I like them with cheese!! And I feel you on the waffle. I tried to eat one on my cruise and it was like gross..lol It just did not taste as good as I remembered....which I guess is a good thing. I am going to have some grits soon....I actually told my mom I was craving some the other day so maybe she will cook me some this weekend.

Since surgery I have walked pretty consistently at least 3 times per week, outside when the weather was nice and on the treadmill when it was too cold. The last 3 weeks I have kept to my goal of walking every day for at least 30 minutes. Some mornings I get on the treadmill for a quick 15 minutes then do my 30 at night. Like Katy said walking to the point of sweating it a good start. Lately I have been walking at a 14 minute mile pace with small spurts of jogging mixed in. By the time I'm done I've gone over 2 miles each time and I'm sweating pretty good! I wear wrist weights while walking and try to move my arms a lot. I've done weight lifting off and on and am fairly toned in my arms and very toned in my legs. I just need to lose this last 15 pounds so I can get a TT. I'm convinced that's the only way my tummy will be toned I do think exercise increases my appetite. At least immediately afterwards so I try to drink a lot of water during and after. Then I shower and brush my teeth in an effort to avoid snacking, but I will admit I often have a mini bag of popcorn when I'm done in the evening.

I always start the day with a protein shake made with skim milk. For a midmorning snack I may have a protein bar, apple w/pb, cup of soup, leftover protein from last night's dinner, anything around 150-100 calories. At lunch, perhaps a grilled Lean Cuisine pannini, SB frozen meal, leftovers, shrimp scampi (homemade) over quinoa or couscous and some veggies, soup, again anything around 200 or so calories. Mid-afternoon the same kinds of things as mid morning. Dinner will be similar to lunch, but usually I just have whatever I fix for the family, just more emphasis on protein, less on carbs. I may have two more snacks before bed or in between class and studying. I eat 6-8 times a day on average, sometimes more, sometimes less. I also drink a lot of chai tea with soy milk...so I know that adds up to probably a cup of soy milk over the course of the day. I don't eat a lot of volume at one sitting as I just don't seem to have the room to stuff in a 300-400 calorie meal. I just break everything down into mini-meals throughout the day...even if I eat 10 times a day. I eat when I am truly hungry. Generally, I eat normal, everyday kinds of foods. I try to eat protein first...but I eat much more rounded meals than I did 6 months ago. I also don't shy away from a treat now and then...and I have some dark chocolate every day without fail! Keeps me sane!! Sort of . If you are still trying to eat like we did during the first year, that would be why your counts are so low. Also, the volume of food eaten at each meal should have increased some over the course of the last year, so extra calories are a given there. Ouchy on the back. I wish you luck healing that disk so that you can avoid surgery. At least you are getting a massage 3 times a week~even if it hurts a bit. You'll soon get over the pain and it will just feel good to have the pressure relieved. ~Suz

OMG! I BARELY reach 1100 calories daily and that is only if I eat literally all day long! What are you guys eating to get such high calorie counts? I really want to know because I'm only 6lbs. from goal and my NUT says 1300-1600 calories for me to maintain once I'm there, don't know where the extra calories are going to come from. I'm not exercising at all and haven't in the last 3 months due to back problems. I have a bulging disc in my neck and lower back and will be having an MRI Friday morning to see how bad it is...hopefully not too bad! I started physical therapy for it yesterday and my therapist says he thinks we can get it healed without surgery...I hope so because back surgery scares me! He told me I'd be getting massage every time I come in to see him, so I'm thinking hey, back massage 3 times a week, can't beat that! WRONG!!!!!! It hurts! My neck and upper back is so sore from this morning's "massage"...but he has to dig in deep to get the muscles to relax to take pressure off the disc. Oh well, I guess it could be worse. At least my problems are not WLS related. Anyway, y'all let me know what you're eating...I need some new ideas! Take care, Denise

That is so awesome Lindy! I am onboard! I appreciate the prayers. I am scheduled to start allergy testing tomorrow. I am off steroids and the weight is starting to come back down. But to do testing, I am off meds. Today they told me if my allergies were really bad they would need to postpone testing. Well duh, how am I going to get this dealt with if they don't test? Hugs, Katy