December Roll Call!

Kimberly, I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your (estranged) mother. I imagine you have a ton of confusing feelings associated with it. Know that I will be lifting you up in prayer. Feel free to call me anytime, day or night. Is there anything else I can do? About busting your plateau ... congrats, congrats, congrats!!! Now about that hair ... would love to see a pic (hint hint) Hugs, Tammy

Hi Everyone, I am 5 months out. Had surgery on June 21st. I am down 65 pounds but haven't lost anything in two weeks. Was it Thanksgiving? I did eat stuffing for two days. Not much but it was good. I feel great and have so much energy. I can do things that I haven't done in years. It amazes me all the time. It has been a tough month to get back on track after my trip to Israel and some other issues this month. The exercise has been the hardest because of my routine in a constant changing mode. We have been back and forth to our Maryland house which makes it harder to get to the gym. That is probably the reason I haven't lost in two weeks and not that delicious stuffing that I ate. Was able to get into a size 10 pants, which was just one pair but boy does it feel great. Also bought my first pair of jeans in 30 years. My kids made me do it. Size 14 petite. I didn't realize how short I really am. My husband and family are really an encouragement as well as my church family. Everyone is amazed at how small I am getting. I think they didn't realize how short I really am either. Still making the protein count at about 70 grams per day. But I really like the crystal lite iced tea (with caffeine) so I up my fluids to about 100 - 120 ounces. I find that I stick with a limited number of foods just because of ease in preparation with the schedule. I am really looking forward to the new meeting as I believe it will help those of us who are getting further out from our surgery. Just to be able to get some answers to the questions that are only now beginning to come up. Thanks guys for going to the trouble of getting trained for all of us who need you. These boards are a great help and I wish that more people would post here on the Delaware boards. It is a great uplift to look at it and see what others are going through. I especially like the fact that our boards are so encouraging and we are able to share that our greatest honor goes to the Lord. It seems that alot of our boards have a strong relationship with Him. That is truly a blessing. I hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas season and be sure to stop by Victory to see the Christmas lights this year. The inside as well as the outside. We have lots of brand new things this year. It is a joy to be able to present this to the community every year as our church's gift to the community. If you don't know what I am talking about we do about a million lights with a walking tour (all new this year) that tells the story from Creation to Resurrection and the life of the believer. The inside is all decorated and we have a play going for 6 days called the Journey. It is all free and all ages are welcome. It will run for the month of December. Keep posting and I appreciate all of you. God bless, Mama

Hi Linda, Well I will be 9 months out tomorrow. I have lost 108 pounds so far. This month was a terribly slow weight loss month for me. I only lost 2 pounds. Well it was 3 pounds but then it went up one. Its been very stressful this past month so I guess that played a part in the bad food choices I have been making. I had started to slip into old habits! eeegads! The last thing I really want to do. Its definitely getting harder for me big time! Anyone else feel the cravings? I am getting super cravings, but I know its because of the sugar that I have in my system that I have to wean out. I did well yesterday and choose a protein bar instead of a piece of chocolate! I had lots of protein yesterday and my vitamins. Today I have my protein drink and have been good so far. A little peanut butter 1/2 cup cream of wheat and 2 slc bacon. Not the best choices in the world but not too bad. I haven't had any complications at all so far which has been wonderful. I can eat ALOT more. Lately I have been trying to fill up on chicken and turkey from thanksgiving. That fills me up the most. I am just really struggling right now and trying desperately to get back on track and get my feet back on the ground. I really wish I could make the support group meetings but they are so late in the evening. I dont know that I will be able to make them. I put my son to bed around 8 so if I'm not there the little guy just won't fall asleep! So I'm a bit sad about missing meetings which would really help alot. PMRI is my only other meeting choice I definitely am going to try real hard this month to get back on track and start the weight loss again! I want to loose alot by Christmas. WELL I am dont rambling and boo hooing I am so happy about my weight loss thus far and hope to continue until goal. Best Wishes everyone! Elizabeth M

Elizabeth, Hang in there ... and please do not beat yourself up. It won't help a thing, and could cause you to run to the machines at work for comfort. Keep in mind how well you have done and how far you have come. Yes, I agree it is the sugars/refined carbs in your system that are causing you this problem with the cravings. I know they can throw me all out of whack also if I am not very careful. Hang in there, push tons and tons of water until you get home from work. If you find that is not working push some protein. Do your best to stay away from the candy, cakes, cookies, crackers and chips etc ... or the cycle will start all over again (if you are sensitive to them). I know some people can eat them and never have them bother them, then there are others who get into a never ending cycle that needs to be broken. At any rate, once you get home, make yourself a big old slushy using your smoothie maker and and some crystal light, ice, DaVinci Syrup and splenda. I love making mine with SF Tang or Crystal light Sunrise, a splash of flat ginger ale, a smidgen of splenda and a chug of DaVinci's French Vanilla ... throw in a few ice cubes and blend away ... be prepared for a treat for your taste buds!!! Keep pushing either the protein or the sf beverages. Keep your mind and hands busy until the feeling passes. I also find that when I am troubled the most ... I start exercising ... that helps to kill the head hunger or sugar/refined carb cravings. Tomorrow, make sure you have your meals planned out ... take exactly what you will need to work with you. Make sure you include some good snacks (celery, cheese, protein, protein bar, etc) You want to ensure that you have something to grab when you get the craving for something illegal. As a matter of fact, if you can do it ... go out tonight and buy yourself a couple of special treats that you can use for your lunch, snacks, RTD protein drinks, etc ... make your meals more appealing that those nasty ole nutrition free carbs that sabotage your efforts to lose weight and eat well. Make sure that what you have does not take a lot of effort when you need them. Prepare everything ahead of time. Leave all the extra money at home so you will not be able to impulse buy. Keep your cup filled in front of you at all times. Take a walk at lunch ... make sure you get all your meals in (don't skip when you are going through a time with cravings). And do your best to stay out of the kitchen after your meal is finished. Another walk after dinner or before bed ... whenever you are tempted. Let me know how it goes ... (if all else fails ... accountability may keep you in check ) Hugs, Tammy

Hello All: Well lets see first and foremost God is good!! He has brought us all from a mighty long way. This has been the happiest (most of the time) four months of my life!! I am now down -61.4 lbs. how awesome it that???? My emotions are finally starting to get back on track with this weight loss journey. I am getting my protein needs and vitamins in on a daily basis. The gym is working out good...@ times it's hard to stay motivated...but I keep my eyes on the prize I've had a few "WOW" moments which was really cool. I need to work on bumping up my fluid intake as well as eating breakfast! I do still battle with getting hungry....but I am working on that issue as well. I have no real complaints...just taking one day @ a time. I just thank GOD for allowing me the opportunity to have the surgery. And most of all leading me to a wonderful surgical team. Happy Holidays!! Be safe and make wise food choices during the hoilday seasons. Shay

My turn...I'm just shy of 11 mos out and teeter between 159 - 160 pounds down. I still do 2 protein shakes a day, and have been pretty faithful in getting in my vitamins. I'm finally in a routine. I'm in 16's for the most part - and want so bad to be down around 10-12's (the further I am away from 20's the better I will feel - 16/18 is too close to the 20's for me ) but is still a far cry from the 32's I was sporting one year ago! I do have self image problems, hopefully someday my head will catch up with all that I hate to exercise, and have to force myself to do it - but when I do, I feel so much better about myself. You would think that would be such an incentive -- but no... I can be so stubborn... Still looking for a job...nuf said about that... Hope this holiday is full of love, joy and peace for all. Happy Holidays! ((hugs)) Carla

Karen (Hope Forallofus) RNY 11/04/03 265/188 OK, always the last to pull up the rear...I'm so behind in emails, it's pathetic. Where do I begin? Well, my life has been full of changes and ups and downs in the last couple of months. For those that may or may not know, I am separated from hubby and, unfortunately, we won't be getting back together. I really love the man and gave him my all for seven years but irreconcilable differences keep putting us at severe odds--so much to the point that we're just not happy anymore. We have attempted counseling throughout our whole relationship--but always end up back at square one--the same issues unresolved and continuing. It's very frustrating and sad--but it's not healthy to go on living that lifestyle. Of course, he blames it all on the wls--how, now that I've lost the weight, I'm leaving him. It's not that way at all---I wanted to share my new me with him! He was there to support me throughout--I love him for that. But our other problems resurfaced and bubbled over--and I just can't deal with them anymore. Maybe the surgery DID have a part to play in it--maybe I'm just not willing to deal with these problems, as my fat self was. Maybe I believe I deserve better, where before I didn't. Sorry for all the TMI...but that's my life. In other news...I am no longer working the two full-time jobs--I was just burning the candle at both ends for a couple months there. So I WILL be able to make our meetings from now on. I've missed them tremendously and look forward to seeing everybody again. So....hope this finds everyone happy and healthy during the holiday. Like others, I am eternally grateful for this precious gift and I thank my team of surgeons and God EVERYDAY. Also, spend time with u'r family--they're the only ones that will always love u unconditionally, no matter what happens in u'r life. (((hugs))) -Karen

Hi all, I will be 11 months post op on the 5th. I'm down 125 pounds and 7 pounds from PMRI's goal. I feel terrific. I'm extremely active now. I work out with a personal trainer three times a week and do my cardio on the off days. My house is full of exercise equipment. I never thought that this couch potato would enjoy exercise! I'm wearing size 6 pants now and medium shirts. I'm not quite sure that I will be able to hit my goal of 119 pounds. The weight loss is extremely slow, especially since I am building muscle. I try to drink the carb countdown milk three times a day to keep up with the fluids and protein. I still have problems with self image. I hear all day long "you are so tiny". I just keep thinking, I'm not where I want to be yet. I have to remember to take it one day at a time. I'm hoping to tone up as much as possible before calling Dr Danyo for a consultation. I still thank God everyday for Dr. Wynn, her wonderful staff and of course all of you, you are like family to me. I also thank him for my new life and for being healthy. I never imagined life could be so great. Best wishes to all, Love, Deb

Tammy, Thanks soo much. I am so sorry to hear your hubby is going through so much. I am keeping him in my prayers and hope he gets better very soon. I took your advice and have been drinking more water and I brought my protein bar into work with me and that really helped. That smoothies sounds sooooooo yummy!!!! I cant wait to try it I think it being that time of the month for me has really done a job on me this month as far as cravings! I am starting to feel a little better though. I have been keeping chicken and block cheese on hand and peanut butter and that seems to help. Also mint tea with splenda and a little milk seems to help too. Thanks so much for the advice it was very helpful! ((hugs)) Elizabeth M