The salt has caught up with me. I'm up 5 lbs. I will drink a ton of water the next few days and get rid of it all. Hopefully by Friday morning, I'll be down to 216, although I have another hysteroscopy that day, and will retain water from the IV for a week after that. Now, for something disturbing....There is a little girl, 10 years old, who lives at the end of the street. My daughter JUST started playing with her last week. We found out yesterday that sometimes her mom works the overnight shift at Jack-in-the-Box, and the girl stays home alone. It's not that her mom is out partying...it's that the restaurant doesn't care what kind of desperate situation people are in because all they're worried about is their profit. Anyway, when we heard that, we didn't know what to do. As a temporary measure, we are letting the girl sleep here. We hope that this lady's work schedule will get fixed. BUT, we have a life of our own that we have to live...we can't be responsible for everyone else's problems. I just didn't feel right reporting it to authorities, because it IS such a desperate situation that they have little control over. What really makes me sick is that at least 2 sets of neighbors knew about this and did nothing. Any suggestions on how to deal with this? Here's my plan for today. B: english muffin L: chicken sandwich, cottage cheese, crackers D: chicken fajitas S: not sure Exercise: I commit to 15 minutes (did 35 yesterday!) Have a good day! Pamela -135 on a good day

Friday didn't go as planned. Although I ate just fine until about 8pm, I messed up big time in the evening, when I found myself taking my daughter and niece to DQ. I ordered a mini-blizzard and only ate about 1/2 of it, but THEN, I later munched on a whole lot of chocolate. However, I did mow the lawn and sweated my butt off for an hour. The best part of the day was getting on the scale after cutting the grass. It said 217! Down one more, FINALLY. I hope it keeps up! Saturday also didn't go well. I was perfect up until dinner at 7pm. We ate at Fortell's Pizza (a St. Louis chain that just opened a store here in town...good stuff!), and I kinda sorta overdid it. No exercise, either. Today is Sunday. I have a plan. It will go well. B: oatmeal L: tuna sandwich D: pork roast with carrots and potatoes S: not sure, but since there's no junk food in the house, it won't be junk Exercise: I commit to 15 minutes Hope you all fared better than I did! Pamela -135

Nancy, It is very interesting that I have been losing consistently since I stopped posting everyday. I know that is a help for many people, but it let me compulse about food again. I hardly ever think about food and find I have to force myself to eat to stay healthy. I am hardly ever hungry--maybe once a month--so I have to schedule meals. This is such a change for me from my pre-WLS days. I have not been able to exercise because of my foot, but that is about to change. I am just glad I am continuing to lose--I am now only extremely overweight. 12 more pounds and I will weigh less than I did when I graduated high school. I can stand straight, look down and see my feet. Who would have thunk? I am so happy that I had the surgery. I have a life!!!! Monna

Michelle ~ on tossing the donut!! I think every time we make a conscious decision like that we grow ~ even if it's just a teeny bit. I guess maybe we're the hard core food junkies who will always struggle a bit....I'm so glad we have each other!!!

Good morning MTL gang! Yesterday was good eatingwise... I'm still strugging exercise wise though. The pool reopens the day after Labor Day. I've got to get it in gear... that's too far away. I did get up and did Pilates this monring. My plan for today is rather loose. My ultimate goal is to stay away from white carbs and sugar... Here's my tentative plan: Breakfast: Tilapia Applesauce Snack: AchievOne Lunch: ????? eating out with a colleague hopefully a salad with protein Snack: AchievOne Dinner: Steak Collard Greens Snack: Sugar free popsicles Exercise: 25 minutes Pilates - DONE! 60 minutes walking Nutrition: Don't know yet... Have a great day... will definitely be online the weekend. Hugs! Denise We can do this!!