Are you conflicted over enjoying the holidays by indulging in the bountiful foods set before you versus honoring your commitment to a healthier life by way of weight loss surgery? I know for me the abundance of food and Yuletide cheer seems at times overwhelming. Here are a few strategies to consider before noshing your way to eaters remorse:

- Forget the notion that holidays are for overindulging. Your WLS isnt taking a holiday vacation, neither should you.

- Assume that certain foods WILL make you sick (vomiting or dumping). Just because it hasnt made you sick before does not mean it will not make you sick today. Always assume the worst and avoid dangerous foods (sweets, high starch carbohydrates and dairy)

- Enjoy seasonal treats in moderation. Foods you can have anytime of year are not worth the holiday pouch space indulge only in those once-a-year treats (low-fat sugar-free eggnog or mulled cider sound good right now).

- Avoid salty foods they arent good for you, they cause dehydration, they cause grazing and over-consumption. Why bother?

It sounds trite and weve said it all our dieting lives: Nothing Tastes as Good As Thin Feels - - This time, with WLS, the thin is for real. Give yourself the chance to enjoy your weight loss without the eaters remorse.

Kaye Bailey

An award winning journalist and former newspaper editor Kaye Bailey brings expertise in writing and personal experience with gastric bypass surgery to EzineArticles.com. Ms. Bailey developed a passion for writing at an early age. As a teenager she found writing her feelings about obesity helped her cope in a world that is often cruel to overweight children and adults alike.

Ms. Bailey says she found out she was fat in kindergarten when another child told her she was fat. ?I didn?t even know what fat was but I could tell it was bad and I didn?t want to be fat. Until that day I had been unaware I was different. But there I was, a five-year-old girl sitting cross-legged on the floor learning a new word that would define me.?

At age 33 she underwent laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery. For the first time in her life after multiple failed diet attempts she lost weight. She said the decision to have surgery took courage, nerve, and a little bit of plain old faith. But she learned surgery was the easy part. Dealing with newfound emotions, struggling with food choices and fighting to keep from regaining weight were unexpected bumps in the road following massive weight loss with surgery.

Having spent most of her life overweight Ms. Bailey is strongly empathetic toward the obese, particularly overweight children. This compassion compelled her to found the website LivingAfterWLS.com, a fast-growing resource of information, understanding and support for the weight loss surgery community. While weight loss surgery is publicly perceived as an easy fix to obesity Ms. Bailey maintains the struggles after surgery challenge the vigor of even the most dedicated individual. As WLS becomes more readily available patients are finding there is a lack of long-term aftercare and support from bariatric centers.

The LivingAfterWLS.com site is complimented with daily blog. The blog, livingafterwls.blogspot.com offers readers the chance to comment or leave feedback about fresh content added daily. This site contains success stories and recipes as well as general information and WLS inspired topics. Complementing the site is a monthly newsletter titled ?You Have Arrived? available exclusively to people who subscribe through the website or the blog. The path forward includes community forums, nutrition and fitness tracking tools.

Ms. Bailey makes her home on a ranch in the Rocky Mountains with her husband of eight years who has been her consort in life after WLS.