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Obesity is a physical sign of an unhealthy mindset. Most people believe that losing weight involves having willpower and being perfect. This is the wrong mindset to have. Your mindset is fueled by the conversations you have with yourself. If your internal conversations are positive and healthy, your mind will follow through. These inner talks can give you the motivation to keep going or the discouragement to quit. Another important part of permanent weight loss involves planning and perseverance. Failure and mistakes are inevitable. You have to learn how to accept them and move on. If you can't internally deal with failure, then you won't be able to move past it. This is different than defeat. Being defeated is letting failure win and letting your missteps ruin your success. The best way to keep failure from becoming defeat is by continuously working on a better mindset. Below are some ways to help you do that and keep you on the path to success. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF In order to do this, you have to give your all. No cliche excuses, no poor self-esteem, and no setting yourself up for failure with unrealistic goals. Trying your best can only produce positive outcomes. They may not be the outcomes you initially wanted, but believing in yourself is the first step to achieving what you set out to do. CREATE A ROUTINE Plan out your meals, plan out your exercise, and then follow through. The easiest way to get off track is not being prepared. Your willpower can only hold out for so long. Willpower is your brain's attempt to overcome your natural desires. Even though the brain is very commanding, natural tendencies will eventually win out. If you depend on willpower alone to lose weight, you will probably fail. If you create a rock-solid eating plan and put aside some time for exercise, then you will succeed. Meal plans, will help you learn how to stay on track and maintain your success without becoming overwhelmed. PERSEVERANCE Expect failure and embrace it. None of this matters unless you are willing to trek on, even in the face of failure. If you treat your mistakes as lessons learned and stay the course, you will succeed. If you succumb to your failure and project it inward, you will most likely fail, fall back to your old eating habits and continue to live an unhealthy lifestyle. Accepting defeat creates an unhealthy diet cycle that, for some, never stops. USE YOUR IMAGINATION If a healthy eating plan is not designed to fit your needs, then it becomes very hard for you to succeed. If you don't like the food, you're probably not going to eat it. If you don't like the exercise, you're probably not going to do it. Tweak and change plans in order to make a routine easier and more enjoyable to follow. Use your imagination to create the best diet plan for you! Choosing what you like to eat enables you to associate good thoughts and feelings with that food. Associating a healthy diet with positive feelings will help you to stick to the plan and be more successful in the long run. ALWAYS BE ACCOUNTABLE No one is responsible for your weight loss, except you. Don't blame your job, “body type”, family, or society; you will never succeed. Take control over yourself, decisions, and outlook on failures. Without positive accountability, there can never be lasting success. DEAL WITH YOUR EMOTIONS Many people will eat when they're sad, eat when they're happy, or eat when they're bored. Food is used as a coping mechanism for all sorts of things. If you want to change your body, then you have deal with the emotions that hinder your success. A good way to do this is only eating if you're hungry or when you have a meal planned out. If you plan ahead, then you are more likely to stay on track if your emotions get out of whack. CHANGE YOUR PROGRAMMING Most of us have been programmed to think that we're fat, unhealthy, and that we will never look or feel the way we want. Too often, this is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you tell yourself that you'll always be unhealthy, then that will probably be true. The opposite is also correct. If you tell yourself you want to be healthy, stay healthy, and lose weight no matter what obstacles you may face, then you are setting yourself up for success. STAY POSITIVE The best way to have a healthy mindset is to stay positive. Try to find good in everything and train your mind to think in the best interest of your body. Focus on replacing unhealthy thoughts with healthy ones and your body will start to follow suit. If you have any other questions or want to know more about how to have a healthy mindset, go over to our Facebook page by clicking the link at the top of the newsletter. You can talk with us and other dieters about anything you like. We want to hear about your successes and your failures in the hopes that people will learn from your mistakes and find motivation in your victories. I got this in an online post I recieve,

Week 25 Last week’s weight – 197.2 This week’s weight – 198.8 Total weight gained this week – 1.6 Beginning weight – 246 lbs Total weight loss since surgery – 47.2 lbs I am not happy in general with how my weight loss has slowed down. Honestly I thought I would be at 50 lbs by now and it is a little frustrating to see the scale go up and down like it has the past few weeks. I’ve started looking at things I can do to help by scouring the boards for ideas. My favorite is to get sick . I would think that working with a ton of students and teachers that would happen sooner than later but alas it seems my immune system is working just fine. Right now I am trying the drink lots of water approach (I am currently starting day 2). I haven’t been drinking nearly enough and I would kill two birds with one stone but adopting this habit (breaking a stall and getting the appropriate amount of water in). I have been looking at the pouch test but am going to start with water first. I shouldn’t be griping too much because 47 lbs is still a nice amount of weight to have lost and I am thrilled to: Get lots of compliments at work Shop in the regular (not plus) side of stores Not struggle to get my wedding ring on and off Be below my driver’s license weight Have enough energy to workout (walking and crossfit) Be under 200 lbs I did step on the scale this morning (something I don’t normally do but I was curious to see if the water thing was working after the first day…and about a million trips to the bathroom) and I was down to 197.6 so that gives me hope for next Wednesday’s weigh in.

What a day of ups and downs. I went back and forth between excited and terrified so many times I didn't know if I was coming or going. The day started at 2pm with an intake with a skinny pretty nutritionist in a little black dress. I kept having to force myself to be honest because the way she asked all the questions made me feel pretty bad about he way I eat. Next I met my Nurse Practitioner, Frankie. He's the guy who does the fills. He answered a lot of questions I had about erosion rates and what to expect. He was adorable, very charming and friendly and really put me at ease. He encouraged me to come in monthly regardless of how I was doing. I have a feeing I'll be seeing a lot of him. Finally I met with Dr Ren. I questioned her about being a low BMI bandster and wanted to know what she thought my outcome would be. It turns out she did a study of low BMI patients and found that 1 out of I think 48 failed the band and had it removed due to not tolerating the lifestyle changes. 1 was lost to follow up. And all the others reached their goals. We discussed how I currently eat and I told her that I currently always eat 3 meals a day. She said that might be an obstacle to me. Once I had the band, she explained, I might not need to eat that often. She shared that she eats only once a day. (no wonder she's so skinny - let me tell you it is a rare woman that can rock those surgical scrubs) She suggested I try to loosen up my beliefs about how much food/protein people "need" and said that we as a culture tend to think we need way more food, protein and water than we actually do and this leads us to eat more than we need. She was nice and helpful and answered all my questions. I mean, she has done thousands of these so I know I'm in good hands. But still its the patients, not the doctor that are going to reassure me. So that night from 6-8 I attended a support group at NYU for people banded in the last 12 months. In addition to the social worker who leads the group there were 5 people, 3 women and 2 men. One woman had been banded for 5 years and had lost 150 lbs. She described how she no longer needed her apnea machine or her medications for a variety of health problems that had since resolved. Everyone was such an inspiration. I was surprised to hear people say that they were discouraged with their weight loss when they had just gotten done saying they had lost 40 lbs in 4 months. I guess no one wants to JUST lose weight...people want to get THIN. It was also interesting to hear the guys speak about their food struggles. I always find guys are so much more forthright about their bad eating habits than we women who tend to have more shame and therefore be more private/sneaky whatever you care to call it. Everyone in the room, even those struggling to get the outcome they wanted, admitted that he band was the best thing they ever did and they don't regret it for a moment. THAT was very reassuring. I exchanged emails with 2 women and they promised to attend the next support group, which will be just a few days before my surgery. I topped off my long day, in addition to writing a reallllly big check, with a loooong phone call to my folks. I decided my Mom will be my surgery day buddy. They are both very overweight and I think this surgery freaks them out, but they are there for me 100% I have a few weeks left before I have to start liquids. So I'm just starting to think about what I need to stock in my house. I will be celebrating both my birthday (46!!) and my daughter's 2nd birthday during my liquids phase. Also I'll be joining my parents for a yearly convention we like to attend that is unfortunately characterized by these big dinner buffets. I have decided to celebrate my Bday early so I can have a piece of cake and not violate my 2 weeks of liquids. I also plan to not accompany my family to the big buffets dinners - instead maybe I'll check out the outlets and shop for my daughters. That way I wont have to smell food when I'm starving. On my bday wish list is a little portable blender, and a smaller crockpot because mine is the size you use to make enough stew for the whole congregation. Hahaha. It's time to pack away the summer clothes and take out the Fall stuff. I'm very tempted to give away all my big summer clothes as a vote of confidence. What do you think?

I'm 3 weeks out and have lost only 18lbs. Havent' lost any last week. I hear this is pretty common. I know i am eating/drinking right. Taking 70g protein/day, and around 400-500 cal./day. I feel normal finally (since about day 12)... I had surgery in Tj. Mexico and had a very good experience with dr. Almanza and his staff. My follow up dr is Dr. Swain in Murray Ky. Everything is going normal... No nausea good restriction, and walking 1-2 miles/day. Just been walking 2 months or so. Plan to start running more and more as the weight comes off and i get in better shape. I walk very quickly and am progressing well with that. People are starting to notice the weight coming off. While i'm in a stall i still can tell my clothes are becoming more loose everyday. Haven't weighed in 4 days,, PLan to only weigh once a week instead of daily like before. It was discouraging to me to be in a stall and weigh everyday... Thanks for reading my jumbled thoughts...

Five months ago today I had my gastric sleeve surgery. I am happy to report that i am down 56 pounds!!! 64 more to go to goal!!

Banded yesterday...no pain at all. I had a bad reaction to the anesthesia and had a hard time waking up, but other than that...feeling fine! Bring on the liquids!

All of my life I have been bigger. With that said, I didn't really care becasue I was always in shape and very active. I played tennis is high school and swam every day. I would hike when I was able and I could slam the crap out of a racquetball ball. Then BAM!!!! That all changed 18 years ago. I was 20 years old, in college, and having the time of my life when my disc decided it didn't like the home it had and that it wanted to go explore the rest of my back. The first two years after this happened, I was still able to do some activities, but I had to be mindful of my back. Then, over time, it got worse and I did less and less until I could no longer fathom the idea of doing any activity. Truth is, when you deal with chronic pain on a daily basis, you get tired of it and you want to do anything you can to get it to stop. My anything was doing nothing. Now, after my surgery I have been doing more than I have in years. I walk almost daily or do some other type of cardio. And even though I'm still in horrible pain, I figure it's worth it to be healthy. I am only 5 months out and I have lost over 100lbs from my highest weight and around 75 from my surgery day. Now, you can't lose that much weight that fast with out some repercussions. And trust me, I have some. If you have read my blog for awhile, you know that I have already commented about my boobs. For those of you who don't know, my boobs are the things I miss the most. Every time I look in the mirror when I'm naked, I sing, "Do your boobs hang low? Do they wobble to and fro? Can you tie them in a knot? Can you tie them in a bow? Can you throw them over your shoulder like a Continental soldier? Do your boobs hang low?" They seem to hang a little lower every day. I'm starting to think they are depressed. Maybe I should give them some antidepressants to perk them back up....do you think that would work? I wish!!! I had just learned to accept my boobs then out of nowhere I noticed something today that totally caught me off guard. I have wings!!! You know the extra skin under your arm that just hangs there and flops back and forth. I thought I was doing well with not getting any of that. I have made sure that I have worked my arms (with my shake weight, and while walking) but apparently that hasn't been enough. I am 38 years old and I have the back, boobs and arms of an 80 year old. Then, to make it just a little worse, I can start to see the extra skin on my tummy. My oh my, I'm just going to be skinny...yes, the pun was intended. But seriously people....it sucks. We work so hard following the program, doing what we need to do, and fighting daily urges to not eat certain things and to keep active and yet some of us will still have these issues. I guess I'll have to accept my new wings like I accepted my boobs. I can't do anything about it right now. The good thing is that now I won't have to pay those high prices for airfare. I can just hold out my arms on a windy day and "Fly like and eagle". Now, if only I can find something useful for my droopy boobs to do....that's going to take some thought.