3 years today!!!

Thanks Brandy! I don't like the "inspiraiton" stuff but am delighted to be a support friend! LOL! ..... BTW....You look like you are doing a GREAT job on your journey! Joyce

Hi Joyce Are you the same joyce inAZ that posts on the Off-track board. If so Hi there, youhave done great I will be 2 years out on 3/15 & have not done as well as you have. So treasure that & keep on going. I am fighting for the last 40 lbs to be gone, but I will win this battle. I like your open mind & your humor, we have to have that to win. Keep up the great work & keep posting. You are for sure an inspiration to us all. Marilyn, the Bearlady :wave (in the other part of AZ)

Ah oh Marilyn! I've been found out! LOL ! I am the very same Jocye that posts on off track. I LOVE that site! It has been the tool that I needed to use my WLS "tool" again! I LOVE Karen's timer plan! I have been back on the loser's track ever since I got active on that site! ....I love you posts too! You are always so supportive. I'll bet you have that 40 whittled off in no time! See you on the "train"! Joyce

I thought I recognized your photo as the woman who gave the protein speech the day before my surgery (two years ago in April), while I sat quaking in my boots at the St. Lukes pre-op education day. I'm sure that's made you an icon with many! I've still got the protein recommendation sheet you gave out. I carried that booger like a bible the first couple of months while I tried all the products. At three out, do you have to still deal with tweaking your intake of any vitamins or nutrients? I'm constantly fighting with malabsorption issues - everything from my thyroid meds to iron to b-12 seem to need constant addition now. Although I lost all the weight I anticipated, and even more, I wonder if I'm going to have to worry constantly about nutrient deficiencies for the rest of my life and sometimes wonder if I might not have been wiser to have gotten the lap band. Even though the results aren't as dramatic with lap band, I sure would like to have more control over both my nutrient and calorie uptake right now. Don't get me wrong. This surgery sure has beat the heck out of having my favorite John Prine songs played at my funeral! - which was the impending outcome of my former life - but having said that, I have to wonder now if something less invasive may have been the better choice over the long haul. Congratulations on your weight loss and maintenance. - Stephanie J

Wow Stephanie! You have done fantastic! Congrats on your weight loss. Yup! Our post-op lifestyle is a forever high maintenance deal. It's something that I wish was emphasized more at the starting seminars. Labs should be done at least once a year; preferably 3 to 4 times a year. We should be diligent in multi vitamins and iron morning and night, sublingual B12 morning and night (or shots), vitamin B complex in the morning, calcium citrate spread out through the core of the day and any other supplements that your labs may indicate a shortage in. I also take magnesium citrate to balance the effects of the chewable iron...and, I take biotin morning and night. It seems like bunches but it really is just the routine now ...no biggy. I also have 2 to 5 protein drinks a day. 2 is the norm but the extra ones are if I am protein loading for a surgery or have been sick OR if I have been working out bunches. The Lap Band is a great surgery but I doubt that I could have gotten to my current weight without the Rny. My only wish is that I would have had a distal Rny vs the proximal that I have. That way, I would malabsorb a bit more (few absorption of calories!). Keep at it sweetie pie! YOU are so worth it! Joyce