[Rottweilerdriver]

Since I am 1 year out and at goal, do I get to join the graduates now?
Please?

Although it looks like a pretty "quiet" board for now.

((((((hugs)))))) To all those wonderful folks who have gone before and have the patience to help the newcomers!

How are all of you doing on your journey now 1+ year out? Let me ask this of you...

If you could go back and tell your "pre-op" self ONE thing about what life would be like post op and a year + out....What would you say? What would you tell yourself NOT to worry about?

For me, I would tell my "Pre-Op" self that "obsessing" about what cannot be eaten is a waste of energy! I can pretty much eat EVERYTHING I could Pre-op, but in healthier portions.

And then there is of course the famous "Do NOT get hung up on every pound and ounce and whenever the scale "stalls"...It WILL all happen if you follow the rules....It cannot work any other way."

Warmly,
Jackie

You are Accountable to no one else but you, and no one else BUT you will know what your heart truly holds. Live your life for you and accept full responsibility for your actions.

~Never give up~ Never Surrender~

[Perfesser]

Well heck, Jackie, you don't need to ask!! You are of course a graduate, and a veteran too! And someday soon you'll be getting a fancy engraved certificate from New Zealand for you to frame telling newbies that they'd better sit up straight and listen to you when you tell them something!!

(Okay, I lied about that last part! )

I may be weird, but I can't think of anything I'd want to tell myself. I had done my research and knew what to expect, and that's what happened. I had no problems either before or after. I wish I'd done it years earlier, but it just wasn't my time ...

I'm glad you're back. Stick around. We need you here!



CT

[goingtobethinin2010]

I would tell myself that stalls are normal and the weight loss will start again. I am 14 months out and now 6 pounds below goal and am happier than I have ever been in my life. So greatful to have had this second chance at life.

[Rottweilerdriver]

((((CT and Peanut)))) as always YOU are one of the tried and true teachers, Perfesser, and I have always valued your friendship, advice and rapier wit humor!

I also made sure I researched the heck out of what to expect with the RNY. On the day of surgery I was asking questions of my surgeon he was thinking I was a nutcase ("Are you gonna do a proximal or distal RNY" etc, etc) He finally just said something to the effect of "I'll know when I get in there and see around. You let me do my job, you do yours."

From any other Doc I probably would have been offended, but Dr. Follwell is awesome and I was pretty high on pre-operative sedatives at the time, so he was more than patient. He may be a bit introverted with not the most friendly bedside manner, but that man's hands can work MAGIC with a scalpel!

Just like a hire a plumber on how GOOD he is at his job (and not what kind of "Buddy" he can be to me) I chose my surgeon the same way. I didn't care if he had the personality of a slug, as long as he was one of the best "meat cutters" around, and his record was spotless and top notch.

Warmly,
Jackie

[Rottweilerdriver]

GoingtobeThn-

I know what you mean. So many people worry about the stalls and plateus. I was prepared for that too, and made sure I measured myself during those slow times. For me the journey was always about being more healthy. Getting out of my wheelchair...Sometimes I have a hard time realizing I went from using a wheelchair and a service dog to now doing amateur bodybuilding...

That I used to be a huge, Obese walrus, and now am a lean, mean fightin' machine!
Warmly,
Jackie