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   I do seminars now and I love sharing info with new friends who are interestewd in surgery as a weight loss solution.I feel like we have an obligation to be honest about the side effects of surgery and the rollercoaster of emotions that can become involved with this process. Most importantly I want people to understand thast no matter how much you hear about these surgeries there is nothing yet that would make me give it back. I am in love with myself and It goes both ways myself loves me back.
   Here is a clip I wrote today and I am going to share it with you all because I believe it whole heartely; "The single most important thing I can tell you is, "If you go into this thinking this is about you and you only you are not going to be able to enjoy it as much as you should. This is, without a doubt, going to be harder on your friends and family than it will be on you and you need to look at it like you are helping them get through a tough time. Don't worry about getting your time you get all the rewards every day is christmas if you do it right and follow the rules. When it comes to giving up the things you like it is hard but you find other things you like and eventually restrictions lift a little but for me to loose the 203 pounds I have lost in 1 year, I would do it 100 times again and if I was still here I would gladly do it again. It is a rocky road but worth the trip." Talk to you later, Tamilyn

   My Doctor asked me to lose 40 lbs prior to surgery and when I quit smoking, gave up caffeine, I drank 2 gallons of Iced Tea a day, and lost 28 lbs in 11 days he said let’s do it so we did. I have to tell you that everyone is different but seriously I was walking the halls of the hospital the night I had surgery, I was a little slow that night but the next morning I went home and spent a total of about 28 hours in the hospital. I think I slept most of the first day home but I only used the pain meds for 2 days and was walking to the end of the block on the 3rd day. I think it is about equal to a root canal. I could have gone back to a mild to medium office position by day 4. The WLS is a breeze but I hear the skin removal surgery is the pits 5-6 times harder than RNY, not looking forward to that but hey what’s a little misery compared to the fact that they won't be doing it unless I lose the weight and than WOO_HOO.
   There are also a few things concerning relationships so if you are in one or married we can have that conversation later but let me know. As for pain it is hard to gauge for everyon but the first 3 days will probably be the worst for you cause you do feel like you got hit by a semi truck, sore like you ran the triathlon twice but it get better around day 3 then for general purposes I think I was in the yard like the energizer bunny on crack" in about 2 weeks.
   People have more trouble eating around me than I have with them eating. I thought it would be harder to see other people eating, and it is hard at first, but when you start to lose weight you are so excited I think "Thank god I'm not eating like that anymore or else I would be big as a house" and it becomes repulsive to think of eating like that again. Just remember to eat slowly and I can’t stress this enough I have "SHARED" many times because I ate to fast, like I used to. "SHARING" is my nice way of saying vomiting and that is totally different also because you have 2 stomachs now the food goes in one and the digestive fluids in the other so food comes out the same way it went is which if you’re going to share is a much nicer way to do it, but try not to it still not fun.
   All my friends started losing weight also and the funny thing is the motivation. I have a ton of friends and acquaintances and for 25 years I have always been the biggest one in the group. This was never a problem for me and certainly not for them. Now, and I say this with tons of sympathy, my friends are feeling tremendous guilt and shame because they are afraid that for the first time ever their weight will now be the focal point of our group. They are starting to realize that Tamilyn is going to be smaller than them very soon and that makes them feel bad, then they feel twice as bad because of the quilt they feel for thinking bad of me. I have to constantly remind them that I love them and understand their feelings, and that I am not at all offended by them I don't care why they are getting healthier just that they are and I also don't mind if I am still the biggest one in the group as long as that is in a size 10 or 12. Thing to remember about family is; it is usually either worry or envy and guilt. If it is envy and guilt, they will almost never tell you. So it is easier to believe it is worry and thank them for their concern. Remind them that you will be healthier and happier with their valuable support and that you know how lucky you are to have such a tremendous support group because not everyone does. That usually does the trick, but if it does not then just think of it as a rollercoaster ride you can't see who is behind you but they are there and you'll see them again at the end of the ride.
   There is also the little issue of your bowel movements you will need to be aware of if you are having RNY GB Medial at first when you start to eat you don't always get a lot of notice that you need to visit the restroom so just be aware and learn this from my experience, IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE TO GO......GO NOW.....THERE IS NO GRACE PERIOD.   I have a psychotic workout routine and they think that is why I am loosing so fast but I also don’t like meat very much and love veggies so a lot of broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, cottage cheese, mixed tuna but here is the snag the hardest is the emotional breakup with food the sooner you start the detachment and get used to the idea of never getting to eat those items ever again for the entire rest of your life the better. The people I've met that struggle are the ones who decided it would be OK to cheat a little and now they fight the urge to eat those bad foods every day. If you decide they are out of bounds FOREVER it not a fight any more. I tell myself I'm allergic to it because I break out in FAT. In case you haven’t noticed I really want this and it is even stronger than when I decided to get the surgery. I have a ton of energy constantly moving and although there are some hormonally emotional charged moments, in between I am extremely happy with the whole situation.
   I am so excited when I talk about the surgery and it seems like it is all I talk about anymore. Everyone wants to talk about it. It is like the conversation was taboo and when you tell people you had it then it is all of a sudden OK for them to ask all the questions they have always wanted to ask and I think it is great. They will learn a lot from it because we become experts on food, nutrition and weight loss.
   I recently went to one of my support groups, I highly recommend you find several to see which one fits you best, OK so there’s this lady there and she was saying she was embarrassed about the surgery and hadn’t told anyone yet! HELLO you don’t think they are gonna notice the biggest girl in the office is starting to sport some sexy now. I think it is better to give people the information to have an educated opinion rather than to let them think you took the easy way out. This is not easy, it is a huge decision you make for the rest of your life and it is hard work. It is also the most exciting decision you’re going to make. Every day is like Christmas, some days you lose a pound, some days a size and other days you learn something that is going to make the rest of your life better.
   Every person you share this with (not the icky kinda share) is going to take something away with them also, even the skinny ones will gain from the information. They may have a family member who needs to understand, a prejudice you can help them with or they may have an eating disorder also that is not so obvious. The simplest information can have the biggest impact. I was starting to eat again and looking at baby food as an option when I discovered that the Fred Meyer “No sugar added” brand had less sugar than the regular G*&#%R baby food apple sauce. I went on a crusade why do we need to add sugar to baby food it is not like they are going to refuse it because it is not a sweet enough apple we are feeding it to them so they will crave it later than they will have to fight it for the rest of their lives like we are. I had 3 pregnant friends at the time so now they are all looking at what they will be feeding their babies closer. That works for me.

   I am sorry this is so long but you get me going and I just don’t stop. Hope I didn’t scare you off and I answered most of your questions. Let me know how it is going, usually only the first letter is this long. Don’t wait on the pictures I was totally bummed when I started looking for before pictures and couldn’t find any with me not hiding behind someone so even thought the thought is repulsive to take that barely clothed full frontal photo DO IT you will be so happy you did in a few months when the difference is more dramatic. Be a good Loser Talk to you later. Tamilyn

I hit the 100 mark 9/6/07I wieghed 314 lbs and that is 101 lbs lost YAH!

  Hey my name is Tamilyn tommarrow, Aug. 1, 2007 will be 8 weeks post-op for me. I'm relitively new at this also but I'm gonna share with you anyways OK.
      Between the age of 15-18 I went from 4'2" 98 Lbs. to 5'9" 320 Lbs. I was confined to a wheelchair for a long while and played the pity party with food. The point is I have been huge since 16-17 y/o and nothing helped. I didn't eat more than my friends and I wasn't on my butt all day long so I kept saying "It's not me, there must be something wrong with me" Well come to find out there was something wrong with me, IT WAS MY THINKING! swear to heaven any one told me it was my fault I would kick thier butt. I counted calories, carbs and fats. I worked on portions and times to eat nothing helped.
       Now fast forward to May of 2007. I decide to do the surgery, and My surgeon says start the Sugar-free clear liquid diet now to reduce the size of my liver, I'm 415 Lbs so reduce anything is gonna make it easier to do surgery but whatever. Now when you go to 7 weeks of liquids and then 500-800 calories /day after that and loose 75 Lbs in 8 weeks You got to face a grim reality, food was the culprit. It was well disguised but it was the root of the problem.
        I know this is long but here is the meat & potatoes of the message. WLS is easy compared to the rest of it. Please note I understand not everyone gets delt the good hand and I do feel for those who struggle with the surgery but for this conversation we are going to use the majority, and the new majority flies through it with little to no problems. no disrespect intended. When you wake up, it's comparable to a root canal. Not that big of a deal when you consider what they have done. The hard work is psycological, routines to change, traditions that will never be again celebrations will never be the same it is devistating and no matter how much you prepare for it you will never get it all. Your gonna ask yourself what have I done and what was I thinking but then one day you wake up and the size 32 jeans litterally won't stay up and the 26's fit nice. The next day will most likely suck again but in 4-5 days you'll go to the doctor and he says awesome job you've lost 24 Lbs this month keep up the good work and drink your protien. Than you realize your birthday is coming & you can't have cake! Raw deal that night you have your first bite of a necterine (PLEASE DON'T EAT THE WHOLE THING OR YOU WILL DUMP BIG TIME) and it is the best thing you have ever tasted.

      So The hardest part is just trusting that we don't eat right or we wouldn't be obese and that it's not the birthday cake that make the day special, it's the being healthy and with loved ones that does that. You will find new traditions and treats. You will start to have phenominal days that will make it easier a little bit at a time but most of all you will start ot be proud again and no matter how strong and confident you thought you were that fat kid was hiding deep inside just screaming in your ear but that will go away also and you will feel a sense of pride the likes of which you have never felt before because you had to live it to appreciate the success. With or without the surgery success will only follow when you are really ready so work on that first and when you start to see the change jump in it is a wild ride. See you at the finish line.

Your new friend Tamilyn

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