Re: Anxiety and Maintenance

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 12/30/03 2:30:48 PM Central Standard Time,

cindyjrubin@... writes:

> Am I the only one that goes thru this? And will the success of beating

> back

> these few pounds each and every time eventually lower the anxiety?

--------------

Cindy,

You have described what I go through EXACTLY!! I weigh every day.

When the numbers are up (no more than five pounds) I spring into action -- and

have always gotten them back down -- but I have HUGE anxiety when it happens.

I too have that sinking feeling that no matter what I do, maybe " this time "

the scale will just keep on creeping up. I have talked about this repeatedly

with my shrink -- LOL.. I'm sure he gets bored to tears hearing me talk about my

weight -- when it's up, I give him the " weight report " through daily emails!

I am with you on the daily weighing -- I could never rely on my

clothes to tell me, because it would be too much weight on before my clothes

signaled me that there was trouble.

I suspect that this will just take a great deal of experience with the

process to fully accept that we CAN control those numbers on the scale. I

have been thinking that I need to journal, or take notes of some kind the next

time I go through a " panic mode " with getting the weight off. Perhaps reading

it the NEXT time it happens will calm me down a bit.

I don't have any good answers, but NO, you are not the only one who

goes through this anxiety!

Beth

Houston, TX

VBG - Dr. Srungaram

05/31/00 - 314 lbs.

11/01/02 - Abdominoplasty

11/29/02 - 160 lbs.

5'10 "

[Guest guest]

Cindy, too bad about the anxiety, because you sound so IN CONTROL! Perhaps it is

a good thing, to keep you vigilant, since you don't want to get to that

5-7-pound level... Is there a way to make a game of it somehow? That way, it

wouldn't appear to be threatening, but rather something FUN to change...

Sharon in D.C.

Anxiety and Maintenance

I am almost 23 months post-op and at maintenance. I weigh daily in

order to keep a close eye on my weight and take immediate corrective

action if the scale starts creeping upwards. Over the past 4 or 5

months the scale has crept up a few pounds more than once, then back

down again when I take corrective action, so I know that by just

changing a few things (less snacking, uping the water and # of

workouts/exercise for a week or less) is all it has taken to bring

the scale back to where I want it.

However, I still do not have a handle on the anxiety this small

weight gain causes...its a sinking feeling in the tummy that oh, no,

what if I can't get it back down, or what if it keeps going up no

matter what I do? There is no reason to feel this anxiety since I

have successfully beat back the pounds each and every time, and have

tried to reason with myself. Pre-op I wouldn't tackle a weight gain

until it was 20 or more pounds and we all know where that got

me..failure and obesity...gain and lose, then gain more over and

over, so its understandable why I feel the anxiety when there is a

gain, never having achieved success before... I know, an alternative

is to stay off the scales and to cut back permanently on

snacking/sweets/carbs. I do not want to cut back on daily weighing as

I think that would create more anxiety, to not know what the weight

was doing. Some say they wait until they feel a gain in their

clothing. That would be a good 5-7 pounds for me and more than I

want to deal with. As for snacking, I don't want to give that up

either, though I do cut back when needed. I'm a believer in allowing

myself treats, and I can limit amounts and do not want to live

without them. What I really want to know is does anyone have any

advice on how to handle the anxiety-put some calm back into my life-

other than staying off the scale or cutting back on treats? Am I the

only one that goes thru this? And will the success of beating back

these few pounds each and every time eventually lower the anxiety?

Cindy in VA

lap RNY 2/8/02

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