ObesityHelp

Everything I've said before is still true.  Seven years post op and I weigh 186.  Thirty pounds up from my lowest post op weight of 156 and 50 pounds heavier than my doctor prescribed "ideal weight" of 138.  I'm in menopause now and weight loss is harder than finding the holy grail.

I read my four year anniversary post and could simply copy and paste the whole thing for today's five year post.  I'm still an emotional eater and I self medicate with sugar.  I'm still 25 pounds up from my lowest weight.  I still intend to jump back on the bandwagon and lose those pounds.  It can be depressing to realize how little self discipline I have when it comes to my eating habits but I don't really angst.  Maybe this year I'll get it right.

Fours years!  To be honest, I forgot all about my anniversary coming up until I received a congratulations email from obesityhelp.com.  I think that's wonderful.  I don't think about the surgery any more, I simply live my life.

I'm still an emotional eater.  I still eat too many sweets and junk food.  But all and all, I eat way less than I did when I weighed 100 lbs more.  I wish I could find the self discipline to lose the 40 lbs which will bring me down to my "ideal" weight.  Hell, I wish I could stay disciplined enough to lose the 22 pounds I'm still up from my post op low of 156. 

This past year has been so busy with trying to stay connected to my two grandbabies.  They're 17 months and 13 months old now.  I'm leaving Saturday for a six week visit to my daughter as her husband is deploying to Iraq on Monday.  We've all had so much to think about which is more important than obsessing about weight.

I stopped reading this site because I was seeing the same arguments and criticism and immature behavior that I saw as a pre-op lurker.  If anyone wants my opinion, it is that every individual is different.  What works for one may not work for another.  There are no absolutes.  Lurk, read, use trial and error but ultimately you must decide what works for you.  It's nobody else's concern and you should take what you read here with a grain of salt.

Good luck!
Lynda 

Today is my three year anniversary of my surgery.    Time flies.

I weighed 182 pounds this morning.  That's up 26 pounds from my post surgery low of 156.  I was 156 for about 12 hours over a year ago.  The past two years, I've been gaining and losing the same 20-25 pounds.  

I consider my gastric bypass a success as I've kept over 70% of my excess weight off.  I consider myself a bit of a failure because I have yet to permanently change the eating habits which made me obese in the first place.  Neither do I exercise as I am a lazy slug who HATES to sweat.  

I know what I'm doing wrong but I continue to do it.  When will "they" develop a surgical procedure for fixing the brain?  

I freaked a bit when I stepped on the scale this morning.  I haven't been this heavy in so long and it's only 18 pounds to the 200 mark which I swore I'd never pass over again.  

I'm in Las Vegas with my daughter caring for my new grandchild.  Since November when my first grandchild was born two months early right up to this minute, I've been eating like a pig.  Cookies, bread, pizza.  That's what I crave and I've been living in Carb Heaven.

I've had problems with my depression this past year.  The Celexa stopped working and I"m on my third drug, Cymbalta, trying to feel better.  My blood pressure rose over the past year and I"m being medicated for that too with Coreg.  My marriage hit a rough spot and life has just been a complete roller coaster ride for a good six months.  

I have my three year surgeon appointment May 7.  I'm determined to seek help with my continued compulsive eating disorder..  I have a bunch of questions about pouch size after three years and longer term success.  I do want to get back on track and fix my head once and for all.

Good luck to you who are just starting your journey and more good luck to those who are further along and tripping over the bumps in the road.

Today is my two year and a day anniversary of gastric bypass.  I've been figuring out this new OH profile business.  It's been so long since I've been a regular poster that I still had the old style.  I uploaded photos of my shrinking success but they got out of order somehow.  I'm sure you'll figure it out!
Today I weighed 175.  Nineteen more pounds than my post op low weight of 156.  The surgery didn't cure my problem with binge and compulsive eating and that's something I'm really starting to face.  I'd love to lose 40 more pounds but it's not so easy as it was the first six months to a year post op!!!!  
I've had a tummy tuck (3/06) and a breast lift (11/06) and my torso looks better than it has in decades.  That's not saying too awful much as I am not someone who exercises either.  I wish there was a surgical procedure to get my entire body worth of skin shrink wrapped and tight.
All in all I'm happy with the results of two years of surgeries and supplements and blood tests and the whole shebang.
If I could offer advice to all those who have surgery after me it would be look into WHY you were obese in the first place.  The surgery won't fix your head.  It won't magically fix ANY of your problems.  It doesn't make anything in your life easier.  You have to make internal changes while the external weight loss is happening.  And the weight loss is only EASY for the first six months to a year.  After that, it's just as hard as it was before WLS.
My goal is to now enjoy to exercise... or at least do it anyway and to lose the last 37 pounds to get to my "ideal" body weight.
Good luck and God bless!