Thank you Alaska. We were recently there on a cruise, and while we didn't see your Alaska, it was awesome. It made me want to go back and see the real Alaska. So, hopefully someday we can return and see the more of the interior, and not just what the cruise companies want you to see.

By the way, this was a trip that was dangled in front of me, for after I lost some weight. DH exact words were, " We can't go if you need to be in a wheel chair because of your weight". Well, you can see, I am almost 100 lbs down, and have never had the energy that I now have, He had to "pay up".

Thanks again,

Lisa

As I have mentioned before, I am trying out a couple of iphone food diary applications. The latest one that I am playing with is Livestrong (aka The Daily Plate). One of the features of this program is its ability to link to twitter. At first I thought, "Why the heck would you want to tweet (publicly broadcast) every bite you take in during the day?! and who would want to read it anyway?" Well, after a minute, it hit me, accountability. Am I really going to eat that fat, greasy, nutrient deficient, calorie bomb if everyone is going t be reading about it? Probably not or at least I would think twice before I did. If you are honest and take the time to enter what you are eating, then I can see this being a very valuable motivator.
I had a friend once who would constantly tell me, "I've only eaten (insert one healthy low calorie food here) all day.", but if you watched her, she was a grazer. She never apparently counted all of the chips, cookies, and treats she picked at all day long. It's like my grandmother always said, "what you eat in private, shows in public". The same goes for mindless eating, you may not count it but it shows.
Sure it takes some time to whip out the your iphone and enter the program, then search for the food, and then log it but it makes such a difference. There are tons of studies out there that prove food diaries work at helping you achieve and maintain your weight goals.
So far, I am really liking the Livestrong application for the twitter capabilities and the huge food database. The only big drawback to that huge food database is the fact that a lot of the foods are taken from user entries and therefore are not verified so you may find some of them to be inaccurate and that there are tons of duplicates for a single food. I think it is well worth the $2.99 for the download.
It even helps you to set up weight loss goals and bases your daily caloric intake on those goals and activity levels that you have entered. For example, I have 740 calories left for today to stay within my goal.
I may revise this review later after working with the program more and discovering more of its quirks, etc. but for the 4 days that I have been using it, I have really enjoyed it and found it very user friendly. It also links to the Livestrong website and your food diary there which has more detailed features and options.
As for who actually reads twitter updates of food diaries, you can show me. You can follow me on twitter by clicking on the blue birdie in the left hand column. Go ahead, you know you are curious and besides, you would be helping me by keeping me accountable!
read more at;
http://luvsexytrstno1.blogspot.com/2009/07/accountability.ht ml

I was in anchorage to see the Doc today. I really want to attend a meeting and need to.....when is the next one?

Also I wanted to ask you what your docs after care is for the band? what does he do?

So far I am loving;
FREE! Betty Crocker mobile cookbook. You can type any ingredient into the seachbox and all the recipes that contain that ingredient will show up. Each recipe has a list of ingredients and cooking instructions. The other day I was at the grocery store and saw a can of green Chile was on sale. I typed green Chile into the search box on this application and decided on a great southwestern stew (for your slow cooker and we know how I love my crock pot) out of the several recipes that came up. I was able to see what other ingredients I needed and even get ideas for side dishes! It's great. It also gives nutritional info on each recipe! Get this application, you'll love it!
Free!All Around me. This application utilizes the gps component of your iphone. It will give you a list of the; banks, bars, coffee shops, gas stations, hospitals, hotels, movie theaters, parking, pharmacies, "pubs", restaurants, supermarkets, taxis, theaters, as well as a "nearby" tab that takes you a listing of other notable locations (think schools, sports stadiums, cities (suburbs), zoos, parks, etc) around you. It also has a weather tab that will give you a 3 day weather report. The listings are by no means complete but they are pretty through especially for Alaska when you consider almost no mobile gps or satellite radio service works here.
Free!Sparkpeople. This food & fitness tracker keeps track of your weight (with graph), contains a simple food diary that links with their online site (if you make an entry to your daily intake from your computer via their website, it shows up on your phone too), an exercise tracker, and a water intake tracker. The food listing isn't as complete as I would like but it allows you (on their site) to add your own foods and its nutritional data. You can then save them to your favorites and then they will show up on your iphone version too. I am still wondering if there isn't a better food diary application out there, but for a free one, this isn't bad.
read more at;
http://luvsexytrstno1.blogspot.com/2009/07/what-is-your-favo rite-application-for.html

I know that my insurance won't pay for the surgery but I had heard that there are attorneys that can help. Does anyone know of anyone that can help me fight my insurance? Someone not expensive as money has been the biggest barrier to my WLS since the late 90's located here in Alaska?

I would appreciate any help or feedback.

Thank you!

Nikko