Making myself known. :)

Hello all, my name is Carmen Hernandez I am 17 years old and I had my surgery done on Jan. 5th. I think I might be the only teenager in Jan? So far I've lost 90 lbs and like many of you guys I thought I would've been losing faster. But I know part or all the reason as to why my losing has slowed down is my fault. I've been eating basically anything from chips to sweets. I felt out of control till I came back on this site. I'm glad i"ve returned. Now I have this mindset to change my ways. I guess I need all the support I can get. But anywaysss, I'm trying to make some friends so I came to the January forum because I feel as though we are a little family.. lolz Hope to talk to some of you soon.

I am glad you stopped in, hopefully this will be a regular occurance I find a great deal of support from this board and I know that I do better when I stay accountable; one way I do that is by posting here and focusing on my WLS lifestyle. It takes commitment, but with it, you will far exceed your expectations! You are already a success so far. 90 pounds is a lot to lose, you are doing well. Mary P.S. There are a few of us who are "younger" (in our twenties) so don't feel like you are the odd one out since you are a teenager. And everyone here, no matter their age, seems to all go through the same stuff

Hello and welcome back I am glad you recognize you have been out of control. Take the steps to stop them. But you might need to take another step also. Because you are so young, life is a bigger challenge for you than us old foggies You are going to be up against all sorts new and confusing things in life. Most of us delt with these things by using food, which I am sure you already have seen in your life. Well, we can't eat too much, at least right now, but we can eat our way out of the surgery. What I am trying to say is, would you see if you can find a support group or maybe a counciler to help you with what lies ahead? I think we all could have used this when we were teenagers. Yes we are here for you, we will always be here for you and you have taken a very important step in your life, my hats off to you. A couple of things to remember, eating carbs makes you crave carbs. There are good carbs and bad carbs. Good: fruit, whole grain, Bad: white flour, sugar. If you need that sweet, or chocolate, make sure you reach for sugar free stuff, like pudding. I find if I deny my cravings, they get worse and I will eat other things trying to take care of the cravings, but if I eat what I am craving, it goes away, with alot less food having been eaten. Chocolate is my one craving I have that I make sure I take care of and I have pudding, love it. 60 calories, but no sugar, and it even has protein. That is just something I have learned. Keep posting and we will be here for you and we know you will be here for us too Oh and you haven't lost a small amount, 90 is increadible!!!! Read my earlier post about loosing slowly. You may have slowed it some, but not that much yet, so don't beat yourself up, you are doing great.

Hi Carmen, I am so happy for you losing 90lbs. You have done wonderful. You are 17 and I am 60 and we are both on the same path trying to lose this weight. It is not a easy path for any of us. It does not matter what age you are. 90lbs since Jan 5 is WOW!. I know you will get the will power to give up the chips. I am having to cut out all bread, cereal. I have been trying for weeks to get my weight moving again. I know it will come it is just that I am so impatience. I wish you the very best and keep us posted on how you are doing. Remember we all make mistakes and have to get back on the horse and ride. Thanks for posting we all need you on this web site. We are all glade you are here. Joyce

Hi Carmen! I'm Jaci I'm 22... thought I was the baby, lol... no worries! HA! The past few weeks I've been eating whatever I want and all that bothers me is the salt. Now, I'm trying to get back on track and am ready. You have done so well! Ninety pounds is a huge amount of weight to lose, congrats!!!! Jaci

Welcome Carmen! Hope to hear more from you. I've found that posting my menu really helps me accountable. Give it a try no matter what you ate for the day. Welcome! april

Glad your back on the boards, Carmen. Enjoy the friendship, advice, and support. Karla

Hey Carmen: Welcome, welcome! I am glad you stopped by...this is an AMAZING group of people and you will find a lot of support here! Congratulations on your success so far...hopefully you (and I!) will get back on track. Best of luck to you and, again, welcome aboard! Jersey Mom

Carmen - I am so glad that you decided to reach out. This is a brave thing we are all doing. It is a major life change and I don't think we can do it alone. I would encourage you to call your physician's office and see if you can make an appointment with the NUT. I was having trouble this week and I did that. She helped me get back on track. The hardest thing for me to do is to reach out to others but that is the only way we are going to recovery from this. Remember this is a desease that has a treatment plan. It is not an easy plan to follow sometimes but in order to be free from obesity we have do what every we can to make it work. The other thing that I have to remind myself is it not all or nothing. I strive to do following the plan but don't beat myself up when I slip. Please keep letting people know that you are struggling that is the only way to get well. Janet

Carmen, Welcome to the board. I had surgery the day before you and have lost 94 lbs. I guess we are both on track. What was your starting weight? Mine was 284.