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Things have been a little overwhelming for me too lately... but not really SO bad. I do feel like running away sometimes, but don't have the money or guts to do so. There are so many rotten things going on in the world right now, but we both have jobs, and jobs that really mean something too... and we just lost a TON of weight, and have lots to be thankful for. Chin up, one minute at a time if need be. I figure I will get out of this crappy eating pattern soon, I bet as soon as my mom in law and sis in law are back home. I love them and they are really nice and easy going, but my obsessive calorie and protein counting is out the window, and my exercise habits are off kilter too. Not their fault, but I just need a fine balance to get the job done right. Don't even mention the wine and nibbles every evening! I am enjoying it, but the little weight gain and tiny voice telling me " keep this up and gain it all back baby" is not adding to my feelings of well being. I look forward to exercising a little more control soon....sooner than later! I had a great vacation by the way... lots of walking, and lots of good food. The sleeve helped me so much to stay at least in the ballpark...gaining only a few pounds is really a miracle.

I'm three and a half years out, I've been maintaining for two and a half years and drink Coke Zero (from a straw!!) regularly. I can't drink it from a can or from bottle, but I do drink it poured over ice. It doesn't stretch (MY) sleeve. I don't feel gassy or bloated. It hasn't caused weight gain or cravings. There is really no difference between Coke Zero and Crystal Light besides carbonation, IMO. I waited until my doctor ok'd it. I was at least six or nine months out before I had any. For me, it wasn't a "rule".

Hi All - I have been reading and not posting too. I guess it is because I am at the stage of trying to maintain and I need some more company on this bench! As I have confessed before, I have developed a terrible sweet tooth and also have never embraced exercise - I have never counted calories and apart from the early weeks, have not been vigilant with my Water consumption - so you could say I have not stuck to the rules! In spite of all this I have reached goal and I am managing to stay around 60kg (BMI around 21) - my challenges are that I can lose weight very easily if I cut out the crapy foods so I was quite concerned that I was developing some bad habits (or going back to old habits) of eating at night and on top of that eating sweet things to maintain weight.. So my dietician recommend a visit to the psychologist to see what type of 'hunger' I was experiencing at night to try and break the bad habit. Her rational behind that is that you don't want to reestablish the bad habits that cause your weight gain. So I go to the psychologist and she says why are you punishing yourself about these so called 'bad foods' when you are not putting on weight... good point but I am so confused. You kind of get mixed messages from different professions as they are coming at if from different directions ..has anyone else experienced this? Anyway, my conclusion is back at where I started. Keep doing what I am doing and don't worry about it!

Research tell us that most weight gain happens after 3 years. I think there are both mental and physical reasons for this. Some of the reasons are unknown by medicine....they are looking into it more than ever. Lots of new research thinks that changes in the biom have something to do with why we lose, and if we start back into eating those refined foods we used to eat, the biom slowly changes back to how it was before surgery. (Some research suggests that when you eat lots of refined food, you grow more bacteria in the gut that processe that kind of food, and the bacteria has an imperative to get you to eat even more of that food FOR THEM. Creepy hugh? Our gut floura tells us what to eat. So if you stick with the right foods long enough, the gut will want you to keep eating them. Slip up for long enough and the gut will trigger chemicles that scream EAT CAKE! Not kidding. That is only part of the story, but those primitive voices that call us to eat cake are real and hard to ignore. There is thought that the surgery sets the gut biom in a new direction and gives us a boost towards a healthy reset... that combined with a smaller stomach helps the initial weight loss. I am at 41/2 years, have struggled with my goal... took 3 years to get to goal, and have bounced around a bit there... I am about 14 pounds above goal right now... and holding... always going back to maintaining consciousness about what i eat and how I move when I slip up... lots of good habits I keep up all the time...I consider myself a success (and so do my docs)... of course I would rather be at goal... but its still a work in progress. Why couldn't I just lose it and keep it off before surgery? I wonder why too, but seeing the stats about how many people can lose and keep off the weight withought surgery is reason enough for me to have gotten surgery. This is the very firt time I could get it all off or stay anywhere near goal this long in my entire life. I have achieved many things in my life, lots of travel, interesting jobs, notariety in my field.... really, the only thing that has been the bane of my life and health has been being fat and not finding success taking it off or keeping it off. Like most of us here, I spent at least half of my life trying without success. This surgery has been the tool I needed to have some success there as well.

Thought I would post a quick update... Prior warning - not in a happy place; lots of moaning... I'm still not feeling great, my back has got to the stage where I needed to take time of work and I haven't trained for 3 weeks now...grrrr Also went to my docs for a range of bloods to be tested as I've been feeling exhausted for several weeks; they've come back normal. I haven't seen the doc, the lovely lady on the phone told me - I hate it when that happens! I have mixed feelings on the results, not that I want to bring an illness on myself, but I sorta hoped they would flag something up that could easily sorted eg low Iron, thyroid etc. So I am still none the wiser as to why I feel soooo bloody sh*tty! Also been to see the meno doc, she said that the HRT is why I am retaining Water but didn't offer me any solution. She also suggested for me to take the tablet form of HRT, Kliofem, as the Patches are making me 'show' pretty much daily since I started them. I have to pick the new tabs up later; I will try them and see what happens. She did recommend the IUS - coil? - but I said no... can't remember where or when but I am sure a lot of ladies have had trouble with this and it caused weight gain! Anyone had any experience of this... Talking of which, the nurse weighed me and I have gained on their scales... I told her that I have gained at home and she said 'oh my dear, you must stop eating so many calories... aren't I a cow?' and chuckled... how I didn't smack her smug fecking face in I don't know. I replied 'oh I do watch my calories and believe me when I tell you I don't over eat'. She said; 'the weight you've gained is due to too many calories, weight is as simple as calories in and calories out'... I told her that my caloires are between 1000-1200 daily and that I can't function on less and she looked at me as if I was lieing...'Then my dear, you just have to exercise more won't you' ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! At this point I just smiled and walked out cos I could feel my blood boiling and I didn't want to cry! I just hate the fact that this woman who doesn't know me feels that it is ok to judge me... she did it before so I should of been prepared... but alas I wasn't! I am sooooo angry at her... and to be honest, I am starting to feel a little helpless! Nothing I do is working for me right now and am at the top of my bounce range and have been for over a week... this is seriously doing my head in and then to hear that from some stupid old cow didn't really help matters! I am hoping that this is a blip in the matrix and things will get better as I am starting to feel low and I don't want to crumble now when I have done sooooo well! Sorry for the rant ! xx

But if she knows it's a trigger food and that might ultimately cause weight gain, where is the pleasure? Should an alcoholic have an occasional recreational martini?

5"4" 👵 17m PO (WLM) 135.4lbs (pre-poopy)=lol knew it would go back up again. LOL. GHDWL (Groundhog Day Weight Loss = gaining and losing the same 2 lbs over and over and over again every day...) Tuesday August 6 Menu: B1-6am-black decaff coffee x eleventy billion B2-11am-starving!-protein latte (decaf + 1oz PP) L-2pm--1.125oz Krolczyk's Turkey Jerky + Frigo Light String Cheese + 39g Good Culture 2% Cott Cheese + 38g Banyan KimChi (Tongbaechu) AS1-3:30pm--Veggies with Grk Yogurt Dip: (35g baby carrots + 33g rbp + 54g cucumber with peel) + (33g Grk yogurt plain + 1tbsp WF Bacon Ranch + 1Tbsp WF Sesame Ginger + 1tbsp Braggs UACV + g/s/p) AS2-4:45pm--2 Herbox Beef Sodium Free Bouillon + 1tbsp UACV D1- 7pm--1/2 of this meal {90/10 Airfried burger patty with cheese, bacon, and avocado (4oz raw or 3.1oz airfried 90/10 ground sirloin + 15g BH lacy swiss + 1 slice applewood smoked bacon + 1oz avo + 40g heirloom tomato + 14g purple onion + 1/2tbsp Duke's mayo + 1tsp Lowensenf Mustard + 5 asparagus spears + 4oz Idaho potato raw (roasted with 1tsp olive oil) } D2 - 8:45pm 1/2 of the rest of the D1 meal It was a snacking grazing day. I'd intended to do an 18:6 IF with 500 cal VLCD, but just couldn't do it. Interestingly someone posted an article about the use of antibiotics and weight gain/increased hunger. And with this surgery last month for my twisted gut, I had massive amounts of IV antibiotics. I'm back to my pre-surg weight and the scale isn't budging. And I'm incredibly hungry every day. And I'm letting that hunger dictate horrible choices that just fuel more hunger (hello roasted potatoes I'm talking about YOU there! Gah. LOL. Crazy much?) This would be considered an "UP" day for me, but not a feast day. Feast days are on weekends (usually a Saturday) and are more likely 1200-1400 cals.

There will always be more Christmases with all the same favorite holiday foods you're used to but you will never have another chance to get this right. Get it right Now. The amount you ate is about what I might eat now 2 yrs post-op, but I would never have dared at 6 days out. And trust me, once you start breaking little rules, you break more rules and it's all downhill from there. I'm currently fighting back some recent weight gain that I know is due to completely poor food choices. A chip here and there was no big deal or a 1/4 c of dessert on an occassion. But then every third day was an occassion, then every stressful day at work was a occassion, now the people at the bakery know me by name and I'm up 15 stupid pounds and the thing is-chocolate tasted gross for months after surgery but I almost forced myself to eat it because I felt deprived on some level. But I wasn't and you aren't either. Trust me, some day you will get to Sample and taste all of those foods again, but not now and not altogether as a mini-feast. You survived this ordeal but Stop It Right Now-the disappointment you feel now will not even compare if you sabotage this amazing and severe step you have taken. If I could undo all the cheetos and macaroons of the past 2 months I would-my life would be the same but my clothes would fit a hell of a lot better. I didn't need them and I don't. Catch yourself now and put it an end to it, letting this be a lesson and not an "well I did it the one time and it was okay so . . ." One time makes two times okay and three and so on.... Anyway, congratulations on surgery and stick with the liquids. If pudding is a trigger then get rid of it.6 days out of surgery I was eating 1/3 cup of pureed bean Soup at the very most or a 1/3 scrambled egg...

Eh, not really okay, but surviving. You can pretty much get the gist of it on facebook. Wow. When I was 20 I had a reduction. I was a HH and went down to a D. I used to have to have my bras special made in Orlando because stores just didn't carry them in my size. That was back in 1986 and they cost me around $80.00 each. And, that was also when I was quite small, weighed about 130, so I was very, very top heavy. It can be quite miserable. With my weight gain, I only went up to a DD, thank goodness.

Heart---I was totally unfilled when I had my TT. My band Dr. is 6 hours away---and the fear was if I suffered any nausea post op, with an incision the size of the TT incision, and such a long drive---along with the travel/blood clot issues following surgery, it was thought to be safer to do a total unfill. I never went back to get filled! I managed my weight just fine, ate like I did when I was banded---and all was well. For a year----maintained without issue, actually even lost a few more pounds. Then STRESS come on in major ways, combined with steroids, and in the blink of an eye---almost 40 pounds jumped back at me! LOL So off I went and am back with a small fill---was actually done late Spring I think. And most of the added weight is gone, but it is much harder this time it seems like! So....unfill does not mean automatic weight gain. I have heard lots of people say the unfill allowed them to eat healthier proteins and raw veggies etc. We'll be here to help keep you in line! If I get an address from Paula or her DD tomorrow, I will send it out in PM to those who want to help cheer her. My heart breaks for her. When I was dealing with my thyroid tumor I know I lived in mortal fear of coping with chemo again---to actually face it is more than I can comprehend. I am a fighter and would fight it again, I just know the crushed feeling she must be facing now. And she has let us in on the hardships she is facing financially, and her back----her plate is REALLY full right now. Ya know IF I had been born independently wealthy rather than so startlingly beautiful (LMAO) I would be right there helping. I am off to bed, I have an earache from hell.

I've been making myself iced decaf coffee lattes with Splenda. I have a 20 oz container that I fill twice a day. I use a lot of 1% milk so that helps me get my milk as well as my 64 oz of Fluid a day. The milk provides constant Protein and a little fat and carbs and I think it keeps my blood sugar stable between meals. And it tastes good. The thing that made me want to totally stay away from pop is that the bubbles can stretch your new tiny tummy during the time when its still trying to stabilize and heal. I also don't want to get any more stuck gas in me than I already have. It can also cause reflux. You also lose some of your restriction if you stretch the tummy. Find a tasty substitute for the pop. Also for the ice cream if possible. I try not to keep it in the house, but my husband bought it for himself. He did, however, make me some ff sf choc. pudding to eat at night. The ice cream may be alright for you if you're sticking to the 1/4 to 1/2 cup guideline. Ice cream is one of my trigger foods so you'll have to judge whether it causes you to crave having more. I find that exploring and posting on this site is helping me. I was banded June 18th and I started a blog the week before to help me deal with all the other issues that go along with compulsive overeating. Its like journaling daily. On yesterday's blog I talked about eating disorders and their causes and my history of weight gain and dieting. If you'd like to view the blog you can do it at: IF YOUR STOMACH OFFENDS YOU, TIE IT OFF Dealing with the addiction in these ways has really helped me stay on top of my cravings. Don't beat yourself up. Guilting and shaming yourself will drive you right back into the food.

Linda...loved your A.I. explanation. LOL I was saying a couple of weeks ago that I think I expected to lose my weight, look in the mirror and see the same 38 yr old face I had prior to weight gain. Heck, sometimes I startle myself (honestly I do) when I look in the mirror and I have aged. That's just not supposed to happen!

Hey to Everyone.... Linda...your bro's health problems break my heart. I cannot imagine how you are feeling. When you posted about jumping when the phone rings....Hang in there. You are always so positive and upbeat. I know you are processing everything and doing what you can at this time. I just with you would be able to go see him. Not saying that to put the pressure on you...saying that because that's what I wish for you. Jessica...what wonderful photos. That little Jake is such a cutie...you are so beautiful and hubby also is quite photogenic. What a pretty family. So sorry you are feeling the pressure. Love your idea of sending DS to GM so you can have a weekend to concentrate on your studies. Maybe some time alone with DH would give you the opportunity to talk to your DH about needing a little extra from him. Speaking from experience here......I had a plate FULL for many years, expressed my feelings to DH and you know what he says now? Why didn't you put your foot down and make me see what I was doing with being a workaholic?...I thought I was trying to get through to him. We made it work but I now know I should have done the ultimatum. LISTEN NOW....not 25 yrs later. A lot of stress on me and contribute most of my weight gain to that stress. I can't go back to live it all over again....just advice from an old lady. Just try to take some time for you and DH that you can try to meet half way on responsibilities. Julie...so happy you have come to the realization (and your doc too) that your pain was most likely caused by your band. You did it, you hung in there during the tough times and now you just have to figure out a plan that will work for you. You need some kind of support system. First, try to see if you can get some kind of support or someone to talk to that will be covered by your insurance. Even if it means going to your LB support group...it's someone to talk to.

Tina - I don't mind saying. When I started this journey I was 283 the lowest I got was 211 so far. I started to get cocky and my head got in the way. I asked for another fill thinking that would prevent my bad choices (which it did not it only made me tighter and gave me more problems). I also was laid off of work twice within my LB journey and I am an emotional eater so I was eating foods I was not supposed to which as anyone knows makes you feel good for like a second and then you feel horrible. I also got acid reflux from eating too late and eating the wrong things and worst of all being too tight. I tried to deal with it on my own and with the help of my friends here but it got to the point I had to go back to the Dr (just a note my surgeon is an hour and half away and I pay $100 for each visit due to the fact my insurance did not pay for the LB I had too) When I finally saw the Dr he took about half of my saline out (due to he was afraid I might get a slip and he knew my stomach was irratated and swollen) which basically put me back to the begining with the band. Now I can pretty much eat anything including things I could not eat for along time because I was too tight like cold drinks, fruit and salads. So the weight gain is all my fault and not following my surgeons directions. So please follow your surgeons directions. I go back on 01/04/10 to see my Dr and get a fill I hope. I try to do this my self but there is no restriction I am in what they call banster hell. Like what Janet said she mentally could eat more but doesn't. What hurts the most right now is my hubby and son have notice the weight gain and it makes me feel so bad I say I want to get to onderland but my actions have not changed. I actually do take meds for anxiety which help but my head is stuck in a rut. I am trying to force my head to get back in the swing of things by changing my job to a more physical type job which my back is freaking out about. I could walk to work which is 3.2 miles driving distance but my hubby and son are afraid things might happen to me walking not sure why it is not in a bad area and there are sidewalks. Okay I am just gabbing away I hope this answers your questions. Tina you are right I will do this. I just have to get out of the hole I created for myself with all this sugar and carbs I have been eating. Also I have tried to give my problems over to GOD but I have problems letting go. My Best Friend is helping me with my journey towards giving things to GOD I am a work in progress with that.

This is a place that we can ALL post about our feelings, things that are bothering us, ppl that we just don't understand, etc. That's what is so nice about this thread that Janet started...our posts just don't have to be about food issues. We can vent. The more we stuff our feelings, the less free we are to deal with emotional eating, etc. So...vent, do whatever it takes. I am sure there are things that I gripe about and you guys are thinking "Why would she complain about that?". And, I know the lonely feeling that you have while your DH is gone and now you are also an empty nester again. I think the biggest reason for my weight gain was being lonesome. DH working 24/7, stuck out on this farm, not in the working world any longer. DH has done a wonderful job of now hiring a great percentage of the work done. He is seeing the light. He still works 12-13 hour days but he is finally now taking time to relax in the last 3 or so years. He made me a happy woman by seeing the light and dealing with his workaholism!:thumbup:

Hey IndioGirl55 Wow what a great weight loss in a relatively short time. I am 5'6" and a whopping 300 pounds. I have had my band for five days and since my presurgery preparation have lost around 12 pounds - not much but best I have done in some years. I just gave up, around and around I went on the weight loss/weight gain merry-go-round and each time I lost I put much more on. I am so happy I have taken the plunge. I hope I will look half as good as you. Unfortunately, given the amount of weight I am looking at a cut and shut after I lose the weight. That's for another day. Bye from sunny Australia:cool2:

Phyl, too bad you can't get an MRI......then you could get an epidural shot and hopefully relieve the pain before you leave. So glad your GS was not seriously injured. I bet he is really sore. Linda, sorry you are having Fibro issues. I am better today. I broke down and took Ibprophen last night.....really helped. I swear by the Savella I take for FM, but it is not for everyone. Lyrica causes weight gain. I won't go there......not for now. Judy, You go girl! I love the chocolate Optifast bars......creamy chicken soup too......not crazy about the shakes. Too sweet for me. Jessica, it is great you are re-connecting with your brother. Cheri.....the warm water therapy is awesome. I think I could hang in one all day. I did check into a therapy pool......very expensive. Julie.....Hang in There!!!!!!! Laura.....prayers for mom Janet......where are you? Apples......thinking of you!!! Lori......chicken thighs.......Yum.....my favorite part of the chicken! Okay, gang.......later!

Just working towards page #1000 and watching Desparate Housewives. Arlene...pecan pie is my favorite also and think that it was the cause of at least 75#s of my weight gain. My grandmother was the best cook and baker. She baked every day. She was our neighbor and always had fresh baked good when the 8 of us kids came home from school. Glad your son liked the cake. Lori...glad things are resolve with DH. Janet....the work change next week sounds like a good plan. Less stress during a busy week.

Thanks Janet...I have those moments when I think my face really looks old. But then I have to remember my age. The fat filled out all the wrinkles and now I am deflated. I started my weight gain at the age of 38. Prior to that I was the weight I am now. Guess I couldn't expect to have have the same 38 yr old face reappear? Why not? Oh, why not? LOL I'm on my way out the door. Blocking out thinking of my 3 hour time in the dentists chair this morning. Just focusing on fun and relaxation at the resort I will be staying at the next couple of days. Looking forward to seeing some old friends. Just hope they look a hell of a lot older than me....I'm bad.

Melissa....have you ever thought of having your DH pay for individual policies for himself and your DS and you going on your own with a policy subsidised by your state? I am not sure of the GA health ins laws, but in our state it is the most reasonable way to go when one family member is a high risk to ins companies. Might be worth checking out. Even with a high deductible, would be much less than paying out what you would with Cobra. Just a thought. If your DH and DS are healthy, they could choose a high deductible also and everybody would have a savings on premium. Do you have and ins agent that would go to bat for you? If not, find one that will take a look at your situation. I think of you often and the struggles you have been through the last few months. And, YES, you CAN get back to Onderland. Heck, I weighed 119-125 until I started on the weight gain wagon. Put your sights on a number you feel comfortable with and focus on that goal. We are here to help you along that path:tt1:

Good afternoon, well my volunteering days at the hospital are behind me. I was a little hurt that they acted like no other day and didn't really say good bye or anything today. Weird. I didn't expect a big party or anything but a thankyou or something would've been nice, oh well, I didn't do it for that, I did it because I wanted to. Apples, my volunteering sounds a lot like your's. One day when I was there a gal came in for a fill, the nurse practioner had me go see her in the exam room, weigh her, and talk to her about her weight gain, give her suggestions etc. she had me do everything but the actual needle part. I just felt the gal is paying to see a professional not a volunteer. And other times I'd get this list of things to do but wouldn't have a clue what it was etc. and would spend so much time trying to figure it out that it would be time to leave. It was so unorganized, she'd tell me to organize it, kindda hard when you don't know what many things even are. Today I organized all the preop class lists and cleared out 2007 and 2008's. I found mine for June 2008, seems like so long ago. It was dated 5/17/2008 which was my 50th birthday, that's the day I went to my first pre op class. Great way to spend my bday!! Getting educated for the rest of my life in my new lifestyle. Are you still cooking for all the men then? I thought you 'retired'?? Do any of the schools need volunteers? You could read to the kids or something? Laura, love the pool pic and the room your dad is sitting in all those windows, lovely! I bet the photographer friend really appreciated your order. Other Laura, CONGRATS on the mile!! That's awesome. Arlene, congrats on 2 more lbs!! Julie, glad you got some rest, hope those shots kick in soon! HotMama, welcome. Sounds like you could be too tight?? are you eating small bites, chewing slowly and still PBing?? I know we want great restriction but you can have too much restriction too.

Hello again everyone!!! It seems that in the few days I missed checking into LBT, everyone has been snowed or iced in, or lost power because of the gas shortages associated with Texas! Wow! Well...anyhoo...I was glad to rediscover this thread as it took me about a half an hour. I haven't been on the site much lately nor since they changed things. So if I seem confused about things...I am! Ok...how to start...well, I became depressed and anxious as a teen and started Prozac which served me well for 2 years. When its effectiveness began to fade, as Rxs often can, I started taking Effexor XR. I started gaining weight very slowly even though I was on my school's and a community softball team, and running around like most teens do. A number of years later, my depression developed into Bipolar II Depressive (meaning I can get really, really depressed but my hypo-manic periods do not cause me to put reality aside in order to partake in high-risk activities. When I am hypo-manic, I am super fun and bubbly, ready to organize and clean my house from top to bottom.) So my psychiatrist moved me from Effexor XR to a different class of medication for Bipolar, and my weight gain stopped. I didn't lose any weight, but it finally stabilized. It wasn't until a few years after stopping the Effexor XR that my Mom asked if I had started my weight gain when I began taking the Effexor XR. We had found our answer. When I started gaining weight, I didn't let anyone help me because I was SO embarrassed. I had always been very happy with the way I looked...nothing special...but I was happy and that was all that mattered to me. And then gaining that weight; seeing family I hadn't seen in years; running into old classmates and dealing with being Bipolar and having Generalized Anxiety Disorder (Dx'd as a teen), I ran away from all help and probably made things worse without knowing it by not watching my food intake. Ok...last and (LOL)...last January, I went to the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, MD for a medicine protocol, which went well, but two of the meds they put me on after the protocol to go home on had a high propensity to make patients gain weight. In a month and a half, while eating a nutritionist planned diet, I gained 25 more pounds! I was inpatient for 4 months with the hospital keeping track of weight and food intake, and up until I started the new meds, I had gained 3 pounds over those 4 months. It was yet another blow. As I began to feel better psychologically on my new medications, I decided I was going to research the LapBand to get the aid I needed to lose 100lbs. I researched and researched, and researched, and decided it was my time to do something to help myself. I have been banded since 8/24/10 and have lost 28lbs! Currently I am in a depressive state which is why it took me so long to get back on here, but it seems to be lifting a bit with the sun we've had the past few days. I usually log my eating although other than Protein and calorie intake, I have no idea how to use the information because my surgeon hasn't been very helpful in that, but I have slacked off on logging for the past month and a half due to my depression. I spent 3 days in bed 2 weeks ago so logging wasn't much a priority. Same with exercise. I did order and get the Jillian Michaels "30 Day Shred" and like it. It is pretty old school, so it isn't hard to keep up with...well, physically it is, but the moves aren't. I wish I had someone to go to a Zumba class with, but with this anxiety of mine, that is a tough thing to do alone. But I am staying positive that February will be my back on track month, and I will start losing again (been stuck at same weight for 3 weeks). I am trying not to beat myself up because I have many issues to deal with, and I knew going in I would have to work doubly hard. I try to give myself a short period to feel badly and then say, "Ok. Now we get to start again." I think my "book" covered what you were kinda asking for. Feel free to ask questions or give advice. The only thing I ask is that if I ask a question about my digestive track, you don't answer me back that "it isn't like you have a piece of PVC pipe from your esophagus to your bowel". Yea...some guy actually told me that. I thanked him for the physiology lesson. LOL Still makes me giggle. Hope it makes you giggle too! Keep warm. Please pray that Spring starts...oh...tomorrow! And be Blessed!

Hello all~ I am feeling better today. Last night I must've gotten up to pp about 5 times! Already this a.m. was back to 245, so we will see in the a.m. My feet are much much better. It's weird b/c this is the first time since surgery that I have had any swelling in my feet/hands. DH was also up 5 lbs or so from that trip. LOL Meredith! You are a trip, at least we are the same!:biggrin: Linda~ <hugs> I am so sorry to hear about your DGD's diagnosis. DM is a frustrating disease. It is good they caught it early and it does respond well to steroids and the IV meds. I knew they gave IVIG, but didn't know that much about the methotrexate. I will definitely keep her in my daily prayers. 1day~ Thanks for your support. It does help knowing you guys are there. And even more... knowing we have all been in the same place.:thumbup: Kath~ sorry to hear about your DD's relapse. Drug addiction is a horrible thing. It seems like your band is really helping you- glad you are having restriction with your 2nd fill! Young~ thanks for the tip. I hope your A1C does get better. They gave you a surgery date! :tongue2: That usually means they are confident that you will get things under control. Buckle down and be good these next few weeks and you could bring that # down! I use a mask with my CPAP. (ResMed- Ultra Mirage). I tried the nasal pillows but always had a leak. My DH has had a CPAP for 9 years and tried every mask out there! The one thing that helps me is the humidifier! If you don't have one, it may make the difference for you. I don't want to repeat the sleep study, but I am fairly confident that the weight I have lost has cured my SA. My DH, being an anesthesiologist, will watch and listen to me sleep sometimes. He said I have stopped snoring. I never had periods of stopping breathing- just that my oxygen levels went down. When we went to Quebec I didn't bring my machine and did fine. I know my SA was induced by my weight gain. One more thing to say goodbye to soon! And, yes, I would love to meet you when you are town! I've been busy unpacking, doing laundry, grocery shopping and getting back in the swing of things. Although we had a GREAT time in Canada, there is no place like home. Here are a few pics from the trip. After we landed in Newark the pilots invited Nelson up front. (he had an airplane shirt on and had an identical plane in his hand!) He was thrilled! Hope everyone is having a great weekend! peasout!~~~

1day at a time, did you lose all the weight and put it back on? How do you think the weight gain happened? Im just wondering because it sounds like you had lost some weight and put it back on again. Im worried i will do that too I learn from others and srry if im being nosey...just trying to catch up on the situation behind some of your posts. And YES you WILL take control of your weight. And there is a really really good friend to have in these situations...well in any situations....God. Best friend i ever had

Janet, I still can't beleive that the 'before' pic was you. You looked good then, but 'wow' your 'after' is know down gorgeous. Your short story is perfect, there is a spelling error in the 3rd to last paragraph where you say 'bad' instead of 'band. But you said eveything perfectly. So you have a 'slip' with the cheeto puffs, Toss the rest of the bag and drink lots of fluids this weekend to get rid of the extra salt. With that much salt, naturally you are going to show a significant weight gain. But is will ge Water weight nor 'fat weight'. Hugs on the furry issue. Miss Molly wakes me up on a regular basis. Needless to say, I am tired this morning, typing with my eyes closed. Well Janet, enjoy your workout. I'll think of you trapped at the gym. TTFN