Weight Loss Surgery

Weight Loss Surgery Come share in our journey, share your journey. This is a place of long term support and continued learning worldwide. Live, learn, succeed. Together. Absolutley.

I love the one-on-one interaction and the success stories we hear from patients and their friends and families from all around the world. There isn't a day that goes by that we don't hear from dozens and dozens directly that share the most personal details of their own journey. What a joy and a privilege to be a part of so many lives and see so many transformations. Whether morbidly obese yourself

or you were morbidly obese, we all either know or love someone that is currently morbidly obese and can benefit from support and information to help them get healthy. Does that mean weight loss surgery is the right choice for everyone? Absolutely not? Does it mean gathering information and being surrounded by love and support is? We can never be too prepared or too informed or have too much support. Dan & I have made this our life's passion and we'll always be accessible to those that want and need support, guidance, information and friends along the way. It's hard to believe we could be grateful for being "fat" in that past life but yep, we sure are! It doesn't get much better than living such a full life. We have been able to reclaim those lives after our own weight loss surgeries and to make so many wonderful friends that would've never come into our lives had it not been for being those people we were before. It makes every day something to be truly thankful for.

01/01/2018

This has nothing to do with the topic of this page. It’s just a smile...a laugh... 27 seconds of smiles and laughter to share with you and hopefully brighten your day. We all could use a good laugh together, right?

04/03/2017

There are many times, not just in the WLS journey, but in life in general, where we feel alone. We're part of a special group here and each of you are part of this too. As WLS patients, we've all had more similar experiences than most even realize. Whether it's our weight struggles, making the choice to have surgery, learning a whole new way of life during or after surgery. Whatever it is, one of the things we learned was that we aren't alone in our experiences, concerns, joys and more.

Remember all the times you did the yo-yo dieting? It all began with determination that this was going to be the time that worked. Whether it was a regimented program, a common sense plan or even as extreme as crazy things like cabbage soup diet or liquid diets. We THOUGHT we could do it. We might've even succeeded, briefly, but most times we not only regained what we lost, but it came back bringing friends in the way of more pounds than we lost packing back on!

When we began our journey, most that know me know I'm not exactly bashful or shy about talking to people. That inherent openness taught me something really important along the way. As I shared our stories (mine and Dan's), I heard others share stories that could've been our own too. The more we shared, the more others opened up and we saw so many parallels. So you're wondering, what does that have to do with anything? It means as alone as we have felt or feel in whatever phase of the journey...we're not! You aren't! We also learned that the things we were most ashamed of in our story, others had the same feelings too. We weren't unique in this. We, and others, had just been silent too long and felt we had to handle it all alone.

You're NEVER alone here! It doesn't matter if it's a weight gain issue, a food addiction issue, a body dysmorphia issue, a surgery issue, transfer of addictions issue, a confidence issue.... the list goes on and on. You aren't the first, or the last, and you have your own special group right here that understands. There's no shame in any of these things. The only time I see any shame is it would be a shame to stay secluded within your own mind's walls.

Be your own hero and a hero to your peers here ... when you feel it's right for you. We're here to support you now and always. This journey isn't a quick fix but is indeed a permanent solution to a permanent problem. It can indeed be faster and easier than you think if you use all the tools, including the people that share your journey.

If you have a specific issue, don't hesitate to let me know how I (and others here) can join in to help. We want everyone to be long term success stories. You're more than welcome to dm me privately here, if you aren't ready to open up to the group. Or, feel free to open any topic we can help with. We feel the more the merrier that join in and the more successful we'll all be. You that are new to starting the process or new surgery patients help remind us long timers of where we were and you fuel our enthusiasm and help keep us going. It's a two way street and all of us want the same end result. A long, healthy, active life at a healthy weight. You're important to us and so is your success!

-Melissa & Dan

03/17/2017

Whether you're just looking into weight loss surgery or you've started your journey or you just had surgery or maybe you're years and years post-op. Whatever your journey status... we all learn from one another. The way I see it, if one of us fails, we all fail because we should be supporting and encouraging each other. Sharing experiences, etc.

I see the newbies and, even though we're 13 years post-op, we are reminded of our early days ourselves and that enthusiasm and excitement. It takes you back to that anticipation and renews our own journey and helps refuel us too.

What many don't realize is that we each can see something of our own stories and journeys in each other's shared stories and experiences ... no matter how long you've been in this special club of people!

For those that don't know me, also will find, I'm always available to answer questions, offer encouragement, ask experts we work with for help or whatever we can do to help make your journey a long term success story.

Feel free to post or message me. We all are here for one another!

05/14/2016

I was talking with a lady that is getting ready to have WLS. Her biggest worry....will I ever really eat again? Anyone that has contemplated or had WLS has had that exact same thought!!!

Why is it, after living in misery, struggling SO hard with our weight and trying repeatedly to lose weight, do we think of what we might not have instead of the wonderful ways our lives will change? Why does something so fleeting as a meal, a snack or a treat, hold such a high place of priority in our lives?

It's because, for so many years, food has been our friend, our solace, our go to for immediate satisfaction. We've all walked past that piece of pie or cake or cookies and eaten them just because they were there! We didn't need it and weren't even actually hungry, but it called out to us and we answered with a plate and a fork!

Here's the kicker though! After surgery, we still eat well! We actually TASTE our food and really pay attention to what we're eating. So what if it's 3 oz? We enjoy every little taste! Before, we could put it away in big portions and all we really tasted was that first bite. The rest, well it was just having a fork filled, poised and ready to shovel in when we hadn't even finished the bite we had in our mouths.

Don't fear what you "think" you'll miss! Think of the renewed you that will be there. Think of the way you'll enjoy, really enjoy, the choices you make. Think of the control you'll reclaim over your life! The only thing you'll be losing is a LOT of weight.... that other you that you've been carrying around. You'll lose the stressing, frustration, fear and tears. This is YOU, taking back everything you have missed and starting over. Life feels good when you can enjoy it instead of dreading each look in the mirror or each labored step you take.

So, tell me, do you really think you'll "miss" anything worth missing? I think you'll be surprised at how your mindset changes and quickly.

-Melissa & Dan

02/14/2016

I think we all have a favorite story along the way in our weight loss journey. It's funny just how fast the weight falls off in those early weeks/months and you literally can skip sizes. I've had other WLS patients share their stories with me (which I love, so feel free to share!).

I remember one day I was in Wal-Mart, just running in for a few things when Dan sees the look on my face that tells him we need to leave and we need to leave NOW! Why? Well it was one of those weight loss aha moments because my underwear was literally falling off! If I had been wearing a skirt, I would've walked right out of them! Now how embarrassing would that have been? Instead, I could feel them working down into my capris and I just knew the whole world could see this ... even though they couldn't. It felt horrible, but it was hilarious, once I was in the safety of the car.

Everything changes. Shoe sizes, ring sizes and clothes sizes faster than you can keep up. It's the total opposite of all those years of battling and struggling, yo-yoing and feeling deprived, depressed and defeated. Finally, it's all about what works long term and fast results on the front end. Ahhhhh. I love going back and reliving my/our journey. I love sharing in your journey. Why? Because it reminds me where we were and what we all went through. I love keeping that enthusiasm alive and I don't ever for a second want to forget where I was before surgery. I want to appreciate what this great tool has given me!

People ask us, if we had it to do over again, would we do anything different! Would we choose a different procedure? Would we do anything different than we did? The answers.....we would 100% still choose RNY gastric bypass because even now it's still considered the "gold standard" of weight loss surgery procedures. But, doing anything different? If we could've had our same surgeon, we would've wished to have our surgery years sooner! But we have no regrets! None! 12+ years post-op and still holding strong maintaining! Happy, happy, healthy and no issues at all other than we had to buy a LOT of new clothes and shoes! 😊❤️

12/28/2015

In your WLS journey, what do you find to be your biggest problem? Or do you have a problem? Is it getting in enough protein? Water? Staying up on your vitamins? Is it remembering to eat at the right intervals?

To maintain your weight loss, long term, you need to develop specific habits during the first 12-24 months (the honeymoon phase). If you didn't develop those good habits, we can help you learn them now and what to do to retrain yourself.

Do you realize that the WLS patients that fail, that regain weight, is because they get back into old habits? BUT that tool ... the surgery ... is still there! Everyday you have the ability to start back over! Most start panicking if they gain 10 or 15 lbs and then quit watching the scale or what they're doing or choices they're making. If you look at it, in those early days, most lose SO much, they can lose 10-15 lbs too much and the body will adjust and put you where it is happy. Does that mean you're failing because you gained those few pounds back? NO! How much have you still lost? Are you still a huge loser in the weight loss realm? You bet!

Sometimes, a lot of times, we can be our worst enemy. We forget to be proud of what we've accomplished. We forget that 10 lbs is only 10 lbs out of 100 or 200 lbs! We beat ourselves up and there goes that vicious cycle yet again. Why do we have to always be so hard, so negative, so critical of ourselves? Even when we were big, we weren't failures! Whether you are just beginning the journey or you're a new WLS patient or you're a long term patient like us, we all have to step back and look at our stories. I've spent years now talking to patients all around the world and its a funny thing, all of our stories always have a common thread somewhere.

If we all have common threads in our stories, that means we ALL can have common threads in our successes too. Sharing with each other has always been a big factor. I know it's harder for some to speak up or to begun telling their stories. You're not alone though. I get emails from thousands of you all around the world. I talk to you one-on-one. Imagine what we can do for one another, as a community, if we open up and share.

I'll always be right here, whether answering one-on-one, or joining in with all of you. I want to see each of you succeed long term. If I don't have the answer(s) you need, I know the people who do have the answers. So think about what YOU need because odds are, someone else needs it too. Where does your journey begin? Or how can we help you make it better? Or is it an amazing journey already? Let us be proud with you!

Dan & I had RNY gastric bypass, same day, over 12 years ago and lost 300 lbs between us. We've had ups and downs where medicine made us gain for a short time (steroids) but it came back off. Life happens. There's ways to still succeed no matter what life gives you.

12/26/2015

Coming up on the end of the year and the start of the new year. Most of us have just spent a huge amount of time focused on Christmas, Hanukkah or your personal religious holiday. My point isn't about the holiday but about the amount of time we put into preparations, gifts, food, family, travel, etc. Why is it we'll do all that but we won't put that same effort into what we need for ourselves? Aren't we important? What IF, just for once, we stopped and thought about us and our health and put just a small amount of that same drive, same enthusiasm, same energy into a goal or something positive just for us, no one else?

It's not about being selfish. It's about finally stopping the things we've procrastinated on or its about rewarding ourself for our successes. Now that the holidays are behind you, the new year is ahead. Time to focus on you! What have YOU wanted or wished for you in your WLS journey? Or have you maintained your loss and your doing well? Are you a success story? How long? Is it going well all the time or are you finding any areas of struggle?

We're a community, a WLS family. The way I see it, if one of us fails, we all fail. We need to be here to support, encourage and be proud of and for one another. There is always something we can do to help one another.

No matter where you are in your journey, you always need that connection. I want to know you are doing for yourself and I want to know how I can help you. I want you to feel comfortable asking anything, sharing a thing and encouraging others too.

Beginning right now.... don't wait... don't pass go ...... don't collect $200 .... don't delay....... Make today the day you start your focus on your journey and what you want or what you need or what you've accomplished. It doesn't take much time each day. Find the tool you like best. A journal to write in. A phone to make notes in. This page to connect with others as well. Whatever works for you. That's what it's all about. Stop putting everyone and everything ahead of you. Too many people need you. Most of all, you need to feel good about you. Let's get started together.

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