As we start awakening to life and become more aware of our surroundings, we may find that what we had created as a soft hiding place was in reality a tangled up bird's nest. Post-weight loss surgery—the pounds having melted away—we are free to focus on more than just our bodies and begin to look at our lives as a whole. Now able to see the reality of our world more clearly, we find that the life we had settled into was made up of mere scraps and pieces of relationships we had collected over the years.

Rather than having a trusted circle of friends and loved ones, many of us operated on a superficial plane, never letting anyone get close enough to see the “real” us. Instead, we surrounded ourselves with people who helped us stay comfortably in denial by perpetuating unhealthy thinking and behavior. Like kitschy little country cottage pieces found at rummage sales, we tried to decorate this collection of emotional scraps to a point where we were almost proud to show others just how capable we were. Unfortunately, many of us found that we either lived with a twig poking us in the backside, or that our nest was easily tossed to the ground when the winds of life blew. Sadly, we even found some of our family members on the ground with the rest of the wreckage when the bits and pieces of our world were blown down.

Today, nearly eight years after gastric bypass surgery, I am learning new ways of building a life that is not easily blown apart—a life that my loved ones can trust. No longer do I settle for scraps of relationships as the foundation that I live on—I no longer accept unacceptable behavior, or allow people who have only their own selfish interests at heart to get too close. Likewise, I am more honest and open with those I do let into my world. The acknowledgement that I was going to have to find new ways of building and new tools to build with was the first step toward true progress. Although I am still a mere student, here are a few “truths of the trade” that I have learned so far.  Click here to continue...

Magazine Cover Story
ObesityHelp Magazine is joining in the celebration of my eight year WLS anniversary. The next issue, due to hit the streets in late April, will feature the story of my WLS recovery journey, called "From Sumo to Sinatra".

The parent entity of ObesityHelp™ Magazine, ObesityHelp™, has grown to become the Internet's number one site for support of patients and medical professionals involved in the bariatric surgery industry. Since its inception in 1998, ObesityHelp has attracted more than 300,000 members --the largest organized member support community for obesity in North America. I encourage you to subscribe to the magazine, and to visit their online community.

Reaching Out
One of the simple truths that I have learned along this journey is that "everyone needs support, and everyone can offer support". One of the best ways to relieve ourselves from the Bondage of Self is to reach out a helping hand to those who may not be a far along the journey as you are.

You can reach out to others by letting them know about RenewedReflections.com. You will notice a new link on each page that allows you to email a link to that page to a friend.

Book Progress - Physical Bankruptcy™
Along with writing the content for the book, we have started the process of self publishing. The current challenge we face is fundraising. To help with this you will notice that we now have Google Ads on the site, at the top of each page. Google advertisers pay for each click on one of their links. Please click your little fingers numb as we raise money for the printing of Physical Bankruptcy™.

Physical Bankruptcy will be a guide for those who have undergone weight loss surgery and are now searching for answers to the mental, emotional and spiritual questions not addressed by the physical nature of the surgery alone.

How YOU Can Help
I have found a common trait among most of us PostOps is that we are great at giving, but have a very difficult time asking for help. I am by no means an exception. However, to lead by example I am listing some things that I could really use your help on. My goal is to give back to the weight loss community. You can play an important part by helping with these three humble requests:

1. Share the good news. Please forward this newsletter on to anyone you feel might find it motivating or enlightening. Encourage them to sign up on the newsletter list themselves at RenewedReflections.com.
2. Tell others about this resource. Direct friends and loved ones to read some of the articles on the site.
3. Provide prayer and encouragement. I find that the more I write this book and share the good news of the hope I have found, I come under what I can only describe as an attack. Please keep my lovely bride Leslie and me in your thoughts and prayers as we navigate this path to completion.
4. Visit Our Sponsors. You can personally help financially support RenewedReflections by simply clicking on the Google Sponsored Links at the top of each page. There is no limit or penalty for numerous clicks; sooo... Get Yo Click On!

Thank You
You will hear me talk about the importance of experiencing gratitude the more you get to know me and my work. I recognize every day the many people near and far who have had a direct hand in my progress on this journey. Here are a few that have truly blessed me over the past month.

1. Leslie Thompson - The most beautiful woman in the world
2. Dr. Lawrence and Coral Kennedy
3. Dr. Neecie Moore
4. Dr. Jay and Regina Rosenberg
5. Dr. Sanae Tanaka (Tokyo)
6. Dixie Feldman - Author of Dixieland at RetroRadar.com
7. All of the awesome folks in the Obesityhelp chatroom