Why do I stay away!!

I don't know - I am a bad girl, someone spank me!! Then when I come back I see that sexy picture of Miss Barb in a black bathing suit!!! Yoozie!! You go girlfriend!! And then all the walkers who did so good. Now remember, I did join, and then dropped out, so I'm just a quitter. Oh speaking of that I want you to read something. Well I was cleaning out a purse yesterday and I found - not a $20 bill - but an old Weigh****cher weigh card. The date is 8/5/04 - and this is how it went: 8/5 - 276.8 (love the .8!! It was important) 8/12 - 272.2 8-19 - 272.4 (oh oh, this is my normal - stay on something for a couple of weeks and then trouble) 8-26 - 273 9/16 - 278.5 (notice I missed a few meetings, and I guess I decided I wasn't going to lose the 5.2 pounds that I gained so I went back!) 9-24 - 281.4 (and folks, this was the end of THAT session) Now that I think was the last of my WW attempts, but of course every time I joined and they said 'have you ever been a member of WW' I said, 'ah, about 40 times!! I just wanted to share that with you because I have a feeling you all have WW cards out there that are similar to this. I know that Sharon was joining, or has joined, and of course her experience won't be like this, but wow, before surgery, this was totally the story of my life. And not just of WW but everything I did. Three, four weeks, was max that I stuck with anything. So here I am 7 months out, from 289 to 182 and although my loss has slowed down to probably about 7 pounds a month, it is going in the right direction. I am totally off blood pressure meds, I am moving more, doing things that I really only dreamed of doing, and basically having a great life. Oh, and for the record, I love WW - I always say if you can be happy with the program, it's the best!! You can eat anything, you just have to count it!! Loving life AFTER being a WW dropout!! Isn't that a hoot!! So -- am I the only one or are there any other WW dropouts, of Jenny Craig, or whatever!! Bottom line - we are doing it, making it, -- we all ROCk!! love donna p.s. and please please please don't ignore me cause I've been away - I don't like that punishment!!!

I think I've got you beat, I still have my WW cards from every time I was a member. And I would do it for like a year or more at a time, it was 3 or 4 times total. My weights are the same way down, down, down, up, up, up, quit LOL. Right now I am at a lower weight than I EVER was on ANY of my WW cards. You are right we are awesome!! BTW I loved WW too, it's a great program it just didn't work for me long term I needed something more drastic I guess...but it doesn't feel so "drastic" now it just feel like normal life to me now which is great I think.

Hi Stacy, you are so young honey, by the time you get to my age you've done WW at least 30 times!! Lucky for us we found this surgery or you would have been to a 1/2 dozen times by now!! You're doing great Stacy, keep it up. Oh, and funny story on the cover of Women's World this weekend that I saw in the grocery - something about 'new supercharged WW program is better than gastric bypass'!! Some spy out there told someone at the magazine my post!!! love donna

Hi Sweetie! I use Matrix Perfect Chocolate protein powder, which I get online from Bariatric Eating.com. I am hooked on it, but I'm sure any chocolate protein powder would do. We all seem to have different tastes. I've heard there are some good ones at WalMart and I am tempted to try them. Anyway, I am 1 1/2 years out now and I still drink at least one shake a day. I love them and they work for me. They just slide right down. In fact, I go into withdrawal without them!! I also love Vanilla Very Berry, which I get from the same site. I haven't found any protein powders sold locally that I'm crazy about and I don't like the canned ones. I make mine in a big blender that holds 56 0z. - 7 cups. I start with 2 cups of Chocolate Carb Countdown and put in 2 scoops of chocolate protein powder. The other standard ingredient is ice added slowly while the blender is running, until it's full. I think that lots of ice is the real key and it also helps you get your fluid in for the day. You can get creative with the other additions. You can add powdered milk. You can add sugar-free jello pudding for flavor and thickness. Chocolate Fudge is great. You can add sugar-free jello powder - like raspberry. In fact you can add different jello powders and puddings to any kind of protein powder, especially vanilla or unflavored. You can add baking cocoa powder and Splenda if it's not chocolatey enough for you. You can also get sugar-free syrups in lots of flavors at WalMart, Marshall's, TJ Maxx and World Market that you can add to coffee and shakes in flavors like coconut, almond, raspberry, and strawberry. If the shake is too thick, you can thin it with coffee, Fat-Free Half & Half, skim milk, or Carb Countdown. I know that at first this is a tremendous amount of food for you to deal with (I eat mine with a spoon). I don't use it all at once. I put what I don't eat in a huge thermal jug from Wal Mart and put it in the frig and it lasts all day. I just take some out when I want it. I even took the jug down to the hospital with me when my dad was there and it stayed frozen all day. I'm sure the recipe can be halfed or you will work out your own when you experiment. I tried making it in a small blender when we went to visit our grandkids in Charlotte and it tasted terrible!!!! I couldn't believe it! I had a new sympathy for everybody who hates protein shakes because I had to really choke down my favorite stuff all weekend. We often don't like the products we buy without trying them first. It's a gamble. But, don't give up. Mess around with them. Try adding things and making it fun. Lots of people add fruit. I don't because I'm diabetic, but it would be delicious and I would if I could. Cecil and Walker LOVE my protein shakes, so I know they can't be too bad. I also shake a little cinnamon in them. I put some in my coffee sometimes too. Hope you are feeling better every day. Hugs and love, B

IT WAS GREAT VISITING WITH YOU AGAIN LAST NIGHT AT OUR LCBBuddies MEETING, MS JULIE ... PLEASE TELL YOUR HUBBY THAT NICK REALLY ENJOYED TALKING WITH HIM ... HOPE HE COMES MORE OFTEN!

Julie, I did check out your profile and even called my hubby, Al, in to see it. You look amazing, girl! What a transformation- it left me with my mouth hanging open. I am proud of you for all you have done and you inspire me! It was great to meet you all and I look forward to the next time I can join y'all! Blessings, Christine

Who are you again??....lol Just kidding my friend glad to see your back And at least time your a loser and not a quiter.......hehe So now that your back we gonna chat saturday night? BIG HUGS, Shel

you're a hoot!! I thought you were serious about who am I?? Yes, for Saturday night chat. Is that a scheduled thing every Saturday? Remind me what time again? Now that I know how to do it, I can CHAT!! I was such a doofus that night. love

I find that when I'm stressed, my pouch just knots up. That's when I do best with warm drinks-mostly coffee or tea. The warmth is very soothing to me. I'm not big on soup, but you get the idea. I try to just concentrate on getting my fluids in and not worrying about food on top of whatever else is bothering me. Go back to the basics- a liquid or pureed diet. I also do protein shakes. Even though I make mine so they're just like a Frostie from Wendy's, they go down real easy-a big treat. Even a day or two of not getting perfect nutrition isn't going to be that damaging (it's not like you're going to the "dark side" and eating out-of-control) and you will have to do this sometimes when you are physically ill. Your pouch stress is adding to the other stress you're experiencing, and making everything worse for you. Try to find a positive, gentle way to release a little steam. I know it's easy to give advice, but be good to you - you deserve it. Hugs, B

Stress will definitely effect our pouches ... Try going back on a soft diet ... Creamed soups, puddings, jello &&& sf popcicles ... The cold seems to really calm our pouches. If it doesn't relieve the symptoms in a couple days, be sure to see your surgeon! Better to be safe, Ms Kelly!