I am three weeks post-op port revision surgery.  I am released finally to swim laps.  I’ve been walking, using the elliptical and weight training, but swimming laps is my love.  I do it for 30 minutes to an hour 3-4 days per week, filling in with the others because “I should”.  I hate the treadmill, elliptical and weight training so I have to look in the mirror and look at my back and shoulders and arms and waist and like what I see, and realize that all in all I am in pretty good shape for a 65 year young formerly 424 pound woman.  My latest encouragement for continuing with training came unsolicited from my young and buff trainer last week.  We started my work out and he asked how much weight I had lost.  I asked him why and he remarked, “Your neck and shoulders and back are definitely more defined”.  Had I jumped up from doing my crunches and kissed him I would have embarrassed him so I just grinned from ear to ear and told him to continue.  While I don’t really “enjoy” the elliptical and weight training I do LOVE how I feel when I am done so I can balance it and always show up for it.  That’s how I work exercise in my head.  I do what I love AND I do what I should and find a way to keep challenging myself.  My latest challenge is doing 15-60 second sprints on the elliptical just to pass the time.  Are you with me?  BORING! 

I spent this past weekend at the Obesity Help conference in Anaheim CA.  It was great.  I met many new folks; saw some old friends and spent time catching up with everyone and sharing my support, education and coaching business, WLS SUCCESS MATTERS with hundreds of people.  In the evening there was a costume party and then the next night a fashion show.  Check out the pics from the photo booth of a group of weight loss surgery successes having a good time.  The very best part of hanging with all of these folks, especially a couple of weeks after my revision was that I felt like I belonged and was accepted.  That is the beauty of attending conferences with other “surgically altered freaks” (thanks Bariatric TV).  We all get to dress up and celebrate being.  No, I didn’t forget to finish the sentence, we all were just being who we were and that alone raises the positive energy in the room to new highs.

I had two great NSV’s this past weekend:

• When I looked at the pictures of all of us I no longer felt like the biggest girl in the bunch.  We were just a bunch of women having a good time, whether it was 2 of us, 3 of us, 4 of us or a shot of all of the men and women in the room.  I was just one of a group.  This is an internal argument I have had with myself for a long time, and I believe I am beginning to resolve it and feel comfortable in my own skin.
• I REALLY have my satiety back.  Being away from home it’s really easy to spend the days grazing along.  My choices in restaurants were great, and although I did taste a few samples, they actually fit into my numbers for the day.  Before my revision surgery I would have been looking for food every hour or so, hungry, and meals not quite satisfying me whether or not they filled me up.  My “satiety switch” as I like to call it, has definitely been turned on again and for this I am grateful.  I can control grazing from head hunger with so much more ease than if I were both physically and emotionally hungry.

It was a fun weekend for sure, and if I didn’t see you there (and even if I did) I hope to get to see you in Tampa April 4-6, 2014 for the WLSFA Meet and Greet.  Exciting news about this event will be announced soon.  You do not want to miss it.  Here’s the link:  WLSFA 2014 Sand & Sea Meet & Greet……see you all in Tampa…