Posts Tagged weight loss journey
A life after Weight Loss Surgery
Posted by in Weight Loss on August 21st, 2010
For those that are overweight and have battled countless hours, days, months, and even years of exhausting weight loss efforts, bariatric surgery has become the last result. For many who have struggled with weight loss over the years and are considering some type of weight loss procedure, it is important to realize what your life will be like after such a life changing procedure. Bariatric Surgery will change your life. Regardless of what type of weight loss surgery you get, it’s not a quick fix and will take time to adjust to your new lifestyle as well as how others will react to the “new you.”
After one gets weight loss surgery their life literally changes drastically and requires significant commitment in maintaining your weight loss journey. You need to be ready for that drastic lifestyle change; this includes changing your eating habits completely to fit your new stomach. Other things to consider is life after weight loss surgery must become extremely active; you must engage in a steady exercise regimen. In addition, depending on how much weight you lost, you may need to have follow-up surgeries to get rid of the excess fat and skin that was left behind.
Types of Plastic Surgery to Get the Body you Want
More often than not life after weight loss surgery is filled with additional surgeries to get rid of the unwanted, saggy skin and excess fat. It is important to fully understand all of the different types of surgeries you may have to undergo in order to get your body in its ideal state.
Arm Lift: Arm lift surgery is one of the more common surgeries done after weight loss surgery. This particular post-surgical procedure will contour the arms to get rid of the “bat wings” you may have to live with after weight loss surgery, especially if you lost a significant amount of weight.
Full Body Lift: Getting a full body lift will tackle three major areas that are most often a concern for those that need to lose or already have lost a massive amount of weight. It improves the overall appearance of your thighs, abdomen, and buttocks. Some conditions include maintaining a stable weight for at least six months, eating healthier, and engaging in a stable exercise regimen.
Bra Line Back Lift: This post-surgery weight loss procedure is done to remove any fat rolls on your back that are seen either just above or below the bra line. This new innovative form of plastic surgery is performed so that all scars are hidden under the bra line.
Panniculectomy: This procedure is done after weight loss surgery and focuses on removing all excess skin and fat in the abdominal area that tends to rear after a significant loss in weight. In some cases the excess skin and fat can hang down below the knees, around the back area, and over the hips. This type of surgery should not be confused with a tummy tuck which removes excess skin and tightens the muscles in the abdomen; it only gets rid of fat and excess skin and does not involve tightening up any abdominal muscles.
Thigh Lift: This is also one of the most popular post-surgical weight loss procedures to get rid of the unwanted excess skin and fat in the thighs. This type of surgery does not only get rid of the excess fat and skin but it also tones and slims down your thighs immediately after surgery.
Post-Bariatric Surgery is common and usually a must if patients of weight loss surgery want to look and feel the way they really want to. National Bariatric Link, a website dedicated to Bariatric surgery, has helped thousands of patients learn more about weight loss and post-weight loss procedures, qualify for weight loss surgery, find the perfect bariatric and plastic surgeon(s) in their area, and even help in financing for patients who need it.
Pregnancy after weight loss surgery
Many women who opt to have weight loss surgery and wish to have children after feel that life after weight loss surgery cannot go as they planned. Many women feel that it isn’t safe to become pregnant after weight loss surgery.
Approximately one half of all women who have weight loss surgical procedures done are between 18 and 45 years old, also known as the reproductive age. It is much safer to become pregnant after surgery; becoming pregnant while at an unhealthy weight can be life threatening to both you and your unborn baby as well as adding on many complications and health risks.
Life after weight loss surgery also comes with many psychological impacts. Anyone that experiences a drastic change either with their family, their job, or their physical appearance will suffer from some level of psychological and emotional changes. Preparing yourself mentally for what you will face after weight loss surgery will help ease the disappointment you may feel at first post-surgery. The point of getting weight loss surgery is to look good and feel better about ourselves; how can this happen if there is so much extra skin hanging off parts of the body? Getting used to the new you is a battle in itself. Most bariatric and plastic surgeons will offer counseling services post-surgery to ensure that you are staying strong and remaining emotionally stable; iChange usually being a top choice for many patients.
Article Source: A life after Weight Loss Surgery
My Weight Loss Epiphany
Posted by in Weight Loss on August 21st, 2010
“Nothing is more important than that you feel good. When you feel good, you can create not only your ideal physical condition but everything else you desire in life.” – Abraham-Hicks
If you’re anything like me, you’ve been dieting most of your life, i.e., trying to deprive yourself of the foods you love and trying to ignore your body’s hunger signals. I started dieting at age 15. My boyfriend, Herbie, and I would go to a drive-in and he would order a cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate malt – the Standard American Diet for a teenager. I would order a diet soda. Now, Herbie, being a 16-year old boy had no concerns about getting fat and simply enjoyed his food. Can you imagine? He enjoyed his food – what a concept! He had not been taught to equate being thin with self-worth and love and beauty as I had. As I look back now, I realize that I was gaining weight because I was so worried about gaining weight.
My weight loss journey was a long and winding road through high protein / low carb diets to vegan to fasting and finally to two years eating only uncooked organic fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. As a Raw Foodist, I did not eat anything that had been heated above 115 degrees, believing that cooked food was poison. You can imagine what this belief did to my social life!
Shortly after discovering the Law of Attraction, I GOT IT! With an understanding of LOA, I was able to break out of the Cause & Effect Prison – the prison of believing that “if I eat this, then this will happen.” I realized that cause and effect happens in the mind. If I believe that certain foods will make me fat or cause health problems, then they will. With this realization, I felt fully empowered to make choices about food based on what I like to eat, what makes me FEEL GOOD, and what brings me joy. With this epiphany, I was free. I then clearly understood the quote from Hamlet that “there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” I then clearly understood that it’s not the food. It’s what I THINK about the food.
Now I eat what I want, when I want, and as much as I want and I ENJOY FOOD. So many people have lost their ability to enjoy food – the most natural thing in the world. So many people eat what they think they’re supposed to eat whether they like it or not. And when they fall off the wagon and indulge in the chocolate cake, they can’t even enjoy it because they feel guilty and afraid of the repercussions. Ahhh! Stop the madness!
My husband’s grandfather lived to 104 eating greasy pork chops, smoking cigars and drinking whiskey. He always had a twinkle in his eye and a spring in his step. On his 100th birthday, his only physical complaint was a little arthritis in one thumb. Jonah didn’t know about the Law of Attraction, but he knew the importance of feeling good and he did what felt right to him.
FEELING GOOD is the most important thing. With high vibrational feelings such as love, joy and appreciation, you manifest your dreams. With low vibrational feelings such as fear, shame and unworthiness, you manifest your nightmares. I know this can be a tough concept since we’ve been told all our lives that it’s about calories and exercise. However, when we feel good and eat from a state of joy, we are in a high vibration and we are, therefore, a match to everything we desire. I am so thrilled now to go out and eat pizza, beer, and ice cream in a state of joy and find that I have actually lost a pound the next morning.
This is what I know for sure: If I eat in a high vibration of feeling good, I am a match to my ideal body and it will appear. If I eat in a low vibration of feeling bad or eat to stuff down unpleasant emotions, I am a match to the body I don’t want and I will gain weight.
Kate Corbin is a Law of Attraction Coach and the creator of Gold Star Coaching. Both her coaching practice and her two ebooks – Dining at the Cosmic Cafe, How to Be and Do and Have Whatever You Desire as well as Think and Grow Thin with the Law of Attraction – are designed to empower you to truly live the life of your dreams. To contact Coach Kate, check out her books, and subscribe to her free ezine, Magical Musings, visit Gold Star Coaching.
Article Source: My Weight Loss Epiphany
Easy and Effective Tips for Healthy Weight Loss
Posted by in Weight Loss on August 15th, 2010
Permanent weight loss is a lifestyle change and not something that can be done overnight. The healthiest way to lose weight is not through erratic exercise or crash dieting. Fad diets and quick fix plans may work at first, but these are not long-term solutions to healthy weight loss diet. The body likes slow changes, and you are more likely to succeed if you take baby steps.
Managing your weight not only enhances your physical appearance, it also influences your future health. Obesity increases your risks of developing heart disease or diabetes. Here are some simple yet effective tips that anyone can follow to lose weight the healthy way.
Shed the pounds slowly. Rushing into an exercise or weight loss plans can take a toll on your nervous system, causing you to feel tired or even become sick. When you lose a lot of weight in a short amount of time, you’re actually losing mostly muscle and water rather than fat.
Get support. Find family and friends who will give you the encouragement you need as you go on your healthy weight loss journey. You can also join a support group online or in your community.
Practice mindful eating. Don’t just eat. Be aware of your environment, chew slowly, enjoy each bite, and appreciate the taste and textures of your food. Try using chopsticks or eating with your non-dominant hand to help yourself focus on your eating experience.
Eat smaller portions. Use small plates and bowls to control your portions and make them look larger. If you get hungry later, you can have a healthy snack.
Load up on fruits and vegetables. Fruits and veggies are high in water and fiber. They also contain vitamins and nutrients that can promote overall health and vitality. Eating fresh fruits between meals helps regulate your blood pressure and lessen cravings.
Consume less animal proteins. Animal protein usually comes with large amounts of fat, so substitute it with healthier options such as nuts and beans.
Exercise! Exercise not only burns calories, it also improves your resting metabolism. If you maintain the same calorie intake but increase your levels of physical activity, you will most likely lose weight. If you don’t have time to go to the gym, even light exercise is beneficial if done most days of the week. For example, don’t park near the building entrance, or take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Get adequate sleep. Individuals who don’t catch enough Z’s have a higher risk of obesity. If you’re tired, you feel hungrier, and your judgment can become impaired.
Don’t skip meals. Whether it’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Skipping a meal will leave you a lot hungrier later on, and you will only end up eating even more.
Ditch the soda. One can of soft drink contains 10-12 teaspoons of sugar and about 150 calories. Just imagine how much you can reduce your calorie intake by cutting down on soda!
Drink more water. Another easy way to reduce your calorie intake is to replace soda, coffee, or alcohol with good old H2O. Thirst can be confused with hunger sometimes, so you may avoid extra calories by drinking water. It will also help you break down food more easily.
Danny Shaw
If you want to lose weight and thinking of diet for weight loss you must try healthy chocolate.
Article Source: Easy and Effective Tips for Healthy Weight Loss
5 Tips to Help Motivate Yourself to Lose Weight
Posted by in Weight Loss on August 8th, 2010
As a trainer, the most common excuse that I typically hear from clients and individuals who are looking to lose weight is that “I don’t have enough time”. I understand the time crunch – really, I do but I believe that if you want something hard enough, if you’ve really motivated yourself to the fullest extent possible, you can achieve nearly all of your wildest and most far-fetched dreams.
The only way that you will ever stick to any type of weight management program is through your ability to keep yourself motivated. That means that you need to be honest and truthful with yourself and you need to fully be aware that sacrifices have to be made in order to accomplish that.
Here are a couple of examples of ways to build and maintain your motivation to keep yourself going when you might otherwise feel like giving up.
1. Create an evaluation sheet for yourself where you can record your weight, body fat percent, and body measurements. Make sure to redo the evaluation every 2 – 3 weeks to make sure that you are continuing to progress. The idea is to be monitoring so closely that all positive changes can be recognized and rewarded Negative changes can be rectified immediately.
2. Take a series of ‘before’ pictures from the front, back and sides so that you can do comparison shots as you continue down your weight loss journey. An even better motivator? Cut your head out of a picture and glue it onto a picture of a person with a great body that you would like to look similar to – this will help provide you with focus as well as inspiration to push yourself harder.
3. If you don’t already have a gym membership, now is the time to get one. Try signing up with a like minded friend so that you can help each other when times get rough.
4. Have a ‘goal outfit’ ready and constantly in view. Preferably, these clothes would be a size or two smaller but should still be in a flattering cut to your body. Try it out every two to three weeks so see if you are any closer to being able to wear it and have it fit comfortably.
5. Read a book or speak to someone that you know on a personal level that has lost weight. Sometimes, hearing a success story can be the catalyst that you need to stay on track.
Wes likes to write on a mixture of topics and has been doing so for some years. His newest internet site is http://cottonblankets.org which supplies folks with information on organic cotton blankets.
Article Source: 5 Tips to Help Motivate Yourself to Lose Weight
5 Tips to Help Motivate Yourself to Lose Weight
Posted by in Weight Loss on August 8th, 2010
As a trainer, the most common excuse that I typically hear from clients and individuals who are looking to lose weight is that “I don’t have enough time”. I understand the time crunch – really, I do but I believe that if you want something hard enough, if you’ve really motivated yourself to the fullest extent possible, you can achieve nearly all of your wildest and most far-fetched dreams.
The only way that you will ever stick to any type of weight management program is through your ability to keep yourself motivated. That means that you need to be honest and truthful with yourself and you need to fully be aware that sacrifices have to be made in order to accomplish that.
Here are a couple of examples of ways to build and maintain your motivation to keep yourself going when you might otherwise feel like giving up.
1. Create an evaluation sheet for yourself where you can record your weight, body fat percent, and body measurements. Make sure to redo the evaluation every 2 – 3 weeks to make sure that you are continuing to progress. The idea is to be monitoring so closely that all positive changes can be recognized and rewarded Negative changes can be rectified immediately.
2. Take a series of ‘before’ pictures from the front, back and sides so that you can do comparison shots as you continue down your weight loss journey. An even better motivator? Cut your head out of a picture and glue it onto a picture of a person with a great body that you would like to look similar to – this will help provide you with focus as well as inspiration to push yourself harder.
3. If you don’t already have a gym membership, now is the time to get one. Try signing up with a like minded friend so that you can help each other when times get rough.
4. Have a ‘goal outfit’ ready and constantly in view. Preferably, these clothes would be a size or two smaller but should still be in a flattering cut to your body. Try it out every two to three weeks so see if you are any closer to being able to wear it and have it fit comfortably.
5. Read a book or speak to someone that you know on a personal level that has lost weight. Sometimes, hearing a success story can be the catalyst that you need to stay on track.
Wes likes to write on a mixture of topics and has been doing so for some years. His newest internet site is http://cottonblankets.org which supplies folks with information on organic cotton blankets.
Article Source: 5 Tips to Help Motivate Yourself to Lose Weight
