This is my third long post on my journey so far. Probably should have been a blog, but no time to keep it up! Thanks for hanging in there with me!

“If you work at something with total commitment for a really long time, you will succeed.” 8th grade runner, in newspaper story.

Such a simple but profound statement from a young girl who set out to change her life by running. A statement that has come to define my journey.

I gauge my progress by non-weight goals. Yes, I do weigh in every morning. I do love to see the scale go down. But my real excitement comes not from the number of my weight, but from the increasing quality of my life.

The time I started trying on all my clothes and ended with a totally empty walk-in closet!

The first time I walked a mile in 20 years!

Sitting in a seat in a plane and not touching the person next to me anywhere!

The first time I felt a lump, thought it was a tumor and realized it was a bone!!!

Walking out of Coldwater Creek—a store I had always longed to shop in--with a bag full of clothes!

I feel like I have been let out of a cage. I am excited about life every single day. Even the hard days.

Joy, empowerment, potential…these are the things that keep me on track. However, every outcome involves a journey, and there are a few essential tools that keep me focused. You’ve probably heard all these before. Even if you have, when you start doing these things yourself you’ll feel like you’ve made a terrific discovery you want to share with the world!

Here, then, are my tools for success.

1. My Fitness Pal… Except for the time when my life was consumed with taking care of my dying sister, I have tracked every bite I’ve eaten almost every single day. This has been the most valuable thing I’ve ever done. Why have I stopped losing? I’ll look back over the last month or so. Oh… I see I’ve added in a couple of tablespoons of Peanut Butter a night. Could that be it? Oh… I see that a greater proportion of my daily calories is coming from carbs. Could that be it? Knowing that no one will see it but me, I am completely honest. You can download it for free for your smart phone or computer. If you don’t have one, just track somewhere! Track everything!

2. An honest assessment of my eating habits and problems… You may want to read my old post, “Sneaks, Snacks, Sweets and Lies… “ I posted this when it first began to get hard, and it seemed to resonate with a lot of people. I continue to live by this each day.

3. Protein. I HATED the protein regimen when I first started it. Now, I love to have my Protein Drink almost never miss a day. You know those delicious Starbucks Mocha-Frappes? The ones with about 500 calories? Well, I figured out that the ingredient that gives it its flavor is espresso! So now I go to Starbucks every few days and get 6 shots of espresso, straight. Into the blender goes ice, 2 shots of espresso, Water, maybe a little coffee, and chocolate Protein powder. I top it off with a little real whipped cream! 150 calories and low carb! Yum!!! I have energy for hours, and believe it or not, espresso has much less caffeine than real coffee!

4. Mostly Low carb diet: Once upon a time I craved carbs every 20 minutes or so. Now, I long for them but don’t crave them. The difference is huge. Craving: Addiction. Longing: Eh… that would be nice, but I can do without. If I eat heavy carbs, I crave them. If I begin my day with refined carbs, I want them all day. I don’t obsess about them, but I am careful about them. If I want a couple of bites of baked potato, I have it. About once a week I have a McDonald’s vanilla cone. But toast for Breakfast? Hash browns and French fries? Cookies and chips? If I eat these things for a couple of days, I feel poisoned, and I don’t lose weight. If ever I get seriously off track—and I have—for an entire month at a time, I know that to get back on track I first have to cut out the carbs. Then it gets to be easy again.

I made a commitment to myself. If I was going to undergo major surgery, with all its potential risks, I was going to totally commit to the process. If I never reach my personal goal—and with as much as I have to lose, it’s possible I won’t—it won’t be because I didn’t give it my all, for as long as it takes.

The last thing I want to share with you in a separate post is dealing with food addiction. Watch for it soon!

Hope this helps!

Great Advice

Thanks for writing it up

Thank you for sharing!!!!

This is my third long post on my journey so far. Probably should have been a blog, but no time to keep it up! Thanks for hanging in there with me!

“If you work at something with total commitment for a really long time, you will succeed.” 8th grade runner, in newspaper story.

Such a simple but profound statement from a young girl who set out to change her life by running. A statement that has come to define my journey.

I gauge my progress by non-weight goals. Yes, I do weigh in every morning. I do love to see the scale go down. But my real excitement comes not from the number of my weight, but from the increasing quality of my life.

The time I started trying on all my clothes and ended with a totally empty walk-in closet!

The first time I walked a mile in 20 years!

Sitting in a seat in a plane and not touching the person next to me anywhere!

The first time I felt a lump, thought it was a tumor and realized it was a bone!!!

Walking out of Coldwater Creek—a store I had always longed to shop in--with a bag full of clothes!

I feel like I have been let out of a cage. I am excited about life every single day. Even the hard days.

Joy, empowerment, potential…these are the things that keep me on track. However, every outcome involves a journey, and there are a few essential tools that keep me focused. You’ve probably heard all these before. Even if you have, when you start doing these things yourself you’ll feel like you’ve made a terrific discovery you want to share with the world!

Here, then, are my tools for success.

1. My Fitness Pal… Except for the time when my life was consumed with taking care of my dying sister, I have tracked every bite I’ve eaten almost every single day. This has been the most valuable thing I’ve ever done. Why have I stopped losing? I’ll look back over the last month or so. Oh… I see I’ve added in a couple of tablespoons of Peanut Butter a night. Could that be it? Oh… I see that a greater proportion of my daily calories is coming from carbs. Could that be it? Knowing that no one will see it but me, I am completely honest. You can download it for free for your smart phone or computer. If you don’t have one, just track somewhere! Track everything!

2. An honest assessment of my eating habits and problems… You may want to read my old post, “Sneaks, Snacks, Sweets and Lies… “ I posted this when it first began to get hard, and it seemed to resonate with a lot of people. I continue to live by this each day.

3. Protein. I HATED the protein regimen when I first started it. Now, I love to have my protein drink almost never miss a day. You know those delicious Starbucks Mocha-Frappes? The ones with about 500 calories? Well, I figured out that the ingredient that gives it its flavor is espresso! So now I go to Starbucks every few days and get 6 shots of espresso, straight. Into the blender goes ice, 2 shots of espresso, Water, maybe a little coffee, and chocolate protein powder. I top it off with a little real whipped cream! 150 calories and low carb! Yum!!! I have energy for hours, and believe it or not, espresso has much less caffeine than real coffee!

4. Mostly Low carb diet: Once upon a time I craved carbs every 20 minutes or so. Now, I long for them but don’t crave them. The difference is huge. Craving: Addiction. Longing: Eh… that would be nice, but I can do without. If I eat heavy carbs, I crave them. If I begin my day with refined carbs, I want them all day. I don’t obsess about them, but I am careful about them. If I want a couple of bites of baked potato, I have it. About once a week I have a McDonald’s vanilla cone. But toast for breakfast? Hash browns and French fries? Cookies and chips? If I eat these things for a couple of days, I feel poisoned, and I don’t lose weight. If ever I get seriously off track—and I have—for an entire month at a time, I know that to get back on track I first have to cut out the carbs. Then it gets to be easy again.

I made a commitment to myself. If I was going to undergo major surgery, with all its potential risks, I was going to totally commit to the process. If I never reach my personal goal—and with as much as I have to lose, it’s possible I won’t—it won’t be because I didn’t give it my all, for as long as it takes.

The last thing I want to share with you in a separate post is dealing with food addiction. Watch for it soon!

Hope this helps!

I concur - good post.

What chocolate protein powder do you use? Currently, all I do is ready to drink protein shakes. Great post, love your honesty.

Thanks for your post - it is very encouraging.

What chocolate protein powder do you use? Currently, all I do is ready to drink protein shakes. Great post, love your honesty.

Xchubba, I can't tolerate whey protein and after trial and error I found GNC soy protein to work really well. It has a really good "neutral" flavor and consistency.

I really agree with this post especially with regards to My Fitness Pal. To start making changes we need to be honest with ourselves so it's important to know what kind of fuel you are feeding your body. Anything that goes in my mouth must be input into MFP before I eat it. Often I find I make different choices when I look up a food and see the nutritional information. The other key and big change in my life has been incorporating exercise - I would have never ever seen myself as a "gym rat" but that's what I have become. The friends I have made at the gym have become very important to me and its really special that I have become an inspiration for others. This journey is really what you make of it and for each of us very individual. One thing I do know, you will have to make changes for life in order for this or any other weight loss surgery to work. It really is only a tool.

I really agree with this post especially with regards to My Fitness Pal. To start making changes we need to be honest with ourselves so it's important to know what kind of fuel you are feeding your body. Anything that goes in my mouth must be input into MFP before I eat it. Often I find I make different choices when I look up a food and see the nutritional information. The other key and big change in my life has been incorporating exercise - I would have never ever seen myself as a "gym rat" but that's what I have become. The friends I have made at the gym have become very important to me and its really special that I have become an inspiration for others. This journey is really what you make of it and for each of us very individual. One thing I do know, you will have to make changes for life in order for this or any other weight loss surgery to work. It really is only a tool.

Well said! Especially the part about tracking BEFORE eating and then making different choices. I do that frequently. Congrats on your gym life!

Writer Girl,

Thanks for another enlightening post! Love your whole series. For those that missed a few, from the website, you can click Writer Girls phtoto to display her profile, the click Topics in the nav bar on the left to find the other posts.

Lynda

Thanks so much for the encouraging post. I, too, am a slow loser. I had decided it is because of my age (54). My doctor is okay with it, because I do consistently lose. I was sleeved 12-13-12. I have lost 70 pounds since surgery and 97 pounds total. I keep reminding myself that losing 97 pounds in less than a year is saving my life! Hopefully I am establishing habits that will last a lifetime and keep me healthy.

Thanks so much for the encouraging post. I, too, am a slow loser. I had decided it is because of my age (54). My doctor is okay with it, because I do consistently lose. I was sleeved 12-13-12. I have lost 70 pounds since surgery and 97 pounds total. I keep reminding myself that losing 97 pounds in less than a year is saving my life! Hopefully I am establishing habits that will last a lifetime and keep me healthy.

I think that losing 97 pounds is amazing. Since your surgery you have lost an average of 10 pounds a month!!!

One of,the problems,with a site like this is that we tend to compare ourselves with others. There are young people,with loads of bone and muscle mass who,are just going to lose so fast. I find it best to just compare myself with me. Nothing worked before, so this has been so incredible.

Good for you!!