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Can someone tell me about the weigh in the day of surgery with Dr. Posner? I have so much anxiety. He said if there is any weight gain, surgery will be cancelled. My date is this wednesday the 16th. Does the nurse weigh you in? The doctor? Is there a weigh in at all???? Soooo nervous !!!

i had my plastics done just shy of 14 mnths post op. i would have done it earlier (at 7 mnths post op when i reached goal) but my surgeon of choice was booked up. i had tummy tuck, arm lift and boob lift in one shot. second best decision ever (after wls, ha). if its worth anything, i understand that further weight LOSS affects the results more than further weight GAIN. but i mean, if you have the means and inclination, you can always have revision plastics if need be.

Long rant ahead sorry ... So, I'm slightly angry (understatement). I saw my french primary care doctor yesterday. She's never been great to be honest. I've been seeing her for 6ish years. 5 years ago I gained over 80lbs pounds in a year and a half going from 118lbs (that had been my standard adult weight since my teenage years with a BMI of 19) to 200lbs ( BMI 32.3) after taking antidepressants. I stopped the antidepressants after a year because the weight gain was making me more miserable than I was being slightly depressed and thin. I have been struggling to loose the weight since... loosing and regaining the same 15-20 lbs again and again. As I've mentioned before, I have slight cérébral palsy - nothing too bad but enough to make walking pretty painful on my legs when I hit over about 130lbs and to make me generally clumbsy - I also lack gross motor coordination and don't have the best fine motor skills either... I can't really do any sports that require coordination and can only really ride a bicycle in a flat straight line and it takes a lot of mental effort for me to keep my balance, crowds freak me out because I'm scared of tripping and falling and don't even mention jumpy little dogs, my nemisis as my balance is so precarious. However I've always made do and It's never stopped me having an enjoyable fufilling life and a pretty decent career. My weight gain really really made me suffer, emotionally of course, my self esteem, my self worth etc ( I live in Paris which is the thinnist city in a thin country ... and it's not a place where people are kind to overweight people at all - I checked and the mean BMI of a Parisienne woman is 22.3 - so when you hit a BMI of 30 here you're really a fat outlier and are basically scorned in all public spaces ). It also made me physically miserable and I lost the little flexibilty I had - constant pain when walking - loss of gross motor skills, trouble showering standing up at 30 years old, not being able to put my socks on etc etc. For the last 4 years I have been to my Primary care doctor about 5 times asking for a referal to a nutritionist - she's always refused as told me "but it's simple, you just need to eat less and move more, it's not magic, No need to waste money on a nutritionist if you have no willpower "No **** sherlock! She has no idea the willpower it takes to get out of bed at 200lbs with cerebral palsy when you feel like your legs are litterally going to snap, when your feet are burning with weight stress induced neuropathic pain. In January I finally cracked after a lot of introspection and thought and booked my VSG for February in Turkey. I've now lost 35lbs since my preop diet so in just under 2 months. I already feel a lot better, the pain when I'm walking is lessening, I'm fitting back into the "second round" of fat clothes I got myself. So I walked into her office yesterday ( I had the intention of "fessing up" to having had a VSG and asking her for iron supplement ideas as I'm still being sick when I try and take iron ) She took one look at me and said "ah, you've finally found your willpower, loose another 20kg (40 pounds) and you'll be an attractive young woman again" I had a surge of red rage inside me, I kept my calm, but didn't tell her about the surgery, I just smiled and told her I needed a refferal to a dermatologist for a mole on my face and left. I'm never going back to see her again. I spoke to my physical therapist on the phone this morning and he sort of helped he said "can I be unprofessional ? Honestly, qu'elle aille se faire foutre, (she can go f*ck herself)" Lets find you another doctor." My physical therapist knew about the surgery, as did my orthopedic surgeon and booth agreed that with my CP anything is better than being even slighty overweight and that the surgury was worth the risk as they've both seen me loose my mobilité over the last few years and has seen how its affected me. They said that if I could afford to go private abroad I should because If not I'd have to jump through hoops for years in france because my BMI (32) wouldn't have been considered high enough as a stand alone. So yeah... this weekend I find myself another doctor who's not a fatphobic arsehole and has a minimum of human compassion. And for the iron I'm just going to go and ask directly at the pharmacy what the have to propose. Sorry that was long but I just had to get it out, I'm slowly realising all the **** I've put up with because of my weight these last years and I am ANNNNGRYYYY!!!! Hope everyone is having an okay hump day!

My band has slipped. I went for an esphogram yesterday and it shows that the majority of my stomach has slipped up through the band. I have to go for another surgery. I need to meet with my surgeon on Nov 10th. I am unsure as to what my options are insurence wise. I am thinking about switching to the VSG, but I'm not sure. Doing my research about it. I think my surgeon is going to direct me to just getting a new band, or just moving the one that is in there already. Not sure what to do. For now I have an open band and hope for very little weight gain during this time. Sorry I have not been on the boards often at all. Good to see some familiar names around. Congrats to all that made it to goal and keep up the good work to all who keep using their band...the tool we chose. Christine

Oh and the weight gain is always possible! That's why this was step 1 leading to step 2 bypass! This surgery isn't malabsorptive, the biliary pancreatic diversion offers best weight loss over all surgeries, but more risk by far. If you get 2 + years out and need to lose more weight they can adapt the BPD to your sleeve, or do the total bypass.

Hi all and Happy New Year - great to hear from you Aussie girl! I too have put some weight on after maintaining for nearly 6 months! I have been eating crap over Christmas and it has finally come home to roost! I have also noticed that over that last month or so I can eat larger quantities so this has probably got something to do with it. So my goal now is to cut out all rubbish and watch my portion sizes and snacking between meals ( I obviously don't need the Snacks if I am eating more at meal times). I have finally joined the gym but have lost momentum over Christmas. I think I will buy myself a personal training package to get me going again for the year. Unfortunately I can't blame muscle gain on my weight gain as I just haven't been doing enough! Regarding stalls - I have come to the conclusion that some people's bodies just hold onto weight more than other people. I agree with everyone's advise on just sticking to the program - even if you are only dropping and average of 500 grams a week, if you add the weeks up it is a significant weight loss and more that most people could hope to achieve without the sleeve. My only advise is focus on developing healthy eating habits now as when you get to maintenance it is that much harder to break any habits you have formed over the great weight loss window of 6 months or so - I am learning the hard way and my surgeon did warn me about this (but who listens to the doctors all the time right!). I think it is nearly time for another Sydney Siders get together - Kelli - when did you say you would be in Sydney? Hope you can make it Aussie girl and Susan? All welcome of course!

Glad you are doing well. I was back to work after a week with GB surgery. alot of gas, fluid, and meds add to the weight gain after surgery. My PS doc said not to weigh for a few weeks as the fluid build up would be high. Walking is always a good first exercise. I went back to work for 4 hours today. at about hour 3 I was feeling the strain of sitting for that amount of time.Right now, home with my feet up relaxing..

AAARRRGGGHHH I just lost my post---full of personals! Last time I think I began with Good Morning Ladies! LOL How irritating! It suddenly took me back to the homepage, and of course what I was working on was gone! Guess I'll try again!!! Jenn--I would have been very surprised if you had not had some weight gain with the new high fiber plan you have begun. The way the fiber works is to bulk things up and in order for that to work it needs added fluid. Once your system begins to "flush" (oh yeah I intended it) out, it should stabalize your weight, and your bathroom habits again. I would ask for Dr. advice if the nutritionist is not helpful as well! Michelle---Sounds like you will have fun tonight. I have never even read a single sentence of any of the books. I am not real sure why, I am an avid reader, usually a couple books going at a time. I don't know if it is that they were based on kids, or if it was the original fervor over it being anti religious or what but I was never drawn in. My step daughter wanted to go to the 1st movie, and we took her, but it made no impression on me, likely because I never read it. I thought about them when we began our summer reading, but thought it too advanced. I read to the girls each day at nap time, and have begun reading "chapter" books to Lindzie, attempting to help her with her recall abilities. She does not remember well. Things have improved some, with the steady daily one on one work we do, and my DD works with her a lot at home. I hope it helps her, I hate the thought of her struggling in school. Hope you guys have fun---take some pictures of you all in costume!! See you after your nap tomorrow!!! Terry--I am going to try to hit Curves sometime today. I am packing us to go to the rally. Rick went to the lake with our son. I could have gone, but opted not to. We will be outside for the rally, in the sun for the next 2 days---I didn't need today too. Plus they are working on the new motor, and I hate rowing, and being around men who are having fits working on something!!! DH controls his temper much better than DS!!! Tracy---girl I am so impressed and proud of you!!! One chip and One chicken taco!!! If I had that control, I'd be at goal now!!! You are soooo good! Pamela---same with you, vacation and one measly hamburger??? I wish for control like y'all have! Hope your appointments go well, and your closet is finished soon. I cannot imagine at this point having a closet that more than one person could fit in!!! Ours is made to walk in....but when we did the first stage of our remodel, we took out one bedroom, and enlarged the living room, when we did that, we lost the bedroom closet, and our living room coat closet.....so guess where it all migrated to!!! Our closets are appalling, but I do know what is in them, and where to find it, they just LOOK horrid! Judy---question! If I wear a WWJD charm, will it scorch my arm if I don't make as good of choices as say Tracy and Pamela????!!! Maybe it would work better for me if it did!!! TracyK---girl you are melting! WTG---Do you feel good? Well I didn't get to everyone this time around---will try to remember what I thought of before---but I need to go and help Lindzie with some math she is stuck on....we moved to double digits! TTYL Kat

WOW! Everyone is just doing so great!!! I'm so proud of all of you, and I have to admit...a little bit jealous. Judy - I hope you catch this before you leave...I know you've been looking forward to this trip for a long time! I know ya'll will have a wonderful time...enjoy every minute and recognize all of the reasons to celebrate! I am facing quite a challenge here in the next few weeks. And I gotta let you all know what's going on so that you can help me when I start whining!! That's your job, right? :car: Ok, so here's the story: Back in the fall of 2003 I quit smoking, started menopause and fell off the low-carb wagon. Triple Whammy DeLuxe. I went from 158-200# in about 18 months. I was pretty frantic but nothing I did helped with the weight. At some point my screwed up, desperate brain decided it would be OK to start smoking again to help control my weight....so I ruined my quit. It did help slow down my weight gain...but now, of course, I have to deal with quitting again. I've been taking Chantix (a new drug to help you quit) and it's working pretty well. Today is my first day without cigarettes and so far, so good. The REASON I mention all this stupid stuff is that I kind of expect over the next few weeks to be a tad bit cranky, maybe a little depressed, I'll probably even have MORE of a struggle losing weight, and might even gain! I'm going to try real hard to keep it under control and just DO what I need to DO, but I don't know if I have it in me without the crutch of cigarettes. We'll see. So, wish me luck on all fronts!! Ultimately I'm really hoping that with improved lung capacity I can kick up my cardio workouts...but that'll just help me 'break even' metabolically. It could be a rough ride. <sign> :help:

Morning Violets~ This is an interesting line of thinking. Self-esteem. I've been chubby since I was about 6. It began w/ the divorce when I was 5, through "time on the couch", I've learned that my weight gain is a result of my "abandonment issues"...stemming from the divorce and a young mom who was somewhat emotionally unavailable. Anywho...I started "chubbing up". My mom always told me I was beautiful, smart, and that I could be the president if I wanted. I mean it. If I ever got in trouble, it was not my fault, but "your g-damn friends...". My weight was never an issue...I was beautiful. I had what I coined "reverse anorexia". I looked in the mirror and saw a beautiful woman. I never felt fat. Now, I knew that I was "bigger" than most, but it never hindered me. I got every job I ever wanted...every man I ever wanted (yes, I used to date men)...and everything I ever wanted. My weight was a non issue. I was just fabulous as I was. I actually wrote to Oprah and said she should do a show about "reverse anorexia"...that when I look in the mirror, I saw a sexy woman, not the weight. At 240 pounds, I still felt fearless. I was sexy...and loving life. But it was the last 30 pounds that I started feeling fat. My body changed, and I wasn't proportionate anymore. You all know the rest. I got the band. But it is interesting to note how self-esteem governs our lives, and thoughts. Ta Ta For Now (TTFN)

Hi everyone, I have not been on the forum much in the last two months as I have been busy with seasonal work. In many of my posts along the way, you might have noticed I was always waiting for restriction and the right fill amount. Well, I had nine fills and 9cc's in my band and still had hunger and lacked restriction. Had an x-ray last week and the Dr. believes my band is unlocked! I don't know if it has been unlocked the entire time or came unlocked along the way. I have a surgery date for him to go in and lock it. Hate the idea of being opened again and recovery etc. He says recovery should be easier as no port incision or stitching, just lock it and get out. Fingers crossed he's right about it all when he gets in there. At least I know why I was struggling to lose any more weight and I know it's not my fault. Fortunately my walking has prevented any weight gain and I have been able to maintain what I lost previously. I guess I will have to start all over again with the fill process however and that I am not looking forward to. I will discuss the option of at least one fill with floro with the Dr. I have been checking new posts on the forum, so I am kind of following along with everyone still, just haven't had a lot of time to reply to many.

Hi over 50 gang: I am so grateful to see this site. I am prebanded and my tag says I'm 47 but that is when I started this journey and I am still not banded. I have the worst insurance for LB coverage with Cigna and started with a borderline BMI 37/38. I'm going through the arbitration process ..it's been a long road. In the mean time I'm getting even bigger and morphing into a woman I don't recognize and I don't feel comfortable or particular like what I see at all and I feel like withdrawing and hiding. Most of my life I was a very attractive woman with a good figure and a happy attitude. Later age pregnancy and meopause took me to a weight gain I can't manage on my own. Now I don't know who this woman is in the mirror as of the past few years. The hot summers here are particulary difficult. I stilll go to the gym as I love yoga and excercise but I'm getting down about my new appearance and feel myself withdrawing. Though through all of these hormonal ups and downs one of the things that has kept me from feeling too down is the support I feel from woman in their 50s and 60s 70s and beyond ...woman in these decades of age are just so much cooler, less judgemental, kinder, just more supportive of their fellow female folk. I thank all of you for your smiles, kind words and support.

Lunasa First of all girl hug Hang in there, look at the big picture, you have lost 24 lbs in 2 months. when was the last time you did that? that in it self is a big achievement!:clap2: I'm not lossing as fast as I would like either. Try to keep living one day at a time and stop comparing yourself with others. Perhaps there are other things going on with your body. Have you had your thyroid checked. It can cause weight gain, depression, and many other things. I know because mine was out of wack and I gained 60lbs in less than 5 months and I'm still trying to get rid of the weight. Perhaps you might need a full blood workup to check for diabetes and any other problems. I felt so depressed for about a year that I was having anxiety attacks almost everyday that would leave me curled up on the floor. I just wanted to die. I went to a doctor and got laser accupunture (sp?) and it wass great!!! I felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders. I was so relaxed I couldn't drive. I had to recline in my car for about 1/2 hour to enjoy. The sun looked brighter and the birds seem to sing louder and I felt all was right with the world. That feeling lasted for about 3 weeks and I went back for another treatment. I did this for over a year, then I started looking into the band. When I went for my psych evaluation I was given several task to do and I realized what my triggers were and learned how to deal with them. It made me face life and deal constructively with it. My husband was at the root of all my problems and I had to learn to change my response to how I react to him. (I won't go into detail but it was bad.) He no longer knows what to expect of me and when I feel life caving in on me I announce to the world, my husband and even my 2 cats, "I'm not taking any crap today!" and everyone scatters and I have peace. If there are no support groups for you to attend find a upscale AA meeting to go to. All addictions are the same. Feelings the same. And the way we deal with them the same. I found this out when I took someone to the meetings every week for a few months. I have to admit it made me understand myself a lot more. Don't let this have power over you!! Know that you are not alone in this. Many of us feel the same way and just don't verbalize it. Much , much love to you!!

Yep Riley good stuff. One reason I am trying to step back and not focus so much on the darn scale it becomes an unhealthy obsession for me. I want to lose still but not by worrying so much about how fast. I had a good talk with Robin this week. And told her EVERYTHING and she agreed with me some of my weight gain is the band is to loose. But they don't want me in the ER again so I told her they have to be ok with me going slow.. Cause when I am hungry I am gonna eat. Something good but I am gonna eat. I didn't do this to be miserable all the time. I told her I am thinking the band was not a good choice for me and about the sleeve. They still want me to try which I knew they would. LOL. I just told her I won't eat meat even if that means I fail and she understands and I told her I was frustrated. Anyway same stuff I tell you guys...... I told her some about the whole journaling with feelings and she liked that. I gave you alot of credit Riley Jane~~Or course she won't admit she knows you :-) Anyway she said I was doing everything right and she will talke to Dr. Baggs about what they can do.........ya no fill but like WHEN and how fast can I get fills............so I am going to see Dr. Baggs so we can figure out what to do from here. But ya I guess my appointments weren't cancelled I guess they wanted to check in with me before they cancelled which I didn't know and probably won't have agreed to. I am not one to hide things though. I say the truth the good, bad and ugly. Once they get me on the phone I put it all out there. First words of my mouth were I am fed up with the whole thing and not sure I wanna schedule fills until I can think about what is the utlimate goal here for us as a team....... Ok, ok.......probably way to much of my mouth but that is me. I probably didn't need to be on the phone with anyone that day!!! Tamra whats yor date???

Dr Oz says wellbutrin is suppose to address head hunger. But Celexa has a good rep for no weight gain..........ah yea right if you have restriction!! :-P

Mo-I had no idea that mine had eroded I thought because I gained weight from the baby I was just tight. But I was basically throwing up /PBing everything I would eat even sliders which is the opposite of erosion but at the same time I felt like I was always hungry and and couldn't eat enough. So when I went in and had the upper GI done they saw I had a hiatal hernia which was causing me to throw up and the band had eroded which is what was attributing to be weight gain and intense hunger. So when they offered me the sleeve I took it. I'm so glad I did. 4 weeks post op and I'm down 32 lbs. I spent two years being miserable with the band not being able to eat and always being hungry. It was a losing battle for me. So glad to see all of you on here!

Wow! Quick fly-by. Laura and Arlene, hugs on the pb's. Weight gain is usually responsible for the difficulties. I know Kashi would make me pb. I can't do grains. I'm surprised after the very strong post on carbs that I didn't get any pms. Of course, I'm not sure I'd get notified or be able to find them. LOL. I have this thread listed as my favorite and go right to this and nothing else on LBT. Some people just take themselves too seriously and are too sanctimonious. They need to get a life then maybe they'd have something to post about. Gotta go to choir. CBL Cheri

I agree with Ocotillo - You are doing a great job. Lab Band Talk helped me so much in the begining and still does. You should read alot of the post from the begining of this thread or read several topics and post and many are good at posting back. Oh my name is Melissa and I am in year 3. I have had ups and downs and some slips but it is always a learning process and I can say that this year has been alot better for me ecspecially these last couple of months when I really started refocusing on why I got the band to begin with. I started doing so sort of excersing each day and eating more Protein and more importantly following my Drs orders. (I was very lazy this past year with eating , and excersing and paid the price with weight gain) But I am losing now that my head is in place. If you are having problems with a choking feeling I would call your Drs office. You might be to tight if you have had fills. Or you might be eating to fast. Sometimes if I am to hungry and eat something to fast it always comes back to bite me. You could try drinking Protein shakes for a couple days then try eating again taking small bites and still see if you have that same issue. However if you have that same feeling while drinking shakes I would call you Dr right away.

So, Wednesday night the promotions committee was supposed to have a conference call at 7:30 p.m. I told them I was likely to forget and I did. I was home, but I was totally engrossed in a book. Who does conference calls at 7:30 at night? I'm lucky to remember to attend meetings at night. If something's part of my weekly schedule I'll remember it but stuff that happens once a month? At night? After work? Aargh! Fortunately, this is a volunteer committee and they're quite capable of making decisions without me. This was after my hard first morning doing Interactive Metronome. It went a little better today. Back at it on Monday. Got a call from someone else who wants tutoring for their son. Not quite sure where to fit him in since he lives near me and doesn't go to Roseland Christian. I go in to Roseland to tutor my students but he'd come to my house and my husband sleeps most days. Today, after 3 Interactive Metronome sessions (my grandson being the last one), I took both my grandson's so my daughter could get some work done. That's our arrangement. She comes out to Lansing IL. to drop David off, gets some nearby shopping done, then drops Josh off, too, and I keep both boys with me and take them home with me. The lawyer she works for is fairly close and the police officers and witnesses she needs to interview are also in nearby Hammond and sometimes Calumet City as many crimes are committed on State Line and can go back and forth. Her lawyer defends Hammond police officers from nuisance suits from those they've arrested. As a former Hammond police officer and with a husband still on the force, my daughter serves as an investigator for him with these suits. At first my daughter didn't want to come out here (she lives 45 minutes south of Thornton, Lansing, Hammond, Calumet City, but I made it a win/win for David who needs the therapy by offering to take her boys while she gets some work done when I'm done training David. I had fun with them today. McDonald's play place, then the park by my house, then water balloons and squirt guns, then the DQ. Now I'm off to pick up a granddaughter and take her to my other granddaughter's house to babysit this evening. They are so cute together. They're about a year apart. Skylar will be 4 in August and Leah will be 3 in September. I am reading all your posts. Great you are a great shopper for sure. Glad about the grass. Joyce, can't wait to meet you, also. Julie, can't wait for you to get to Mayo. Charlene, when you eat real food don't just limit the quantity. Check the salt content. Your apparant weight gain could be from water retention. Also, if you're combining carbs with meat protein, you'll store the fat. If you don't have the carbs, the fat gets metabolized and used up. That's why its protein first then veggies and maybe a little fruit when you're in the weight loss phase. You even have to limit your whole grains because they still do break down into sugar, often have salt in them, and they're often combined with things that have fat, which you then store as well as the water. Cheri

Hi everyone. Just checking in too, since I haven't too much lately; which, is because I too am in "Bandster Hell"!!! Didn't want to bore you all with my same story again! I'm just hoping that I'll start losing again after my fill on/around 9/11. I've been exercising for 45-60 minutes a day for 5-7 days each week and the scale has just gone up 2 LBs!!! I was doing good on eating, but will admit that the last 2 days I have not done so great! Partly because of the discouraging weight gain (beforehand). :laugh: Long2beThin, Thank You so much for answering my job question! :thumbup: I'm going to definitely try to get something in that field!

You know that you struggle with emotional issues of confidence & esteem that comes with being fat. But you may not know that you could be what are called as an avoider. This is due to the turmoil that comes with public & private dislike for obesity and you avoid confronting your situation at because of the fear of not being able to beat it. Here is how an avoider thinks – once you deviate even slightly from a diet or healthy eating you figure you might as we drop the whole thing – this stars a cycle that avoider can’t find a way out of – We are fat we try to lose weight we deviate just a little we feel rejection for the perceived failure we isolate ourselves from people we stop talking about it, we stop the diet we eat a pound of candy – we get fat then we try to lose weight and the cycle continues Instead of avoiding bad foods avoider tend to want to avoid other things like the people who want to help them and the disciple of trying to eat healthy. Avoiders try to separate themselves from these 2 strong emotion associated with dieting. The minute you ban any food from your diet you are setting yourself up for failure. If you eat half a cookie or a couple of fires from that banned food list – the diet is dead and that’s where the guilt sets in and now you feel that you lack the strength to succeed. This shame spins you back into the cycle of avoidance When you reach an obstacle you decide that instead of trying to find a way around it you might a well turn around and go back to the beginning – four fry’s leads to a handful then the whole bag. One way to handling emotional eating is you live & eat in the now – not being upset about what you are in the past and not obsessing about what you will eat in the future. The very thing that’s designed to help people lose weight is the very thing that promotes this harder – diets promote the all or nothing mentality. In our lives we allow for a margin of error – which we should also do when trying to eat healthy – if you are eating 1000-1200 calories a day – allow for some of those calories to be used for a little bit of something you really want - you need wiggle room in your diet to make it work – the all or nothing practices has to be thrown our of your mind. You can learn to reprogram your mind to strip away the guilt that comes with dieting. You have to realize that it’s not that the first slice of cake that will doom your diet – it’s the second or third or whole thing that leads to weight gain. You have to listen to your body & respond smartly to your cravings and emotions but over time you will learn how to eat right and mange your craving and that’s when you’ll train your brain to stop obsessing about eating right and punishing yourself – If you stop overthinking you’ll stop over eating..

Becky Those things are just models they really can't give you an accurate # - they just take generals into consideration - age and weight not how we burn calories - our metabolisam - what foods we eat etc - That 1200 to lose 3 lbs is BS IMHO... But I'm not a rocket scieniest - just a fat chick. I have a freind who was trying to gain a little weight - so she was eating sugar - nothing no weight gain - then she deleted the sugar and added flour/white crabs - was eating less calories of the carbs than the sugar - but in eating the carbs she gained the weight - Go figure - it's how her body reacts to the food it's given So IMHO we each have to find out what works for us - but the main thing is to decrease calories and exercise - Zig Zag your calories but no more that 1200 max a day - when you exercise (walk) don't stroll - push yourself - sweat.. Walk fast for a few minutes - slow down - then speed up again.. There is no way to know how many calorie we burn even on those treadmills that tell us how much we burn - say that my trainer who's 43 - 5'10 - 260 and ALL muscle - pluggs in those # on the treadmill (age/weight) and the man next to him is the same height and weight but all fat and out of shape - they are going to burn diff amount of calories on the same speed and incline - my trainer is going to burn less cuz he's in shape - the fat guy is going to burn more cuz he is using muscles he hasn't used.. but the stupid machine is going to say the both burned the same amount of calories So that being said - we have to take all those #'s with a grain of salt - they are approximates only - not written in stone. I only used daily plate or fitday to get the calories of foods that I didn't know how many calories was in what I ate (del taco burrito) - All I did was log my food in a little note book like this BF - Weight Control oatmeal 160 c L - One Pot Wonder 150C D - 4 oz Fish 120 - 1/2 c Rice 120 - Veggie 50 = 270 S - Popcorn 100 - puddings 2 120 - fudgcicle 80 Total for the day 900 - Excerise 2.5 miles That's it - my exercise was $$$ in the bank - Just keep doing what you are doing eating healthy exerciseing and once you get proper restriction the weight is going to come off - some weeks it could be 1 lbs - next week 2 - next wee 1/2 - then 3 the next. What the kind of food you eat - I am not an atkins advocate - but I do eat limited refinded carb

More Beckisams :0) I love this in the beck book - you eat lunch and you are still hungry or you get hungry before you next snack or meal - you say to yourself - I only have 3 hrs till dinner - I can do that - and then you give yourself credit for doing it I know that stress here at work makes me want to eat - I will go into gf office and eat a small handfull of peanuts - well that 160 cal x 5 = 800 cal of unplanned snacks - so I went an put a sticky on it - No unplanned snacks - I go in there when I am stressed/hungry (or should I say think I am hunger) and get a small handful - but that 160x5 = 800 x 52 is 41,600 cal over a year - that's 11 lbs - i don't do it daily but you get the drift Another thing and this one goes for me Everything little thing you put in your mouth counts - you can't say it doesn - just 20 extra calories a day over a years time equals a 2 pound weight gain - so it is important to know what you are eating - we can't say to ourselves - ah this won't matter - yes it does !!! So all I have done is eaten 50 extra calories a day to gain 5 lbs - we all think - oh what's 50 calories - well over a year it's a 5 lbs weight gain - Apples my biggest challenge has ALWAYS been to stop eating when I am full - I use to sit and contimplate my stomach - was it full - As fat chicks we don't know normal full we have to be stuffed. I can't wait to read this next chapter cuz I am a firm beleiver that we manifest our head hunger into physically feeling hungry and we don't know the diff - we want to eat we want to eat NOW and I still have a hard time distingushing between the too.. Well last night before dinner - I thought I was hungry - made some popcorn sister called and I forgot all about it being hungry - so I wasn't - I was just bored.. Today at lunch I was full - but since I had only had my meat loaf and wanted my cauliflower - I had a few bites knowing I was full cuz it taste good.. Like I say I may have a thin persons body - but the fat chick is still inside -- and she's rattleing the cage wanting to get out..

GREAT... I had a big weight gain, too. Surgery on Tues... when I got weighed on the Wii on the following Monday morning I was way up. Can't remember how much... but I think it was about 10 lb. But next Monday it was gone, following Monday about another 6 lb gone. It's not only the IV fluids, but your leg is quite swollen and lots of Water weight in that entire leg that you are not aware of. Trust me... it will drop off, probably in about another week. The more you move and exercise, the more the swelling will go down. CPM machines... (continuous passive motion) some doctors use them, others don't.. I didn't have that either. And they tried to put TED hose on me but my feet are small and my calves to big, so they had one on that leg but it fit so poorly that they took it of and left it off. I did have those little pumper things on my feet the first two days. Yes.... do contact your doc about the faintness/dizziness. Your blood count was low... BP low, you may need a transfusion.

Hi Everyone~ Janet~ <hugs> Sorry to hear about work. I know this is NOT the same... I worked for several years as an ER nurse (in the same hospital I had been born in, my mother worked as a nurse and where I had worked as an ER tech for 2 years) and was leaving for the Peace Corps, they did NOTHING! It's not like I was leaving for a new fancy job.. I was going to a 3rd world country! Not even a card! Again 3 years versus 30 years! Geez Louise! That would really upset me too. Hope you are feeling better both emotionally and physically. I hate hangovers. Meredith~ I had a HUGE horrible seroma after my surgery. They drained it every week x 2 and then every two weeks x 2. It slowly got smaller and smaller. That may very well be what it is. They are very common. Also, if you don't have any signs of infection, as Janet said (redness, swelling, fever, pus)... that might be it. Charlene~ good luck for your son! WOW! that would be so cool!!! Let us know what happens. Tonight we have a babysitter and are going out to dinner and to a movie. I feel a little guilty b/c Nelson wanted to go with us. But it is so necessary to have adult time. His teacher is going to be his sitter and he LOVES her, so he will be ok. Nels slept for 12 hours last night after his dental surgery yesterday. He had vistaril and nitrous oxide and the whole ordeal wiped him out. Since my sister left, the scale has not moved! I know I need to start keeping a food diary again. I need to see exactly what I am doing with calories and Protein, etc. Ever since vacation when I got out of the habit, I have had a hard time sticking to documenting everything. I hate that. I am exercising. But it makes me feel somewhat "out of control" when I am not keeping track of my intake. TOMORROW I will start again. My sister was 246 when she arrived at my house and yesterday she was 239! She said that being so good (eating on plan and exercising) here at my house really helped her! I am happy for her. My niece so worries me. When we went to the grocery store they have one of those big scales at the entrance. I hopped on. The scale only goes to 250 so for the LONGEST time I couldn't weigh on it!!! I was sooo happy to finally be on there! Anyway my niece got on and I was shocked to see her at 209! She was 140 at my wedding in 2001. And only recently in the last 1-2 years put on the weight. We went clothes shopping and she was so bummed about her size. She was had to get 18s. I used the opportunity to talk to her about how I know how she was feeling, etc. I tried to motivate her with all the usual pep talks. That night after dinner she ate a whole Häagen-Dazs sorbet (i think it was a pint, said 3 servings at 150 cal each), then 2 bowls of Lucky Charms, a regular coke and then 2 ice cream sandwiches. I did NOT have this stuff in the house, she had gone to the store and bought it. It broke my heart to just watch her eat and eat. We have all been there. At one point she said "don't anyone say anything to me". So, what do you say to that?! She is 26, educated, has watched her mother and aunt deal with morbid obesity and is clearly not wanting interference. Her boyfriend that she lives with is really upset with her weight gain. They were together a year before moving in together last January. He even asked her to "promise" she would lose weight. I don't know is she is subconsciously trying to see if he will leave her... to test him?! I want to tell you guys more about my sister's visit. Will do it tomorrow. Have a good weekend everyone!