Hello All

  Hi guys, I was surfing around and thought I'd stop in to see how everyone is doing. Pretty good here. I'm off work for the Summer. Gotta love the public school system! Hard to believe surgery was three years ago this past March. Where does the time go?? I am doing pretty well with my weight, fighting 5 - 10 pounds. 10 during the week of my period ( sorry men lol ) up and down 5 other times. Trying to get back into the exercise habit. I got VERY lazy working during the school year. No excuses now. I am also making a point to get back to basics with the eating. Woo that carb monster sneaks up on you. It's always in the back of my mind what I should be doing and as soon as I start to feel a little out of control I try to get right back to basics. MUCH easier to lose 5 or 10 pounds than to lose 100. I have to weigh every day. if I don't, I go into a denial of sorts if I begin to gain some. Interestingly enough I read a study recently that said that people who weigh daily are more successful keeping weight they've lost off. Works for me. I need that mental slap!  Saturday nights eating race track food doesn't help either. My youngest son races a micro sprint at Airport Speedway every weekend. Yikes, that can be hard to watch AND make you want to gnaw your arm off as well as gnaw on some greasy ole onion rings  Yes, onion rings are the prefered food of satan. Thankfully if I go overboard on foods I shouldn't I still  Tool still works, just gotta work it a little harder. I hope this finds everyone happy and healthy. Linda

Great to hear from you.  Haven't seen your face around lately.  I agree with you about the scale.  I use it everyday and it really helps me I start to panic and get back on track if I see more than a three pound change.  I figure 3 pounds are fluids.  Sounds like you are keeping busy.  Glad you stopped in for a visit.  Enjoy the rest of your summer. Ellen

Hiya Ellen, Ugh, the feeling of panic...yep, yep! lol I hope you're enjoying your summer as well!

      Hi Linda. Gosh I have been thinking about you lately. Wondering how you are doing.   Sounds like you are rowing the same boat as I am.  Cept I don't go to the track nor do I eat greasy onion rings. EWWWE  LOL.   Been busy with my Mom, family and working. Trying to find time for me is tough sometimes. Good thing I'm as healthy as I can be, cause I wouldn't be able to do everything I'm doing if I was still FAT.  My tool still works too. Thank goodness.  I really keep to the basics still. I do journal everyday still. My exercise is a little off, with being so crazy right now. There is a meeting coming up: Healthy Journey at Victory Fellowship in New Castle, try to make it so I can see ya in person.  3rd Tuesday of the month at 7pm.  Yes I still go to support groups, though not as many as before. Or we can always do lunch at Panera's and do Trader Joe's if you're up this way. Let me know. TT you soon GF. ((HUGS)) Elissa

Hiya E! I'm glad to hear you are still around and doing well. I hear you about the finding time for yourself part. it's so easy to get caught up in everybody elses stuff in your life. I am back on an exercise wagon of sorts. I feel so much better when I work out. I don't have a lot of time and walking outside isn't always and option. I have been using one of the Leslie Sansone DVD's. It is an interval aerobic / light weight training one. I love it. Actually I like it so much that I just got another one of hers called Walk Slim Fast Firming. One of the kids gave me a barnes and Noble gift card at the end of the year and I bought the new DVD. It should be here today or tomorrow. Hopefully I can hit the Victory meeting and see how everyone is! Love ya bigly, Linda

OMG- we have been thinking about you big time & wondering how you were...  When can we hit the bucks again??????

Hiya Jen! I sent you email. Actually, Starbucks called and said they were worried we haven't been in and wanted to know if everyone was ok . Hmm, just THINK of the cast of characters parading through there the last while that we have missed!  Ha!

Linda Linda Linda ! E told me she found you here.  So nice to see you are doing well,  I'm happy for you.  Your thoughts above on keeping yourself accountable is so true.  I didn't do the weigh everyday,and all of a sudden (yeah right) I was up 20, then bang.. up 50.  I am fighting so hard to get back on the train.  I hate being fat again, absolutely hate it, I come to this feeling of DANG, i'm tired of this and am going to do it..then, and hour later, i'm eating tastykakes........  sigh... so how's the family too?  one of these days we need to catch up at a meeting :-) T

Tinaaaaaaa! Hello, hello, hello. I am sorry to hear you're struggling. UGH, it way sucks that even after all this time it comes down to diet and exercise. Listen to me girl, you CAN do this. I know you can do this. You have it in you somewhere. if you didn't have it in you somewhere, you never would have had the surgery in the first place. Because you knew then and you know now what it all really comes down to after the exciting part of the party is over. We are all going to face trials in this. We are all going to have our own demons to deal with at some point or another. Don't beat yourself up. The world at large does enough of that as it is. We need to take care of ourselves. I slipped by letting exercise go. I know I have to exercise. It's a cold, hard fact of my life and when I stop, I pay for it. I whined about it for awhile and then got over myself and dragged out a DVD and started back at it. I really like the Leslie sansone stuff. I was telling E in the post above about a new one I got.

Try taking some baby steps. Make ONE small commitment to something, and stick with it for a set number of days and then build on that. I don't care WHAT you commit to, just make it something doable and start laying that foundation back where it needs to be. Those pounds will come off. if your eating isn't great right now, resign yourself to the fact that you have to 'pay ' for it somehow. Start slowly moving your body on a regular basis again, then work on getting the eating under control. you can doooo it !

Its nice to hear someone is doing well at our stage.  It is a mind set for sure and as long as we keep it we can do it.  What I can say right now is some of those greasy things like onion rings make me sick stilll and boy is that a good thing.  I go into a coma like state for about an hour so unless I am truly in need of a nap I don't go near that kind of stuff....now there are other things that don't bother that I do need to stay away from.  I need to stop beating myself up for everything I do wrong and accept the decision I made and make that self talk different for the next time.  You are right ....10 pounds is easier than 100 although it takes the same will power and discipline.  And we have it just sometimes it gets a little dusty!  I have been busy with work, studying and life!  All are good.  Still have my blasted gain but I believe I have settled it down.  I still feel like a healthy person.  I need more time at gym its just really hard with everything else.   Glad to see you here and hope to see you at a meeting soon.  Its always great when we can chat in person.  I love to see the changes people have made after this surgery....We all look like new people just full of life!  Take care. Hugs and Fleece Blankets Debbie