B: skinny cinnamon dolce latte S: skinny cinnamon dolce latte L: 2 slices (small) cheese D: scrambled egg S: some pepperoni slices It was a great day here and I'm sure tomorrow will be even better!

Oh yes, an absolute, complete and total WUSS! I'm sure I will get through it, but believe me i will be zipping up the coat!

They are talking about the Rant and Raves Board http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/rantsandraves/ I, for one, can't stand the drama...

Cold weather.... yeah... that is why I moved to Florida (I was born and raised in Michigan)!. Shoes: make sure your shoes are solid leather or made without "vents" so that way the cold weather doesn't kill you. Running shoes typically have mesh or vents to help dry them out... you DON'T want that in the winter! I liked wearing Doc Martins or other solid leather shoes. I also chose ones that had a specialized sole (that is slip resistent to oil and other things... look at Doc Martins, Sketchers, etc). Gloves/Hat/Scarf: Don't go with knit! The wind will tear through them and torture you! Coat: I think you know, the warmer the better! Sunglasses: yes... get sunglasses. The wind whips your eyes and you feel like you are slowly dying with each body numbing gust. I like the wrap sunglasses to reduce the wind from the sides. Can you tell I hate the cold? haha! When it is 50 degrees, I am digging out my Columbia jacket!

This is kind of long... so sorry... Ok... so I know that I have gained a lot of weight but I am ballooning now. I mean, really bad. I gained 30 pounds in the last 5 weeks. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE! (this is part of the reason for my frustrated post the other night on the band board... I am not usually so pessimistic or doubtful). Nothing has changed diet or exercise wise... I am just gaining at an alarming rate right now. For example, last week, there was a period of 4 days where I could not really keep anything down. I think I had a bowl of cereal one day and milk later... another day I had some mashed potatoes and then milk earlier that day. That was how it went for 4 days. My calorie intake was extremely low and what actually made it into my body and not in the toilet or sink was not much. I gained 4 pounds in those 4 days. How is that possible!?!?!?! I am on 4 meds that lead to weight gain (and I can't stop any of them... asthma, antidepressant, birth control, and one for my bladder). I am worried that those are contributing significantly to my weight gain (on top of lack of sleep, poor diet, and lack of exercise). I feel like I am losing control now. I know that getting my hernia repaired is the first step. I am going to see my internist about my meds next week and see if they can be modified. Also, I was finally able to find a gym that is within driving distance that has an indoor pool (it's in a nearby city, but at least there is ONE in this area). It's brand new, so that is why I never heard of it before. If anything, I will do water walking. Chlorine does irritate the urethra, but I'll give it a shot anyways. It will hurt my stomach (swimming always causes obstruction), but I pray that after the hernia repair, my swimming-obstruction issues will be gone/minimized. So, I do have a plan... but it doesn't change how down I am these days. I am not someone to just give up (I think that should be obvious by now), but I am just really struggling right now to keep my chin up and have patience. There is no other reason for the weight gain (hormones were checked months ago), just in case you were thinking about that. Unless something changed in the last 6 months, all hormonal tests are still normal. I am just gaining weight at tremendous speed... and there is nothing different from right now to what I was doing a month ago, or even a few weeks before that except for a few medication changes. Sorry, this was so long. Just having a rough time right now. It's nice to have a support group that understands!