1. What types of food did you eat this week? 2. What types of exercise did you do this week? 3. How much weight did you lose? Total loss? 4. What was your biggest challenge? 5. What are your thoughts on plastic surgery at this point? *Fun bonus question: Take a moment to think about what you are grateful for...name your the first five that come to your mind? I'll just take this moment to wish you all Happy Holidays (no matter what you celebrate) and I hope you take the time to enjoy it and spend good quality time with the ones you love. 3 more days! Amber

Best of holiday wishes to all my fellow July 2006 people!!! May we all continue our journey in 2007, one day at a time, and continue to be a buch of big losers holiday hugs, jacki

Hi Karen, I was told to only eat carbs 3 times a week, and by carbs I mean potatoes, bread, starchy things. My Nut wants me to get good carbs from fruits and veggies and try to have them at every meal. I was told to avoid the 6 white things as much as possible - Sugar, Flour, Pasta, Potatoes, Rice and Popcorn. I also gave up drinking carbonated drinks 6 months ago and they say no alcohol for at least the first year. Our bodies do work harder to digest protein, but that is also better for our metabolism. One thing I was told was after 1 month no more protein drinks, your body doesn't have to work as hard to digest it since it's all broken down for you, so it actually slows your metabolism. I can say I faithfully followed my DR's advice and as of today I'm down 110lbs. I even baked 15 dozen cookies the other night and didn't have a one! I'm also one of the lucky ones that has no appetite or any desire to eat for that matter. I'm constantly having to remind myself to eat and even luckier is the fact that my body doesn't tolerate carbs well, they make me sick. Best wishes to all of you! Jan

Karen, I hear ya. I recently googled Complex Carbs and got a lot of info about the different kind of carbs. They explain the difference and which carbs are important to eat and which ones are only detrimental to us. I'm also reading more on protein, because we also have to watch our intake because I guess it takes ALOT for us to process protein and there are certain foods we can eat to help that process along (like ****ake Mushrooms). It is all confusing. I'm going to make an appointment with my nutritionist and find out all that information soon. I'll share what I learn. I also avoid real sugar, flour, soda, alcohol, and candy. I do have pasta occasionally but I buy the barilla plus, with extra protein, and only eat a small amount. Sometimes we need to eat things to balance us out. I don't have the salad dressing issue because I still don't eat lettuce yet, it just makes me feel like crap. Happy Holidays, Amber

KarenS, Im with you I restrict myself on the flour sugar pasta and sodas. I never drank alcohol before surgery so that ones not a problem for me. For salad dressings I use Helmans Mayo....it has very min sugar per serving and is approved for south beach and low carb diets. I also buy Paul Newmans Oil and Vingar...no sugar in it either and very flavorful. My low carb diet wants me to consume all the veggies I can just not potatos, carrots, parsnips and peas...they are high in starch and natural sugars. All other veggies are a go. I have on rare occasions had both mashed potatos and carrots but I dont have them daily. Sounds like u are on the right track...Stay away from the hydrogenated oils/fats and keep a well balanced diet and we will be fine. Mariah