Me and My Sleeve

Jacqueline Yanik

Description

Candid personal stories and wisdom from a registered nurse who chose to pursue bariatric surgery and the sleeved life to lose weight.
Losing weight is challenging, confronting, and can be an emotional roller coaster. It is difficult to know which way to turn, which path to tread, and how to successfully lose weight and keep it off long-term. It is only when all other options have been exhausted that bariatric surgery becomes a serious possibility.
In a practical guide, bariatric surgery patient Jacqueline Yanik provides valuable insight into the ups and downs of the sleeve gastrectomy procedure, and how to live life with a sleeve, embrace the lifelong commitment that comes with this surgery, stay on track, and understand potential future challenges. While sharing a glimpse into her own journey with the surgery and subsequent physical transformation, Yanik provides a safe space that encourages others to reflect on their beliefs and expectations regarding bariatric surgery and weight loss in general. Included is helpful information about diet, exercise, and the value in changing old habits to ensure success.
Me and My Sleeve shares candid personal stories and wisdom from a registered nurse who chose to pursue bariatric surgery and the sleeved life to lose weight.

Sujets

• Santé et bien-être
• Santé du quotidien
• Santé au quotidien
• Santé au quotidien
• Fitness
• Health
• Weight loss
• Sleeve gastrectomy
• Bariatric surgery
• Women's Health

Informations

• Publié par: Balboa Press AU
• Date de parution: 29 décembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781982296445
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

ME AND MY SLEEVE




JACQUELINE YANIK









Copyright © 2023 Jacqueline Yanik.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.



Balboa Press
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Bloomington, IN 47403
www.balboapress.com.au
AU TFN: 1 800 844 925 (Toll Free inside Australia)
AU Local: [phone] ([phone] from outside Australia)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.



ISBN: 978-1-9822-9643-8 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-9822-9644-5 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date: 12/29/2022



To those travelling the sleever path, and to those about to embark on this adventure, this book is for you.
To my surgeon, who provided the bright shining light at the end of the tunnel
thank you



CONTENTS
Foreword
Introduction

Chapter 1 So, It Begins….
Chapter 2 The Day Has Arrived
Chapter 3 The Good - Bad - Good Roller Coaster
Chapter 4 Gets Better And Better
Chapter 5 Food For Life
Chapter 6 Off To The Gym……Or Not!!
Chapter 7 My Sleeve My Friend
Chapter 8 Old Habits Die Hard and Body Beautiful
Chapter 9 Lessons Learnt
Chapter 10 Please Remember….



FOREWORD
The first bariatric operation was performed in 1954. More than 50 years later, in 2007, I was fortunate to attend the inaugural Diabetes Surgery Summit in Rome. This seminal event would drive the development of surgery for diabetes. For the first time I appreciated the impact metabolic surgery would have. It was to change so many lives, including mine.
Surgeons and their patients, for the years that followed, teamed up to combat obesity, diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnoea and to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. Many were sceptical. Surgery had risks, side effects and failures but over time the benefits were recognised and understood. Today Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery is mainstream.
But for the patients the journey can be difficult, often struggling with desperation, stigma, and fear of failure. Jacky, having had surgery was now on notice and success required commitment and a desire to change. She forged her own path, developed strategies, fostered habits and has been rewarded with life changing outcomes.
I look forward to reading her story and learning from her experience.
Thank you for sharing it with us.
Dr Charles Mosse
Bariatric and Metabolic Surgeon
Hepatobiliary Surgeon



INTRODUCTION
‘Take the plunge, make the change, and enjoy your new life’……. Dr Charles Mosse.
Those were the words I needed to hear during the consultation with my surgeon Dr Mosse in October of 2017. His encouraging and inspiring words changed my life. I took the plunge and went in headfirst; I came out the other side, sixty kilograms lighter, and for the first time in my life I was a size ten. Living my new life, I was fitter, healthier and feeling sexier than ever.
Losing weight is challenging and confronting, it can be an emotional rollercoaster. It is difficult to know which way to turn, which path to tread and how to decide what strategy is best, to successfully lose the excess weight for good. You might have already tried every weight loss trick in the book, and there are no other options other than surgery to help you lose weight.
This book will provide insight into the difficulties of living life with a sleeve. Opportunities in the chapters will encourage you to reflect on your own beliefs and expectations regarding bariatric surgery and weight loss in general.
If you have already had the sleeve gastrectomy procedure and slipped off the healthy sleever path, I am hopeful my story will provide the inspiration to ignite the motivation you need, to get back on track and live a healthy sleever life again.
To all readers, I am delighted to let you into my life as a sleever. My life is not perfect, and it is not easy as I ride the sleever roller coaster every day. In my experience, bariatric surgery is a profound approach to weight loss which demands a lifelong commitment. To begin my story, I need to tell you about my previous years as a young person with an ongoing weight issue, and how I came to the brutal realisation I needed to change my life once and for all.



CHAPTER 1
So, It Begins….
As a young girl, I lived my life in a bigger body. Oblivious to this, I was friendly and outgoing, I loved to sing and dance, and I adored my horse, Sooty. I did not believe I was different to anyone else, until people who were close to me, relatives, and friends, brought my weight to my attention. I was thirteen years old. I could do all the activities other kids my age were doing, I could wear the same clothes, and I excelled at many sports. Hearing the negative comments about my size, and being called; fat, gross, and lazy, was upsetting. I started to become acutely aware I looked quite different to other kids my age.
I did not consider myself to be beautiful or attractive, I was plain looking, an everyday kid and I liked that. I did not receive attention from boys at school like the popular girls. They would giggle at the boy’s jokes and received all sorts of gifts. Some of the girls had boyfriends from a noticeably early age. I was not interested in boys until I was fourteen years old, when I had my first crush on a boy called Jonas. Unfortunately, fierce competition between my friends and I for male attention began to raise its ugly head. I knew then, from the youthful age of fourteen, appearance was a key factor in being considered worthy of attention.
I grew up in the Blue Mountains located west of Sydney. It is a magical, breathtakingly beautiful part of the world. Offering a relaxed alternative lifestyle, those who live there enjoy a calmer approach to life. I spent much of my time with friends in the upper region of the mountains, and Katoomba and Leura were my favourite places. I used to spend hours in the beautiful boutique shops looking for unique items. Today, those shops remain, and there are regular night markets, food festivals and community events to enjoy. The vast area of stunning bushland can be explored easily by using accessible hiking trails, and my family and I used to enjoy long hikes near the three sisters in Katoomba, abseiling, and spending the weekends horse riding at Hartley Valley farm.
The Blue Mountains evoke a sense of connection with mother earth. Surrounded by thick bushland of fragrant eucalyptus gumtrees, I enjoyed spending time in the outdoors. My friends and I liked to visit shops selling tarot cards, healing crystals, handmade jewellery, and beautiful environmentally friendly clothing. It was common for my friends and I to burn incense and swap our crystals while listening to a mixture of eighties and nineties music, asking the universe for what we truly desired for our lives.
I also loved a diverse range of clothes and shoes, from the flowy, hippy style with platform heels of the 1960s to the 1990s baggy pants and tie-dyed heat activated t-shirts. I wore clothes that made me feel good, but it was my body shape at fifteen, which started to limit the choices I could make. I became increasingly self-conscious as a bigger girl.
As I entered my teenage years, I started to feel significantly less confident about my looks. I realised it was particularly important to be good looking, because this was how valued you were as a person. I used to look at the other girls who were slimmer and prettier, and think they had nothing to worry about. Being slim and beautiful was something to aspire to, and because they were attractive their lives appeared perfect. At the time, little did I know, the popular girls had their own struggles to contend with. They experienced eating disorders, abusive parents, and relationship issues.
I accepted others for being themselves no matter how they looked, dressed, expressed their sexuality, or had diverse backgrounds. I enjoyed listening to people’s different life experiences, and their colourful stories. Seeing those who were courageous by challenging the norms of society, I loved how they expressed themselves as individuals. Therefore, it did not make sense to be judged so harshly, because of my weight, I was less attractive. Fortunately, I learnt to focus on the positive attributes of my personality which helped me develop my inner values and strengths. My parents taught me how to be a good, kind, productive person. I di