Please feel free to read my new blog, which is about resumes, as if you couldn't tell. My friend wrote a letter of introduction for his service, and he sent me my finished resume, which is fantastic. I did some minor editing, and will send it back to him for approval. I am going to send out a blanket email in case anyone would like to have a resume written by my friend. The Email address below is in case you would like to talk to my friend about having a resume done for you. His rates are very reasonable, and he will work with you until it is to your liking.
I thank Wendy, Greg, Kristin, and Dr. Brader for allowing me to speak tonight.
Now, a little background on me.
My name is Lee Feldman
I was born in 1953, in Philadelphia, raised in Levittown.
I have two grown children and 3 grand kids, with another on the way.
After getting married in 1976, we moved many times and finally ended up in East Petersburg, where we have been since 1992.
I was involved with the Lions Club, East Petersburg Fire Company, and the East Petersburg Day Committee, all volunteer.
I have driven some kind of bus since 1974 for my main source of income.
I am/was a Disc Jockey since 1994 or so.
I have played guitar since I was 11.
My hobbies are music, listening and playing, researching my past, including finding old friends and acquaintances through the Internet, riding my Honda Helix, and writing my memoirs.
I am 5’7” tall.
When I started my quest to lose weight and keep it off, I weighed in at over 305 pounds. I have lost weight many times, but have never been able to keep it off.
I had my surgery on July 31st.
I now weigh in around 230 and my goal is to go all the way back down to 155, which is what I weighed when I got married 32 years ago.
I feel great!
So, what is my definition of a milestone?
A milestone along the road marks the starting point in a journey. Every mile, there is a new mile marker showing how far you have gone, and how much further you have to go.
If you want to go 5 miles, you have to pass by markers 2 through 4 in order to get to mile marker 5.
The mile markers may go by un-noticed, but the milestones I want to concentrate on here, are the ones that affect you. These are the ones you notice along the way.
Unlike a road that has a beginning and an end, this type of journey has a starting point, but it can go on as long as you are here on earth.
Your decision to get the surgery is milestone zero. This is the point where you decided to finally lose the weight and keep it off for life. But more than this, it is the point that you will change your life forever. You are not going back in time; rather, you are starting over, with a very good chance of success.
Your surgery date is mile marker zero. This may or may not be a milestone for you.
A mile marker is a point along your path.
Look for the first thing you will remember for the rest of your life. That’s the Milestone.
A Milestone is a memory on your journey.
The points along the way from mile marker one are:
The hoops you have to jump through with the insurance company to qualify for the surgery.
Deciding whether to tell your friends and loved ones about your decision.
Preparation for the surgery.
Changing the way you think about foods.
Planning exercise.
Gathering the items you need for after the surgery.
Making the decision to do it right this time.
Reading everything you get instead of just putting it aside.
Your milestone is something that you decide. In order to get there, you have to travel along a path that is different from everyone else, and yet, there are many who are on this same journey. You are not alone.
Something simple:
•Your pants are too big
•You aren’t recognized by a friend you haven’t seen for awhile
•You fit into a booth at the local restaurant
•You buy a pair of shoes that tie, instead of slip ons.
•You are able to stand up from the couch without moaning, or planning ahead.
•You can climb into the back seat of a car.
•You no longer have to buy double or triple X clothing.
•You can actually fit into an airplane seat and actually fasten the seatbelt.
•You can trot up the stairs without causing an earthquake, or getting out of breath.
Here are some ideas for you to think about.
•If you were shy, will you still be that way?
•If you used coping mechanisms to hide your emotions, will you be able to let go of them? How will you do that?
•Will you still get angry at the same things?
•What are you going to keep and what will you discard? What are you going to change?
•Will you still think of yourself as fat?
•Will you ever think of yourself as “normal”?
•Will you let anyone stop you, or change your mind?
•Will you stay here, or will you move and start over?
I can hear myself say “oh, I would never do that!”. Or, “I really don’t like to do that”. That’s my coping mechanism at work. I was really saying, “I’m too fat” or out of shape to do that.
So what do you really want to do that you couldn’t do before? When will you be able to do it?
I think that milestones may be different for younger people than with older folks like me.
I am starting over, with more energy, the ability to do more than I could in years, yet, I have experiences and excess emotional baggage than the younger folks.
I would like to hear from those younger people so I can get a feel for the differences and similarities.
I am listing my email and blog address. I would like as many people as possible to contribute to the blog so that we can help each other through what will be an exciting journey, not without it’s roadblocks, and potholes.
Please feel free to write to me. I will keep your names private unless you give me permission to publish it.
I would like to see recipes, ideas for exercise, stories, milestones reached, and if you would like to meet with others to celebrate your achievements.
I have already gotten some great ideas from some Post surgery people. I would like to get more. We all need all the help we can get.
Someday soon, I will be able to leave the nest and walk on my own through the world.
Over the next few weeks or so, if I can get the time and energy, I will be modifying this website to cater more closely to Bariatric and Celiac needs. I may also expand it for other medical conditions, but that may be a bit of overkill. I only have so many hours in the day to do things, and I am goofing off on the computer instead of working out. I am going to break that chain right now. The website was started by a good friend, and it is a generic catch-all recipe site. You can log on and post your recipe, or copy one for yourself. The ads are what keep it going. If you buy something through one of the ads, then the owner makes enough to keep it going. It is not really very lucrative, but it wasn't meant to be. The owner gave me control of it, and I will decide what I want to do when the time comes. In the meantime, if you send me recipes, I will be able to continue to eat.
This post is my catch all in order to catch up. I will bullet the highlights, and maybe fill in the details over the weekend.
I reached a new milestone this afternoon. I am going to write down a schedule for the next few weeks, taking into account the holiday. I am hoping it will help me stay on track and accomplish some of the great things I am capable of doing. I am ADD and find that I am goofing off too much. I get lots of stuff done, but my mind is moving so fast, and I am frustrated.
I have 3 books in my head and will try to write down the first one over the next month.
I have 2 songs that a friend has co-written with someone else. I told him i would finish them so we could record them and release them to the world.
I have not started my exercise program as I should have two weeks ago. I have to find a way to carry a portable recording device with me so that I can start walking, and eventually, jogging. I may have the device with me now, but I have to check. If not, I will have to improvise because I can't spend the money to do that.
I have to develop a website with a friend so I can start to make money.
I am on a job search. I have a friend doing my resume for me and I have to decide where to go with it when it is finished. He is the guy that I started the other blog for.
Ok, next....
The new links I posted about music, are for another friend. He has an indie music website, and has found some great new talent. If you go to the website (www.ilike2rock.org), you can download a toolbar that will play a variety of songs. You can decide if you like it for yourself. For myself, I enjoy hearing new music that I have never heard before. There are too many stations out there playing the same old thing over and over....how boring.
Michael Paul is a guy who is an up and comer in the music business. He has written to me for a while, and I offered some suggestions to him. I like his stuff, and enjoy hearing a good writer as well as performer. I dare you to tell me I am wrong. If we are lucky, he will become mainstream and everyone will be that much richer for hearing him.
Resume resume is the thing I started for my friend. I wrote the initial post and then decided he was right and deleted it. I have time to finish it another time. In the meantime, if you need a resume that will get you a job, email me and I will put you in contact with him.
One thing I forgot to mention about the meeting last night. It was the first time in years that i was able to stay on my feet for over an hour. Wow! Now, I promised myself to clean off the 6 foot work table tonight, so that's what I'm gonna do.
Things worked out well last night. I will be posting the written part of my talk, and will try to figure out how to post the powerpoint of the other speaker. The room was packed again, and I couldn't get out to spend time with the post people once we split into groups. I was able to run the powerpoint program while I was reading the other information, so people were able to read and hear two different ideas at the same time. After I was finished with my talk, I moved to the picture part and the people enjoyed the jokes I threw out there. So often, informational meetings are dry and somewhat boring. I try to add a bit of levity to break things up. I am hoping some of the folks there will join the blog and share their experiences. Bariatric Patients are all aiming towards the same goal, which is losing weight and keeping it off for life. We are all on a different path, however. We are all doing it for different reasons. We all are arriving at different times. We are successful at different levels. So, it will be worth it to hear from them and compare notes.
I will be speaking tomorrow night along with Elaine M Neidert, MSN, APRN, BC, M*O*U*S*E (sorry, couldn't resist!),who will be speaking on the subject of Self esteem. Our talks will fit together nicely, and you might even stay awake for both of them. If you are interested in pre surgery information, the meeting should be right up your alley, even if you don't bowl. I will stay around afterwards as I always do in case you want to ask anything about what it feels like, or anything else on your mind. You can send me an email also if you would like. I will give you my side of the story. Things change everyday. They didn't used to do that before. I was so used to losing ground everyday, and now, it's just the opposite. I am moving forward everyday. I just bought T shirts in Large, as well as some thermal underpants and shirts. I never needed them before, but now, I feel the cold. Tonight, I ran a load of wash, and put it in the dryer, did the dishes, made dinner for myself, and am waiting until my Wife gets a little closer to home to make her dinner. 6 months ago, I would have left the wash alone, as well as waiting for the dishes to fill the sink before doing anything about them. And, I would have stuck something in the microwave for dinner. Then, I would have raided the fridge for some junk before eating a full meal. I'm heading off now to get a cup of decaf prepared as listed in another thread below. Then, I will watch some TV before finishing up the wash and putting the dry dishes away. I have energy now that I didn't ever think I would have again. Wow!
