gamergirl

I haven't worked out ALL YEAR! What a bad person I am!

Thanks for sharing this!

I don't think they should be outliers should they? GI is GI after all, and anything with low GI should not cause insulin spikes.

HI there I don't have that insurance hopefully someone with pipe in with info, but what I have learned is that a) MVP probably offers multiple varieties of insurance so what worked for someone may not work for you. Those who got their TT's approved by insurance often called up their providers and asked for the criteria for qualifying for that procedure. After that, they worked with their doctors to document the conditions and meet the specific requirements their insurance needed to qualify. Maybe that will work for you?

I had also saved this picture and thought I'd share it here. It shows the GI index for various natural sweeteners.

What a great idea! I'm starting the year with almost one-fourth less of my original body I've lost 57 lbs and have 23 or so to go. Yay!

This has been a topic of discussion at our house. My husband is using artificial sweeteners in his coffee, he's eating sugar free popsicles, there's artificial sweetener in the shakes, in the Protein puddings we make..and he's wondering if he isn't substituting one sugar addiction for another (artificial) sugar addiction. What worries me too is that we read about how your body releases insulin when it thinks it is about to eat sugar. From what I have read, the brain can't separate between real and artificial sugar and releases insulin with both real and artificial sugar intake. And we know that you don't burn fat when insulin is coursing through your bloodstream. So I'm really wondering if in the long run, we're all better off just giving up all artificial sugars? Sorry I hope I'm not hijacking your thread Sheila, but I know my RA often flares with sugar, and I think if I ate too much artificial sugar, I wonder if my RA and your Fibro might not flare as well? But to answer your original question, I use agave nectar. It's made from real food, and it has a very low glycemic index so I suppose it should be okay. Ish.

To whom? Coz it sounds like a lot more than I can do! No putting yourself down. That's someone else's job

Umm...either you have a running secret you need to share with us, or you need to go somewhere less sadistic for your massages dude! Meant to ask what news on your RA and bones situation?

Oh you guys! I LOVE reading your posts. I learn so much from all of you. Thank you!

you are in the classic, predictable 3 week stall. If you search for that phrase on this site, you will see that you are completely normal, the surgery is working for you exactly as it does for everyone...and that 2014 may well be the year where you completely transform your outside appearance Don't be depressed, you are right on track.

I'm having a tough time. It's four months in, and it seems like the early days of weight just falling off every morning have slowed down. My size hasn't changed in a month or two, the scale is being willful, but mainly, I am being impatient. I'm sure this is all normal, the only reason I'm putting it down here is to share that part of the journey where the shine sort of wears off, and this becomes your daily life, and you've lost the high that comes from early surgery success. I am still not having trouble eating right, I'm still getting in my Protein and my Water, so that part is still going well. I'm not missing things or craving things uncontrollably, my relationship with my family is still as rewarding as it was, work is even more exciting than it was 3 months ago, so really, everything is going well. I've also lost 66% of my excess weight in 4 months so that too is going well. ' So what's not going well you ask? I'm bored with this whole weight loss thing. Seriously, it's as simple as that. I want to be at goal already! I'm sick of thinking about weight loss and smaller sizes. I want to just wake up and go about my life and not wonder if I'm at goal, or how much more I have to lose (27 lbs but who is counting?) My weight didn't define me before but I am starting to feel like I'm letting it define me more now. Did I lose? did I gain? When will I lose? Why did I gain? When will my size change again? Bored. LIke I said, I'm sure it's normal and for vets who have been doing it longer than me, I'm sure they can relate. But it caught me by surprise. How could losing weight become boring?! Isn't it the most exciting thing ever?! Well yes, but the routine has set in, the new has worn off, and it's just life now. Tell me I'm not the only one?

I started the ab crunch and planking challenges again here: http://www.bariatric...king-challenge/ http://www.bariatric...unch-challenge/ I felt a little weird starting these because I actually didn't finish either last month, but then I decided I could still be supportive of others wanting to do it, and who knows, perhaps all of you will inspire me again as you've done before. My goals this month are modest: 1. Walk or bike 55 miles 2. Take my very painful shot once a week and do all I can in medication and exercise moderation to have NO flare ups (not a fitness goal but related since overdoing it causes flares for me and I'm avoiding the shots since they fricking hurt so dang much) 3. Plank and crunch at least 3 times a week

I started the ab crunch and planking challenges again here: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/292822-january-2013-planking-challenge/ http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/292824-january-2013-ab-crunch-challenge/

wow what a great idea! Love it. I'll have to try it. I make taco meat and then put it in a small casserole dish with refried Beans on top with cheese, and then melt the cheese in the oven and we eat it with salsa, guacamole and sour cream. I love that but this will be a nice add.

And here is ours: steamed lobster tails and homemade ginger sesame dressing with fresh cabbage and other veggies in a salad. In classy papper plates too! Nom nom nom

Omg no. You're fine

Sheila! Haven't seen you on here in a while. Welcome back. So sorry to hear about your car accident. Are you okay? Did it start a flare or were you able to avoid that? Is the AI any better for you lately? I took it easy on exercise this month and only had one flare, because I forgot to take my meds. So much better than before. A 2-month stall has to be frustrating. Hope you're still hanging in there.

You know how they always tell us the surgery was on our stomach, not our brains? And that the first six-nine months are the perfect times to build good habits that set the foundation for later, when your sleeve relaxes and you can eat more? I'm curious to know what new habits you are working on to help you into a new lifestyle, or for the vets, the habits that have stood them in good stead over the months and years. For my husband and me, here's a starting list: 1. No saying "just this once" six times a week. 2. Not bringing food into the house that I shouldn't be putting into my body. 3. Trying to move about during the day instead of sitting at my desk for 8 straight hours caught up in work. 4. Not eating after 8 pm. 5. Drinking constantly 6. Weighing daily 7. Entering food into MFP with no excuses allowed. How about you?

Yeah I can see how that would suck. Being awake at 2 am, your body probably needs fuel anyway but add jet lag to it and it's gotta be tough. Travel days are hard for me. Despite the bars and Jerky I carry around, I never feel like I had a proper "meal" and it's hard to know if I'm full or not on those days. Good on you for eating meat and cheese rather than Christmas snacks!

Tell you what, knowing what I was like as a teenager? I'm sooooo glad I only have boys! They seem much less complicated than we girls were. My son used to have friends come over to play video games for the weekend. It always amazed me how no one cried, no one got their feelings hurt, no one went home all upset....weird

I think your way of not constantly monitoring does work for a lot of people so no backlash at all. My dream for when I grow up is to get there myself. I did take a 2-week break recently from the forum to refresh myself. Last couple of days have been rough for a lot of people. The "good" news is that I can't eat when I'm upset so... Nah it's all good. Building mental fortitude is part of the game of life right?

Friend of mine posted this on FB and I thought it was amusing so sharing in the Atheists/Agnostics section PRAISE THE LORD There was a little old lady, who every morning stepped onto her front porch, raised her arms to the sky, and shouted: 'PRAISE THE LORD!' One day an atheist moved into the house next door. He grew irritated at the little old lady. Every morning he'd step onto his front porch after her and yell: 'THERE IS NO LORD!' Time passed with the two of them carrying on this way every day. One morning, in the middle of winter, the little old lady stepped onto her front porch and shouted: 'PRAISE THE LORD! Please Lord, I have no food and I am starving, provide for me, oh Lord! The next morning she stepped out onto her porch and there were two huge bags of groceries sitting there. 'PRAISE THE LORD!' she cried out. 'HE HAS PROVIDED GROCERIES FOR ME!' The atheist neighbor jumped out of the hedges and shouted: 'THERE IS NO LORD; I BOUGHT THOSE GROCERIES!!' The little old lady threw her arms into the air and shouted: 'PRAISE THE LORD! HE HAS PROVIDED ME WITH GROCERIES AND MADE THE DEVIL PAY FOR THEM!'

Hi there! You might get more responses to this by posting in the powder room. We've had lots of bra discussions in there