QOTD/Check In

When does WLS stop consuming your life? Yes, I realize we have surgically altered our innards. There are changes we will have to make and adhere to for the rest of our lives, that is understandable and to be expected. Regular labs and tracking results, protein supplementation (depending on your doctor and "plan"), vitamins, fluids, exercise, not to mention the slew of psychological modifications we have been making and will continue to make. However... When does it not become so consuming? When can we incorporate it into our lives so that it just becomes a part of who we are and not something we must consider every second of every day? Does this ever happen? When you're learning to use a manual transmission, you think, "Clutch in, first gear, clutch in, second gear, clutch in, third gear..." and so on. After some practice, you no longer have to think about it, and the process becomes automated...you just shift without thinking. As for me: I'm looking forward to autopilot. I feel consumed by WLS. I need a break, which is why I have stopped tracking in Fitday, stopped weighing and the last several days just try to DO it instead of being completely consumed by it all. Chele

Good morning Chele. I hope you are doing well. Here are my thoughts on this. ***And these are only MY thoughts and feelings and I dont want to make anyone feel like I am saying this is what they should be doing!***I dont ever want to go on "autopilot". I feel that is what got me to 326 (my highest weight) in the first place. I didnt pay attention to the food I was consuming or the amounts I was eating. I never weighed so the weight piled on and as long as I didnt see the #'s on the scale I ignored it. I was in total and complete denile. I NEVER want to go back to 300 pounds. So for me I will be consumed with my weight, the scale, protion control and a low fat diet for the rest of my life. Because as difficult as it may be sometimes to do that, its so worth it in the long run. I feel better about myself now then I have in 10 years and I love it. hugs to all...... kristi

Kristi, I don't think anyone will take offense to what you're saying. It's right for YOU. We're all different. Please know that I wasn't implying that we should not be mindful of our weight/the scale/portion control and everything else (if you notice, I mentioned that in my post). For me, being consumed by something can lead to me being dangerously close to flirting with an eating disorder. Just like you don't want to go back to being 300lbs, I don't want to go back to where I was....if that makes sense. We all come from different backgrounds and issues. It's interesting to hear/read just how varied we all are. Chele

"It takes over EVERY aspect of your life. AT least it was for me and seems to be true for many others. I guess I'm just waiting for the time that it becomes habit and I don't have to think about it and my life is back to normal. Does that make any sense??? lol" *********************************************** It makes perfect sense to me...that's how I feel, myself. I can't wait until it becomes so natural that my new habits and things I must do to remain healthy are engrained and a part of me. Chele

Chele - your thought below is right on for me.. It makes perfect sense to me...that's how I feel, myself. I can't wait until it becomes so natural that my new habits and things I must do to remain healthy are engrained and a part of me. But like Kristi I am planning for this to be a high level and visible part of my life and focus going forward. Its by not focusing in the earlier years that I weighed close to 300 lbs and also plan to never go there again. Over the last few weeks I've felt a bit more with this change being integrated into my life. It does take time. I find comfort knowing I am in it for the long run. Thinking that way helps me let go a little bit, otherwise I'd be inclined to obsess about everything.

Here's my thoughts and if they come across the wrong way...sorry. No one, not my doc, my surgeon, my phych, my nut...no one ever implied to me preop that this was anything less than a lifestyle change..FOREVER. I'm sorry that you feel consumed by everything you need to do but I find it a way of life now. I am neither consumed or feel the need for a break. I don't "have" to enter things into fitday or track my cals at the gym anymore because I know them in my head. So many people (not necessary here on this board) say they can't wait to get back to a "normal" life. What is "normal" to them? For me, this IS the norm now and will be until I die. If normal is living life not caring about what is eaten or the amount then I'll pass. Dawn

Hmmm. I think this is a question of semantics and that we're basically saying the same thing. Well, here we are again...everyone is very different with different crosses to bear. Some of us have the "Type A" personalities where feeling "consumed" and "needing a break" is a common thread that we share among each aspect of our lives, not just WLS. Some of us (not necessarily on this board) may be afraid of eating...afraid of food in general. Some of us may resort to diet pills, and some of us would never ever consider taking them. Just an example. It sounds as though you have made the adjustment into your life and you are rolling with it...as you say, it's the new "normal". Kudos to you. I think a lot of us may be "there" and some of us are still working towards that. We're all making the effort to better our health, or we wouldn't have had the surgery in the first place. As to what is "normal", to each his/her own. I don't think anyone ever implied or flat out said that they didn't feel like caring about what they eat or the amount that they eat. Quite the contrary, in fact! Welp...I tried to participate today. Guess I'll go back to Lurkdom! Chele