Ahhh...the casino! We fall into group on - we had fun, deposited the agreed upon amount and returned home! But I did take some advantage of losing my money - walking around from slot machine to slot machine!!!! WOW - 35.5 miles in a week - that is wonderful. Glad you are going to help me walk across the country in October! Barb

Portion control is as important now that we are at or near or goal as it was when we started this journey. Before surgery portion control was one of the major causes of our obesity. Because we had such a larger stomach it took more volume to have a sense of fullness. We now have the advantage of having a much smaller stomach so we should feel fuller much sooner. We can no longer consume two to three quarts of food. Our new pouches can only hold six to eight ounces. We have to remember to use this to our advantage. If we eat solid foods with a higher proportion of them being protein we will satisfy our nutritional requirements and have a feeling of being satisfied with what we have eaten. We should avoid eating or drinking foods that go right through our stomachs and don't let us feel full or satisfied. By doing this we have to eat more to feel full. There are many ways to control your portions. Some people are obsessive about measuring their food and that works for them. I tend to try to watch what foods I am eating and listen to my body for signals that it is satisfied. My surgeon told me that he gave me a tool that would help me control how much I ate at one time, but he could not control how often or what I ate. Of course we can out eat our new tool, but why would we want to? Our new bodies gives us clues to when we are full. Some people have their eyes tear up, some get a runny nose or some let out a small burp. I don't have one clear signal, but I have had each of these. I also am lucky to have the feeling of fullness so I know when to quit eating. What signals does your body give you to let you know it's time to put down the fork? Have a great day, Rick

Yesterday my surgeon's office sponsored the "Walk from Obesity" in Massachusetts. I live in NH, but my surgeon is in MA and they held the walk yesterday. A friend of mine who had surgery 4 months ago went with me. Stephanie Smiles and STYLZ were out of town and unable to participate, but hopefully they will get to next year. It was a very pleasant 2+ mile walk along the river on a wonderful flat paved walkway. Just to think that 2 years ago - no way would I have walked 2 miles, much less 2 blocks...but I did it easily - wasn't even tired or anything - just a nice enjoyable walk. I took my trusty little pedometer - which has become permanently glued to my side and really enjoyed the early morning walk. There was probably 60-70 walkers for this year and lots of enthusiasm. So now I am really ready for our MARCHer's challenge to walk across the country on paper during October. I hope you are all seriously thinking about participating. I went to my doctor on Friday for my 18 month check up and told them about the MARCHers challenge and they were excited for us. I hope you will get excited also! My 18 month blood work was amazing. It was absolutely perfect in every area and I was so excited. I had actually gained 2 pounds in 3 months, but I was afraid I had. But I am still thankful for the 145 pounds I have lost since my first consult. I had a nice visit with my nutritionist and we went over my plan which of course means cutting out those dang nuts and peanut butter I have been having too much of. And of course they suggested more exercise, but I told them about the pedometer and my goal to do the 10,000 steps and more a day and we think that will help alot. They did ask me to participate on a panel for the support group meeting for post-ops this coming Tuesday. They said I was a "role model"!!!!! - I think they meant for "old women" like myself who have undergone this surgery. I love my doctor's office and staff - they are really caring concerned individuals. So to say the least I am so thankful for my excellent health and I am going to work very hard to be at my goal by my 2 year check up in March 2008. Between my surgeon's office, my wonderful husband, and this wonderful support group of MARCHers - I am going to win this battle - and maintain it for the rest of my life! Thanks to all of you for being here for me. Hugs to all....Barbara

Im revved and ready. Im so glad I got here jsut in time to participate in such an ambitious challenge. I am competative and when pushed can producve more than I ever thought. On my own I tend to wimp out a bit. Ill be doing resistance training starting that day as well transisitoning from primarily cardio. As y'all know muscle mass is hard to keep when dropping wiehgt this fst especilaly if the protien intake is low. I have managed to keep almost all of my lbm during this journey and am preparing to build some muscle structure in preparation for body lift surgery commin in a few months. Ive never been a gynm rat but I build bulk real quick when i get going. Along with some good walking/jogging miles each week I hope to see some significant structural results. Yours in health and fitness bigoletriguy

Ut oh, I have not been keeping up with the boards and didn't know Wyatt was having problems. I thought he had fully recovered already I'm sorry Mimi