skinnyrita

Maybe it's more like a Liquid Protein shake frozen.LOL! You do have to admire anyone who overcomes their hurdles in life to become successful. I think about that a lot when I'm starting to feel discouraged or the scale doesn't move as quickly as I want. It seems like we all give ourselves too many excuses for why we can't accomplish weight loss. Behavior is such a big part of the puzzle and I see that Pandora has her routine worked out to the minute, leaving very little room for error. She must've had some great support too, because it's difficult to overcome all the negative things we tend to tell ourselves. Great inspiration to hear how others have made their journey! Thanks for the article Alex.

It does take planning and consideration to organize and support the Lifestyle changes that make surgery successful. I think that was hard for me to get at first. The tool of having a smaller stomach is just part of success. The other parts are behavior modification, knowing my weaknesses and staying committed to my program 7 days a week 24 /7. I don't feel I can ever go back to eating the way I was before, grazing, not exercising. Instead, I now have to consider everything in my environment( things I can control) and how it affects my weight. It takes dedication and support to make such a huge change. I appreciate the community here and draw inspiration from all of those who made the bold decision to have WLS.

I guess no one is free of responsibility of managing their weight and their trigger foods BUT there is an equal amount of responsibility that belongs on the doorstep of the food industry. Their well paid " food engineers, research and development and marketing personnel" know full well that brain chemistry is involved in the desirability of foods to humans. Did you ever hear of anyone with a broccoli addiction ?! No more likely the food of choice is a carbohydrate made in some lab and then manufactured and mass produced. Our culture ( in the US) is bombarded with suggestive ads for fast, unhealthy foods millions of times a day. Parents even think they are giving their kids a " treat" to go to MD, when they are really setting them up for a lifetime of addicting carb craving, possibly leading to major health problems like heart disease and obesity. I work with chronic disease patients regularly in my practice and not one of them wouldn't go back and make changes to avoid diabetes, limb amputation, congestive heart failure and kidney disease if they could. Food is now in the hands of Big Business and the Pharma Industry. Choose your food wisely and realize that processed foods are not your friend and neither is the food industry that produces them. Their business is making you crave their products and create "Loyal Addicts" to increase their profits.

Wow why such snarky comments! If you have a high visibility position and given that you have the budget for a stylist, great. Most of us do not have that, but I liked that the author shared some great tips on dressing while achieving weight loss ( which she probably paid dearly for). I had some nice designer pieces bought at discount but I quickly found out that they no longer fit. I pulled a few things from storage a size down, and added 2-3 new tops. I know I'll be going down several sizes so I'm not interested in paying a lot while doing that. I liked the idea of using a seamstress to take sizes down in key wardrobe pieces so they can stay with me through a couple of size changes. Anyway I'm having fun trying on sizes I couldn't wear even a month ago!

As a clinical therapist with over 20 years of counseling experience, and a newly sleeved person, I spent over a year researching procedures before actually getting the surgery. I am finding that what are often presented as scientific facts is more like a hypotheses of how surgery works. The surgeries used are still in their infancy and much is still unknown about their processes. When I read some of the other members posts on this forum, it becomes obvious that misconceptions about weight loss surgery abound and that we must do a better job of equipping surgery candidates for the long term change necessary for successful maintenance. It takes a combination of so many things in order to achieve sustainable weight loss, no matter which method to lose weight is chosen. Personally, after having the surgery, I believe that most people are more likely to revert back to old cues in their environment, emotional triggers and biological "set points" without guidance and serious effort to change. Working on those things for myself right now. Hopefully more research will provide answers that can better predict one's genetic predisposition and make more tools available for anyone with obesity and its comorbidities. Given all the variables, it is important not to lay blame upon the persons struggling with their weight loss, until more information is available. Making a blanket statement about what causes weight regain is making assumptions which do not apply to the whole population and may not be rooted in the scientific facts. Biology is a powerful thing which wants to maintain homeostasis. Hormonal influences just may be at the heart of the matter. Best of luck to all of us in reaching and maintaining our goals.