Roll Call: Maysters

Hi everybody... I hope everybody is doing well. Big time problems with appetite (always feel hungry) and snacking a lot. I think part of the problem is that my mind is telling me this is ok because I haven't gained any weight .... i know it is bad I ahve always needed a bomb to go foo under me before I take major action. Anyway I have been hovering around 146-149 and now don't really care if I get to goal or not...it seems like my upper body (arms included) is skinny and any wiehg tthat would be elft is from my hips down. It's fine but the whole extra skin thing is getting to me mentally like when I want to wear the fitted clothes that i couldn't for so many years. I have 2 or 3 small incisional hernias (secondary to open surgery) and my surgeons syas that when they fix them they can often remove some extra skin. They ar enot painful but I know they are there if I hit the skin right. I will put this off until I ahve children if possible. Been thinking, I have been terribly inconsistent when it comes to exercise. When I was 9-18 I was a competitive swimmer.... it kept me thin and feeligngreat. They do have adult competitive swimming as well... it's called Master's Swimming. ANyway, there is a very competitive team in Cambrdige that swims at Harvard and that just might be the firecrakcer under my a$$ that I need to get em motivated. I know it is a committment but I get bored at the gym without somone (a coach breathing down my neck to get moving) to motivate me. I am worried about the time with my work schedule and all but I really think the competition side of it would get me a goal (Non WLS related). Been contemplating...does anyone else do any team sports? ANyway this is long enough... I wish you all well..take care! Hugs, Stef

I really want to get started on plastics too!!! But I'm still too deep in credit card debt and still too overweight for it to be possible right now. Although it'll be my turn someday.... Until then, I'll live vicariously through Michelle and Becky!

Plastics ... I'd like to have my arms and thighs done. My tummy, maybe, but that's easy to remedy with various undergarment items. My thighs are scary during spinning class -- they flap unless I wear past-knee compression tights. My arms/shoulders are nicely toned and have great definition, except for the flap that hangs down ... I'm here every day, haven't been in much mood to post. Summer is a tough time for me, as I experience reverse SAD (seasonal affective disorder). After about 11 AM I close all the blinds in my house. ("Another hot, sunny, unending day!!") I move my work to the basement where it's cooler and darker. Eileen

Hi Kathy, I'm here, slowly getting back into the groove of things after my surgery. We are in escrow on our house, and moving to a smaller town north of Santa Barbara, CA. I am looking forward to getting out of Los Angeles, and getting my children somewhere where I'm not paranoid to let them play in their own front yard. We are moving in 1 week. We had to bite the bullet and hire a moving company because I physically can't do the packing myself. I saw my surgeon at UCLA today, for a follow up to my emergency surgery (perferated ulcer in my small intestines). He said that given the pain I was in, he is not surprised it happened. I have to have another endoscope done, and in the meantime they added 2 more medications to my routine. Sor for now it is just "wait and see what happens". Either I'll heal and get better, or I won't. If I don't, then the plan is for them to go in and do a revision of my bypass, where they will cut out the ulcerated part of my intestines and bypass it, probably another 2 inches or so, and make a fresh connection to my pouch. I am not thrilled at the possiblity of another surgery. I also was reading the 52 pages of lab tests and surgical reports that I copied for UCLA, and the CT scan I had done while in the ER, shows that I have a hernia. I asked my surgeon about it, he felt around and sure enough, I'm the proud owner of a new hernia. Well the good news is, it isn't causing me problems (yet), so I can wait on that for a while, and maybe work it into a tummy tuck. The other good thing that has come out of this mess, is that I'm off my plateau, at least for now, so I'm officially down 119 lbs, and I have 35 lbs to go to goal. This isn't how I wanted to get there, but I'll take every pound I can get. My advice to everyone out there is to learn to listen to your bodies and do not ignore pain, burning, discomfort, etc..... I did ignore my discomfort for a couple months because I thought I was being a whiney puss, and now I'm really sorry that I did. I'll keep you all updated as things progress. Take care and enjoy this beautiful summer!!! Deanna