson" for him, or anything like that. I am doing this for him because I am thrilled with the changes I have made in my life since the sleeve. If I can help someone in their desision process to get WLS, that's great.
So now the big question - what am I going to wear?

My surgeon has asked me to be in an ad for him! I was surprised and pleased. I have been interviewed by his ad agency, and the "shoot" will be later this month. I think it will be fun. There will be a video testimonial on his web site it may also be used in other ways.
It surprised me because I am not some tiny size 4 person like some people get to at goal- I am happy with my size 10's and 12's. I am also not a "spring chicken" - I turned 55 last Christmas. I really would like to get rid of some jiggly saggy skin and would like my waist to be 2-3" smaller - but neither of those are happening before the end of the month!
When everything is complete, I will post the link to the finished product.
I am absolutely a believer in Dr. Nick (or I wouldn't have picked him). I am NOT becoming a "Paid Spokesperson" for him, or anything like that. I am doing this for him because I am thrilled with the changes I have made in my life since the sleeve. If I can help someone in their desision process to get WLS, that's great.
So now the big question - what am I going to wear?

My surgeon has asked me to be in an ad for him! I was surprised and pleased. I have been interviewed by his ad agency, and the "shoot" will be later this month. I think it will be fun. There will be a video testimonial on his web site it may also be used in other ways.
It surprised me because I am not some tiny size 4 person like some people get to at goal- I am happy with my size 10's and 12's. I am also not a "spring chicken" - I turned 55 last Christmas. I really would like to get rid of some jiggly saggy skin and would like my waist to be 2-3" smaller - but neither of those are happening before the end of the month!
When everything is complete, I will post the link to the finished product.
I am absolutely a believer in Dr. Nick (or I wouldn't have picked him). I am NOT becoming a "Paid Spokesperson" for him, or anything like that. I am doing this for him because I am thrilled with the changes I have made in my life since the sleeve. If I can help someone in their desision process to get WLS, that's great.
So now the big question - what am I going to wear?

A little background - my husband and business partners own a marina and resort here in east Texas. It is 175 acres, and we run around on the property on Kubota vehicles (like tiny pickups). I hadn't been around on the property much since before my surgery - last spring I didn't feel like it right after my surgery - and was really busy on the weekends (I had a full time job that kept me away from the property 12 hours a day).
So this spring, things have changed work wise, and I have been running around with my husband over the property. One of our customers came up to us today and said to us "I'm going to tell your wife about this good looking woman you are running around with". I think he was kidding - but it made me feel great to be mistaken as "the other woman", and to be thought good looking enough and thin enough to be "the other woman".
THis happen to anyone else after goal? Be mistaken for someone else totally?

A little background - my husband and business partners own a marina and resort here in east Texas. It is 175 acres, and we run around on the property on Kubota vehicles (like tiny pickups). I hadn't been around on the property much since before my surgery - last spring I didn't feel like it right after my surgery - and was really busy on the weekends (I had a full time job that kept me away from the property 12 hours a day).
So this spring, things have changed work wise, and I have been running around with my husband over the property. One of our customers came up to us today and said to us "I'm going to tell your wife about this good looking woman you are running around with". I think he was kidding - but it made me feel great to be mistaken as "the other woman", and to be thought good looking enough and thin enough to be "the other woman".
THis happen to anyone else after goal? Be mistaken for someone else totally?

I did something for myself today I have never done before. I went to have a professional bra fitting at a SOMA lingerie store. Even though I have 10 pounds to go to hit my original goal (I may rethink that goal and stop for now), my breasts have quit changing size. YEA! None of my bras fit right in all places - if the cups were right, the straps wouldn't stay on my shoulder or the band didn't fit right. I have been wearing mostly Aah bras as I shrank in weight - since they were accomodating as my breasts were changing size rapidly. As much as I like those bras, I still like a traditional bra, too.
I ended up being a 36C. The bra style that fit me best was their "Emma" a soft cup (rather than a molded cup) that is a minimizer. The tops of my breasts didn't fill out the top of the molded C cup well and were too much for a B cup. THe soft cup minimizer fits them perfectly. I think the "minimizer" construction is good to take all of the loose skin on my breast tissue and suck it in (like shapewear). This bra puts the girls back where they should be and I have no lumps are bulges of fat anywhere!
If you have bras that you want to get rid of that are in lightly used good shape, they are taking back bras (any brand) and donating them to a women's shelter organization. THis is going on until February 26th. I am going to go through my lingerie drawer and get rid of my ill fitting bras.
Wearing a bra that fits after wearing one that doesn't is like finally wearing shoes that fit after wearing shoes that are the wrong size. What a difference. I have worn one of my new bras since I was at the store (wore it out instead of putting my old one back on.) Don't think I have ever had one one that made me feel better.
If you want to pamper yourself when you get at goal - give this a try!

OK, I'll play. My best NSV's so far are:

Having a pair of jeans fall off my body when I reached up on my tip toes into a tall cabinet. Thankfully, no one but me was in the kitchen.
Fitting into my decadent bathtub and having my whole body fit underneath the Water (no beached whale effect like before surgery).
Getting my flexibility back to get up from the floor playing with the grandkids and in the bedroom playing with my sweetie
Finding my bones and my muscles as the fat melted away and I started exercising (I have a small frame - who knew?)
Looking great in size 10 and 12 petite clothes!