Feeling Great!

First of all, let me start by saying that I am so glad Adam is doing well. Our fearless leader gave us all a scare. We are all happy to have Adam back in the office and feeling great!

In March, we had the Veteran Bandsters' Meeting. Adam started the support group by talking about the many non scale victories that our patients have. How wonderful to not worry about whether or not the chairs have arms. How wonderful to tie your shoes with the bows on top. Think about all the little things you can do now that could not do when you first started your journey. Overcoming these little things can be a big victory for so many patients.

Even small changes on the scale are meaningful. If you did not get the band where would your weight be now? Sometimes a patient will say, but I have only lost ____ pounds. Never say only. Have you ever picked up a 5 pound dumbbell, 10 pound and how about 20 pounds? Pick up the amount of weight you have lost some day and you will realize how much any amount can add to the difficulty of getting around. Adam demonstrated this at the meeting which made for a great visual. Hopefully many of you had a chance to pick the weights up too.

When the scale does not move in the right direction or at all that can be very frustrating. During the Veterans' meeting, we were divided into groups and my group included those patients who have hit plateaus. The greatest frustration was when patients are doing well and get sick or have some sort of issue where the band needs to be drained. Patients feel frustrated that they have to start all over again when they were once at a good place in terms of feeling restriction from the band. This is often the time when weight plateaus or even goes up. I see patients giving up at these times and resorting back to old eating habits and even being less active because "the band isn't working right now anyway." We should all know that the band is just a tool and helps to control portions. This is the time more than ever that you should be eating 3 meals per day. Have a good source of protein like meat, poultry, fish, eggs, soy, nuts, peanut butter or low fat dairy (yogurt, cheese.) Eat the protein first. Separate your liquids and solids. Use food records if you find yourself straying from healthy choices. Don't think of it as a time to diet, but a time to nourish yourself with healthy foods. And of course, stay active!

This is my favorite time of year for exercise. Exercise feels good and eventually will feel great once you are fit. I think most of you know I love to run, but I also like biking. I think I posted these links last year, but it is worth reposting again. Get your bike out of the garage and give it a good tune up. Try one of these bike paths. I usually pack a healthy picnic and then we have day long ride on any of these paths. Of course you don't have to bike the whole path. Bike for as long or as short of a ride as you like. I hope you check them out. These are my favorite paths.

East Bay Bike Path http://www.riparks.com/eastbay.htm

Blackstone River Bikeway http://www.blackstoneriverbikeway.com/

Minuteman Bike Path http://homepage.mac.com/mnassal/obp/C504666174/E20060823115705/index.html

Have a great month. Hope to see you in the office, at a support group or at one of my classes. Call our office at 508-668-4400 to register or e-mail me at janesylvestre@massweightloss.com Jane