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I've had my Wii Fit since the day it came out. I have waited for it for months and months as it's a belated Christmas gift. Luckily I saved about $15 on it at Best Buy with coupons and such. I LOVE IT! My entire family have set up profiles and we are all competing against each other and the competition has added an entirely new element to our workouts. Even my couch potato daughter has gotten up and moving. She's on it as I type. :-) My favorite exercises right now are the ski jump... I do this 5-10 times to get between 10-20 squats in during a session, I also like the punching bag game... doing this for 8-16 minutes can really get me sweating and my heart pumping, jogging also keeps my heart rate up... you don't have to keep your remote in your pocket, you can hold it in your hand if no pockets are available. Throw in some yoga and I'm wiped by the time my 45 minutes are up. It's funny how all of us excel at different things. My daughter rocks the soccer ball challenge, I have all ten spots on the ski jump and my son has taken over as king of the table tilt game. My goal is to get 4 stars on all of the games... I figure by then Wii Fit 2 will be released :-)

My doctor actually told me last week he's going to study just this... the effects of WLS on the children of the patient. It's a great side effect!

Angie, That bites! I hope you get some answers next week... aughhhhhh!

That is awesome! Congratulations!!!!

The below message was sent out to my surgeon's mailing list. I thought I'd pass it along and see if anyone was interested in joining me for this. We've met the people in charge at my surgeon's support group meetings and they are all wonderful and truly interested in dealing with people in all stages of the bariatric surgery journey. My daughter and I will be attending. If anyone else is interested in meeting us at Easton prior to the open house let me know. ================================ MACY'S ECOTAGE SALON AND DAY SPA PROUDLY PRESENTS: OPEN HOUSE FOR BARIATRIC PATIENTS SUNDAY, MAY 18, 2:00 — 4:00 •Meet the salon associates excited to partner with you throughout your weight loss transformation and journey to better health •Preview the Nio-Scope and Nioxin products, specifically formulated to prevent/treat hair loss. •Hair and skin specialists available for a complimentary consultation •Lancome and Clinique associates available for a complimentary consultation •Two personal shoppers available for a complimentary consultation •Gift bag for all attendees •"Nibbles" (fruit, veggies, Crystal Light, Water, etc.) available for your enjoyment •Hear about exciting plans for a Macy's sponsored fashion show, with YOU as the models/participants •Offer ideas about products/services that you would like Macy's to offer to better meet your needs ALTHOUGH WALK-INS ARE WELCOME, PLEASE RSVP AT 614-342-2350 IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING SO THAT ADEQUATE REFRESHMENTS ANDGIFT BAGS ARE ENSURED. WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO MEETING YOU!!! ================================

Hi Jill, yep the meeting is the 3rd Tuesday... I look forward to seeing you tomorrow! I'm glad to hear you can join us for our Saturday meeting in June too... those are too much fun!

I didn't know it was just for Riverside patients. I know that this is something that Macy's has been sharing with our group, but I had the feeling they want this to be something that they offer to all bariatric patients. I unfortunately was unable to make it after all... were there lots of people there?

Niki, The only day that might be dicey for me is the 7th. That night we're having my daughter's graduation party. On the other hand, I might be able to skip out on some cleaning and drop by for a while if you pull something together :-) The evenings work for me also, so count me in if you get something going :-) Melisa, that's great that you might join us! I'll have my box of clothes ready and waiting :-)

Hi everyone! The fashion show today was a great success and much fun! I'm glad so many of you were able to join us. We'll be meeting again next month and I would like to invite anyone that'd like to join us! Whether you are pre-band, newly banded or an old band pro. Everyone is welcome! Where: Polaris Mall food Court When: Saturday May 10, 2008 Time: 2 p.m. Look for us near the entrance to the Great Indoors store. We will have a helium balloon marking our group. All you have to bring is your smile... but if you want to you are welcome to bring outgrown clothes to share with those that might need/want them as well as a "before" picture to add to our group photo album. I hope to see you there!!!!

If anyone's interested in having another get together at some point before the 14th please let me know. I have a HUGE box of clothes that I forgot to share today and I'd love to let you guys at them! There's a big mix of stuff including summer. Most are sized 20-26. Let me know if anyone's interested. :-)

Thanks Kathy! See you in a few hours!

ROFLMAO! I wasn't paying attention to the date of this post and thought you had lost your mind! Teeheehee You are such a success just a year out!

Have a safe trip! You'll definitely be missed :-) I'll keep my fingers crossed :-) We'll miss you too Juli! Have a safe ride and I hope you enjoy every minute of it!!!

I am hoping to hit 60 pounds by my 5 month bandiversary on the 18th. That's only 4.3 left to lose in 10 days. I can do it! LOL Actually, I'd love to have it gone by the end of the month in time for my daughter's graduation from HS. Even if it's not gone, I'm very pleased with my progress. (P.S. I have not lost the total since surgery, but since starting my pre-op diet in October)

You are a great inspiration. Thanks for sharing with us!

Niki, I hope you can make it! It seems like ages since I've seen you!!!

SpecialK, Are you going to bring the balloon again this month? Or should I stop and get one? Thanks! -H

Only two more days! See you all on Saturday!!!

WOW! 6 days into my first fill and I think I may have restriction. I'm not getting too excited because it could be gone as quickly as it's come but today I have definitely been restricted. I work in a doctors office and every so often drug reps bring us lunch when then want to chat up the doctor. Today was one of those days. I grabbed two half sandwiches (roast beef and smoked turkey) and went into my office. I immediately got rid of the bread and started pulling small bites off of the meat. It took me an hour to eat 4 ounces of meat and a small cup of SF applesauce! It also took me all day to drink 24 ounces of Water. While eating lunch I had a few minor stuck episodes where the dry meat must not have been chewed enough and caused me a few minutes of discomfort. I resorted then to dipping the meat into balsamic dressing and a little bit of honey mustard an office mate had. What really blew me away was this... I was not hungry again until dinner time at 6pm! That was a good solid 4 hours I didn't even think of food! Usually at work I have a Protein shake in the morning for a snack and would have had an applesauce sometime in the afternoon for a snack. Didn't even think of either today. I am just hopeful that this doesn't go away!!!! If it does, I've at least had a taste of what the future will bring!

I haven't posted updated photos in a while, so I thought I'd do that today. :-) Here I am before surgery/6 weeks out/10 weeks out/18 weeks out

Kathy, that's crazy! You're doing awesome... so many patients don't lose a thing until they have restriction, yet here you are losing above the 1-2 pound average... she should be telling you how proud she is of you. Since she didn't I will... I am so proud of you! You are doing awesome :-)

Niki, I will bring the suit to our next meeting... I have to try it on but I'm pretty sure it won't fit. :-)

*******SPECIAL NOTICE******** This month we're changing our location from Polaris to Tuttle Mall due to a bariatric fashion show that is being put on by Mt. Carmel Hospital's bariatric team. The fashion show will feature successful WLS patients as the models. This invitation is for anyone in Ohio that would like to join us! Whether you are pre-band, newly banded or an old band pro. Everyone is welcome! Look for the helium balloon to mark our group! Where: Tuttle Mall - (Inside the Macy's store entrance that faces Hayden Run Rd.) When: Saturday April 12, 2008 Time: 1:45 p.m. All you have to bring is your smile... but, if you want to, you are welcome to bring outgrown clothes to share with those that might need/want them as well as a "before" picture to add to our group photo album. I hope to see you there!!!!

Before being banded I had decided on the band due to all of the reasons listed above. After being banded I've decided I'm the most happy about knowing that if I ever feel myself start to slip and the pounds start to creep up all I have to do is go to the Dr. and have a fill... problem solved. Prior to surgery if I lost I'd regain and have no control over myself... it could take me years to get back on the losing bandwagon. I don't ever want to face that again. Unfortunately, a number of the people I know that have had RNY and are more than 2-3 years out are on the way back up. Their only option for losing is to diet or have more surgery. It breaks my heart to see them struggle after all they've gone through!

That was a great post. Thanks for sharing! You are on the right track by watching what you eat during this time that you don't have restriction. I did the same thing and have happily been losing weight even when I was in "bandster" hell. Truthfully, now I can hardly remember how bad those first few weeks were. Keep it up and in no time you'll be in the same place! -H