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Thursday, February 09, 2017

Throw-Back-Thursday: Motivation and Kindness

TBT! Hello good readers and happy Throw Back Thursday to you! Perhaps I should call it "TRUE CONFESSIONS THURSDAY" because today I reveal to you the most difficult thing about being a bariatric researcher-writer/online personality/patient: Staying Motivated and Treating Myself Kindly.



There it is.  I know! I nag you all the time to be kind to yourself and to use motivation as your most powerful tool in the management of this most disrespected disease we call obesity. Being brave and confident in the face of constant struggle coupled with years of blaming and belittling ourselves for a metabolic disorder is exhausting. More often than not at the end of the day the last thing I want to worry about is the Four Rules or the bathroom scale or fighting the zipper on mysteriously shrinking blue jeans (it's the dryer, right?).  You too?

Blog Post 06/21/2016:
Obesity Reclassified: Obesity is a medical condition, not a moral failure


But I've committed to you to keep researching, keep writing, and hopefully, consistently provide your with the inspiration you crave that soothes your soul at times when you feel you cannot take another moment of this crazy harder-than-hell LivingAfterWLS way of life.

Now the good news for me is that there is a rainbow in the storm! Since 2005 I've written thousands and thousands of articles, a few books, and created year's worth of recipes that serve as my safety-net when I cannot muster the resolve to pull inspiration and kindness from thin air. Today I've pulled from our archives a Weekly Digest newsletter from 2014 that is all about Self-Compassion as we travel this difficult road. It turns out this "road" is more a bumpy meandering primitive trail rather than the faster easier super highway. Darn it! If only WLS were as easy those on the outside think it is!  I've shared here my opening greeting from that newsletter and provided links to the longer articles. 

I needed to read this, perhaps you do as well. After all, we are in this together!

Resources for You: We have thousands of articles, blog posts, and newsletters available to you free - your safety net. Use the "SEARCH" box in this blog or the topic cloud (both in the right hand column) to find articles and links to topics that matter to you. Please note we cannot honor expired promotions shown in our archived resources.

Enjoy!
Kaye


Improve Health and Weight Loss
Self-Compassion is the first step
October 2014
Link to the Newsletter: Weekly Digest October 2014

"Thank you for joining me in this week's LivingAfterWLS Digest, I know your time is valuable and appreciate you spending some of it with me. Today I address the issue of self-compassion and kindness and the role it plays in our health and weight management after surgery. As a group we are generous with our kindness and caring for others, but oh-so-hard on ourselves. Not a day goes by where I don't receive an email full of self-loathing and disappointment when WLS has not gone text book perfect as planned. Words like "failure" "disappointed" "angry" "depressed" and "hopeless" are used to describe setbacks that are perceived as personal weakness. Yet if we were to listen to a friend talk this way about herself we wouldn't allow it - we would build on her strengths and abilities and buoy her spirits with encouragement and praise.

It is time we turn the table and exercise self-compassion and self-kindness. Doing so is the first step in taking positive action to manage our weight and health using the surgical tool we so desperately needed. Our featured article, "Encouraging self-compassion for a positive body image" is a good starting place to launch your campaign for self-kindness. Follow that with some "me time" spent on the LivingAfterWLS Personal Self Assessment, your quarterly review of your goals, progress, and plans.
Download the worksheet for free: Self-Assessment Worksheet.

Other features in today's Digest include some fact-filled links on the big health headline: Ebola Virus Disease; updates from the new and improved LivingAfterWLS Blog; a great recipe for Beef with Soba Noodles; and a quick study on the health benefits of walking.

I hope you find this digest useful in your ongoing efforts for improved health with weight loss surgery. You have the power to make this your healthiest season ever! Let's do it together!"

Link to the Newsletter: Weekly Digest October 2014



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