Happy Summer!

Summer is finally here!  I hope you are all getting in your fluids!  I mean, not only are you more likely to dehydrate in the summer but it is important for weight loss/maintenance.   Get some unsweetened tea or Crystal Light packets.  🙂

I haven’t seen many topics that I have been compelled to write about this week.  Anyone have any thoughts on what they would like me to talk about?  I am not an exerciser – most of my weight loss and maintenance has been diet alone.  I love my yogurt and jerky.  I ate 2 cupcakes last week.

What’s going on with your summer? How’s your weight?

~Peevy

Perky Jerky

I just wanted to stop in to say that my first Perky Jerky contest is over and I sent out the delicious stuff all across the country!  People wonder why I am so excited about jerky.  First of all, it is tender and much softer than normal jerky. If I made it at home, I would hope it would be this good!  It’s moist and not dry.  Also, the spices and flavor is not overwhelming.  The quality control is great and it’s just an awesome name for a product!   You can get more info about them at http://www.perkyjerky.com  🙂

Great for people with weight loss surgery needing a little low carb snack!

Stalls

It seems like on every bariatric board there are a few OMG I am STALLED for SIX DAYS NOW threads.  Here are my thoughts:

1. It’s common.  It happens to all of us.  Just keep following the plan.
2. Are you getting in your fluids and protein?
3. Are you exercising?
4. Are you getting in too much sodium? Sodium can retain fluids.
5. Are you weighing first thing in the morning or all times of the day? Sometimes we are a couple of pounds heavier at night.
6. Are you getting good sleep? That is important to weight loss!
7. Stop stressing out!  It’s not helping!  😉
8. Take your vitamins! (Okay that won’t help a stall, but it is important!)
9. Make sure you eat something full of protein right after waking up and right before bed.
10. FOLLOW THE PLAN.  Trust the plan.  The plan is your friend.  Don’t start slipping in carbs just because you can!

Some people are fast losers, some are slow losers.  All that matters is that you are losing.  If you started out lighter, it will usually be a slower more gradual loss.  Hang in there!!!  🙂

Here is my cat in a box:

Can’t we all just get along?

I pride myself on kind of being a fringe person in the Weight Loss Surgery scene.  Switzerlandy. I keep my thoughts to myself for the most part and I am not one to stir up drama.  I have to say, though, when the drama starts to hurt everyone on all sides, I feel like saying something.

And of course, no we all can’t get along.  That would be ideal, but I know that people have been hurt on all sides of this argument. What I hope, though, is that our community as a whole can go back to some semblance of normal.  It is not WE and THEY.  It is not THEM and US.  It’s US.  It’s the women (and a few men) who know what it is like to have a broken spirit because we are discriminated against in a store.  It’s not speaking up when someone skinnier cuts in front of us.  It’s how we felt when we got the stares if we were riding one of those little motorized scooter things.

I see those people now and I want to go up and hug them. I see the chubby women who smile at me in a store and desperately want my skinny self to smile back and give them approval.  I am on THIS side of obesity now but for years I was on the OTHER less desirable side and I know how it feels.  I never want to be the cause of someone feeling a little crappier about herself.

I don’t know how to solve all of this because I don’t really know what all is going on.  But ladies, can we have a kumbaya group hug and have a ceasefire for a few days? One of my Facebook friends is having a brain tumor removed today and my aunt Jackie is having her first round of chemo for her ovarian cancer today.  In the grand scheme of things, that stuff is like WOW crazy important stuff. And not that anyone else’s stuff is not important.  I’m just tired of the hurt feelings.

Kumbaya ladies, kumbaya. 

Your Weight Matters National Convention!

 

I am attending another conference!  I went to the WLSFA conference in Vegas and I loved it so much that I am off to Phoenix in August!  (I hope the air conditioning works well! Haha!)

This is supposed to be an awesome conference for pre-op WLS, post-op WLS,  and even support people.  🙂  I hope to see you there! 

Here is the link:  http://www.ywmconvention.com/

Here is a little from their site:

YOU ARE INVITED to join us for the 2nd Annual Your Weight Matters National Convention, taking place this year in Phoenix, AZ, August 15 – 18 at the beautiful Arizona Grand Resort & Spa!

“Rise to the Challenge” with the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) in Phoenix, where you can learn from the country’s leading experts and arm yourself with the knowledge to better manage your weight and your health!

The Your Weight Matters National Convention is the largest National meeting dedicated to providing evidence-based strategies for individuals impacted by excess weight and obesity, proudly brought to you OAC. As a National non-profit organization, the OAC is dedicated to helping the millions of Americans impacted by excess weight and obesity through education, advocacy and support.

The OAC’s National Convention is a 3-day educational event designed to bring together all individuals who struggle or are concerned with weight-related issues. The entire weekend is dedicated to presenting a comprehensive agenda, comprised of diverse topics that are designed to help any individual who has ever had a concern about their weight. We bring-in the country’s leading experts on weight and health and give you the RIGHT tools to be successful in your lifelong journey with weight.

The OAC’s National Convention is committed to:

• Presenting more than 40 educational topics, from the basics of nutrition and available treatment options for weight, to behavioral health issues like food addiction and the science behind willpower
• Bringing-in the country’s leading experts on weight and health, dedicated to presenting evidence-based information
• Incorporating a strong fitness component, offering an array of group fitness classes designed for all abilities
• Creating a strong community and the ideal environment where the healthy choice is the easy choice
• Conducting a National Advocacy Training Day where we train our next set of advocates to go to Capitol Hill

Will my marriage crumble if I have weight loss surgery?

People ask this question a lot.  I would also get asked this question when I met someone who just lost a child.  “I’ve heard that such big changes can end my marriage! Is that true?”  Well, yes and no. 

Just like having another baby won’t “fix” a failing marriage (we’ve all seen that one, right?) losing a baby or losing 100 lbs does not mean that you will get divorced.  It is tough, true.  BUT, the advice I give people is that if your marriage is bad, it will probably get worse.  If it is good, it will probably stay the same or get better.  I don’t want to simplify it and only you both know if your marriage is “bad” or “good” or if it will be bad or good in hindsight. But, losing a ton of weight or having a ton of grief changes people and for two people to come out unscathed there has to be a lot of respect, trust, understanding, and a good foundation to the marriage.  If that’s not there, well? I mean, WLS or having a new baby or having a baby die never *fixes* a failing marriage.  We can all agree on that, right?

I guess we need to look at the reasons for wanting surgery in the first place.  Is it to make your husband jealous?  Are you not getting enough attention? Or do you want to be happy and healthy?  How do you think that you will react to the new attention you’re getting from people of the gender that you find attractive?  (See that I didn’t assume that you were straight! See what I did there? 🙂  ) These are questions to think about before surgery because if you follow the program you WILL lose weight. You may not get skinny, you may not keep it all off, but your self esteem might change and life could get different.  Your spouse might feel left out.  He/she might feel unattractive now.  Maybe you are talking about food and diet and carbs too much and that is boring to him/her. 

So, it’s a good thing to wonder about but honestly, I cannot tell you for sure.  You’ll have to work at it.  But if you already have good communication skills —  you’re doing great!

Vitamins

I am not an expert here, so this might be short.  Take your vitamins.  If you are a post bariatric surgery patient, there is no room for Flintstones or “gummy” anything in your regimen unless it is a snack. I don’t care if your surgeon said it was okay.

Go over to one of the bariatric vitamin companies like Bariatric Advantage, Celebrate, Building Blocks…  and ask for samples.  See how they sit in your stomach.  I have even heard that Centrum Chewable makes a good vitamin.  I personally take a prenatal vitamin from the health food store because I figure that if it is okay for making another human, it is okay for me.  Your mileage may vary. My labs look awesome 2+ years later.

Ask your surgeon what you need specifically.  You probably need D, a sublingual B12, iron. Find out.  Get bloodwork done.  Stay healthy. If you don’t, I’ll kick your @$$.  And sometimes chewables might give you a stomach ache —  try another kind.