kicking myself in NY/should be in the butt!

I have to admit - I am a little heart broken. I am so thrilled for and so proud of all of you for doing such a tremendous job!!!! I am disappointed with myself. I have lost 72 pounds in 10 months- which I am truly thankful for and I feel soooooo much better. I move, I jump, I run with my kids. I have not stopped losing weight (well I did for 5 winter months) but I am losing so painfully slowly. I know what I am doing wrong - not enough water - not paying any attention to protien, eating junk and not exersizing. Does it get any worse? (yes, gaining - thankfully I haven't done that!) I think I have really been taking my surgery for granted. I have been so consumed with all my other responsibilites in life - I haven't put effort into maximizing my "tool". How do you change your bad habits? I am the mother of four young children and I homeschool them all. I am sure that I don't take time for myself because there is so many other things I feel I must do - but realistically - 30 minutes of exersize a day is POSSIBLE. I am a Christian with a strong faith. I should be able to do this. Sorry to dump my pain on all of you, but how do you really change? Athena

You've already taken the first step which is recognizing what you're doing wrong. 72 pounds is GREAT and once you get back on track, the rest will start falling off you, no problem! My wake-up call was when I gained 2.5 pounds in a week. Ack! I knew the honeymoon phase was over and it was REALLY time to take responsibility and DO THE RIGHT THING. I haven't been the best follower of the rules, so in two months I only lost 10 pounds... but I am back on track and it's looking pretty good again I like to make photo comparisons when I'm losing focus... seeing how far I've come totally helps me get refocused and motivated. Here's one example: http://www.geocities.com/tiger_angie/images/13jul04-14mar05.jpg I've also posted the 10 Rules, and the STALLERS info beside my photo at home and in my office: http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/surgdate-forums/06-2004/postdetail/4645.html?vc=0 http://store.bariatriceating.com/stallers.html Hang in there! All you need to do is pick it up again: HIGH protein, LOW carb, and LOTS of water! Definitely start exercising... that's my weak point, so I can relate I have a DVD called "Walk Away The Pounds"... it's a great, easy to follow workout... that should get you started ;) Hugs, Angie http://www.geocities.com/tiger_angie

I'm right there with you. After losing 110 pounds, I regained 5 pounds over a two-week period. The culprit being my lack of exercise, not enough water and endulging in salty, crunchy snacks. I have been weighing once a week at work as I don't own a scale. The last time I went into the nurses' office they were moving things around and had removed the scales temporairly. I have been on vacation from that job this week so I plan to weigh on Monday if the scales are back. Hopefully, I am getting back on track and the scales are moving in the right direction.

I just broke a 5-6 week plateau which was partly due to the things you mentioned. I am making myself exercise 3-5 days a week (walking) and I am logging all my food on fitday.com. It keeps me on track. Protien shake first thing in the morning (ok, after my coffee) I really like (1/2 can) Dennison's 99% FF Beef Chili (20 g protien!) Snacks: string Cheese CarbWell (cereal) Bar Tsp PB SF Popsicles Tons of Crystal Light! Had to cut out the breads & carbs & 1-2 bites of whatever the kids had. They were adding up.