I love to help others on the boards that I read. I love answering questions. The only thing that does bother me are the people that have done absolutely no research on their own about their surgery. I can see why often it starts flame wars and people get all snippety. My modus operandi is to show kindness to others when possible so I don't get involved in the "wars" but I do think that there is a certain responsiblity for everyone that is going into surgery.
First of all, doctors aren't there to educate you. Your surgical team is there to support you but you need to educate YOU first. That begins with simple reading on anything and everything WLS related. Even just going out and buying Weight Loss For Dummies is a step in the right direction. At least you can understand the basics of RNY - if that is the surgery that you are having. At least you'll know that you may have choices. You'll understand the basics and that is a beginning.
You need to educate yourself before you have surgery. That's key. As a support group facilitator, I'll never forget the time that I received a panicked call from a lady whose sister had the surgery and she was dumping because she'd she'd just eaten a full fat, full sugar yogurt. Now, she went to the same place that I went to for my surgery. She got the exact same training, the exact same binder full of information that I got. She chose not to read it.
Is it her fault? Yes. Absolutely. You need to eat, breathe and live this surgery. This is your new way of life. You must know basics inside and out. You must know complications that you are susceptible to. You must know what to eat once you get put under the knife. You must set yourself up for success as much as possible. There is a failure rate. This is HARD HARD work past a year or two. It's going to be a challenge. But at the same time, if someone is struggling I want to help them too. I don't want to see anyone drown...if only everyone who has surgery could be a complete success, you know?
Dawn
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Focus and Lack Thereof
Keeping up focus and motivation is crucial for weight loss. The problem with weight loss is that it is small movements down the scale. The problem with gaining weight is that we can gain weight very quickly and feel like all is for not with our weight loss attempts. Healthy weight loss is pegged at around 1-2 lbs a week. That's a small payoff for the big amount of weight, isn't it?
With WLS, your pay off is much bigger and the numbers you are seeing are typically double that of a normal person so losing 3, 4 or 5 lbs a week is not uncommon. It is certainly motivating. The first year out of surgery, it was very easy to see the payoff and to get excited about those numbers on the scale because they were quite large.
But over time, that too diminished.
You see, most people get to goal around one year to a year and a half out of surgery. Some may take 2 years. Some never get to goal. But the 2nd year mark really marks something important - people typically get to their lowest weight. At the 2-3 year mark, they tend to have some bounceback up past their lowest weight. Surgeons consider this very normal.
Don't do what I did - I bet myself up for this incessantly. As a result, I became obsessed with numbers on the scale, numbers on the back of clothing...I fell into a blue phase where I was very unhappy, unfocused and unmotivated.
Enter, overeating, emotional eating and boredom eating.
Up, up, up went the scale.
I cringe whenever I see people post "100 lbs gone forever" because guess what? You just don't know. No one INTENDS to have regain weight. I most certainly didn't. I was the poster girl for a long time. I did 1 hour of walking each day to and from work and then 4 miles on my treadmill every night religiously.
And let me tell you, trying to lose weight past the 3 year mark is HARD!!!
I became obsessed with carbs and counting things. I started therapy. It helped somewhat to allow me to see that I'm more than a number on a scale and that the more I starved myself (i.e think low carbs, stupid 5 day pouch test...) the more I got into cyclical, spiraling out of control eating. The more I withheld or restricted myself, the more I binged.
So what changed and why am I getting refocused again?
Because I set a goal.
My goal had nothing to do with weight loss.
My goal WAS a New Year's Resolution. I admit it! Bad me!
I wanted to run. I wanted to become a runner. I've long envied them, their form and have tried many times to turn myself into a runner.
Now I'm succeeding.
As the last week in February plays out, I'm getting there. I've been doing the Couch to 5K program as of January 1st. It requires no dietary restriction - it's not a diet. It's a running plan where you do intervals of running and walking. You slowly increase the running times to the point that you will do 30 minutes of straight running.
I'm currently at Week 8 of the program, Day 3 will be next - I'm at 28 straight minutes.
As a result of this goal, I'm losing regain. I've gone from 167 lbs to 154.5. I am so happy with my progress!! I've joined up for a 5K on April1 6th, 2011.
And most of all, I'm happy, motivated and focused again.
Dawn
With WLS, your pay off is much bigger and the numbers you are seeing are typically double that of a normal person so losing 3, 4 or 5 lbs a week is not uncommon. It is certainly motivating. The first year out of surgery, it was very easy to see the payoff and to get excited about those numbers on the scale because they were quite large.
But over time, that too diminished.
You see, most people get to goal around one year to a year and a half out of surgery. Some may take 2 years. Some never get to goal. But the 2nd year mark really marks something important - people typically get to their lowest weight. At the 2-3 year mark, they tend to have some bounceback up past their lowest weight. Surgeons consider this very normal.
Don't do what I did - I bet myself up for this incessantly. As a result, I became obsessed with numbers on the scale, numbers on the back of clothing...I fell into a blue phase where I was very unhappy, unfocused and unmotivated.
Enter, overeating, emotional eating and boredom eating.
Up, up, up went the scale.
I cringe whenever I see people post "100 lbs gone forever" because guess what? You just don't know. No one INTENDS to have regain weight. I most certainly didn't. I was the poster girl for a long time. I did 1 hour of walking each day to and from work and then 4 miles on my treadmill every night religiously.
And let me tell you, trying to lose weight past the 3 year mark is HARD!!!
I became obsessed with carbs and counting things. I started therapy. It helped somewhat to allow me to see that I'm more than a number on a scale and that the more I starved myself (i.e think low carbs, stupid 5 day pouch test...) the more I got into cyclical, spiraling out of control eating. The more I withheld or restricted myself, the more I binged.
So what changed and why am I getting refocused again?
Because I set a goal.
My goal had nothing to do with weight loss.
My goal WAS a New Year's Resolution. I admit it! Bad me!
I wanted to run. I wanted to become a runner. I've long envied them, their form and have tried many times to turn myself into a runner.
Now I'm succeeding.
As the last week in February plays out, I'm getting there. I've been doing the Couch to 5K program as of January 1st. It requires no dietary restriction - it's not a diet. It's a running plan where you do intervals of running and walking. You slowly increase the running times to the point that you will do 30 minutes of straight running.
I'm currently at Week 8 of the program, Day 3 will be next - I'm at 28 straight minutes.
As a result of this goal, I'm losing regain. I've gone from 167 lbs to 154.5. I am so happy with my progress!! I've joined up for a 5K on April1 6th, 2011.
And most of all, I'm happy, motivated and focused again.
Dawn
Friday, February 11, 2011
Why Blog Again?
So the question is WHY BLOG AGAIN?
Well when I started my webpage - www.diminishingdawn.com it was purely a labour of love, partly of necessity, partly to inspire others. Back when I had surgery in 2006, there weren't even remotely nearly as many blogs about weight loss surgery as there are now. They were extremely few and far between and OH did not have a way to journal online. Now of course, everyone has a journal - which is fantastic for newbies just exploring their options and wanting to read, read and read some more.
My regular diminishing site has been locked forever after the 2nd or 3rd year mark. I don't want to add too it - it is getting far too bulky so I need to leave it be. I still keep it up there for the newbies though and still get quite a good amount of emails in response to the page. I especially get emails from those who have no clue about OHIP or Ontario WLS so those are the people that the blog is primarily for.
I do miss blogging in some ways. I love the interactiveness of touching base with others, sharing experiences and just saying what is on my mind. Now that it is about losing regain weight, it also gives me a way to be accountable to myself. There's nothing like looking back upon one's successes, you know :)
Dawn
Well when I started my webpage - www.diminishingdawn.com it was purely a labour of love, partly of necessity, partly to inspire others. Back when I had surgery in 2006, there weren't even remotely nearly as many blogs about weight loss surgery as there are now. They were extremely few and far between and OH did not have a way to journal online. Now of course, everyone has a journal - which is fantastic for newbies just exploring their options and wanting to read, read and read some more.
My regular diminishing site has been locked forever after the 2nd or 3rd year mark. I don't want to add too it - it is getting far too bulky so I need to leave it be. I still keep it up there for the newbies though and still get quite a good amount of emails in response to the page. I especially get emails from those who have no clue about OHIP or Ontario WLS so those are the people that the blog is primarily for.
I do miss blogging in some ways. I love the interactiveness of touching base with others, sharing experiences and just saying what is on my mind. Now that it is about losing regain weight, it also gives me a way to be accountable to myself. There's nothing like looking back upon one's successes, you know :)
Dawn
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Diminishing Returns
I'm back and I'm bored so I decided, why not get a blog going again?
The law of diminishing returns has been described as one of the most famous laws in all of economics.[1] In fact, the law is central to production theory, one of the two major divisions of neoclassical microeconomic theory. The law states "that we will get less and less extra output when we add additional doses of an input while holding other inputs fixed. In other words, the marginal product of each unit of input will decline as the amount of that input increases holding all other inputs constant."[2]
How does this apply to me? Well basically, the more fixated I become on losing my regain, the more I have difficulty. So I found something else that has been successful for me -- basically NOT focusing on my weight. As of January 2011, my goal has been only one - to start running. I've always wanted to become a runner and have always envied them but after many failed attempts, I just assumed I was not meant to be a runner.
This time it is different. I starte on January 2011 and made a promise to myself to start the Couch to 5K program (just google for information). As of today, February 26th, I am up to running 28 minutes straight. Okay, mind you, I'm a *slow* runner and can practically walk the same speed that I run but running is by far a different impact and motion than walking.
As a result, I've lost some regain weight. I am very excited about this as you can tell. But the key for me has been NOT to focus on my weight as much as my goal of running. Naturally other things have fallen into place.
Add that to the fact that my hubby is still going through the process of surgery (and I need to be a role model for him) I'm feeling very passionate about getting this wait loss, very focused and motivated. I haven't felt like this since my first year or so out of surgery.
So I am diminishing yet again and hoping to get back to my original goals. Yay me!
Dawn
The law of diminishing returns has been described as one of the most famous laws in all of economics.[1] In fact, the law is central to production theory, one of the two major divisions of neoclassical microeconomic theory. The law states "that we will get less and less extra output when we add additional doses of an input while holding other inputs fixed. In other words, the marginal product of each unit of input will decline as the amount of that input increases holding all other inputs constant."[2]
How does this apply to me? Well basically, the more fixated I become on losing my regain, the more I have difficulty. So I found something else that has been successful for me -- basically NOT focusing on my weight. As of January 2011, my goal has been only one - to start running. I've always wanted to become a runner and have always envied them but after many failed attempts, I just assumed I was not meant to be a runner.
This time it is different. I starte on January 2011 and made a promise to myself to start the Couch to 5K program (just google for information). As of today, February 26th, I am up to running 28 minutes straight. Okay, mind you, I'm a *slow* runner and can practically walk the same speed that I run but running is by far a different impact and motion than walking.
As a result, I've lost some regain weight. I am very excited about this as you can tell. But the key for me has been NOT to focus on my weight as much as my goal of running. Naturally other things have fallen into place.
Add that to the fact that my hubby is still going through the process of surgery (and I need to be a role model for him) I'm feeling very passionate about getting this wait loss, very focused and motivated. I haven't felt like this since my first year or so out of surgery.
So I am diminishing yet again and hoping to get back to my original goals. Yay me!
Dawn
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