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Detox: How An Online Journal Can Protect Your Mental Health From Social Media Attack

Social media has revolutionized human communication. Whether we like to admit it or not, it’s everywhere. From when we first check our phones in the morning until we drift off to sleep at night, the notifications keep coming, and we keep checking. Our social media “addiction” comes as no surprise. Wired to be immensely social creatures for survival, humans crave interaction, validation, and acknowledgment. The more we can get of it, the better.

But is social media good for our mental health?

In comparison to traditional healthy in-person meetings, social media communication can be harmful. With our screens as a barrier, we cannot see the real person behind the posts. More interesting yet, is that “personal brand image” which used to be left to politicians and celebrities alone has now been adopted by everyone. And when it comes to brand, you smooth over the bumps and only show the best – even if it’s not real. Many social media users have packaged their lives into an attractive, envy-inducing, and altogether false bundle to share online. And we can’t get enough of it.

Data shows we’re spending almost half a day a week on social media per week.

The average user logs 2.4 hours a day on social media – up from 1.5 hours in 2012. Over a week, that’s more than 16 hours of scrolling through other people’s lives. Despite many claiming that they’re aware of the “prettification” of everything on social media, our “more-primitive” brain isn’t always so conscious. Research has shown that the use of social media makes people feel worse about their appearance or lives in comparison to their peers on social media. Our brains absorb what we see like a sponge from the perfectly curated (photoshopped) photos to the 5-star hotel trips. And naturally, we start to subconsciously compare ourselves with those perfected images and stories. All of which leads to low self-esteem that can accumulate to depression or anxiety. And it seems that despite technically encouraging interaction, Social media has left many feeling empty, isolated, and numb. A study conducted by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine showed that regular social media users were twice as likely to report feelings of loneliness and worthlessness.

Precautionary measures and detox methods are rising in popularity

Recently, governments and businesses alike have been making efforts to curb these harmful effects of excessive social media use. In China, 300 internet addiction boot camps have been founded, while European governments have been rolling out “detox” programs. Funding is also being piled into social media research globally to gain insight into the still relatively unknown landscape of social media and the human psyche. Overall the message is clear: social media detox is vital to your wellbeing. Worldwide, people are logging out, taking a step back, and looking for other ways to fulfill their social cravings. From retreats to account “lockers,” there’s something that works for everyone.

How Online Diaries are becoming the “must-have” alternative to social media

However, journaling is one method that stands above the rest. Long used as a means to log the events of a day, channel emotions, and get pains off chests – diaries are a more authentic form of private social media. When you’re not striving for likes, you can write what you want. Diaries open up a world of creative freedom. And the best part? You’ll have something to look back on, to relive the most important days of your life without the skewed vision of social media.

Technological advancements in online diaries

Some modern online diaries and mental health apps such as Memairy even use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create the optimal diary experience. By creating an account with Memairy, you can have your photos analyzed by AI to pick out faces, objects, and even places. Moreover, for those days when typing seems like too much, you can record your diary entry to be transcribed to text. And you can be ensured of privacy since your account is solely attributed to you. So, you get the cutting-edge online social media experience, without any of the added stress or frustration! So, why not start telling your story at your own pace and truthfully? Sign up to Memairy today and discover the mental health and wellbeing benefits of living a life without other’s eyes on it 24/7!

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I officially start my New Job on Monday

New Job

Starting Monday at 8:30 am I will be out of the house and back into the working world. Not that I have not worked, just have not worked outside the home in so long.

Today was a long day – had to drive over an hour to go have a physical and drug test for this job and then I had to drive to my new workplace to get my 2nd TB Shot. I wrote a post all bout my new job last month HERE. I am so excited and nervous all at the same time – now that my start date is so close I am kinda freakin’ out a little bit.

Good thing is I start on Monday and just work till about 2 and then Tuesday from 9-12 for training. Then I do not work again until August where I have only a 1/2 day to do on the 8th, but then starting on 8/13 I am on the schedule for more training 5 days in a row 9-5 – that is what scares me the most. After having my own routine each and everyday at home this is going to be a HUGE adjustment for me. I guess I have to make sure they have lots of coffee on hand or I will have to bring my own in a thermos or I think I will pass out (lol).

In addition to that this Wednesday my kids are flying by themselves to Florida to stay with my parents for 10 days. They are 15 and 13 and I have never been away from them for so long let alone so far away from them. Good thing they do not have me on the schedule for my new job over that time because I may be a bit of a mess. On the plus side me and the hubby with have some much needed alone time which will be nice.

Oh did I mention my daughter will be turning 13 on Sunday? Yup I will now have 2 teenagers under one roof. Where does the time go? I always said once she turned into a teenager I would move out – so not ready for teenage drama, but I think I will stick around – lol.

Well that is about it for now – just wanted to do a quick little post while I had things on my mind. I will keep you all updated as always!!! Happy Friday to all!!!

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Reflecting on my life since Gastric Bypass Surgery

Reflecting

It has been just about 1 1/2 years since I have had my Gastric Bypass Surgery and I have never felt better. The decision to have undergone such a major surgery is a choice I should have made many years ago. My only regret as I have said is not doing it sooner.

Life for me has changed in so many ways – of course the biggest one is my size. I am down officially 112 pounds and have stalled for the past month or so, but that is ok since I am only 24 pounds from my personal weight loss goal and I have not been eating the best to get down to it. It is what it is and as long as I am not gaining I am perfectly fine with that. The best part is that I feel great and I feel more like the old me that I lost in the fat for so many years.

One of the major changes for me is not having the stress of being overweight and the things that come with it. Things like picking out clothing to wear and feeling like no matter what I pick out I will look fat in it and knowing where ever I am going I will be uncomfortable. Just not having that anymore is such a great feeling in itself – you cannot imagine how awesome that feels.

Other changes that make me giddy now are things like being able to fit into chairs, cross your legs, wearing a tank top in public, not feeling like the fattest person in the room, wearing a bathing suit and not having everyone turn around while you run to the pool, having so much energy you do not know what to do with yourself, caring about your appearance again, loving to go clothes shopping, fitting into your daughter’s shirts, wearing a normal size bra and having choices, your son being able to pick you up and carry you around the room, seeing hubby excited when I try on new clothes and loving how I look, getting compliments when you bump into people you have not seen in a long time and honestly I can go on and on.

Oh and one more happy moment I just had I have to share is one I am starting a new job outside the home on Monday (I have been working from home for years) and it took this long for me to finally feel good enough and ready to put myself out there and I welcome the change. So anyways I had to go fill out some papers last week and they also needed me to try on the uniforms to see what size I needed. She held up the shirts one of them being a large and I said ugh that looks way too small so you better give the the extra large to try on as well. So I figured I would just try the large to start and wouldn’t you know it that it fit me and was even a little big. It goes to show you that even after we get thin we still are in a fat mind set and it will take a very long time if ever for that to go away.

I am also so happy that since I have had my surgery I have been able to be an inspiration to many of my friends to make the same change to their lives – My friends from New York came to visit me this past weekend Husband and Wife and they both had Bariatric Surgery – My friend Laura had Gastric Bypass and her hubby had the Lap Band with plication. It was the first time I saw them since and they looked amazing and felt great.

One of my other local friends, Carla, also had Gastric Bypass Surgery this past year and I have been there with her every step of the way – she is also doing amazing, looks great and is happier than I have ever known her to be. She comes over to hang out a lot and the funny thing is when we ask the kids to take our photo together it is no more – can you make sure you only get us from the neck up, but instead – can you make sure you get our whole bodies in that picture. Who would have thought we would ever ask that???

Then my other local friend, Denise, is actually going in for her Gastric Bypass Surgery tomorrow and her mom had it done 2 months ago. I had Denise over yesterday to give her a last minute pep talk because naturally she is nervous as hell. I think she is going to do great and again I will be there for her every step of they way as she needs me.

To think I was the inspiration to all of them to change their lives in the way that I did is mind blowing and I would have never thought in a million years that I would the one to do that. And in addition to all of them this blog has been so helpful to many either making the decision to have surgery or to help others along the way. The comments and messages I get mean the world to me to know that I have touched so many lives with my honesty and my own personal journey. Just crazy I tell ya!!!

But what blows my mind more than anything else is just how far I have come and how much I have changed inside and outside in such a short period of time. I look back at photos and do not even recognize the person in them anymore. All I see is someone who was pretending to be happy on the outside when inside I was an unhappy mess living in a shell (body) that was way too big for me.

These photos are the ones that really get me. They were taken just about 2 years ago – it will be 2 years next month. For the first time in a long time my whole family got together in one place (my house). While it was an amazing time to be with everyone I also remember how horrible and fat I felt. I believe this was me at my heaviest. I was already in the process of working towards my surgery at this point. I will NEVER EVER allow myself to get to this place again – I hated it.

And here is me just the other day – genuinely happy and feeling great.

Life is Good…

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I was possessed and had a Late Night Sugar Binge

late night sugar binge

OMG OMG OMG I became possessed last night like never before and had a late night sugar binge. This happens to be one of the craziest things I have ever done and I cannot believe it even happened.

So here is the story… Let me start off by saying prior to me having Gastric Bypass Surgery I have never been a huge sweet eater. Yeah the occasional donuts, cookies, pieces of cake and even a candy bar now and then was about it. I have never been that girl who needs a chocolate fix or anything else. I was always a starch baby – I lived for pasta, bagels and bread – carbs carbs carbs. Carbs have always been my downfall.

Since having the surgery I have divorced all the carbs for the most part because they make me dump if I have too many or put me into what I call a carb coma – so that is a good thing. BUT this past year I have noticed that on occasion I crave candy for the first time in my life. Candy like sour patch kids, taffy, jelly beans and that crap. Obviously I do not go crazy and eat a ton of it or I will dump, but every now and then I find that I need to have a few pieces. Well last night I became possessed by the sugar monster – almost like an outer body experience.

So late last night I had a bowl of Froot Loops – I have been having cereal from time to time with minimal issues (also depends on how much I eat too). Not long after that I went to bed. It was maybe and hour or so after that I woke up sweating like crazy and feeling weak and shaky. I was so sweaty that I immediately took the PJ pants I was wearing off and my hair was even wet – it was gross. I knew I must have been dumping from the cereal, but I also had this immediate need for sugar – CANDY.

So I got out of my bed my legs all wobbly from being shaky and walked downstairs to my kitchen, pulled up a chair in front of my baking cabinet filled with every kind of candy u can think of (I use all this for my business when I make cupcake & cake creations) sat down and just started eating candy. I ate jelly beans, nerds (which were so tasty by the way), gummy bears, some M&Ms, red cherry candy things and a fruit roll up which I brought back to bed with me.

I am not kidding – this really happened. I then went back to bed and never woke up again until morning. When I told hubby in the morning he did not believe me and I wish I was lying.

I freakin’ had a late night binge – I never in my life had one and I find this just crazy don’t you? It was like my body had a drop in sugar and said “Go Eat Candy!!” – so I did.

Please tell me I am not the only one who this has happened to – PLEASE. I think I may have to lock up my cabinet so this does not happened again – strangest thing ever. I may have to add this one of my list of questions for the next time I see my surgeon – I think I have a 2 year follow up at some point in time. Hmmm or maybe I should just keep this one a secret.

Oh and BTW – I had about 5 trips to the bathroom this morning – belly was not happy – lmao.

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Second Bathing Suit purchase since my surgery

Bathing-Suit

Yup I did it again and this year was more fun than last. Just as I had said in my post from last year: OMG I bought a new Bathing Suit, shopping for bathing suits has never been a favorite thing to do for me. But this year shopping for them was not so bad and I had even more that I liked on me to choose from.

So that is me in the photo sporting my new bathing suit for this year and I just love it. It is not only comfy, but I think it looks pretty good as well. When I was at the store it was so nice to be able to pick from the non plus sized section and so many more choices. I was shopping with my daughter and she was cracking up at me as I filled my arms up with tons of them to try on to find the one that I liked the best.

From my pile I had 3 in the end that I liked and in the end chose the one you see. Of course it happened to be the most expensive of them all too – go figure. BUT I just loved the fit and how it felt on and said screw it. I ended up going with the swim shorts vs. a swim skirt again because I just feel more comfortable in those bottoms and they also help to hide my heavy thighs which is still the heaviest part on my body and also one of the places I seem to have some excess skin.

I really did not think I was much different from last year until I put the pictures side by side. Last June 2012 I weighed 233 lbs and this year right now I am 174 lbs a difference of 59 lbs. What was I thinking that is a BIG difference.

This year my bathing top is a size 14/16 and the bottoms are an 18. I could fit in the size 16 bottoms, but felt more comfy in the 18 thanks to my big ass.

Last year my top was a size 18 and the bottoms were a size 22.

So now I am ready to get in the pool and sport my suit – I must tell ya it feels so good to not feel a whale in the water anymore. What a great feeling, life is good.

I just have to work on getting my legs tightened up and in shape!!

Stay Tuned…

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Got me a J~O~B outside the home

JOB

I know big deal I got a job outside the home – yeah so what we all have jobs right? Well while this is true for most this is a big deal for me and another new start in my journey after Gastric Bypass Surgery and I will tell you why.

Geez where to start…. So over 16 years ago I worked the normal 9-5 gig in the corporate world. I did what you should do with working hard, getting promoted and moving up in the company – I even had my own office. I was a call monitoring coach for a big sales company – yup I was the one listening in on those calls for quality assurance. I motivated a large sales force, did training and all the other crap that came along with that position. But honestly that corporate kiss ass stuff was never for me – I was never a fan of working – I just wanted to be a mom and stay at home.

So to make a long story short I got married to the love of my life after being engaged for 6 years and got prego with my son. I then quit that job and moved from where we were living in Florida after he was 3 months old and moved back up north to were I live now in Pennsylvania to be closer to family. My hubby worked and I got to be that stay at home mom I always wanted to be. A year and a half later I had my daughter.

Over the course of many years while the kids grew I had odd and end jobs to make extra cash from home – I use to sell a lot of crap on Ebay when it first started and was lucrative. I would sell anything not nailed down and make money – that is when Ebay was fun. But I loved being a stay at home mom even though I ripped my hair out a lot from the kids driving me nuts half the time I still would have not traded it for anything.

Being on one income was never easy, but some how hubby and I would find ways to make it work. Life is not always easy and we always find humor in everything and honestly I think that is what gets us by each and every time times are tough. Hubby and I seem to have lots of hoops we always seem to have to jump through, but we have come to get use to it. When we were married our song was the circus theme when they introduced us because that is our theme song to life. We just embrace it I guess.

So anyway… In about 2005 I decided to start my own business from home. I have always been a very creative person and loved to throw my kids awesome theme birthday parties that were unique and noticed a lack of options for parents out there. That is when The Party Animal was born. Even doing my business I took on other various part time jobs here and there over the years for extra cash like working at Curves locally, which helped me drop some weight back when, and also working with my sister at her retail store for a bit. In 2005 or so I started doing a lot of online writing and then created my Party Blog where I share lots of ideas to help parents when it comes to planning their kids parties.

While I absolutely love what I do and love working from home – it also has its down sides. You kinda lose your identity a bit from lack of being out there having one on one communications with people vs. online friends. You gain weight from sitting at a computer all day long. Being able to sit in your PJs all day long is not all it is cracked up to be. Oh and writers block happens quite a bit. As the saying goes – the grass is not always greener on the other side. I am however thankful that I have been able to earn a living and stay at home to raise my kids just as I had always wanted.

About 6 years ago my hubby had an accident at work which has caused him to become disabled and no longer able to work. It was the scariest time in my life to see him injured and our world changed. The accident effected his lungs and he was in and out of the hospital a lot and we had some very scary moments. Of course all of these events put me into a deep depression and caused me to gain a great deal of weight with all the worry and changes to our lives. He is currently stable, thank god, but he will never recover from this accident and we have a lot of ups and downs with his medical condition. He is unable to physically do the things he use to do which makes it very hard. On a happy note my hubby is one A-Mazing man and pushes himself each and every day – I do not think I could be as strong as him given what he has to deal with. I am one lucky lucky girl I tell ya.

So in January 2012 I made the decision as you all know to have Gastric Bypass Surgery. I needed to get this weight off I could not lose on my own after trying so many diets over the years. I not only needed to do it for myself, but for my hubby and the kids. I needed to get healthy myself.

So what does all of this have to do with me getting a job outside the home? Well I will tell ya… The surgery has given me a new lease on life and I feel more like me again after losing myself in raising my kids, my work at home job and being in the house all day long for so many years. I had never felt good enough in my skin to go out and apply for a job because I had no confidence anymore in myself and how I looked.

I have had an idea on what job I wanted and have been watching for the position to come up for years, but never ready to apply for it until just last month. I decided I feel great and my kids are now 15 and 12 and it was time I made the move to get out there – I was ready!! So I applied and to my surprise got a call the following week for an interview. The job is for an Activity Assistant at a local Nursing/Retirement Home. It is the perfect job for me – I get to do all the fun stuff with the residents and bring my creativity to those who need a little fun in their days. I have always wanted to volunteer, but now I will get paid to do it – BONUS. So I went on the interview and then got called in for another and offered the job.

The best part is that it starts out as a flexible part time position which means I will fill in at first when I am needed and that could not be any better for me as I ease my way back into the working world. This job for me is a perfect fit that I think will bring a lot of satisfaction – the thought that I can bring smiles and happiness to these people has my giddy and excited. I will not be in an office stuck with piles of paperwork, but instead I will get to do all the fun stuff like go on day trips, out to eat, play games (I Love BINGO) and come up with fun arts and crafts for them to do.

So with that said I am ready for a new chapter in my life and the Gastric Bypass Surgery is what has helped me get to this point of feeling good enough to put myself out there again. I am looking forward to the change and hoping I like this job as much as I think I will and have it lead to a full-time position down the road. I will still do my party business and online writing because I love doing that as well and would never give that up since I worked so hard to build it to where it is today.

I think the kids are a little sad that I got a job outside the home, but I think they will adjust and I bet they will end up enjoying the quiet time (lol). Now my hubby will officially be Mr. Mom and I know for a fact he will enjoy the time when I am at work too – ha ha.

My official start date is around July 22nd when I start the orientation process so I have time to chill a bit more and put my feet up on my patio table with my Cold Protein Coffee and watch my chickens – lol.

Wish me luck and Stay Tuned for updates….

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An Extremely HOT day spent at Hershey Park

Hershey Park

So this past Wednesday I spent the day in Hershey Park that was for my daughter’s end of the year celebration for her school. Of course we had some unusual weather for this time of year and the day we went happened to be about 92 degrees and humid.

I am not one for hot and humid at all – I am more of a 65-70 degree girl and anything above or below that makes me miserable most of the time – especially when it is 92 degrees and humid and you have to walk a crowded park all day long. Just my luck to have this kind of weather on the one day we were spending it at the park – ahhhhh. But I sucked it up because I was there for my daughter and I wanted her to have fun, that is what it was all about right?

My daughter brought her BFF along and then it was me and my hubby. I was surprised how crowded the park was for a school day, but it seemed there were lots of school trips going on. So hubby and I just followed the girls around and let them lead the way and go on the rides they wanted. I do not do rides – not a fan at all of roller coasters or rides that spin so fast that I taste puke in my mouth afterwards.

The girls went on a few roller coasters and thank god the Boardwalk (Water Park) was opened for them on this hot day because they girls even got crabby and had headaches from the heat that they needed some time to cool off in the water. I did however go on one ride – I did the Classic Cars where you drive at 5 miles per hour on a track in a circle – yup I am a trooper – lol.

So while the girls were off doing their thing in the water park I could not help myself and went into the kiddie pool with all the babies to cool off myself. I have no shame when I am hot and it was so nice and it helped for all of about the 10 minutes I dipped in.

We ended the day having some caricatures done of us – I think they came out really funny.

All in all it was a fun day – long and hot and I was wiped out the next day. Hershey Park is a nice smaller park and the kids love it. If you ever have the chance to visit I highly recommend it – just try and do it on a day where the weather is a lot cooler and you are not spending $3.00 per water bottle – what a rip off.

Oh and let me add – the last time I was at Hershey Park I was twice the size and extra miserable. It was not as bad being lighter on my feet this time around so that was a big plus.

Can u believe I did not even eat any chocolate while I was there either? Just crazy!!

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Eating more and dropping weight – True Story

Eating More

Today I woke up and did my official weigh in and was SHOCKED to see the scale went down 2 pounds since last week. Yesterday on Mother’s Day I stepped on the scale and saw I went back down 1 pound, but was no way expecting to see another one gone this morning.

3 weeks ago on my weigh in day I hit 179 lbs which was a big goal of mine to be under 180 lbs. It was a celebration for me, but then the next week I jumped back up to 180 lbs and sat there for 2 weeks. Oh yes the wonderful Weight Loss Roller Coaster Ride like I wrote about in my last post. I was not happy about that of course, but just came to terms with it.

So this morning I went on the scale and was nervous because yesterday I snacked a lot on cookies and even had an Italian Sub for dinner (well 1/2) and thought the scale was going to be up even more. When I stepped on the scale and saw 178 lbs looking back at me I almost fell over. Instead I ran to my office downstairs naked to grab the camera so I could photograph the scale to show my hubby when he came home from dropping my son off from school. It was hysterical that I was running naked through my house to get the camera. Ok wait I lied I had on my fuzzy pink socks – lol

I never in a million years expected to see my weight drop this week because the entire week I ate more than I had in quite some time. On top of that I even had 2 instances that I ate more than my stomach could handle and got sick (I did not throw up – just that horrible stomach pain sick). I also has made Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies for the kids and hubby and found myself eating a bunch of those as well.

So I got to thinking about it all and have come to the conclusion that I must have kicked my metabolism back into gear by eating more. I have said in the past that I thought my weight loss slowed down because I was hardly eating much and that could be very true. Now don’t get me wrong I am not gonna start pigging out or anything, but I think I have to make a much better effort to remember to eat during the day vs. skipping meals or forgetting to have one. It is not that I am trying to avoid eating it is just sometimes I am busy and simply just forget because I am not hungry.

For what ever reason this week I just ate a lot more than normal – I think it may have had something to do with the horrible weather and being stuck in the house and also I was having some additional pain in my back and a little depressed for a few days. In the end it seemed to pay off.

So as of today I am down a grand total of 108 lbs since my Gastric Bypass Surgery and now only 13 lbs away to my next goal of reaching 165 lbs. Holy Crap – that seems so doable!!!

Stay Tuned….

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Check out my new Ceramic Candle Warmer Crock

Ceramic Candle Warmer Crock

I am so excited about my new Ceramic Candle Warmer Crock that I have to tell you all about it. I told you when I find things I love I always share because I did not even know these existed until a couple weeks ago – where have I been?

So here is how I found about about these – you all know I just got new appliances a few weeks ago and I always have a candle that sits on my stove top. Now I like a warmer that heats up my candles vs. having to light them due to obvious fire reasons. I have always just used your basic warmer – the ones you would also use for your coffee mugs. It would just warm up my candle and allow it to give off its smell. I had a black one originally and that one broke and then I got a white one which I have always hated cause it did not match my kitchen.

So when I got my new stove it stood out and looked horrible so I went in search for a new candle warmer I came across these Ceramic Candle Warmer Crocks that hold the entire jarred candle and fell in love. Honestly I had never seen these before and got so excited!!! The next hard part was choosing which one to get since there are so many awesome choices. I ended up choosing this Ceramic Rustic Brown one by Candle Warmers Etc.and it was only $19.75 with free shipping on Amazon – BONUS!!!

So I figured if I was getting this new awesome candle warmer I should get a good candle to go in it. So I figured I would cave and spend money on a Yankee Candle which I had never done before since I am so cheap – lol. Well we all know how many scents there are so time to have my head spin again choosing which one to get. I only like sweet smells and in addition to that my husband has bad asthma so I have to be very careful that I get something that will not bother him as well.

So in the end I chose the Yankee Candle Large 22-Ounce Jar Candle, Christmas Cookie it got great reviews and I love the Sugar Cookie smell candles and this is just like that. Of course the candle cost me more than the damn warmer at $30 bucks, but it was a treat to myself. Secret – I never had a large Yankee Candle before !! OMG I was so exited and could not wait for delivery, I know pathetic right?

Ceramic Candle Warmer Crock

I was like a kid on Christmas when my package came – I could not believe how excited I was for a candle – yup this is what happens when we get old I think. Anyway – look at how much nicer that looks on my stove vs. the old ugly white warmer. I am in LOVE. But does it work?

The new warmer has a switch right on the cord (my old one did too) so I inserted my Yankee Candle and turned that baby on. Initially it took a couple hours for the candle to get warm enough and turn to liquid in the crock, but once it did my kitchen smelt delicious as if I was baking lots of cookies. I was almost attempted to get a spoon and eat my candle, but no worries I knew better.

It seems the next day when I used it it took less time for the candle to liquify and it still smells yummy!!!

I LOVE my new Candle Warmer Crock and highly recommend everyone get one!!!!

My next Yankee Candle scent will be : Vanilla Cupcake!!!

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The Gastric Bypass Weight Loss Roller Coaster Ride

Roller Coaster Ride

Once you have Gastric Bypass Surgery be prepared for the Weight Loss Roller Coaster Ride filled with ups, downs, twists, turns, crazy spins, going backwards and dead stops. It is all part of the process and not always a fun ride at all.

I personally have never been one to ride on Roller Coasters at amusement parks, just not my thing. I do however ride on the Roller Coaster of Life and now the Weight Loss Roller Coaster Ride I signed up for. I wish I can say the ride has been thrilling the whole time I have been on it, but I cannot. It has been just as I described; filled with ups, downs, twists, turns, crazy spins, going backwards and dead stops.

I have been though all of them at this point being almost 1 1/2 years post op. I have lost as of this post a total of 106 pounds. Is this ride worth it – OMG yes – no doubt. If you have already had the surgery yourself you are probably on the ride and if you are going to be having the surgery you will soon be on it as well – so get ready.

This ride starts right out of surgery and can seem to go the wrong way instantly – backwards. For instance when I came home from the hospital I was up 4lbs, but that of course was from all the fluids they pump in you at the hospital. Then the ride gets fun and you start to lose lots of weight every week and then BAM you have a weight loss stall and come to a dead stop which can last a couple weeks. Then you start losing again and then out of no where you gain a couple and then lose a pound, stall again, lose, gain, stall. That is how it goes – just crazy!!!

Then come a year post op or so things really slow down and you are not at your goal weight and start losing your mind trying to figure out why and what you can do to get this damn ride back on track like your car derailed some how. Well that is where I am right now. I started my ride at 286 lbs and I am down to 180 lbs. I was so excited 2 weeks ago to hit 179 lbs, but that was short lived – the next week I went up 1 lb and have stayed the same since – Ahhhhhhh. My personal goal is to be 150 lbs, but honestly I do not think my body will get there and that may even be to low for me. My surgeon said a good weight for me would be 165 lbs and I am trying hard to get there, but my body seems to be happy around the 180 lb mark for whatever reason.

The funny thing is that my surgeon had told me prior to my surgery that he saw me losing about 100 pounds from the surgery and leveling out around the 180 lb mark – that just sits in the back of my head – is he psychic? did he cast a spell on my body?

I guess I will have to just continue on the ride and see what comes next for me. Regardless if I make it to my goal at this point I am so much happier with where I am right now. I am so glad I got on this Roller Coaster Ride and I will continue to push myself to make my goal and if it takes another year so be it!!

I cannot believe I am actually wearing a tank top and capris and can go out in public and not stand out looking like a blob. I think if I just lost the other 15 pounds to get to 165 I would be satisfied. We will see where this ride will take me.

Stay Tuned….