feedyoureye

I don't know who pinned it originally, but I hope it stays pinned. I think it's an important topic. The forums here are filled with instances of members struggling in all sorts of ways & trying to cope with anxiety, fear, doubt, and low self-esteem. Anything that might help to clarify why we sometimes sabotage ourselves and how we could stop SHOULD be kept front & center, in my opinion. Although this topic is useful and interesting, this website is packed deep with interesting and useful posts. Really, the answer is to get the most out of this site is to spend time, and use the search, and dig deep. When I started on this site I started looking at the oldest posts first. This post is not the kind of post that should take up pinning space in my opinion.

That seems to be the case.... I used to work a lot of short contract art jobs... after school programs, prison programs, guest artist programs... and most of them dried up(the money dried up) One of those jobs is the one I do now, it pays crap (11 an hour with bennies) but ended up staying there because its such a frickin awesome job with great staff... like family.. and its almost all artists and the conversation that goes along with it.. Oh well money! Hey, one of our two programs is not recruiting for two full time teachers...... that hotel looks darling! I know my scale is up and down... its not too far off, but will take some work to get it back in range. The huge onslot offood will be over soon.... for a while!

I had this happen once before too... loss of an important relationship... bam 35 pounds down. Then later on, I would gain when sad...

I am at goal now... well the holidays have kicked me up a bit, but not bad at all. Any more of my Jan 2011 buddies out there? Hows it going?

I am a "quest" type. I have traveled, and the most success I have had losing weight (outside of WLS.... which is the only time I have gotten to goal) have been my travels to India. I have lost weight all 4 times I went there (for months on end), without trying, and put it back on in a heartbeat when I got back. I didn't feel like I was on a diet, and when I got back I didn't feel like I was eating more. I think it must have been the "quest" of travel. I even gave goals and purpose workshops while I was in India one of the times, and read the "Hero with a Thousand Faces" (Joseph Campbell's book on the Heros quest) as a prelude/blueprint to my first trip to India. I just have to figure out how to create this quest/adventure feeling everyday.... and pay for it at the same time! I met my husband while in India, he was on an adventure as well... he wants to live this way too and is planning a trip around the world on a motorcycle... which is not for me.

Sarah! Way to go on the last 2 pounds!

I had heard about the Target thing, thanks for the heads up though... it made it real for me... I just checked my account and its so low a thief might leave me money instead of taking any! I have had money taken through my debt card number before and luckily my bank was really fast to see what was going on and returning the funds.

I agree, just keep track of what you eat and methodically add more good fats. Nuts, avocado, and some whole grain carbs. How much do you exercise? If you are doing a lot of calorie burning, make sure to eat back the calories you are burning off. Myfitnesspal combiined with a fitbit can do that for you.

Between 60-160 but my success depends more on what kind of carbs, low glycemic index, whole grains, brans, low sugars, lots of veggies, I make big pots of veggie soups for instance, a little bit of mostly low glycemic index fruits. When I eat 160 gms of sugar, white flour, and such, forget about it... the weight goes up. I do not eat low carb, just lower carb.

Thanks Laura, Looks beautiful Kelly! Would like to see a bigger image so I can groove on the details...

Absolutely! The true purpose of the all of those creative endeavors is dialog - a discussion, the connection that is forged - or prompted I suppose one could say as one experiences a work of art. Art is - and is about discourse. Discourse implies verbal communication, and much of art is "written" in visual language which may not be fully experienced using words. That being said, I love to talk about art. (get me started Kelly! ) I would feel punished too, I have such an unwieldy collection of stuff, I already reflect on why I collect... and the suffering of having. It is like I have entered a hell realm when I have to move. So confrontational. Have you ever come across the "evil eye" concept or the designs put on houses to "delay and distract the devil?" I think if I documented all my stuff, it would be like that, I would feel like I was in an endless loop of distraction from other things.... relationships..... I do work on developing mindfulness.... which can take me to that loop as well... RAMBLING!!!! I feel like this makes the word have less meaning rather than more meaning... Are we all also athletes? Doctors? Chefs and ? We are all certainly creators.... I think of art in the common vernacular as someone who creates art... most commonly referring to visual arts, but may refer to other creative making as well. Sorry, I can't see the image posted? I would love to see it... have a link?

I somehow missed this yesterday... Who knows what the reason was... I guess it could have been anything really... you couldn't have known him really in such a short time. No wonder you are a little sad at times (or at least I would be....) That little uncertainty about was it me?... even if you wern't that into him.... I have a case of "did I try hard enough?" "Did I do everything I needed to to make the connection?...Make it work?" I'm someplace between a hardy individual and a pleaser. I want to please, but only on my crazy terms. Anyway, it sounds like you are coming from a pretty strong place... dancing with wolves! (Don't know where that came from! ...I guess my idea about the dating scene )

Leo moon here.... Vermeer, of course... that angle.... My doc said double up your birth control, Even though I had been in Menopause for over a year... What?!! People get pregnant after getting the sleeve,,, and the hormones that dump out of the fat or something..... I have gained 4 1/2 as of this morning! I hope Im enjoying all that sugar and fat! And more to come. I have been noticing that I am missing reading some posts... the "my content" takes me to the first unread post in a thread... but sometimes, its not the first one... I missed about 8 of them the other day,,,,

Oh oh, I'm a Gem too! Birds of a feather! Kris must have some idea how those photos look... bless her heart... that must be scary as hell! Im not sure I would have posted them in an open forum... then again as a warning to others! I think a little sadness might be expected after surgery.... even this far out.... things have changed in some ways and not in others that we might have wanted change... Thank the gods that today is almost over... SO ,much food! I figured out my calories after lunch and I had already eaten 1200 calories! I bet I hit 1800 by bedtime! I might be able to do less, but I want to eat something good for me tonight even though I have the option to not eat anything else at all. Maybe veggie soup..... I think I will fast until dinner tomorrow... the TWO parties.... yikes! I feel like Im just about as out of control as I could possibly be without actually being completely out of control!

I love your collages too Laura!

Nice job, a hint of Michelangelo in that mouth girl! Thanks for posting. And same to you M2G, You should keep up the painting. I want to see Chimeras work too... I think you must have some Documentation around? Well, the scales finally gave up on the lies and told me the truth... up 2 pounds this morning! I was on the money calories yesterday, but way too much sugar. Today is the staff party, which goes on all day... Its not pretty, but is yummy. I bet I will have to re-lose 5 by the new year. I know I can though! Its just more of the same. Still writing it all down to the best of my ability..... oh, and the gift I drew at the staff party was 1/2 pound of chocolates!

Coops, sorry about the stiff neck! I hate when that happens!

LOVE Ross, spent about 2 hours there yesterday, bought all my Christmas presents there... The half of my cloths not from a thrift store are from there! Successful fast yesterday, but did not lose an oz. I guess I should consider myself lucky I didnt gain after what the "normal" days looked like this week. Work staff party tomorrow.... we all make food and leave it in the office all day to eat... starts with breakfast..... about half of the food is sweet. And goood cooks too. The following day we have two parties to attend, both always have great food, then friday is Christmas lunch at school, where the staff cooks for the entire school... that should be ok, but a big job cooking for over 100. everyone is good at pitching in. Off I go! See ya later~

There ya go!.... Congrats!

It looks like its not even stitched up... it looks "open", or not lined up right... Looks like it might really scar a lot.... hope it is just swollen, and will line up better soon....

I did fine today too, skipped food until 4pm, then some yummy soup. However, I had some SF chocolate pudding because I was craving chocolate too! Naughty me. Still on the mark though. Felt great. Yes, there is always tomorrow, one of the fantastic things about the 5:2! Great job girls!

I took today off from work so I could get a few things done, worked in the garden, then went Christmas shopping... everywhere I went there was perfume in the air, and loads of candles and bath salts and stuff like that for sale, I think being exposed to all those products can make you feel tired. I went into a health food store, and it was horrible! Someone must have broken a bottle of peppermint, it was thick... I felt for the people who had to work there... Just having to read all the labels, find something thats personal, and not just a dust magnet....and not too expensive.... it gives me a headache. Maybe that headache is because I haven't eaten yet! Blame it on the candles!

There are extensive measurement charts to check with. One of the things I got said it was a 10= Large... I usually wear an 11-12... and it fit just fine. Check the charts to make sure...

Ended up skipping my regular Protein drink, will have dinner around 4, a snack after that sometime, and call it good. I did drink 8 glasses of Water... I know all this holiday eating is really salty...

Thanks Butter! I will post anything I find in the future... really once you get down the couple of rules and suggestions, its pretty easy. Keep in mind us vets following this plan do not eat "anything we want in any amounts" on feast days. We keep it WLS normal... around 1100-1500 cals depending on the person, how much exercise and such...and around 500 on fast days, keeping it clean, lower carb, 50 gms Protein and plenty of Water and veggies. Most of us eat later in the day... keep the fast starting the night before going as long as we can... I only have one Protein Drink that lasts until around 6pm then a normal dinner (around 350 cals) Let me know how it goes for you if you try it here: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/289313-the-52-diet/ It gets easier after the first week or two. Most look forward to fast day once they get in the groove. DO watch the Documentary...worth it.