As I approach my 5 year surgiversary I can look back and see that history is a great teacher. What a ride the past five years has been - from using seat belt extenders on commerical aircraft, to not having a soda for 6 years. From being able to drive a car with my hands and not my stomach. As the weight fell off, the pills fell off, the secondary health issues improved or went away - life is better.

My mind has offered up anything but a casual walk through the mine field - My mine field has been planted by friends and family. For example:

As I approached my ideal goal weight, the first set of mines weint off from family and friends. Their comments were encouraging that I loss weight BUT I now looked too thin and sick. Don't reach your goal, you'll endanger yourself. So my mind accepted these statements and stopped loosing weight and added some cosmetic pounds. For 4 years I was able to maintain a 10 pound zone. Now the zone is larger and there are more mind fields encouraging me to walk the mine field.

As my mind healed from the surgery it figured out that I could eat anything - in moderation. I could mentally eat and not hurt myself. Well that's true and false.

I now have a good idea of why I gained weight - stressed induced emotional eating. I'm now back working full-time in a stressful field I enjoy. A field full of emotionally induced mine fields. When stress rises - grazing and eating subliminal eating increases. I "approve" of this eating as it is reducing my stress level. 

So I realized that the surgery in 2006 was only on my stomach and not my mind. My mind's mine field must be cleaned out.

By working part time since semi-retiring my COBRA health insurance has expired and no one will pick me up for a "reasonable" fee. So I'm going solo and treating myself with what I've learned prior to this cut-off. So I'm keeping up the vitamins so not to blow all up totally.

I knew I should do more healthy activities and exercises, so to be safe I made an appointment with my cardiologist. He was happy to see me as I had been paying his kids tuition in school with all the work he was doing on me prior to my surgery. When I had finished all the testing my cardiologist told me that my heart was status post but don't plan on doing any marathons and think about quality of life versus quanity of life. Even the medical professionals in my life were planting mine fields in my mind. I was told I would now qualify for disability due to my heart disease - I would get insurance, but would have to quit the work I enjoy and am good at - what a choice we have nowadays.

It's now time to get smart and to look at alternative medicines to see what will improve my life style and eliminate those mind-mine fields. It's now time to re-set the goals to include my mind's mine field to be dispensed of.

Greetings All:  It has been a while, OK QUITE A WHILE since I posted. I need to update my pix and information. 
I'm please to announce that I have lowered myself into the 100's for the first time in many years. I'm ending January 2008 at 197. That's just 2lbs shy of normal BMI.
More to follow within another year, maybe sooner!

Hope all is well with those whose read this .. ..

Talk Soon and Take Care
KIM

Greetings!  I'm back to the living - no voice, but here.  THANKS SO MUCH  to Darlene for organizing a surgery page for me, I've never had one and it was so nice to read. 

Coming out of a "rare" procedure in a hospital where they have done a few of these, knowing that so many folks are thinking, praying and sending warm thoughts is very comforting. - THANKS

I can already tell the difference in swallowing and can't wait to get back to regular life.