Hi everyone...Update from John

Hi all, We just got back from our summer place in Michigan. As you may recall from last summer, we spend some time at our summer home there and have to come back in time for the boys to start football. I know that several of you have asked for an update on Christine and we appreciate your interest. You can always count on the Maysters of 07 to be kind, caring, and considerate. Christine has had a rough go of it. Her first couple of months were less than perfect and she has been pretty miserable. She expected a textbook case like mine and she just couldn't get things pointed in the right direction. The first thing to know about me is that I'm a rule follower. The first thing to know about Christine is that she is NOT a rule follower. If there is a new path to get somewhere, that is clearly the path she will take. She would get sick on almost everything that she ate early on. I tried to be a good coach, but all I could see was the 20 grams of protein she was getting each day and the damage I felt she was doing to her health. One night we were lying in bed and we both just agreed that we were very frustrated. I was frustrated that she was not eating much of anything and not following the rules of the pouch. She was frustrated that I was not more supportive. I couldn't be supportive of the path she was taking. She had tried two protein drinks and decided that she couldn't drink any type of protein. I was so willing to get more flavors for her to try, but she would have none of it. Anyway, that night we talked for almost 2 hours and it really seemed to help. One of the things that we both concluded was that she needed to get more protein in. She was able to do it by adding more slider foods into her regular meals. She began eating NSA applesauce with all of her protein sources and things began to look up. Now she gets about 40-50 grams of protein a day. She is still far from the 70-80 that I was getting at that stage, but I'm just so happy that she seems to be putting more of an effort in to become a rule follower. She is getting her strength back and she even wants to go on walks in the evening. The more she walks the better she feels and the better she feels the more she wants to walk. I'm afraid that she will have major hair issues, but she has accepted the fact that her early low protein levels will take their toll on the hair. On a more positive note, we did have a real vacation where we left the kids with my parents and we took off for 4 days on a getaway. We rented a nice motel room with a jaccuzi overlooking the Lake Michigan sunrises. What a great time we had. We have not gotten away like that in almost 15 years. We sipped coffee and shopped. We also stayed at a casino motel and they gave us $80 in tokens that we were able to turn into $33 in cash. That more than paid for our 3 main meals each day. We find that we can eat out anywhere for about $10-$13 (even includes a generous tip). It shocked us to see so many people pumping their hard-earned money into those machines. I guess if we had won big, maybe the bug would have bit us. For now, you can count us out of the group that loves to gamble. Anyway, that is about all for now. I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance to check in. I've had a small gain of 5-7 pounds and I'm ready to get back on top of it. I'll keep you all updated a bit better in the future. Also, Christine has lots 40 pounds in the two month process. She thinks it should be dropping off faster, and I tell her that she has done very well. Keep up the good work!!! John (and Christine - the one who forbids me to "exploit her on OH" as she says...LOL)

Okay, I hate to say it, but Christine and I are a lot alike. LOL I tried three proteins, hated all three and tried to give up. Then I found my SF orangeade, mixed it with the Fuzzy Navel protein and, FINALLY, I was getting my protein in. It took me a long time but I finally did it. Now that I'm so far out, I've slipped on being "obedient". lol I'm not a rule follower either. lol I guess I'm lucky that I'm still in the 138-141 range. My aunt's stepdaughter just had a horrific 4-day hospital stay thanks to popcorn getting stuck where her RNY incision is. She's about 4 years out. So, now I'm afraid of popcorn. LOL My new food is Herr's Honey Wheat pretzel sticks. Sadly, I could eat the whole bag. LOL Losing 40 pounds in two months is terrific!!! I think she's doing great! Is she taking Biotin? My early neglect of protein cost me, literally, about 1/2 of my hair thickness. I used to struggle to get a ponytail holder wrapped around twice. Now I can wrap about four times. That makes me really sad. But, I wasn't smart, didn't follow all the rules and that was what I got. I'm so happy you two were able to get away. This has been such a horrible summer for us. Mark's business is busy so no vacations for us. Every person we've hired has been a HUGE disappointment so I'm working like 18 hour days. I hate owning a business. But, I LOVE *my* business. lol Britt's looking forward to school because she's bored out of her mind. I feel terrible but there's not much I can do. Tell Christine to hang in there. The first few months always seem crappy. Look how much I whined in the beginning. LOL And, remind her we *ask*. You never exploit. LOL * Cyndi *

Sorry Christine has been having such a hard time. Hey was going ot pass on something i just learned in case she wants to try it. there is a protien by the same company that sells Syntha 6 called Lean Desserts. If you mix a scoop with 4 oz of mild it makes like a pudding and is in yummy flavors Chocolate Coconut, Banana nut, Cinnamon roll. I mix half a scoop of cinnamon roll to one pacakage of plain otameal after it is made and stir in mild and that makes that oatmeal 20g and it is good. I got samples of it at smoothie king. Hope you both continue to do batter! Donna