Mid-Year Update: LivingAfterWLS Weekly Digest Archive

• LivingAfterWLS Weekly Digest
• Articles and News from the LivingAfterWLS network. Lots of Content & Connections in every issue! Good Reads! The orange headline links directly to the newsletter conveniently archived online for your reference.
• Goal Weight Range Part II: Super Morbidly Obese  (5/17/2011)
• In our weekly digest on May 10th I presented my method for calculating a GWR --Goal Weight Range-- for weight loss rather than a single goal weight. I have developed this formula while working with my fellow weight loss surgery patients so that we may move beyond a randomly selected goal weight to the more important goal of improving our health. In today's digest we look at how GWR may be used for those who fall into the "Extreme Obesity" or "Super Morbidly Obese" category. When a person has a goodly amount of weight to lose they benefit from shaping smaller goals that lead to the greater objective or ultimate goal. When taken alone the ultimate goal (lose 200 pounds, for example) poses an insurmountable climb up a profoundly steep hill. Using GWR Phases allows us to focus on positive changes and adapt a problem-solving approach toward the shortfalls. Weight management is a journey, not a destination. (...) Remember: The objective with GWR is to create an acceptable range based on data and realistic thinking with some positive confidence building opportunities along the way.
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• The Lies & Myths of Weight Loss Goal Weight  (5/10/2011)
• Today I'm addressing goal weight as it relates to our experience with weight loss surgery. Prior to surgery patients are in cahoots with their surgeons as they plan for bariatric surgery, set the course and denote the finish line which will be crossed when goal weight is achieved. I don't particularly like to hear what I'm about to say and I know it is a tough thing for my WLS Neighbors to hear, but I'm putting it out there bluntly so we can face it and take action: Few patients will ever reach goal weight.
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• You Deserve the Royal Treatment  (5/2/2011)
• I believe that for many of us food has been used in a moral way for most of our lives. When we were children good behavior was rewarded with a cookie. If we were chubby we were put on a punishing diet while those around us who were "good" continued to eat unrestricted. As we matured food has played a significant role in our personal reward and punishment cycle which ultimately led to obesity that required treatment with surgical weight loss.
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• Delicious Ways to Renew Your Menu  (4/13/2011)
• Today in the digest we spend a few moments refreshing our memory on how to find a good Day 6 recipe that supports our healthy weight management goals. The more we work toward being masters over what we cook and how we cook the more successful we can become at managing our weight and hopefully improve the health and nourishment of those we love.
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• Map a Plan to Determine Your WLS Success  (3/27/2011)
• Wouldn't it be nice if we received a gentle reminder in the mail to spring clean our weight loss surgery house? Here it is! Rather than delay an assessment of our health and weight loss surgery until there is a problem (similar to delaying a visit to the dentist office until we have a toothache) here is our chance to take a look and celebrate what we are getting right, where we have opportunity to improve, and make a map for taking us through the new season. You'll find more about this in the article below that features a favorite LivingAfterWLS tool - the Quarterly Self Assessment. Please accept this gentle reminder to check your health and your weight loss surgery this week. Not many of us are brave enough to go to the market without a list, so why would we hope for the best with our WLS without making a list and a plan? The worksheet is free and it doesn't hurt. And you will be glad you have sprung forward into a new season - It is your time to bloom!
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• The Four Rules: Should This Be Rule #5?  (2/23/2011)
• Last week we concluded our four-part Weekly Digest series refresher course of the weight loss surgery Four Rules. You know them by heart: Protein First; Lots of Water; No Snacking; Daily Exercise. I have long wondered, as many of you have, why taking our vitamin supplements is not part of the near-sacred list that is used almost universally by bariatric centers around the world. After all, we are instructed at length about our need for vitamins supplementation after a gastric weight loss surgery, particularly if we have undergone an malabsorptive procedure. So in keeping with our review of the daily activities that support and sustain our health after surgery today we look at Vitamin Supplements . Join me in making this your unwritten Rule #5 for good health and wellness after weight loss surgery.
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• Rule #4 - Most of Us Struggle with This One  (2/18/2011)
• In this Digest we present several articles and inspiration for following Rule #4. For me exercise never comes easily and I will not make an empty promise that it can come easily for you. But I will say with deep conviction that I consistently feel better on the days I exercise versus the days I do not. And I believe you enjoy the same good feelings of health and wellness on good exercise days. I'm sure many of you can remember back when Jane Fonda lead us in our at-home video workouts with the battle cry, "Make it Burn!" Recently at age 73 she released a new workout video and made this revealing comment, "I don't like to exercise. I do it because the reward is so delicious and worthwhile. It's not like I wake up saying Oh, goodie! Time to work out!" -- Jane Fonda
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• Rule #3 No Snacking - Here's Where We Get in Trouble  (2/9/2011)
• Today we continue our discussion of the Four Rules - we are at Number 3: No Snacking. It's a tough one and I dare say most of will or have struggled with snacking following weight loss surgery. And, as you will see from the articles in this newsletter, not all bariatric centers follow the same Four Rules that include no snacking. But what is consistent, across the front lines of those of us living with weight loss surgery, is that out-of-control snacking on poorly chosen foods leads to a stall in weight loss and may possibly lead to weight gain. So please, take a look at the information here and revisit the information you were provided at the time of your surgery. Find your personal position on the "No Snacking" rule based on knowledge, experience, and environment -- it is the most empowering thing you can do for yourself in this ongoing battle of weight management in a world where it is much easier to be fat.
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• Rule #2 Lots of Water - When did water get so complicated?  (2/2/2011)
• Today's LivingAfterWLS Digest is the second in our New Year's refresher series about the Four Rules. We are looking at Rule #2 - Lots of Water. Water consumption and weight loss is old news to those of us who are lifelong dieters. We know drinking water flushes away toxins and facilitates weight loss. As weight loss surgery patients we must make water intake a priority, but we also have to manage water intake around our quirky liquid restrictions. Frankly it can be a hassle sometimes to meet the daily requirements of Rule #2 - Lots of Water. Today's digest features several articles about the hows and whys of water consumption. Take a minute to fill your glass right now and then refresh your memory on this important rule. Remember, when we signed on for surgery we agreed to follow these rules -- for life! Bottoms up!
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• Protein First: Why it Works, How to Get Enough  (1/20/2011)
• In the spirit of the New Year today, and for the next three issues of "Weekly Digest" we are taking a closer look at the Four Rules - starting with Rule #1 Protein First. In short - Protein First means it should be the first nutrient we eat at any meal and it should account for the highest percentage of nutrients eaten over fat, carbohydrates and alcohol. In order to maintain weight loss and keep the obesity from which we suffer in remission we must follow these rules for life. When we meet patients who have maintained a healthy body weight for several years with weight loss surgery we learn that in most cases they live by the Four Rules.
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• Weight Loss Surgery Split Personality Syndrome  (1/4/2011)
• I believe this is the most important message I can share with you right now and one that will make a difference in how you feel about yourself and your health and your weight loss surgery. ... So please, accept with an open heart my conversation on the WLS-Split Personality Syndrome*. Let me know if it hits the mark for you. Because once we see it and know it is exists, understanding begins and so does the healing. We did not choose the medical condition of morbid obesity for ourselves; but we most certainly can choose the path of healing and longevity for ourselves. Read the newsletter - Link Above.