Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Pound Down, an extra Pilates day this week, You and I Gotta do the Work to Change (surgery or not) so View It as An Adventure, Not A Chore... and Gonna Go Vote....on Day 85 of Phase 5

Tanita-San: 202.0

Holy smokes. 1 pound down in two days. Good fasting workout result from yesterday.  I scheduled an extra (ie, third) Pilates session for tomorrow. I want to get to under 200, and if one more session burns more fat, here we go.

I have my walking shoes on and I'm gonna go vote. Mayor and City Council members to choose. Then I'll come back and have my breakfast. :)

It seems like two or three times since the weekend, I've come upon blogs that mention the TOOL aspect of bariatric surgery. Tool. Not cure. Not forever fix. Tool.

I do believe that's what it is. A helper. (And I decided not to rejigger my innards, but I did consider it!) I've seen a couple of bypass bloggers who make the point that the honeymoon period--that first year plus post-surgically-- is a time you're given to get your head/emotions/eating/exercise in order; and when the honeymoon is over, if you didn't learn how to eat, move, and address stress/emotional eating, you're gonna regain.

We've seen it happen. Carnie Wilson, anyone?

So, maybe take a look at this blog post by Dr. Berkeley (author of REFUSE TO REGAIN and owner of one of the more helpful blogs, imo). Interesting liposuction study results. And she says this about bariatric surgery:

As drastic as bariatric surgery may seem, it alone is not enough to create permanent weight loss in many people.  What it does do, quite effectively, is buy patients about a year and a half to change eating  habits.  During the early period after surgery, pain, nausea, vomiting, dumping syndrome and extreme fullness are enough to make the surgically-altered disinterested in eating.  But over time, many people regain their tolerance to larger amounts of food and to the toxic food elements of the SAD (standard  American diet).  If, during the first 18 months, the surgerized have jettisoned S Foods (sugars and starches) and fatty combo foods from their diet, the operation will help them stay slim forever.  If, as is often the case, they have learned to eat "through" the surgery, no amount of restriction or bypass is enough to keep weight from returning.  


A nice window of time to learn new habits and get necessary therapy or do the inner work, to establish an exercise habit, and meanwhile lose a boatload of weight. (Yes, VSG, RNY, they'll get you some serious fat off. Lapband will, too, maybe less.) But the work, you can't get away from it. To be healthy and keep that weight off, the work HAS TO BE DONE.

We're doing the work now, we challengers, blogging fatfighters, etc. We're struggling (or breezing, depending on what phase) through the slimming and we're working on establishing new habits and liking different foods and avoiding junk foods. Some of us have to have radical reprioritizing. Some of us lose our comforts and have to find other, non-food ones.

Surgery or the old-fashioned system of willpower, structure, strategy, exercise, meal plans, etc. Either way, change is hard. Change takes work.

But I've decided to look at it as an experiment and an adventure and new intriguing doors exchanged for old stale rooms....

It makes it more fun that way....

Happy Tuesday...be well...

8 comments:

Debbi Does Dinner Healthy said...

You're so right. The goal is to learn to eat correctly. It SHOULDN'T be hard but with millions of obese people, clearly it is. You are doing so well and I hope to join you in the 100's soon! :-)

Brightcetera said...

Thank you for all your advice and encouragement, PD! I really appreciate the help. ♡
I've been feeling frustrated this past week and I need to exchange my attitude for a more positive one.
I'm feeling a lack of energy while cutting back on the carbs and I think this is contributing to my less-than-springy frame of mind.

It's very exciting to see you so close to the 100s!

Bluezy said...

That 200 barrier is a BeeOtch. I did back in 2000 get down there from mid 200's and I really got so frustrated. I never thought I could afford surgery, but at the time I lived in Yuma, AZ and Mexico was right over the border. I thought maybe I could get a dentist to wire my teeth there. I almost did it, but this guy I knew asked me if I ever tried a pumpkin pie shake. He described it with the real pie and all the ice cream..Then I said oh yeah I see your point. If I wired my mouth shut, I would just have an excuse to eat hella milkshakes. He was a nice guy to say that.
Behavior and attitude, I am seeing it all over the success stories. A new way of life and thinking.

Floriana said...

Great post. I agree with everything you said. It is hard work and I never expected it to be anything less than that. Most of the valuable things in life require hard work. Want a degree? Study hard. Good relationships? Lots of hard work. Etc... To lose weight I had to change my behavior, habits, thinking, attitude and so many other things and change is usually very hard, at least for me it is. Yes, the work has to be done and often it is very hard work. Anne H likes to say that it's almost like a full time job and I fully agree with that. Still, it's worth it, very much so.

Anne H said...

Yes - it is at least a part time job for me (if not full time)!
With heartbreaking set-backs.... and magnificent gains and insights.
Sometimes I forget why I even wanted to lose weight.
It's easier to say "forget it all!" And walk away.
But I also know that is not in my best interest.
So I stay. At CrossFit, they say, "Just show up."
Sometimes, that in itself is the hardest part.
I guess it is all learning...

Patrick said...

At times I want to take the easy road, and just be fat. But then, I remind myself this is not supposed to be easy. Getting what is truly worth having is not supposed to be easy. It wasn't easy to achieve what I have in career, but through determination to what is hard I have succeeded. It wasn't easy being in love and raising a fine family, but through devotion I have succeeded there too. So, I know, through the same application of effort towards this desire to be healthy, I will be.

Food Freak said...

You really understand, PI. You really do. I have little doubt that you'll make it and keep it off.

Candy kankles said...

I think you are gonna be an amazing maintainer!I check ur blog everyday to see how much closer you are!