Well another week, and I am so frustrated I have stayed on track not once have I fallen from the wagon and this morning the scales say I am up 2 lbs!!!

I am here as promised and I am not giving up, this week I will cut back on my shakes maybe it is the milk so I will have a shake every other day instead of every day and see if that helps.

I can't tell you how frustrated I am. But I refuse to give up!
I'll be back again next week until then
Best wishes to all pre-ops and post-ops were ever you are on your Journeys.God Bless ~~~~~ Maureen
                                                            

Well here another week has gone by making it a month of being back on track.

I really want to express the importance of not falling off program, as it is really a struggle and hard to get the weight off this time round.
exercise and a low carb ,low cal , diet and the weight really doesn't want to budge.
this week my efforts resulted in a -1 lb loss........ don't get me wrong I will take it as a loss is a loss, I just remember the 3,4 or 5lb a week the 1st go round now it is so slow going.

I guess the most important thing to remember is stick it out as you know in the end the weight has got to come off. Being on track and exercises is making me feel better about my self so that too is a good thing as I was really not happy while off track and the bloating and the gas is gone.... I notice that if I eat a high carb diet I have awful gas and I am really bloated, especially after eating sugars.

Well this week I am going to try to cut out the nuts and see if the weight comes off quicker! replace that snack with a lower calorie food.

well until next week....
Best wishes to all pre-ops and post-ops were ever you are on your Journeys.God Bless ~~~~~ Maureen
                                                          

3rd week now of being back on program.
I am proud of myself for working hard to get back on track, as I said before it is not easy once you have fallen so far off the wagon, to just get back on.
This past week I upped my exercise from the 1 mile to the 2 mile walk and did it 5 days out of the 7 day week. Good job me!!!! ( I do really hate exercise so it is a great accomplishment for me. )
I had no food issues this week. I do want to say as hard as I have to work to get this weight off this time round it is not worth it to stray from the program. It seems when your this far out the weight just doesn't want to budge!!
This morning I was down -2 lbs! seems so slow but I will definitely take it!!!
Until next week.
Best wishes to all pre-ops and post-ops were ever you are on your Journeys.God Bless ~~~~~ Maureen

                                                           

I am back as promised. Another week on program food wise and exercise wise. I had no food issues this week and was not tempted by anything. I found that on most days I only ate 5 of the "8" 1/2 cup meals and on 2 of the days I only ate 3 of the 1/2 cup meals. So I was a little shocked this morning when the scale recorded only a 1 lb weight loss. But I will not let it get me off track I know that the scale is only a number, and not the measurement of my success. Until next week.
Best wishes to all pre-ops and post-ops were ever you are on your Journeys.God Bless ~~~~~ Maureen
                                                          

8-30-05
Well I have stayed away from my journal for over a year now as I was struggling with weight gains.....staying away didn't help let me tell you. I am back today to start a new, and to hope that my experience might help others as we are only human. I think the further out we get the harder it is to stay on program, and as we tempt fate and try the forbidden sugars! and we find that they don't make us sick yikes help!!!!! is needed as we find ourselves slipping back in to our old ways....well the snacks for me got out of control and I found myself up 35lbs!!!!!
I will tell you that it is much harder to get on program and to lose the weight this far out. But it can be done and I am going to prove that. So I am back to my journal and my food program and weighing in.
My plan is to eat "8" 12 cup servings a day and to drink water as I had stopped drinking water all together. I also started a work out program which I failed to do the 1st go round well I don't want to say I failed at it since I did do it until I started having blood sugar problems and Dr. told me to stop, well that is all the excuse I needed. ( I hate to exercise!)
I started this program 1 week ago today and I am here to say it is working!!!!!! I am down drum roll please......... 6 lbs!!!!!!!!!
I can use all the support I can get so if any suggestions please don't hesitate to email me.
I do have great support from my family and a wonderful friend I made on this site I would like to say Thanks to Grace H. for always standing by and listening to my many complaints, and always having just the right thing to say to get me back to thinking positive. Your friendship is a true blessing. To my Husband for loving me and putting up with all the mood swings as I sure do get depressed about this issue at times.........to my 2 son's Paul & Eric for always reminding me of how far I have come and how much better off I am today then I was 2 12 yrs ago! Your love and support mean the world to me I am truly blessed.

well I will close for now, but I will be back next week..... please keep me in your prayers.

Best wishes to all pre-ops and post-ops were ever you are on your Journeys.God Bless ~~~~~ Maureen
                                                            

Well I am 15 mo out and am really struggling, with my weight at this time seems like every time I step on the scale I am up some more weight, my weight has been basically at a stand still for the past 6 mo. and now it is up a few pounds, I can't tell you how scared it makes me.
I am back to the basics and am going to try writing everything that I eat down and keep track like in the begging...although I can't say that I am ever really hungry I still tend to think about food all the time and have been grazing which I know is a no no....... I will let ya all know how it goes in a few weeks please keep me in your prayers. I really don't want to fail.

hugs and
God Bless
                                                               

Well hubby and I are back from renewing our vow's in Las Vegas we had a blast not winning money but we are big winners in love so that is even better.
I have not to much to report but I do feel great about going on Vacation and not gaining any weight WOW! what a big difference.....my weight is stable and holding at 152 lb I would still love to lose another 20 lbs before plastic surgery!
I have posted a photo from our wedding at the bottom of my profile.
until next time where every you are in your journey may you be blessed.

Hugs and
God bless
Maureen

3-11-03
Well it is official I have finely made it to my 1yr anniversary!
yippy time for dancing and celebrating ( unfortunately I have to work so no can do ) But let me tell you that 1yr ago today I made a big change in my life a drastic step in many peoples minds to change my life for the better. And I underwent gastric bypass surgery! I won't lie and say it has all been easy because that is just not the case, it has been some what of a difficult road at times and very frustrating at times as well with plateaus and weight gains, and the problems that I am now fighting with hypoglycemia ( low blood sugars ) But I will say that I would repeat this journey in a heart beat, not question about it my life is 100% better then it was a yr ago, I have been off all my medication except my thyroid med, no more high cholesterol, no more diabetes, no more aching joints no more depression, I really couldn't be more happier, I have lost 126 Lbs this past year and am looking to lose another 25 lbs before looking in to plastic surgery, at this time however I am on strict orders to lose no more weight until we get the blood sugar problem under control, but I know in time I will be at my goal I have already surpassed my surgeons goal for me so what do I have to complain about.
To all those seeking WLS I say research it and go for it if you feel its right for you don't let others tell you are weak and taking the easy way out just remember this surgery is only a tool and not the remedy so we do need to stay focused and committed to our new life style.
I thank all of you for the wonderful support throughout this journey, and the friendships that I have formed I look forward to another great year ahead.

hugs
and
God Bless
Maureen

Hope this finds everyone doing well in their journeys what ever stage you are in.

Things have really slowed down for me I am closing in on the 1yr mark real soon now and I am down 126 lbs I have about 25 more lbs that I would like to lose although the Dr. doesn't want me to lose anymore weight.

I have been having troubles once again with low blood sugars and have been diagnosed with "reactive Hypoglycemia" I guess it is quiet common for people who have had gastric surgeries of any kind.
I am working on getting my blood sugars stable it seems the only time I have real problems is if I exercise....Dr. say I burn off more then I eat so not good and that we need to find and in-between space that I can work out and eat too....

Food is not a big issue with me at this stage and I still have no hunger or appetite thank goodness for that. ( to me that is the best part as it really helps when you have no cravings or desires to eat )

well I will post again on my year Anniversary see ya then
Best wishes to all pre-ops and post-ops were ever you are on your Journeys.
God Bless ~~~~~ Maureen

Well I am back with my monthly update...... things have been going ok, the weight loss is very slow and a struggle now to get anything off. At the start of my journey my BMI was 54.3 and at this time it is 30.1 I am still falling in the obese category which is not making me happy, but I started back to exercising 2 weeks ago and haven't missed a day so I am happy to report that I have been doing 300+ stairs and walking on my lunch break, I think it will help me get the weight loss moving again .........well I am hoping anyways! This month only brought a -3 lb loss, kinda depressing but then at the same time I am losing so I am trying to keep positive. I still have approximately 30 lbs to lose before I will look into my PL, I do have some skin issues that really bother me more so then others.... these problems are not medical but self image problems and I may have to deal with them sooner then later. Mainly my arms and face I am so self conscious that I can not go anywhere with my arms showing as the skinflap and wrinkled up blubber is just an awful site. And my face.... oh my how to explain......well I was so heavy that I had the largest face I have ever seen and all that is now gone and I have a flap under my chin now that is just awful and my face skin is loose and wrinkly and I look so old. I am 43yr and at 278 lbs I felt 80+ now at 43yr and a weight loss of -124 lbs! I feel 20 but look 50+..... just doesn't seem fair some how!
A lot has happened since my last charting.......my husband has asked me to re-marry him which I in turn of course said "in a heart beat baby" So we will be heading to Las Vegas in April to renew our Vows and Celebrate our 4th year Anniversary...... I got a beautiful new ring to celebrate the happy occasion......this girl has nothing to complain about! happy happy joy joy!
I haven't been posting as much or finding much time to read the boards but have still been around behind the scene continuing to help as a Volunteer Photo editor......I enjoy this work immensely and seeing all the Amos family through different stages of their journeys and on to succeed at their weight loss. It is a truly inspirational job and although I am not on the boards much posting each and everyone of you are still in my prayers.
until next time Best wishes to all pre-ops and post-ops were ever you are on your Journeys.
God Bless ~~~~~ Maureen