Pam it sounds like you are doing really well. Don't beat yourself up over a few m&m's and peppermint patty! I say you are doing better than what you were and you are getting back on track. Just take it a day at a time. I know how you feel. I have been struggling a lot lately too. I started packing lunches again too and going to work prepared. I also noticed that since I have upped my water a lot more, I am not getting as hungry during the day. How are you doing on your water? I cannot drink cold water, for some reason my pouch doesn't like it. So I have been drinking water at room temperature and have been able to get 6 - 8 bottles a day down. Just a suggestion. Hugs, I so know how you are feeling. We have to struggle to get back on track. Shelley

Hi Ginger, I got your message and I am definetly going to try the latte and wrap this weekend. I am eating a lot more than you during the course of a day...do you eat dinner? Heres what I ate today: 6:30 PB & J sandwich ( WW whole wheat bread, jiff reduced fat PB and smuckers SF/FF blackberry jelly) 9:30 WW yogurt (6grams of protein) and an apple 11:15 RB sandwich w/FF cheese and mustard, 20 lay's light potato chips 2:30 string cheese, 2 chocolate graham crackers 4:00 1 mini-powdered donut 6:25 1 mini-powdered donut 6:30 grilled chicken salad with cheese, croutons, celery, onions, carrots, and FF italien dressing a a little ranch dressing 8:00 skinny cow mint ice cream sandwich I am trying to really cut back on what I am eating...I seem to be eating way too much!

Ya know what? Today was a hard - sucky day. Just a really long day. I packed my lunchbox again with the only food I was to allow myself for the duration of my work day. My work day normally ends at 4:30 and I'm home by 5:30. Yesterday I didn't get out of wor****il almost 6 p.m. and today - it was even later - 6:30. Augh. So I didn't get home until after 7. The work doesn't bother me - I enjoy the work. What's hard is keeping my eating straight and my tummy happy. If I knew ahead of time that i would be there that long, I would have packed just a little more - but I can't just "automatically" pack more - because if i DON'T work late, I would probably eat the extra anyway. I can't be trusted with myself. So i had a hard time today with the distance between "meals." And once I get to work, I don't leave for lunch or go off to have a separate little sit down meal. I take 5 minutes here and there to eat a little something and just keep working. I'm thrilled with how much money I'm saving in food and gas by doing this! So today I packed: A roast beef and provolone wrap with mustard - cut in four sections A cheese stick A low-carb yogurt (the ones with fiber cereal in it) A SF orange jello A banana What I DID: 6:30 am - Venti SF Vanilla Latte (decaf) 9:30 am - Yogurt 10:30 am - Two sections of the wrap 12:30 - a cheese stick and jello 2:30 pm - the other two sections of the wrap 5:00 pm - about 15 M&M's and a mini-peppermint patty while waiting outside the PM's office for a meeting to start (my banana was out in the car waiting for me and I was STARVING!) 6:30 pm - ate my banana on the way home 8:00 pm - a heated VitaBrownie (a VitaBrownie is a brownie with vitamins and fiber in it. I get them at Giant (over by the frozen organic stuff) it has 100 calories, 2.5g fat, 23g carbs, 6g fiber, 5g sugar alcohol, 4g protein, Vit A, Vit C, Calcium, Iron, Vit E, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Folic Acid, Vit B6, Vit B12, Pantothenic acid, Biotin, and Zinc!!!) www.vitalicious.com So....about 73ish grams of protein today....about 1200 calories... How's everyone else coping today? Hugs, Pam

I am sending rest your way!!! You seem to be doing really well, and have way more energy than I would have thought. Don't over do it...because your body will not be so forgiving. This is the time to rest and recover. Keep us posted. Jamie

Hi Pam. I think that I will get better with my pouch rules when I wear my compression garment. I'm getting that one today. I've been a lot better in my food choices since surgery. But there is room for improvement. I know that I will get there. I'm thinking about going to Vegas after the holidays for a free slot tournament at Ballys. Airfare is not bad. I always wanted to see Celine Dion in concert and tickets are available during my visit. So, I may land up going to Vegas on January 4th and return on January 7th. I'm going to ask my ps about it. This would be just before I return to work on the 9th. Your menu for yesterday looks good. Congrats on being accountable and sharing with us. You're doing great! Hugs and Love, Lucy