lintolose

This is possibly my favorite letter for success. I believe it is critical to understand forgiveness as it relates to your weight loss journey.



F



Forgiveness



“Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.”



– Mark Twain


F is for Forgiveness. Nelson Mandela said, “Having resentment is like drinking poison and expecting your enemy to die.” The only way to enlightenment is to forgive anything and everything that has happened to you in the past, however difficult this may be, for you can never have a better past. You must forgive the people and those events that you blame for your obesity.
“But how can I forgive when the pain is so much?” you ask. If you constantly think thoughts of forgiveness towards the one who has hurt you, then you will eventually feel forgiveness in your heart. Forgiveness must come from the heart, not the mind. After forgiving them, you must then send to them all of the things you wish for yourself, like love, peace, and prosperity.
Do not say “I will forgive, but I will never forget”, because that is just another way of saying “I will not forgive.” While it is impossible for you to have a better past, you can still control your future, so create a better future by forgiving the past.
*The preceding is an excerpt from Dr. Vuong's new book, Weight Loss Surgery Success:Dr. V's A-Z Tips For Losing Weight and Gaining Enlightenment, now available on Amazon.com.< /p>

Beautiful! Keep it!

I haven't posted for a while and just wanted to send this update. I was sleeved in march 2013 at about 300 lbs and reached my goal in jan 2014 at around the low 180's. today, Aug. 20, 2014, I still weigh 182, so since jan I have basically maintained my weight in between 180-185 so I think this is the weight I will permanently stay at. I exercise 3-4 times a week. over the last 1.5 years ive become a runner and do about 15-20 miles per week. i started out by just walking but now ive also completed a few 13.1 mile half marathons and earlier this year I finally fulfilled a lifelong dream of mine and completed a 26.2 mile full marathon. I can definitely eat a lot more now that I did when I was first sleeved, but I do make the right food choices of what I put in my mouth. I can see that if I made bad food choices I could easily gain back 15-20 lbs or even more because like I said, I can eat a lot more now than I could a year ago. so making a lifestyle change is critical for long term success with the sleeve. if you don't make the correct lifestyle changes, eventually you will stop losing weight and as your ability to eat more increases, you could actually start gaining weight again. thankfully ive been one of the lucky ones and ive had no complications or trouble eating. I never hit any serious plateaus as I went from around 300 to the low 180's very steadily. but I did work the program and I always ate right and I always made time for exercise. I think these last 2 steps is what truly made me successful and made my journey an easy one. heres a few current pics from this month. life is good, the sleeve is the best thing that's ever happened to me and at the age of 51 im in the best shape of my life!
if any of you have any questions for a 1.5 year out sleever, ask away and ill gladly answer.
   

Yes, I was sleeved April 8,what you describe sounds very familiar. The whole experience is new and unfamiliar ground at this time but I amlearning as I go. Some days I would be happy to just have my cup of Unjury chicken flavored broth and forget the rest. Regardless I am trying to keep my Protein and liquids up but still the calories remain around 600 a day. I am not complaining, I am thankful for this a new start in my life! Good Luck to you!

Down 65 pounds at 12 weeks post op

I remember being pre-op and my favorite thing to do was look at progress photos and dream
I am 6 months, 10 days post op and I am down 128 pounds total. This isnt a very great pic since I have been sick, but i still took it because anything is better than my before!!

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Like ThisCarms1979Today, 11:01 AM
I had gastric bypass in Feb 2009 so it's been a while. I still can't get this new lifestyle thing perfect. I get sick a lot for eating the wrong things and eating too fast. I want to start measuring my food, but need to know what is my start up amount? Do I measure everything or do I weight everything? How much should I be eating this far out?
Like ThisJanetteHToday, 11:58 AM
Carms1979, on 02 May 2014 - 12:01, said:
I had gastric bypass in Feb 2009 so it's been a while. I still can't get this new lifestyle thing perfect. I get sick a lot for eating the wrong things and eating too fast. I want to start measuring my food, but need to know what is my start up amount? Do I measure everything or do I weight everything? How much should I be eating this far out?
I had surgery in February - I'm about 10 weeks out now. I was put on a "graduated" eating plan, 1 week of liquids only, 1 month of pureed food and now I'm getting to the end of a month of soft food (eggs, poached chicken, fish etc). Then I'll begin to add other foods one at a time to see if I tolerate them. I was told I should only be eating ½ cup food at each meal but recently I've been able to handle close to 1 cup soft food at a time (e.g. ½ cup fish, ¼ cup mashed potato, ¼ cup veggie). I have only thrown up twice (once when I didn't chew long enough and a bit of chicken got stuck, and once when I tried pureed pork although I'm not meant to eat any red meat yet!) I'm losing weight pretty steadily so I recommend you go back to soft foods and eat no more than 1 cup (yes I measure). I believe that's the maximum amount recommended so we don't "stretch out "our pouch. Beware of fat and sugar. Good luck!
Like ThisBaconville54 minutes ago
Carms1979, on 02 May 2014 - 12:01, said:
I had gastric bypass in Feb 2009 so it's been a while. I still can't get this new lifestyle thing perfect. I get sick a lot for eating the wrong things and eating too fast. I want to start measuring my food, but need to know what is my start up amount? Do I measure everything or do I weight everything? How much should I be eating this far out?
I am just over 10 months out. I don't think anybody gets this new lifestyle perfect - you can't expect perfection or you will always be dissapointed. That said, I would recommend that you get on MyFitnessPal.com and begin tracking what you are eating. This free app gives you the suggested serving sizes and tracks your Protein and calories for you. It would also help you to know what foods are going to make you sick. My 'for life' plan is about 1 cup of food per meal. My Protein target is 80 - 90 grams of protein each day. The only way to know exactly what you are eating is to measure. I found a great digital food scale at Target for about $25.00, but I know that others have found them online and at other stores. It doesn't have to be expensive, it just needs to be accurate. Go back to the basics, get your Water in, eat protein first, don't drink when you are eating. If you are really struggling, contact your clinic. They should also be able to help you get back on track - its what they are there for! Good Luck!
Carol
Like Thispsu98nittanylioness26 minutes ago
I just had mine Apr 9. I am getting enough protein for sure but not enough cals... I am super lucky to get to 600 cals a day.
I sip all day every few hrs a shake or Soup...but I am worried since I started out with metabolic issues I am making things worse. My endocrinologist suggested this surgery because it has the side effect of resetting metabolism. I am awaiting a call from the doc...The nutritionists look at me like I have 10 heads when I tell them this because most of the patients are getting full cals and still feel hungry...Anyone else have this issue?