Yes...today is July 4th!!!! Plan...going to hang out with friends. I'm gonna bring a box of buffalo burgers so that I can get some decent protein intake. I'm the boss of the elliptical. Getting in 45-60 minutes/day. Not at once but you gotta start somewhere. 15 minutes is a long ways from the first 2 minutes 2 weeks when I thought I was going to keel over DEAD!!!

 A WOW moment yesterday. Was hanging up my clothes and noticed that 2 brand new polo shirts were missing. Ron had put them in Michael's pile. 6 months ago my huge 3X clothes couldn't have been mistaken for anyone elses. But now...I'm into a Large...so they could belong to any number of people!! I LOVE MY RNY!!!!!! The scale officially has been stuck for 2 1/2 weeks. Measurements are Sunday...I better be down a truckload of inches. I'm kinda disappointed because I wanted to be in Onderland for my appointment with Dr. Teng next Weds. Well...the first week in June when I only had to lose 9 lbs...I totally thought it was do-able. But now...yea what are the chances of losing 6 lbs in 5 days??? But in the words of the Grateful Dead..."I will get by; I WILL SURVIVE"!!!!

 Hope that everyone has a safe 4th!

I can't believe that it's already July!!! I'll be 7 months post-op on Sunday. I am up to 14 minute sessions on the the TORTURE MACHINE...I mean ELLIPTICAL. I religously do 1 session before work and then 2 more sessions in the evening.

Was very depressed and frustrated today...Tuesday is official weigh-in day. The scale hasn't FREAKIN moved now in 14 days...2 weeks. Ron was very supportive...telling me I don't want to lose it too quickly. I was crying that I exercised more the past week THAN EVER before. He said...you've only been at it a week...your body will catch up.

So I made a decision...it's July 1st...a new month...a fresh start. I decided it's time to reaquaint myself with an old friend- fitday.com. Yes...I logged my intake today...reality check. I logged every piece of food that went into my mouth today. I was shocked...it added up to 933 calories. WOW and today was a good day. I think that I thought I was in control and maybe for past 3 weeks or so I have been consuming a LOT MORE calories thanI'm aware of.

So I started thinking as I was driving to work(why do I ALWAYS have these epithanies when I'm driving the Eclipse)?? I thought of how proud and happy I am with my progress to this day. Then I thought..."What if this is it???What if I'm done losing???"  Could I and would I still be happy?  Honestly...NO I WOULDN'T!!!!!!  My clothes are BIG again;I do inches on Sunday...can't wait to see the #s...but the scale must move or I'll lose my mind!!!!!  I LOVE MY RNY!!!!! But I need to work harder to make it work to it's max potential. Love OH and my friends here!!!! LOVE my newest Vegas gals...Gina and Erica!!!! You guys ROCK!!!!!!!!!  And remember...WE WILL SURVIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK...I had made a promise to myself that I would buy an elliptical by July 1st. Bought one today...WTF was I thinking??? It's nothing short of a TORTURE MACHINE!!!! First of all...it took 8 1/2 hours to put it together. And for most of assembly a second person was needed. Thanks Michael(my 20 yo baby) YOU ROCK!!!!! I LOVE YOU,NEIGHBOR KID!!!!!! So after 8 1/2 hours I couldn't wait to get on it. OMG!!!!!!! I was only able to do 7 1/2 minutes and that was pushing it! My heart was racing and pounding;was short of breath and my knees were KILLING ME!! TORTURE MACHINE, I tell you!!! I'm missing my old reliable;mellow stationary bike(still in the room;got my own little private gym going on). But I know even if the elliptical overpowered me today...I'm gonna keep getting on it and hopefully soon...I'll be able to knock out a decent 20-30 minute workout. I refuse to be beaten by EXERCISE EQUIPMENT!!!!! I was totally caught off guard by my "first time with elliptical"...but it invigorated me while I was overwhelmed! So Torture Machine...WATCH OUT!!! I WILL get the LAST LAUGH!! I see a long LOVE/HATE relationship developing! I started referring to my stationary bike as the "nice guy" very mellow. The Elliptical is the BAD BOY;WILD CHILD!!! But you know us girls(especially us nurses) we're always drawn to the dark side!! LOL!!! Let me go get another 2 or 3 minutes in! It's a start!

Still hanging in there. And staying true to the program!!! I LOVE MY RONNIE!!!! I love my new life. I have met some awesome local friends through here. Gina and I talk almost every day. Yes...we are fellow transplanted New Yorkers!!! 2 small WOWS this week...but they're still WOWS. 1- Nick gave me 2 Kenneth Cole watches 2 years ago for Christmas. They've been sitting in a drawer. Guess what...I can wear them now!!!! I'm so PSYCHED!!!! 2- I noticed this last week. My Tiffany necklace all of a sudden is a LOT longer on me. A friend mentioned it too...she was like "did you get a different chain?" Said no and she said "WOW...its about 2 inches longer on you now" It's funny how the little things make me happy and bring on a smile. Wanted to go buy an elliptical today...but have to wait til morning. We just put a new windshield on Explorer and can't drive it for at least 4 hours. So...plan B....rearrange my room to make room for the elliptical. Has to be in my room otherwise...I won't use it as much as I want. So...my dream room will now be...complete with my stationary bike and elliptical...either exercise to my iPOD(thanks Nick for convincing Mom to join the 21st Century) or to one of my Bon Jovi videos(man...the boy makes exercising THAT MUCH EASIER). Wow...exercise equipment in my room...who would have thought it??? Certainly not me!!! Hey...they weren't kidding. It is a LIFESTYLE CHANGE. BTW...I LOVE MY NEW LIFE!!!!! TTFN my OH buddies!!!

Just got home from Gina's. Had a really good time. Met other locals who have had WLS. Talked and talked like we'd known each other for years. What a diverse group we are.

Erica...is pre-op...hoping to have her RNY in July. Keeping my fingers crossed that she gets insurance approval.

Dana...had her RNY in 2003...5 years out...looks GREAT...her pre-op pic looks NOTHING like her.

Myself...celebrated my 6 month surgiversary yesterday.

Gina...5 weeks since her RNY.

Shirley...1 month since she had her DS

Kat...3 weeks since she went to Mexico and had her VSG done.

WOW....it sounds like we have almost every surgery covered(hey...no banders??) and we're all at different stages. It was good especially talking to Erica and glad that she's found this site already and came and met everyone...she'll be ready and know more what to expect than I did. Like having a group; it'll be great to get together every now and then and just compare notes and "shoot the breeze" in general.