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I'm so proud of you for posting your worries and concerns here!!

It's hard to turn away from the things that have been our comfort in the past--alcohol and food. If it wasn't hard, we wouldn't be here. But there's no doubt in my mind that you can take charge and DO IT! They gym membership is a great start--START NOW! Don't wait! Try to substitute exercise for the alcohol--you'll definitely feel better in the morning. Want a beer?--go walk a mile instead.
We're here for you--you can do it. If you can get to a Sat support group in the Cities, we'd love to see you and give you a hug in person!
I love Greek yogurt - and I LOVE how it's becoming so much easier to find! Used to have to go to Byerly's or Trader Joes to find it, but now you can get it pretty much anywhere! I love Chobani, but I hate the price. Plus, in case you hadn't noticed, the PLAIN greek yogurts typically have a higher protein content than the flavored ones - so I usually stick with the 0 fat varieties.
Of course, you can't really EAT plain greek yogurt unless you're using it as a sour cream substitute, so I usually stir in some fruit and Splenda, or in a pinch, some sugar-free fruit spread.
Well, I got to work one day with my plain yogurt, but NO FRUIT or SPLENDA! Crap... how to eat it? I ALWAYS have SF raspberry lemonade drink mixes handy - Crystal Light, or a store brand, they're all good. So just for ****s & giggles, I mixed one of those into a cup of plain Greek yogurt....
Can I just say, YUM-DIDDY!!!! It was fantastic!!! Raspberry Lemonade Greek Yogurt! Really tart and flavorful!
Give your favorite flavor a try!
Imperfect does not = unsuccessful
I'll wait.

Good?
Okay. You and I both have an idea of the kinds of stresses we've each been dealing with - and how easy it is to rely on our old friends, food and alcohol, to comfort ourselves. But what REALLY happens is we end up making ourselves feel bad - then we beat ourselves up WORSE! Because we gain weight, and because we know that catching a good buzz more than once in a while is especially dangerous, what with our increased susceptability to liver problems and cross-addiction.
So here's what I would challenge you to do. First off, I would bet if you can find a way to cut out the beer, or at least drastically cut down on the amount you drink, you will drop a surprising number of those pounds you've gained. It's evil **** - you know that.
Second - DON'T WAIT to get yourself back in the game! Why? Because if you just let yourself have a Holiday free-for-all, you're going to gain more, beat yourself up more, and possibly miss out on the GOODNESS of the season while doing so. Don't give yourself permission to circle the drain!
Take EVERY OPPORTUNITY to do the right thing for your WLS. It's hard - F'ing hard - but for every success you have? Every cookie or ****tail you pass up? YOU'LL FEEL BETTER ABOUT YOURSELF. YOU'LL BUILD MORE DETERMINATION TO STAY ON TRACK!! YOU'LL LOSE WEIGHT, AND THAT WILL HELP YOU RE-KINDLE YOUR DETERMINATION TO GET BACK DOWN TO 164 - or whatever goal you set for yourself!
So there ya go. That's my wish for you this Christmas, sweetie. Give yourself that gift! I love you - please don't hesitate to call, email or text me, K? I'm here for you

(Oh - and IMHO, bag the lipozene idea. That's not why you had WLS, so you could go back to trying fad, chemical, 'miracle' diets. Why spend precious $$ on another gimic?)
Imperfect does not = unsuccessful
1. Love yourself and find a different way to fill your emptiness.
2. Mindful eating starts today and not tomorrow. The mañana diet NEVER works.
You aren't lost, you just wandered off course for a bit, get back on track TODAY!
Maybe this article could help:
http://health.yahoo.net/articles/weight-loss/photos/25-ways- cut-500-calories-day#0
My freak out number is 120, so I get what you mean. I had kidney stone surgery about 10 days ago and came home from the 2 days in the hospital at 126.5! But then it went back down to 118, it was all fluids but it still freaked me out.
My big thing is I can't work out at all right now because of the stone, so I have to be really careful about what I'm eatting. Not easy this time of year.
Just wanted to say hi!
Tess
You are a great gal Marsha, your wit and kindness drew me in right away. I've not been around much either, but have thought about you and wondered how you were.
Get through the holidays and make the commitment to make the changes because you deserve it!
Tess
Hi everyone, I know it has been awhile since I have been on. To be honest I am very ashamed to even be on here now. I have gained alot of weight back. I can't control myself right at the moment I always say I will start dieting on monday, then monday comes I'm good for a day or 2 then back to the same ole crap. I really don't have that much support either, there are no support groups around here unless I come to the cities. We have tried a few times to have coffee groups here but there is just not enough people.
I want to get back on track but am waiting till after the holidays. I did join the gym this month so that's a start. Have any of you tried after surgery lipozene, or any other jump start diet stuff? I went from 300 lbs to 164 and currently I am at 199. The more pissed off I get about it the more I eat. Also, for about the last year i have been drinking beer, and sometimes lots of it. It started out with drinking 1-2 and then gradually getting to be more and more. Currently I have graduated to about 8-10 beers
. I feel so good when I drink all my worries and responsibilities go away, and I can let loose and be me. I need to figure out how to do that with out the beer.
I know I should quit with the excuses but I always have one.
I will be 5 years out in a couple days. I know I can do it I just need that extra kick in the butt from you all. So please feel free to help me out and let me have it.
For all you NEW ones I beg you NEVER NEVER let yourself get off track. It is so easy to get off track and lose yourself.
Thanks,
Marsha
-Does it seem drastic? Yes. But it has a proven track record. Best track record for weight loss and remission of type II diabetes. The malabsorption helps keep the weight loss more permanent (though it is possible to eat your way through a DS, just like it is possible to eat your way through a RNY, VSG, Band).
-I do take a lot of vitamins, but I do NOT spend $150 a month on them. I just recently did a re-stock on **6 months** of vitamins from Vitalady, I spent just over $300. I don't get all my vites from her, but I will probably drop another $50-100 for 6 months worth of the other vites I need. Considering how much I was paying on co-pays for prescriptions before I lost all my weight, it's money well spent. I probably drop about $30/month on protein supplements, but you may not consider that necessary until after you can get all your protein from food. I just like drinking protein shakes.
I do keep an 6-month stash of vites available, and since I am only 30-something, I havne't really given too much thought to being in the nursing time. I'm hoping I will be ok when the time comes, but only time will tell. There are elderly DS patients out there who are thriving, so I will cross my fingers that I'll get there, too.
-I have one BM a day. In the morning, when a first wake up, and in the privacy of my own home. Does it smell? Oh hell yes. But BMs from normal people smell, too, so... eh? Yes, mine smell kind of bad, but I have Ozium, I take Devrom if I am worried about exposing others to my BM smell (which has rarely happened). My BMs were a bit more frequent for my first 2 months, but that's because there's a bit of an adjustment period.
And my gas production is pretty much tied to my diet. If I eat too much sugar or white flour carbs, there is gas, and it does not smell pretty. I can eat moderate amounts of sugar and white flour carbs and be ok.
-I am only a year out, I can't really answer the question about losing too much weight. I have seen a few people on the DS board talk about how they are losing too much weight, but it seems like most of them were lightweights to begin with.
There are also digestive enzymes (like Creon) that can be taken to slow down weight loss if it's really that drastic. But Dr. I cuts his common channel pretty conservatively (100 cm for all patients), so the chances of you losing too much weight are minimal.
As for losing weight the "old fashioned way" -- just how many diets have you been on in your lifetime? How many attempts have you made? I can give you a horrifyingly long list of things I have done in the name of losing weight. If diet and exercise eally word for everyone, there would be NO NEED for bariatric surgery at all. But it doesn't work for everyone... in fact, 95% of people who lost weight that way will gain at least some, if not ALL of it back.
I'll put it another way... if you had cancer, you'd get chemo and treatment, you wouldn't just hope that it'd go away, right? Obesity is not cancer, but there are tools and treatments for helping
If you are in the Twin Cities area, I stronly encourage you to come to one of our DS group meetings, meet with some other DSers. PM me w/ your email address and I can toss you an invite to our December and January meetings from Facebook. Also, get yourself on the DS board and read EVERYTHING.

"If television's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who won't shut up." -cat and girl
5'6" HW 325 / SW 317 / CW 214 / First Goal 190 | Century Club 09/19/2011