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Best Decision Ever Made



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I lost 200lbs 12 years ago and the best decision I ever made. I workout every day and have been a vegetarian for 5 years. Several of my friends have gained most of their weight back... Don't let that happen. This is no "easy way out" because you MUST change your eating habits or you will get sick. Message me if you want to talk....

Wow, congratulations on your SUSTAINED weight loss! That's amazing!! I'd love to hear what helped you succeed where your friends regained. Of course "stick to the plan" is the bottom line, but how do you think you mustered the strength and perseverance to actually do so? What was your mindset? Lol sorry for all the questions!

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Hi Janec,

In all honesty, my friends started eating JUNK instead of healthy Snacks. One of them I work with and she eats all, day long. Her "snacks" are Pasta, fried fish, chips, garbage like that. I have NEVER seen her walk or workout during the day ...not even a walk during her break. I feel terrible for her because everybody comes to me and says "Please talk to Regina...she has gained her weight back." I have to tell them that she KNOWS she's gained it back, I know she feels horrible about it and if she wanted to talk to me, she would. Basically I've learned that I need to snack throughout the day BUT I have lean, filling snacks...pretzels, small hand full of nuts, dried edamame, carrots, frozen grapes,Greek yogurt, all under 100 calories BUT filling. I eat for fuel...just remember that when you're eating or snacking..."Will this meal provide fuel or is it empty calories?" I bought those little, inexpensive books called "Eat this not that" ...there is a series of books that cover fast food, dining out, grocery shopping, sweets.

I have had nightmares about how this is all a dream and I have never gone through the surgery and lost all of the weight! That kind of snaps me into shape...it's such a scary thought. I did this for me and my sons and also there is a tieensy little part of me that wanted to give everybody a bit "eff you" who said I was "taking the easy way out" "going to fail" "you'll gain it back."

And you have to learn to love to workout in some capacity daily..even if it's a 15 minute , brisk walk!

Ask anything :-)

Betz

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Yeah! We're RNY twins! Lol! Go us! It will be here before we know it!

I'm having mine on Nov. 14th!! So excited!!! Good luck everyone!

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I'm having mine on Nov. 14th!! So excited!!! Good luck everyone!

Yeah! Another surgery sister! I'm so excited! Congrats! Join us on the November board if you haven't all ready. It's giving us a good idea of what to expect right after surgery.

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Hi Janec' date='

In all honesty, my friends started eating JUNK instead of healthy Snacks. One of them I work with and she eats all, day long. Her "snacks" are Pasta, fried fish, chips, garbage like that. I have NEVER seen her walk or workout during the day ...not even a walk during her break. I feel terrible for her because everybody comes to me and says "Please talk to Regina...she has gained her weight back." I have to tell them that she KNOWS she's gained it back, I know she feels horrible about it and if she wanted to talk to me, she would. Basically I've learned that I need to snack throughout the day BUT I have lean, filling snacks...pretzels, small hand full of nuts, dried edamame, carrots, frozen grapes,Greek yogurt, all under 100 calories BUT filling. I eat for fuel...just remember that when you're eating or snacking..."Will this meal provide fuel or is it empty calories?" I bought those little, inexpensive books called "Eat this not that" ...there is a series of books that cover fast food, dining out, grocery shopping, sweets.

I have had nightmares about how this is all a dream and I have never gone through the surgery and lost all of the weight! That kind of snaps me into shape...it's such a scary thought. I did this for me and my sons and also there is a tieensy little part of me that wanted to give everybody a bit "eff you" who said I was "taking the easy way out" "going to fail" "you'll gain it back."

And you have to learn to love to workout in some capacity daily..even if it's a 15 minute , brisk walk!

Ask anything :-)

Betz[/quote']

Thank you for sharing your story & experiences! It's very inspiring!

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Betz, I have read almost all your post even the ones back from Nov 2012 and I truly want to thank you for your time and encouragement. You are an inspirational true story. I would love to keep you as my mentor. I'm 3 weeks out and have lost 18 lbs which doesn't seem a lot, but its a great start for me. I've been hitting the gym since 5 days out of surgery, so I'm feeling GOOD! Thanks again for your positive and inspiring story.

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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
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