just a chatty cathy i am

i'm home today due to weather. i have a terribly fear of driving in the snow. its very snowy right now in connecticut. i called out sick. i had such ahead ache just thinking about trying to back the car out of the space and then trying to get it up the hill i just couldnt do it. it sways side to side sliding around all over the road. nope just wasn't in me today to do it. i leave on thursday for a fantastic vacation that my wonderful daughter has given me for my brithday and christmas! her best friend missy and missy's mother are going too! it is going to be just awesome. missy is like my other daughter. the two girls (both 28years old!) and i go on shopping trips on saturdays. we always have a blast. i'm so looking forward to having this special time with them. 5 whole days non stop!!!!! guess where we are going. go ahead guess!!!! DISNEY!!!!!! just the most fabulous wonderufl playfull place in the whole wide world! i'm so excited. i just can't stand it! thursday can't come soon enough. my suit case has been backed for weeks. today caue i'm home i dragged in down to the living room opened it up again and tryed on all my outfits! this morning i watched so much tv! i've no****ched daytime tv in years. it was nice to catch up with the different shows. there is a daytime morning news show with a black man who lost alot of weight with our surgery. i can not for the life of me remember his name. but when i was watching i thought it looked like he'd gained some weight. which bothers me. then he talked about how he has gained some weight and that he doesn't like it and is working to lose it as part of his new years resolution. he said he's gained about 20 pounds and didn't like that he doen'st weight his lowest of 190. so they had a diet coach and excersize coach on there who are going to work with him. i must say taht all of this not only just bothered me but scared me 1/2 to death with the thought of having to try to lose that much weight. 20 pounds seems like so much tgo have gained back. so they weighed him to know what they were tstarting with. he wasn't at the 210 with the gain of 20 pounds he was at 240!!!!!! he's gained 50 back! i swear i broke out in a sweat. the fear has gone runnign through me. i had over a christmas a gain of 4 pounds. i was terrified. i've worked at getting it off and have 1 more to go. this is just terrible that we can gain that quickly and then have it take so long to lose it. its just not worth that regualr cookie. and why is it i can eat one regulaar cookie and gain a pound or more when i use to eat the whole box with only a 1 pound gain??? when i would read about reenie saying that she has this incredible hunger i knew i'd get it in a few weeks time. i seem to run about 3 weeks after her with different things. and i did get the hunger. i was prepared for it as soon as i read what reenie had written. thank you reenie. reenie mike and i have the same dr aranow. he is wonderful. he's been happy with my progress as i am too. i do what he tells me. i also listen to all of you here. i think that is the key. do what your doctor tells you and listen to the support groups wheather they are in person or on line. hopefully in febuary i will be getting my new car. and can go to the live support groups again. right now i'm afraid to take that poor old car out of the driveway to work let alone an hour away at night on back roads to the support group. as much as i want to go my fear of all of that keeps me from going. thank god for this on line site.

Pam, I think you're talking about Al Roker. I'm glad he's trying to do something about the weight gain. I feel sorry for celebrities because not only is every success very public, but every failure is public fodder. He always said that he didn't want to be a wls spokesman, but unfortunately, people will look to see how well he's doing and make judgements based on his progress. Connie

Hi Pam; I think that the man you are talking about is Al Roker. He has become a model for WLS very much against his will. Unfortunately for him, he's in the public eye and under a lot of scrutiny. I don't think that I could handle all of that scrutiny without going nuts! I don'****ch him very often, but it seems like he does a lot of food-related stories which can't be easy. Anyway, Pam, I'm also terrified of re-gaining the weight that I worked so hard to lose. We just need to keep working and supporting one another. I hope that you have a great time on your vacation. Have a blast and we'll talk to you when you return. Mike

Hi Pam; I think that the man you are talking about is Al Roker. He has become a model for WLS very much against his will. Unfortunately for him, he's in the public eye and under a lot of scrutiny. I don't think that I could handle all of that scrutiny without going nuts! I don'****ch him very often, but it seems like he does a lot of food-related stories which can't be easy. Anyway, Pam, I'm also terrified of re-gaining the weight that I worked so hard to lose. We just need to keep working and supporting one another. I hope that you have a great time on your vacation. Have a blast and we'll talk to you when you return. Mike

Hi Pammy, enjoy your days in the sun! I can't stand this Connecticut weather - used to be I was built like a polar bear, I hardly ever wore a coat in the winter. Now, I can't get enough layers on me. Hey, there are worse things to complain about, right? Anyway, have a great time. Yes, that's Al Roker and I have been paying close attention to his weight regain for the past year. I'm thankful for his struggle and for his truthfulness in going so public with it (he has no choice, he's a national weather anchor!) -- it's a good barameter for what will happen if I don't make the right choices on a daily basis. This is a fight for the rest of my life and I am in it for the long haul. Can't wait to hear about your trip! Love, Maureen

Hey Pam, Have a great Vacation & yes Al Roker is the one you are talking about. I believe the reason he has gained so much as he never took the time in the losing stage to change his thinking & eating ways. He still eats high fat stuff (only smaller amounts) & you have to change your thinking into the low-fat, low-carb thinking to make this work long-term. We are all here for the long-haul & as long as we keep that fear of gaining we should all survive. I have gained about 20 lbs myself (according to the scale) an am also working on getting it off and then some. Had to go back to the basics that got me here Protein, water, No drinking with meals (thats a big one for me) and I am drinking half the amount of coffee that I was. That is also a good thing for me. Hang in there & thanks for your update. Marilyn, the Bearlady