BariatricGirl

You have been through so much more than most of us. Bless your heart. If you found some hope, I've done my job. I would like to suggest another blog post for you. It's here. http://www.bariatricgirl.com/2014/02/super-dieters-share-their-six-weight-loss-tips/ Sugar is the most addictive substance known to man. Here's one of my graphics from my Bariatric Girl Facebook page. If this doesn't turn you around please let me know. You CAN do this! Here's another post about someone who turned around a 70 lb gain. http://www.bariatricgirl.com/2010/12/beating-regain-gina-getting-to-goal-9-years-later/ I hope this helps. Thanks again for your kind words.

Thank you so much!

I can't tell you how much this made my day! Thank you so much for the kind words. I think you wrote some very wise words there!

OH MY GOD!! I'm so so sorry I missed your message. Bless your heart. You've been through so much. You are very smart to have figured out that you are snacking. It is not easy to keep the weight off but just like the graphic I posted...."choose your hard" right? It's not so much about the protein as it is about eating good, healthy food and at the same time....find a way to get your body moving. I'd love to offer my blog as an additional resource. It's at www.bariatricgirl.com. I'd also like to send you a document that's still in the rough stages but still great information. It's a compilation of many of the answers I've given to people who have regained and I think it would be a big help. You can email me at yvonne@bariatricgirl.com and I'll be happy to send it to you. Again I'm so sorry I missed your message.....

I'm sorry I missed this! I'm so glad you took off those glasses and have found happiness again!

Hello VSGAnn2014, I totally understand what you are saying and I hope you find that balance. I want to share a post I did on my blog about this subject. You can find it here: http://www.bariatricgirl.com/2014/02/super-dieters-share-their-six-weight-loss-tips/ I should explain my thinking a bit better and I also want to repeat that IF you can find that balance by eating in moderation, I'm ecstatic! Being able to control the monster is so impressive to me and I've known a few that could. I tried to do that for 30 years and always failed. My mindset comes from corresponding with thousands of post-ops over the years so I feel it is important to share the wealth of their experience. The blog post also explains that if what you are doing doesn't work out, I'm offering another choice. I'm wishing you the very very best on your journey.

Babbs you made my day!!!

Thanks Sara! I use it really often and I often wonder if people understand what I'm saying. I'm so pleased you were able to relate!

I have changed the way I eat as well. I eat very boring things because I can no longer have "sex in a plate". (I hope that made sense) I have also recognized that because I cannot "eat just one" that it is easier to not eat any. I believe the reason it is hard for some people to eat like you do is because their addiction to food is severe and they haven't worked on the root issue. This is a great article about people who are abstainers (like me) and people who can eat moderately (they can eat just one). http://www.gretchenrubin.com/happiness_project/2013/01/want-to-be-free-from-french-fries-or-why-abstaining-may-be-easier-than-you-think/

So well said....I had gastric bypass over 14 years ago when there was no such thing as aftercare and support of any kind was almost non existent. Since I had surgery I have been volunteering in the WLS community full time and I've been in the trenches every single day. I personally believe that food addiction is one of the prime reasons for regain but many bariatric professionals don't even believe it exists. I am passionate about bringing food addiction into the discussion and I'll share one of my blog posts. It was only because I admitted my addiction that I was able to work on it and I'll be working on it the rest of my life. There is no shame...it is a disease. Here's that post. http://www.bariatricgirl.com/2013/12/now-this-clarifies-food-addiction/

Thank you so much for the information. There's someone that is seriously in need of surgery right now and I'm just wondering if anyone knew of a way around the supervised diet.

Would anyone happen to know of anyone who was approved by Anthem Blue Cross California that didn't have to wait 6 months on a medically supervised diet?

I would like to add something to this thread. Almost anyone who is approved for WLS is given one choice because it's rare to have a revision covered. What am I saying? It's rare to have WLS covered these days for everyone who needs it period. It is very important to BELIEVE in your surgery because if you don't, it won't believe in you. If you don't nurture and respect your surgery, it won't nurture and respect you. When someone picks a surgery for whatever reason it may be (even if they are misinformed) it is a done deal. I have communicated with thousands of post-ops over the last ten years and every single kind of surgery has successes and some not so great outcomes. Please support your WLS brothers and sisters with their surgery type because we all need as much support as possible. No one should be treated as if they made a wrong choice regarding surgery type. Instead we need to help them with whatever choice they made because they all absolutely can work. Of course there is a small percentage of complications and various degrees of complications that are unavoidable....I'm speaking about the majority of situations out there. We are all in this together and I want to support everyone on their journey because we all need it.

In 2001 the only surgery available was gastric bypass. I am almost 14 years out now and have been able to maintain my goal weight. I actually believe that I could have been just as successful with any type because of where I was in my head. I made a promise that if I ever got the weight off (for the last time) I would do anything necessary to maintain. After 30 years of obesity and at the age of 47 in 2001 I was ready to finally live. I am 60 now and I'm healthier than I've ever been in my life.

Part of my new lease on life is having fun! We definitely need to remember to play. I can be really silly and this certainly proves it. I hope you enjoy! Happy Holidays to all!!

Thank you for your kind words. It is such an honor to be featured here. Special thanks to Bariatric Pal and Alex!

Casting Call: Lap-Band Patient Success Stories / Photo Shoot WANTED: Photogenic men and women, in the Dallas/ Ft Worth area, aged 30-45 years old who have had success with the LAP-BAND® Surgery and are willing to be featured in various LAP-BAND® Patient Education and Marketing materials. *Candidates will need to have had a BMI of 30-40 (with one co-morbidity) prior to surgery. The photo shoot will be held in late September or early October and will take ~3 hours. If selected, you will receive a $250 Visa gift card in appreciation for your time. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS: · Submit 2 photos o One BEFORE image that captures your life before the LAP-BAND®. Please note we will be using your “Before” image in our marketing materials. It’s important that no other people are in this image for legal reasons o One AFTER image that highlights your weight-loss success. Please note, this image will be used primarily to determine if you will be selected to be the face of the LAP-BAND® System. If you are selected, you will be required to participate in a professional photo shoot · Please provide brief and personal answers for the following questions. (Responses should be no more than 3-4 sentences in length, per question) 1. Please describe your weight loss journey (from struggle to triumph) 2. Please describe something that you are happy about finally fitting into after years of struggling with your weight. (i.e. favorite jeans, wedding ring, swimsuit, other?) · Please provide current clothing sizes and/or measurements (this information will only be used for wardrobe purposes if you are selected for the photo shoot) Please submit your application or ask any questions to PhotoShoot@apolloendo.com

Great article....such a shame that some of the states that need it most (like Texas) are excluded. I am hopeful however because it IS getting better. Literally thanks to not being held hostage over preexisting conditions, my husband and I are able to get real insurance for the first time in 12 years because my gastric bypass made me a leper in the eyes of the insurance company. (we are self employed) Because I could get a well woman's exam they found something that would have killed me if left unchecked. I was also able to get a colonoscopy which was about ten years overdue especially since my mom lost her life to colon cancer. I think we are getting closer and like Susan said....contacting your representative really does help in most states. I'm a glass half full girl and I'm grateful for the progress made so far and looking forward to making more. Thanks Alex for a very informative article. I so hope that one day in the near future they will finally acknowledge food addiction so that thousands can possibly get the help they need.

I've done a few talks about this as well as a blog post and it originally started out as just three things but evolved into this graphic I created. If what you say passes all 5 of these...you're pretty safe. Is it true means that you know it for a fact...not that someone told you. Of course making sure it's kind and figuring out if it's really necessary will keep everyone happy. So much is lost in translation through text so many people are misunderstood. No one likes being told "you aren't doing it right". I feel like I have enough to do keeping my side of the street clean so there's no need to tell someone what they should be doing. As others have said....we fight people all day who think we are wrong. There should always be a safe place to fall where unconditional support is offered. We are stronger together. Thank you Alex for running such a classy place.

I just bawled my head off reading this.....You just want to crawl in a corner and die....doesn't matter what your co-worker said. It was you who felt this woman's pain and it was you who knew what she was feeling and it was you who cried for her.... One change at a time.....One changed feeling at a time.... Your right you know...A lot of people are exactly what the scarecrow said in the wizard of Oz: Scarecrow: "...some people without brains do an awful lot of talking... don't they?" Excellent comment!!!

What a beautiful story. And while I understand the liability stuff I would probably have had to get other employees to sit on me to not try to help. I mean I understand there are rules....I just tend to throw them out the window when someone is in distress. I'm grateful the fire department was so close. I didn't fall but my moment that was like that was when my mom died. She had been dying of cancer for a year and even though I was huge I got bigger that year because I gave up. For so long I had isolated and only went to work and one store and the morning of the funeral I realized that I would have to face tons of people who hadn't seen me in years. I wanted to crawl in a hole. I could see the looks on their faces....poor Yvonne...she was so pretty in college...look how she has let herself go. (I managed a couple of years in college to be anorexic but could never get it back) I couldn't have been more embarrassed and ashamed at the same time. On top of that I lost my mom and wanted to die. Your heart is so big and it was wonderful that you felt for that woman. Thank you for sharing.

I don't think pink dahlia meant to be judgmental...really more of making a point of how many times we see things where we wish we could share with people all the things that saved our own lives. One point in particular that you brought up that is very important and that's how many people in our community have been sexually or mentally abused. I think it is far more common than most think. That's exactly why we need so much support to heal those psychological wounds and some of them are passed down through dysfunctional families generation after generation. I actually decided to have my tubes tied at 31 because I wanted to stop the insanity that I believed was being passed on. When I see someone who is obese my heart breaks because I know that deep down inside there is a person who wants to escape that outside shell and they feel like most people won't give them a chance and unfortunately that's pretty much true.

For some people food is a drug and all food is legal. For me it seems like a perfect example of how much pull food can have and many people have also just given up. I've known a couple of people who had emphysema and were told if they didn't quit smoking they would die but kept smoking. For them life wasn't worth living without smoking and for some people life isn't worth living without food. I like that your daughter is open about your Lap Band....there should be no shame involved.

Thank you...your kindness is very much appreciated.

Again...I am FASCINATED with human behavior and different cultures. You made me a laugh about the story of the French President....Yes I remember the flowery caftans and polyester everything. When the store Lane Bryant came into existence I was in heaven because they had normal clothes for larger women. At the end of my obese life I had switched over to men's 4x shirts and was told one time I should contact Omar the tent maker for clothes. (Nice huh?) Unbelievable story about the smoking!! I just can't believe a doctor would do that. I would imagine you probably have a larger amount of people who are home bound for fear of being scrutinized in public. Thank you for sharing.