WDYET?? *** FRIDAY ***

happy its already 12! Its a chilly rainy friday and its got me down in the dumps really not ready for the fall, such a bad transition I'm not looking forward to at all! No plans for tonight just stay in and relax with some blockbuster movies and bf. On a um... TMI note... I've always had issues before and after surgery no matter how much fiber I take. My doctor said I should look into colon hydrotherapy as it could be a bigger problem than just constipation (parasites or impacted). I found a place close to Nashua that does this (it use to be a common trend on only the West coast, but it seems to be picking up here). I have an appt at 10:30 tomorrow morning. I've looked into this for a few years and have heard nothing but positive results so I figured why not see if it helps my problem. The benefits of this is helping digestion, weight loss, loss of the stomach bulk and feeling better over all. we'll see how it goes.. ok so my day has been kind of blah.. I didn't feel like mixing a shake before leaving the house so I took some granola mix I made with oats, nuts, coconut and cocoa powder (saw the recipe on the food network) to have in the car. Heres the rest of my day so far.. drive to work - granola mix breakfast - 1/2 cup arroz con gandules medium toasted marshmallow iced coffee, xmilk lunch - 2 package mix blueberry protein muffins snack driving home - dried papaya dinner - the rest of the sweet and sour chicken breast with salad snack - microwave popcorn while we watch the movie water - 3 - 16oz bottles so far vitamins - taking them now exercise - too rainy for a walk, but I keep going into the kitchen to do dumb bell exercises and push ups hows everyone doing today? let us know enjoy your weekend!

I'm not ready for fall yet either! In previous years, I couldn't wait for it to cool down. Now I want summer always! Let me know how it goes next week. That sounds very interesting. I'll be looking forward to hearing your thoughts about the procedure. My PS consultation was, of course, too good to be true. It is now moved to September 5th. That's better the the first move to October 4th so I'll take it. Breakfast: whole wheat bagel with cream cheese Lunch: leftover chicken and a couple of bites of potatoes Snack: lite applesauce cup and SF caramel pudding Dinner: asked my husband out for a date to our favorite restaurant...he said yes (after he jokingly checked his calendar)! So not sure what I'll have. Water: 40 ounces in so far...need more! Vitamins: all in Exercise: nope...this is my last day of rebellion...tomorrow I hit the gym again Have a great weekend! Hugs, Stephanie

that is so sweet that you and DH have dates! hope you had a great night! Did they give you reason as to why they had to move your appt again for your ps consult? doesnt seem fair, but I'm with you on, atleast its not oct 4th! cant wait to hear what they have to say, keeping my fingers crossed for you.

Dates are the best! We had a great time. Our favorite restaurant has great food and live music on the weekends. It's very relaxing. They moved my PS consult again because the doctor they scheduled me with can't do the brachioplasty. I'm okay with September 5th. It's not too far away at this point!

Hey Girls- I've been worried lately because, as you all know, we moved to Oregon 7 months ago and we're just getting situated with the new insurance through my DH's job. Well, I just found out that WLS is NOT COVERED, nor is ANYTHING that has to do with WLS, including follow ups, bloodwork, etc. I found this out after I already had a few visits with a nearby doctor, and had my 1 yr. bloodwork done (5 months late from my surgiversary) etc... so I'm getting billed for this stuff Bloodwork was $822. I'm so depressed about this and so worried that I'll not be able to track my health or have any type of medical support when I need it (re: wls). Ok, well anyways, I need to find a job with insurance that will cover WLS followup. And I'm told that I may have a problem because many insurance companies would see this as a "pre-existing" condition... I feel like I've screwed myself by relocating after this life-changing operation... As for food- Breakfast: Cinnamon Weight Control oatmeal snack: sourdough toast w/ my home made blackberry jam lunch: Big Train mocha frappacino with choc. protein powder added dinner: Mexican manicotti, hubby loved it but I thought it was "heavy" tasting (manicotti noodles stuffed w/ ground beef and refried beans, baked w/cheese on top and salsa poured over it) evening: protein smoothie w/ banana and blueberries blended in Have a great weekend! I'm looking forward to seeing my folks on Sunday, we are all 4 going to the movies and dinner.

ouch! sorry to hear the problems with your insurance. Have you thought about a private insurance? I know they're costly, but if you're going to start with expensive medical bills it might work out in the long run to find a company that would cover your wls medical history? mexican manicotti sounds deli****hanks for the idea

Rebecca, ugh on the insurance stuff! Is a regular annual physical with bloodwork covered? I might try going that route. Everyone needs a physical each year and that includes looking at your vitamin levels! Good luck! Hugs, Stephanie

Let us know how your colon therapy goes and if it helps you at all. Sounds very interesting. My dh (RNY 12/06) has recently been having a lot of constipation issues too...He tracked (at least he thinks) to it starting around the time he started drinking a LOT of Crystal Light. has anyone heard of that causing problems? Sounds weird, but it has gotten a little better since he quit drinking it, but he's still not back to normal. It has all made me think of colon cleansing too. All the stuff you read about what we might keep in there, is quite horrifying--a good sales pitch if nothing else. B: protein coffee L: spinach salad w/chicken breast and dressing S: Tabouleh w/sun chips D: 4oz Beef tongue sugar snap peas w/ranch exer: none vits done water 90oz

ok probalby way too much TMI for a post that involves our daily menus, but... I went today for my appt. I'm happy I went, but thought it would be more of a relaxing experience than it was. I've read up on it and no one said you would feel uncomfortable, cramping or even sweaty (caused by the release of toxins) during it. It felt like a water balloon you fill up to the point that its just about to break. The water is put into the intestine and taken out a few times within the hour. She said there was a lot of impacted fecal matter and I "expelled" over 2 feet of it at the end of the session. Now that its 8 hours later I can say I feel better than I did when I left the office. When I got home I took a nap, I felt tired not sure if its because of the treatment or what, but now I feel good. I also notice that my stomach doesn't look or feel as puffy. She mentioned that some people have this treatment once a week, she suggested going once a wee****il I get to a "maintanance" stage. I made an appt for next week and will start going weekly until I switch to monthly. Most places (if you decide to look into it) offer packages, she offers 3 sessions for $185, 1 session $75. Some people might think its a little costly, but I always look at it like... how much did I use to spend on eating out a week or buying junk food? If its going to help me stay healthy, I'm all about it! This whole issue started maybe 5 years ago when I was always on a low carb diet since then its been nothing but problems... Thats interesting about DH, I've never heard of problems starting after crystal light, but then again, many people developed problems after aspartame so maybe this is the side effect for him? Hydrotherapy is really worth looking into espically in Cali. Its the thing to do out there and with so many people getting it, theres probably a lot of places offering it with reasonable prices. Heres a website with certified hydrotherapists if you're intersted. The more general the search, the more you'll find. I did a search by area code and found 1 person, searched state wide and found quite a few. http://www.i-act.org/iactsearch.htm

just an update.. a full day has passed and I feel SO good! I dont feel loagy, my stomach is more flat than yesterday and... I lost 4 lbs! I guess it does work for weight loss! I have a pair of shorts from express I thought I'd never get into, I've tried them on a few times, not a chance of them fitting. For laughs I tried them on today and they fit woo hoo