Hi Nancy and Sherri - I'll chime in on this discussion if you don't mind! I must have the slowest metabolism in the world. Seems like I can barely have 1200 calories to maintain. My surgery date was 9/20/04 and I had reach my goal range (betw. 124 and 128) by 1-yr. anniversary date. Had repair of mega-hernia, TT, breast reduction and lift in 11/05. During my weight loss mode my doctor advised 70 g of protein, 30 g of carbs and no bread rice past potatoes beans or fruit. I pretty much stuck to it and as a result really and truly changed my eating habits for the first time in my life. i was so thankful to add back in fruit, that was what I missed the most. Even now, I eat simple carbs very seldom. sample day: breakfast is almost always an IDS protein shake in the blender with a whole banana and a whole bunch of ice cubes. belgian chocolate is my fave--so good and so filling, about 230 calories with the banana. occasionally i'll have a zoneperfect bar instead (210 calories) or a south beach meal replacement bar (210 calories). lunch is usually chunks of turkey (3 oz.) and 2% cheese (3/4 oz.) and a piece of fruit usually a juicy orange. sometimes i'll also have a small salad with some lowfat dressing, i love a brand called olde cape cod in balsamic vinegraitte. so lunch is under 300 cal. today for lunch i brought one of those pouches of starkist tuna creations--herb and garlic. 1 pouch is 200 cal, 0 carbs, 32 g protein and tasty and filling! also love those south beach wrap kits. afternoon snack is usually another IDS protein shake with strawberries or blueberries in the blender. usually use the frozen strawberries or blueberries from costco and they replace ice cubes. it comes out SO thick. sometimes i throw in a few packets of splenda if i'm in a sweet mood. if i need to crunch i'll pop 5-6 non-roasted almonds (from trader joe). dinner is some kind of fish, meat or chicken, usually grilled, probab ly 3-4 oz. and some veggies, salad. try to have fruit for dessert. last night i went to the gym at 6:30 and when i came home i had a huge wedge of watermelon. i know it's high carb but after all i wasn't obese because i ate too much watermelon, haha! i work out hard 3-5 times a week, gotta keep moving. i work with a personal trainer 1-2x a week, also do intense conditioning classes at fitness first, bike riding/running on weekend, etc. my biggest problem is i eat way more than i should on friday, saturday, sunday after being totally disciplined monday through thursday! does anyone else have that problem. it's not like i go crazy like in the old days or anything but i definitely don'****ch or count numbers or anyting and at this point i feel like i can eat ALOT. so how do i stay disciplined on the weekends? any advice? sandy dinner

I sent a reply earlier and it didn't post. So if this posts twice forgive me. The thing that helps me is drinking protein shakes made with water. I try to drink 3 a day but sometimes only drink 2. They really help with hunger. I honestly can say that I never feel hungry. Sometimes I feel weak if I need to eat, but not hungry. I think it's the shakes that help me. Also I don't keep any bad snacks in the house. My children are grown and don't live with me and my hubby. I don't want any temptation in the house. Recently I bought a carrot cake for my hubby's BD and I didn't have one bite. I am too afraid to cheat. I don't want to ever go back to where I was. I was miserable as a super MO person. I live in fear of gaining weght and have become obsessed with this. I haven't lost any weight in 2 months but everyone tells me I'm crazy to lose anymore. Good luck! I know you can do it! Lynn J., lap RNY 9/29/04 -159 lbs.

Carla- Always can be something else. If it's happening that often you better contact your Dr and get it checked out. Maybe a blockage or something. Good luck. Teri

wow she is adorable, and so alert. I love the pic of her getting that faucet bath. Doesn't look like she enjoyed it very much. Thanks for sharing pictures. Shannon

Noticed your post. Sorry this is a little late but I wanted to reply because I, too, am having some of the same problems. I think mine has to do with the fact that carbs go down much easier than protein. But I find if I eat the protein first, I can't get the carbs in. If I have access to chips or something like that I find myself snacking. So, I have to not have anything like that in the house. I've lost 156 lbs so far. The last month, I lost another 12 lbs but that was because of a ventrical hernia repair. The doc said I will probably lose more in the next month because my system will not be back to normal until then. So, I know I need to make the best of these next few days. I also find that if I am snacking or not eating the right things, if I will stop and say, "Why are doing this? What are you really feeling right now or what are you trying not to feel right now?" It does help because I know I am an emotional eater and that does concern me. I don't want to be back where I was. Thanks for listening.