Yahoo Article - What Losing 180 Pounds Really Does
Good article.
I’ve wondered about these issues as I read about people who are in maintenance. I ask myself how I will be able to maintain the weight loss when the honeymoon time is over. Yea, it's working now and I'm able to lose the weight. But 18 months from now I'm going to have to work at it to keep it off.
I need to address the eating issues and emotional issues that got me to the point of needing the surgery. Glad I read this. It’s good to think about this and how I need to change my life on Oh So Many Levels. I don’t want to wake up thin and wonder why I’m not elated to be me….
I always tell people that we have surgery on our stomachs--not our brains. The reason I say this is that all the problems we carry into surgery, we carry out of it.
I'm sure most people are sick of me saying it by now. I recently did a talk at my support group about post-WLS alcoholism and the core of the discussion was the mental state of mind. I've copied out part of it below:
"For many of us, we ate our way through life. It was our favorite solution to any problem we had. It was everything we needed when we needed it.
But, it was also a fickle friend. That weight problem we had? It wasn't fixed with food. The relationship problem we had? It wasn't fixed with food either if that food made us overweight and that was causing a problem in our relationship (or getting a date). Those health problems? Same thing. The food we ate as our problem solver was usually creating problems for us too. A relationship like that with food was a lot like a relationship with an abusive partner. We may have loved it but it didn't love us back (at least not the way it should have).
I bring all this up because we go out into the post-world not realizing that we don't always have the tools to cope with our lives once we cut out food as our problem-solver. We need something else to get through it and we don't always have the support or understanding that we need support."
I'm 4.5 years out now and I used to worry about maintenance as well but no longer do. My mind is on straight and I no longer have the attachment to food that I did before surgery. I know many people who continually struggle with this post-op and I highly encourage support groups post-op. It's crucial to have a support system that doesn't consist of best friends and family members. They are fabulous but you need people who are walking the same path you are.
I attended 3-4 support groups a month in my first 8 months out from surgery--I was a bit of a junkie! I now only do one group a month and sometimes I wi**** were more but that's neither here nor there.
The point is this, we have an amazing gift with this surgery, it is incredibly responsive to what we eat. If you eat well, it treats you well. If you make poor choices, you get poor results. Dr. Rabkin is fond of saying that we're very fortunate because the DS responds well to dieting. It's true. If you get off track, clean up your eating and the weight will go back down. It isn't foolproof, yes, it takes work but it's doable for most.
Between the eating right and the support you should have a healthy relationship with yourself and your weight. It is possible to be completely normal. I promise. :)
HW ~ SW ~ CW
310 - 291 - 150
I am almost down 100 pounds in 5 months. I have not had these issues. I didn't love been fat, but no one in my life made me feel bad or less than or too much. There were concerns about my health, but no feeling that I had to change my looks - so no expectation that life would suddenly be magically changed. Maybe it is because I am older - in my 50's and already dealing with lost youth!! I know myself too well to "lose" myself.
As far as dealing with food issues - since surgery I have not had cravings or the urge to overeat. I can barely eat anything at all. And many of the things I used to like don't taste right anymore - my tastes have really undergone huge changes, something I never expected. If I just think of some foods my stomach sours!
I suspect by the time I even could eat more, I will be far beyond those old urges to indulge. I was never a big volume eater - more of an all day snacker - and this DS lifestyle fits right in!
