Meloney B. Hall, Successful Weight Loss Achiever Profile and Articles

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1). Get Into the Closet after Weight Loss Surgery
After you’ve had a gastric bypass surgery, you’ll lose a lot of weight in a very short period of time. This is a double-edged sword in the sense that you rejoice over the fact that you are losing weight so rapidly, yet in addition, you face challenges of wearing clothing that properly fits your ever-shrinking body. There’s a way you can manage this bitter/sweet dilemma.

2). Holiday Eating Anxieties for Bariatric Patients
Most Bariatric Surgery Patients experience a wide range of Holiday eating anxieties which can actually ruin a perfectly good Holiday around friends and family.

Prior to surgery, Holidays meant family, friends, and lots of food to indulge in and enjoy – often at a glutinous rate simply because Holiday foods are “special” because they are only provided during the season and they are prepared so carefully which adds guilt if you don’t partake of it.

3). Getting to Know Your New Reflection
It’s a fact: Overweight or Obese people DO NOT LIKE mirrors or ANYTHING that reflects back to them as to how others probably see them physically. Many heavy people go as far as removing all full-length mirrors throughout their home in the attempt to avoid seeing their reflection and finding more reasons for self-loathing. They think that removing the full reflection will ease some of the harsh self-criticism.

4). Being Trapped in the BAGGIES!
Remember when you weighed over 300 pounds and you literally felt “stuffed” into your clothes? Zippered pants and tailored shirts just weren’t your “style”, or closer to the truth, you couldn’t find any zippered pants that fit you well or shirts that didn’t peep open of pop buttons! Elastic became your closest buddy! Do you recall how self-conscience.

5). The Fear of Sugars -- A Worthy Phobia
It’s vital that the bariatric patient keep an eye on sugar grams in food!

About 97% of all bariatric surgery patients learn to become very familiar with what is known as the “dumping syndrome”, which is a way the body tells you that you ate something that you really shouldn’t have eaten. “Dumping” shows up in many forms from sudden fatigue, to nausea, to vomiting, and even diarrhea.

6). Your Skin is Begging for Attention
You’ve had the bariatric weight-loss surgery and you are looking fabulous as you are feeling healthier, able to live a more active lifestyle, and wear more fashionable clothing. But you’re noticing that your skin seems to be so dry! If you’ve had a problem with acne or oily skin before, then you are elated that your skin has cleared up and is less oily.

7). Thinking as the Thin Think
When you lose a massive amount of weight after undergoing the Gastric Bypass Weight-Loss Surgery, it’s difficult to change our mindsets and how we incorporate our new lifestyle habits. As we slim down, it is important that we begin to “think as a thin person” or rather (let’s all practice this tongue-twister together) “thinking as the thin think.”

Why should we do this?

Because if we fail to do this, we can run the risk of easily falling into those unhealthy and bad habits that strolled us down the paths of obesity in the first place.

8). It Starts with Bed-Dancing
This “Bed-Dancing” concept often gets a few chuckles… but I want you to stay with me on this one as I explain exactly what it is (and isn’t) and how you can incorporate this in your exercise routine today.

I’ll begin by expressing how essential Bed-Dancing was in my life right after I had the RNY gastric bypass bariatric weight-loss surgery: VERY ESSENTIAL.

9). Waiting for the “Mood Bus” to Arrive
How many times have your heard “I’m not in the mood”… or “When I’m in the mood, I’ll do it,”?

We talk about our “moods” as if they are things that come along like buses or trains and we hop on and ride them until it’s time to get off when we reach a destination, wherever that is and wherever it ends up.

Pull the Cord – DING – time to get off!

When it relates to the gastric bypass bariatric weight-loss patient, the “mood” is a very funny thing to measure since we find ourselves on incredible mood swings at times.

10). Walking Routines for the Bariatric or Gastric Bypass Patient
Every Bariatric Patient is told from DAY ONE how important it is to walk as a form of exercise after surgery. As a matter of fact, many are urged to get up and walk just hours after surgery! The benefits far outweigh the discomfort…. It lowers the risk of developing blood clots, provides fresh blood circulation to the wounds, and helps the lungs clear out any post-surgery “gunk” that may be settling inside.

11). Avoid the "Take-Home-Box" Overload
After you’ve had the RNY surgery, there is one thing you immediately begin to notice.. and that’s what I call the “Take-Home Box Overload”. This is what happens inside your refrigerator as a result of you brining home all of those take-home boxes from restaurants because you cannot finish the meal. Even prior to surgery, you couldn’t often finish the meal when some restaurants serve such large portions.

12). Hair Loss of the Bariatric or Gastric Bypass Patient
DON’T STRESS YOUR SCALP…. Avoid SOME Hair Loss!

You are most-likely aware that having Bariatric or Gastric Bypass surgery DOES cause you to experience “some” type of hair loss as you lose the weight so rapidly. You’ve heard the rumors, and they are TRUE to the point that you WILL LOSE some hair… but you will not be bald in the least! In all of my years attending a support group, NEVER have I seen one bald person yet! So rest assured that although you DO lose “some” hair, it won’t be all.

13). The Inward vs. the Outward Influences of Weight Loss
Why does losing weight have to be so stressful? Why is it so hard?

There are many factors. It would be presumptuous to say that losing weight was easy. It certainly isn’t! A person who has to lose then pounds finds it just a hard and frustrating as the person who has to lose over a hundred pounds. Although the number of pounds appear as a vast difference between the ten-pound loser and the hundred-pound loser, the truth is the same frustrations are experienced.

14). The Bariatric Patient and "Set Point"
New Bariatric patients often ask this basic question: “How do I determine my goal weight?”

The SET POINT:

Each person has his/her own “set point” that the body has programmed deep inside which lets the body know the amount of weight it wants to maintain. Basically, this “set point” was established near puberty; so based on if you were a slim or chubby child approaching puberty, this will determine what your set point” is.

15). Top Tips to Create the Perfect Holiday
Start your holiday with a happy and healthy smile rather than an exhausted grimace. Our holidays should be some of the most enjoyable times in our lives but they can become the most stressful, like moving house or changing jobs.

16). Beating the Credit Crunch
With the effects of the credit crunch taking hold UK consumers are looking to make spending cut backs on holidays, says a new report. There are a number of ways to save money and still enjoy a revitalising break.

17). Top Five European City Break Destinations
City breaks have never been more popular, especially as the credit crunch takes a chunk out of consumer pockets. With many Brits choosing to swap their long summer holiday for a couple of well-planned short breaks, here are our tips for a top city break in Europe this year.

18). Cannes Film Festival Fever
The glamour and glitz of Tinseltown hit the French Riviera this week as the 61st Cannes Film Festival began.

19). Monaco Gears up for Grand Prix
The F1 Grand Prix circus roars into Monaco on 25th May for one of the biggest sports events of the year.

20). How to Reduce the Stress of Travelling with Children
It will come as no surprise to most parents that the two most stressful things when travelling with a young family are keeping the children content and packing all their stuff, according to new research. Happily a little bit of forward thinking can help relieve this stress.