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WLS Center E-Newsletter
A
FREE publication from
http://www.WLScenter.com
Hosted by
Barbara Thompson
Author of:
Weight Loss Surgery:
Finding the Thin Person Hiding Inside You.
Issue #128 |
November
1,
2007 |
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Barbara
Thompson
The Voice of Obesity |
Hello Everyone,
“I dread success. To have succeeded is to have finished one's
business on earth, like the male spider, who is killed by the
female the moment he has succeeded in courtship. I like a state
of continual becoming, with a goal in front and not behind.”
~George Bernard Shaw, 28 August 1896
I deal with the subject of success in an
article below. We all want to succeed, for the struggle to be over
and life to be grand. But it is a journey through a life that is
not perfect. And while we travel, we need to pat ourselves on the
back step by step.
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In This Issue |
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* Are You a Success?
* Back on Track
* New Interactive Website
* New Resource List
* Research Article: Suicide Rate High After Gastric Bypass Surgery
* Recipe: Barbequed Pork Chops
*
Success Story: Kim Weinberger
* Spreading the Word in Savannah, GA |
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Are You a Success? |
“Bryan, do you see her? That’s the woman
I was telling you about.” My friend, Shelly, had been going to
the gym faithfully for months since she had her surgery. She
would arrive before 6:00 AM and get in at least an hour of
hard aerobics, shower and then she was off to her job in
telecommunications sales. On most days she would see this same
woman who looked so good. That was who Shelly wanted to look
like. She was slim and toned. She was beautiful. Everyday
Shelly
would tell Bryan about her. She was Shelly’s inspiration and
Shelly was working hard to look like her.
So there she was and Bryan could see what
Shelly was working toward. But Bryan looked at this woman and
turned to Shelly and said, “Shelly, you are already there. You
are thinner than she is.” But Shelly couldn’t see it. In her
mind she was still the overweight person that she always was.
She just couldn’t recognize her success.
It is a good thing to strive to be better
than you are. We should have goals that inspire us to move
forward. But when we can’t recognize our current success,
then that can be dangerous. And that was where Shelly was.
Not recognizing your success can lead to
feelings of failure and depression. Instead of celebrating how
far we have come, we wallow in how far we have to go. For most
of us, we will never look like a model. But we will be
healthier and live a fuller and happier life. That is reason
to celebrate. Those feelings of failure and depression can
lead to feeding our disappointment with foods that are
inappropriate and unhealthy.
Here are some tips for avoiding that
trap:
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Take a picture of yourself now and compare it
to your before picture just to see what an amazing job you
have done.
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Remember all of the diets that you have been
on. Compare that to the weight you have now lost and how long
you have kept that weight off.
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Write down in a list how your life has changed
such as how much more you can do, how fewer medications you
are taking and how much better you feel.
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Revisit you goal weight. Have you reached it?
Is it your goal or your doctor’s goal? Should it be revised to
a more realistic goal?
Don’t be your own worst enemy. Sometimes
we are so accustomed to failure that we don’t know what
success feels like. Learn to recognize your success. |
Back on Track
with Barbara
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The Back on Track Internet Mentoring
Program has a yahoo group where we share our struggles and
successes. No one on this program feels alone. This was written
recently by one of the members after she had a bad week:
“Thank you so much , actually I know
it will be better I just really need to vent and it helps that I
have this wonderful group I can say anything to and not be
judged . You guys have been where I am or are where I am and
understand the frustrations and roadblocks we all have even if
they are of our on making! I can not tell you how much I
appreciate each of you.”
Pat
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Don't struggle alone. Join us.
If
you’re not happy with your weight loss,
then join the
Back on Track with Barbara Internet Mentoring
Program.
Back On Track with Barbara is a 6-month or
a 12-month
membership program that provides an
internet mentorship for those
who are struggling with weight regain after weight loss
surgery. It also benefits those who have never reached their
goal weight after surgery |
For more
information or to join the Program, go
to
http://www.BackOnTrackWithBarbara.com
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New Resource List |
I have added a Resource List on my website
http://www.wlscenter.com/resource.htm. It is a list of
books, DVD’s and products that I have found helpful over the
years. I put this list together after receiving not only lots of
questions, but also to help those in my Back on Track members.
You might want to take a look. |
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A new study by the University of Pittsburgh
shows that the suicide rate among weight loss surgery patients
within one year after surgery is higher than normal. The study
was conducted by a team led by Dr. Omalu over a 10-year period
and appeared in the October issue of the Annuals of Surgery.
The researchers examined data from the
Pennsylvania Health Care Cost and Containment Council. Of the
16,684 Pennsylvania residents who had gastric bypass surgery
between Jan. 1, 1995 thru Dec. 31st, 2004, there were
440 deaths. Of those deaths there were 16 deaths as a result of
suicide. Only 2 deaths would have been expected in that number
of patients.
It is difficult to speculate about
something like this, but many of us have unrealistic
expectations about what our life will be like following surgery.
Many of us fall victim to the “If only” syndrome. If only I were
thin then I would be happy. If only I were thin, then he would
love me. If only I were thin, then I could …Unfortunately we
often find that thin doesn’t solve all of our problems.
Counseling and support groups need to play a more important role
in the lives of post-op patients. We need to have someone to
reach out to as we find our way through this sometimes confusing
and even disappointing journey. |
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Recipe:
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Barbequed Pork Chops |
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Here is a flavorful recipe that has lots of
protein.
Barbequed Pork Chops
1/3 cup no sugar (or low carb) ketchup
1 tbsp. cider vinegar
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp. chili powder
4 lean loin pork chops, trimmed of fat
Combine ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar,
Worcestershire sauce and chili powder. Place pork chops in a large
resealable plastic bag. Pour barbeque sauce into
the bag and cover
chops with it. Marinate for 4 – 6 hours.
Preheat grill or broiler. Place marinated
chops on the grill or broiler and cook until done, about 5 minutes
per side. Serves 4.
Per Serving:
Calories 241, Carbohydrates 11.5 g., Protein 31.7 g.
If you have a
recipe that you would like to share in future issues of this
newsletter, please send it to me at
Barbara@WLScenter.com |
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I want to offer a special thanks to Kim
Weinberger. Here is her story:
Like so many other stories that I have read,
most of my childhood was spent being overweight. I did, however, go
on the Nutri-System diet when I was in the 8th grade. I lost 70
pounds on the program and entered high school a confident and thin
young woman. I loved the way I looked and kept the weight under
control until I married in October of 1992 at the age of 23.
Shortly after I married, I became pregnant and
gained 80 pounds with my first child. If that wasn’t enough, I had
my second child two and a half years later adding another 75
pounds. I was doomed because the amount of weight I needed to lose
was so great that the hurdle seemed unbearable. For the next 10
years I spent my life looking in the mirror not accepting or liking
the person I was seeing. Depression was running high and ruining my
life. I went up and down from 240 pounds to 280 pounds. Even
though I had no real health issues, other than a sore ankle
occasionally, I knew that in order to be happy with myself and my
life I needed to get control of who I was and “find myself” once
again. Thus, I researched gastric bypass surgery and decided on
August 9, 2004 to embark on my next adventure.
Dr. Chiang performed my surgery at Elmbrook
Memorial Hospital in Waukesha, Wisconsin, with my weight at 275
pounds. When I left the hospital three days later, I felt great. I
had all my energy, had already lost 15 pounds due to the pre-op
schedule and was ready to put all of my effort into making this
work. And work it has!!!
At my one year anniversary I had already
reached my goal and lost a total of 130 pounds according to my
scale. I was wearing a size 6 and sometimes even a 4. In the two
years since my anniversary I have regained some weight until I found
my “perfect weight” as they call it, wearing a size 10. My after
pictures are me after I regained that weight. This weight is the
same as when I graduated from High School. I can finally accept
myself for who and what I am. I love the energy I have and choose
to exercise several times a week instead of once or twice a week.
The one item I would like to stress to anyone
contemplating the surgery is the emotional roller coaster that I
experienced that I didn’t read much about. Not only do you see
yourself differently, so do most people around you. Men started to
look at me for the first time in years. Friends treated me
differently and some relationships have ended. Family has been a
staple because they know I haven’t changed internally, only
externally. All these changes can create feelings of anxiety, anger
and even guilt. I do understand the reason for counseling in many
of the weight loss surgery patients. And thank God for my strong
faith to pull me through. Everyone should have a rock to support
them.
When I recently had a birthday, I not only
celebrated the 38 years of my life but the last three years of me
re-gaining my life as a thinner, more confident woman! God Bless
all of you who chose to have this surgery, and God grant you the
same success I have experienced in losing weight.
Kim Weinberger
Mayville, WI
theweinbergers@charter.net
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Congratulations Kim |
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Spreading the Word in
Savannah, GA |
On Saturday November 10th I
will be speaking in Savannah, GA for Memorial
Hospital in the Mercer Auditorium of their Hoskins Research
Center, 4700 Waters Ave. I will be speaking from 10:30 AM to
noon on this whole sometimes crazy journey of weight loss
surgery. The event is free and open to the public. Call Jodi
Hannah, 912-412-2115 for additional details.
Would you like me to speak for your
support group?
If your support group has 75 people or more who attend and
you would like me to speak, have your support group
leader contact me for details. Have them email me at
Barbara@WLScenter.com.
It you are a
bariatric co-coordinator and need obesity sensitivity
training for your hospital staff, I have another sponsor for
that. Contact me at 877-440-1518 or
Barbara@BarbaraThompson.net. |
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Reprint |
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“Reprinted from Barbara Thompson’s free
e-newsletter featuring helpful information and research material to
help patients succeed following weight loss surgery.
Subscribe at
http://www.barbarathompsonnewsletter.com ”
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