Im reposting this... Im finally doing ok with my stomach, Mary. I finally was forced to go to the ER on sunday night, and while nothing is bleeding or abnormal, they did put me on protonix for 15 days. Since I cant afford them I went with the Prilosec for the same amt of time and Im avoiding all things with flavor. HAHA. ACtually, the Prilosec makes every taste terrible so it coudl be a blessing in disguise. Im lacking in the protein dept. however by the only protein shakes I enjoy are CHOCOLATE!! Everything else is gross...blah. Ive been eating some whole wheat mac and cheese and chicken cooked in cream soups so its tender. So the scale isnt in the equation but lots and lots of water makes the yucky taste go away!! WOOHOO!! To add, I lost 5 lbs in 5 days probably from all the water Ive been drinking. Ive been trying really hard to watch my eating and snacking and I guess Ive been doing a good job. Happy 4th! sarah

Happy Friday everybody! Hope everyone's week has gone well. I've gotten my my water, vitamins and exercising in this week and have done okay with my food intake. I'm bad about wanting to snack in the evenings and am having a hard time with that. My goal for this week is not to snack in the evenings. I'm planning on bringing more fruit home to have on hand. I love watermelon and cantelope!!!! Hopefully, if I get those prepared and in the fridge, I'll grab that if I have an "emergency" moment. Wishing everyone a happy 4th. We plan on spending it relaxing around the pool with some friends.... with chicken on the grill. No big to-do since its in the middle of the week! Hugs, Wanda

Nick, My sympathy goes out to you and your family. It is so hard to watch a loved one go through such a hard time. My mother had Huntington Chorea and was very ill the last 3 years of her life. I was fortunate enough to be with her when she passed, as she passed away peacefully. I've done okay this past week. I was on annual leave for the week but didn't go anywhere. Mark and I ate out quite a bit, but I did try to eat healthy. One night, we went to Colton's Steak House and I got a 7 oz filet with sauteed mushrooms as my side. I stayed away from the bread; however, I did have a glass of wine . Its been so hot around her, I really haven't had much of an appetite. I have gotten all my water, vitamins and exercising in. Got on the scales and have not lost any weight. Haven't gained any either. Everyone have a great week. Wanda

Mary - Thanks for your thoughts and kind words... It is rough to see anyone suffer, and as I (think I) said, at least the end was quick and as painless as it could be.. On a brighter note, I finally got my May bloodwork copy back from my bariatric surgeon. I'm having issues with the main local lab - they seem to forget 1-2 tests that are ordered each time they are done This time they forgot the cholesterol panel, but remembered the A1C (glycohemoglobin, diabetes measurement over 3 mos). Last time they remembered everything BUT the A1C, which is the main one my primary is looking for, to make sure I'm keeping my sugars in control. Unfortunately, they're the main lab in the whole area, I'm not sure who else there is that participates and has Saturday hours, but after 2 strikes, you can bet I'm going to start looking. Everything looked pretty good - my A1C was 5.4 which is well below "non-diabetic" levels (< 6.0), all WITHOUT MEDS! Irons were all great. Calcium was in the high range of normal, B1 was 104, which is normal, but in the bottom 15% of normal range; B12 was 283 (again, towards the bottom of "normal", but yet still normal). There were only 3 results "flagged', and those were only out of the ranges by either .01 or .1 either high or low, so still right on the edge of normal, and they weren't the "big ones". Wish they had managed to remember my cholesterols too *sigh*. Now I have to go back AGAIN to get jabbed to get that done. Oh well; it's starting to cool off now, so I think I'm going to run outside and start dinner. Hope everyone's having a great weekend!

Okay, it's Friday again - how's everyone doing? Actually, to be brutally honest, I haven't stepped on a scale this past week, or even 2 weeks I don't think, as I was up north in Lowville when my mom was in the hospital, then for her funeral as she passed away from lung cancer on Tuesday 13th. (It really was a blessing, as it was quick at the end, and she's been doing chemo & rad for 3 years, so had much longer than most ppl with lung cancer...) This week has been hell catching up at work because there was all kinds of stuff going on that got put on hold when I was out, but now is all behind schedule. Despite all that, I'm actually doing better about not snacking or stress eating than I normally would.. Some of that's because I'm either too busy or tired to reach for the bag, part of it is that I don't have anything "snacky" in the house & really need to go shopping after being not home for 1 1/2 weeks. When I do go shopping, I need to avoid certain aisles (LOL) so that I can keep certain bad triggers out of the house, I think. Anyways --- how was your week?