Why we fail to continue succeeding:

[winklie 518]

I have been reading studies in JAMA and elsewhere for well over a year, looking at all kinds of statistics. Initially my research was to determine which bariatric surgery was the best choice. Even after attending an informational seminar, where my surgeon went on to call the BNY GB the “Gold Standard” I had more reading to do. As it turns out for me, as someone who has taken medication to avoid GERD for the last 20 years, and my GERD evolved to the point that I now have Barrett’s esophagus, however it has not spread nor is there any signs of dysplasia so that is okay, but it ruled out the Sleeve for me. The band is no longer actively pushed, in fact the number of revisions from band to GB in 2014 actually was higher than the number of people getting the band for the first time. My surgeon said that in his opinion in 10 years the band will be considered a historical procedure and no longer done, or if still done, only on a very small segment of the bariatric group as a whole.

So why do we fail to continue succeeding? Let’s start by defining failure, in the context of this post. The failure I am talking about is, having surgery, getting to your goal weight, then after a year (or more significantly at three and five years out) gaining back a larger percentage of weight than is expected. The current system wide average, is that it is expected that all patients will gain back about 10% of the weight lost. It is less in the GB group then the sleeve, and the band is worst of them all.

Now understanding what I mean by failure to continue succeeding, here is the bad news. No one has done any respectable studies looking at WHY we fail to continue to succeed, the studies mostly compare success rates between the various surgeries and things like additional surgery, readmission rates, complication etc. I think I can explain why some people fail to continue to succeed, and when you think about it makes sense. It is actually the opposite of a positive new thinking called the “Aggregation of Marginal Gains” look at this link to read about it. It is a way to live life. To break it down, simply stated, you improve everything within your sphere of influence by 1%, the sum of all those increases can be, and if done correctly, quite significant. But you have to fully embrace the concept for it to work. When I say EVERYTHING within your sphere of influence I mean everything. A great example, when I used to cross the road going for my morning walk, I waited until an opening in traffic then I took a diagonal path across the road. This represented the easiest way to cross. Now I refuse to turn unless making a 90 degree turn. I improved my step count crossing roads by 1%. Nothing Earth shaking, but it adds up. Park 1% further away from the door. Walk upstairs instead of the elevator. Which I already did, however now I walk ½ a flight further than I need to go and them go down. 1%. Grasp the concept as a whole, and just imagine, improving everything by 1%, and not just once. Taking the stair example, I started off walking up just a couple additional steps. Now it’s a ½ a flight plus a couple extra steps. Soon I’ll be up to a full additional flight of stairs. Continue to push for 1% changes.

So now that this great concept is out there, you are probably asking yourself, what this long winded tool is getting at. We fail to continue succeeding, that is regain more weight than expected, in the exact opposite way we succeed. 1% at a time. You’re at your goal, your weight fluctuates up and down 2 pounds. It’s been a long time since surgery and you are not as sensitive to sugar as you were initially. So you are at a party and say what the heck and you have a small piece of cake. You don’t dump, in fact you have no ill effects at all. This is the start of the end. One piece of cake leads to two, which leads to other things you would not eat, but you’ve become tired of all the cooking, and a quick meal, is temping. Then it happens. You get on the scale and you are up three or four or even five pounds. Knowing you lost the weight before, you think no biggie, I’ll just make sure I eat right. Some do some don’t. Some become in their own mind failures at that point and fail to see the reason to continue with the program. *(Note the title of this post is not why we fail, NEVER think of yourself as a failure, EVER!! Look back at old pictures and remember you are a success!! Do not let the negative thoughts become reality, do not set yourself up for failure. Remember the old adage, “If you are not planning to succeed, you are planning to fail) They stop going to the gym, start old eating habits back up, and sure enough as they expected, the weight comes back as well.

So why do I post this now, and post it here? Because this post seeks to reinforce that which should have been taught to you in whatever mental health process your surgical group had you go through. The understanding that you are making a LIFELONG LIFESTYLE CHANGE emphasis is justified. I don’t have any cute puns or. gifs to attach. This post, I hope will help those approaching goal, those at goal and those who are new or even still pre-surgery, to understand, these changes never go away. When you remove something from your diet, it’s removed. I think of the things I choose not to eat as things I am allergic too. I choose a bit more extreme diet than many, I do not eat corn, potatoes, rice, flour, Pasta, sugar, fructose or anything processed. If there is something on the label I cannot pronounce, it’s processed, and I refuse to eat it. There are exceptions. I am going to see Star Wars Saturday evening, and I will probably cough up $50 for a small popcorn and a bottle of Water. This to me is acceptable. I Choose not to eat certain foods, but I can also eat them with the understanding that it is limited.

So if you read this whole post, congratulations on your tenacity. Hopefully it will enlighten you. Hopefully it will help you affect positive changes in your life. The Aggregation of Marginal Gains is a simple concept to employ, but life altering. And lastly always remember this, if nothing else from this post, put up a sticky note on your fridge or inside your car, or the side of a computer monitor, anywhere where you will see it every day, and remember this “I attained success 1% at a time, that is slowly, I will stop being successful in the same way, 1% at a time, or slowly. I must always be consciously aware of what I am eating and continue to plan to succeed”

Happy Holidays to all, and to those in your lives!!!

[Threetimesacharm 1,400]

Where did you get the article from? I would like to know who wrote it.

[winklie 518]

@@Threetimesacharm

I wrote it this afternoon. If i was quoting someone I would have used citations.

[c37king 7]

Great post ARMY Dog!!!

[winklie 518]

@@c37king

HUA!

[60&goin4it 931]

Loved the post! Thank-You!

[winklie 518]

@@60&goin4it

You are most welcome.

And here is to wishing you a Very Happy Holiday Season!

[sharkgirl 251]

Great post and I LOVE the 1% increase and making it a mindset. I really wish I could remind myself to be happy with the 1% increase, instead I have an all or nothing which gets me into trouble.

Hope you have a wonderful Holiday!

[TinyTink 268]

Great post. I read every word. So how's your butt?

[rking 484]

Great job! Good reading!!!!!!

[winklie 518]

@@sharkgirl

It takes some time to get used to thinking in terms of 1%. But being true to the philosophy you only need to implement it 1% at a time. See how easy that is? Just think of one thing within your sphere of control and improve it by 1%, and you are off and running. How easy is it to do? Here is a great example. I improve my dietary intake by leaving the last bite of food on my plate. Just one bite. I don't make any changes to the food I log, but I know I am on the low side of what I logged for a given meal. Another way, I put 2 oz of Fairlife (If you are a milk drinker, here is a HUGE improvement, get Fairlife milk) whole milk in my coffee. I measure the milk and measure on the short side of 1oz so it's more like .9 oz. I log 2 oz, but only use 1.8. Small changes that at the end of the day add up.

Thank you for the holiday wishes, And I am wishing you, and those in your life a Happy Holiday Season.

@@TinyTink

Thank you, I am glad you enjoyed the post. It was a bit wordy I thought, but I said what I wanted to say. I am not a doctor, but I think I made some valid points. The last thing I want to see from anyone, is a failure to continue succeeding. As for my ass, we had it out a couple days ago. I broke out the MOM, it had apparently forgotten I hold the magic trump card. It is back in line now, thanks for asking.

Have a very Happy Holiday Season!

@@rking

Thank you I am glad you enjoyed it. Hopefully you learned something, or at least think of things that you were not thinking of before. Reading for the sake of reading has never been my thing. I like to walk away with something. That was my goal in creating this post.

As mentioned before, have a Very Happy Holiday Season!

[sharkgirl 251]

I never thought about it on the food side, I was thinking on the exercise side because that is what my old trainer always had me do (just 2 more reps or minutes of <<insert exercise>>). I love your ideas, keep them coming!

[winklie 518]

@@sharkgirl

If someone came to me and said, "listen I want to incorporate the aggregation of marginal gains into my life, how do I start?" My reply would be as follows: As the definition in this case is to improve everything within your sphere of control by 1%, start out by sitting down and defining everything that is within your control. If you did it properly you will have one HUGE ASS list. Because you will realize that there is a lot more within your control than you thought. For example, I live on the second floor of my building. I walk up the stairs, then back down then up again. When I am waiting for someone, I am walking. There is an observation made in science that reads as follows: Objects in motion tend to stay in motion, objects that are not in motion tend to not be in motion. I want to be an object in motion. So if I am waiting for a bus, I am doing laps around the bus terminal until the bus shows up. When I go grocery shopping I do the equivalent of wind sprints. I start on the right side, then I make a loop around the first row, then a loop around the first, then second row, then the first, second and third row. I am a full time student, so time I have. I spend an hour in the grocery store and get about 6K steps. And the great part of it is, while I am actively exercising I make better food choices. Log everything that goes into your mouth. Everything. Even a Vitamin. You'll be surprised at how many calories you eat without really thinking about it. A Fitbit is a must. For two reasons, first, it allows to you keep track of how many steps you take, and you can see yourself improve, this is a big reward. Secondly it makes you accountable. You want a lazy day, keep track of your food and you'd be surprised at how motivating knowing that you are going to have to look at your step count. A REALLY big motivator is to add your friends who have Fitbits to your friends list, and let them see everything. I have six friends on Fitbit, and we constantly egg each other on, and challenge one another. Reduce your food intake by 1%, reduce the bad things in your diet by 1%, park further from the door. In fact park as far away from the door as you can. I have a friend who has taken this to the max possible. When we go out, we park down the road from wherever we are going. The list is endless. Start small, 1% at a time, do not become overwhelmed. I got to where I am 1% at a time. And I look for additional 1% changes I can make. The gains really stack up when you take something you already improved by 1% and improve it again, then again then again. Look at Team Sky. Look at all they were able to accomplish, 1% at a time.

Like any change, I would suggest to take it slow, make whatever you do meaningful, and measurable, make sure it's something you like doing, or at the least it's not something you hate doing. I would not eat 1% more okra. That crosses a line. Don't think of this as something you are doing to lose more weight, this is a lifestyle choice. Pay it forward. Explain to people why you park so far from the door, get the word out. The more of your friends you introduce this too, the more likely you are to wind up with a friend who does it as well. Then you have support. You and your friend(s) can share new and innovative ways to improve something by 1%.

That is the advice I would give someone if asked such a question.

[sharowna 6]

Kudos to you Winklie! Iam sure you would make a great mentor for those of us that are struggling to hit our WL goals. Thanks for all the information!

[winklie 518]

@@sharowna

Thank you for the kind words, I am but a mortal man, with a highly analytical mind. Before I retired I spent my career fixing cars. I solve problems. That is how my brain is wired. Everything is a problem with a solution. The more challenging, the better. I have many of my own faults, I just choose not to share them, lol. If I can help even one person be successful, I would be thrilled. Many many people have helped me, and my posts here and other places are my way to pay it forward.

Happy New Year!