ROLL CALL 4/25 Come out, come out wherever you are........

Good morning, Well, gotta post this quickly this morning because we have a meeting here in a few minutes. How was your week last week? Mine was good. I am allowing an evening snack and then popsicles and it is going well. I just am learning that I have to keep the red light foods out of my house for now. I actually lost a little more weight, as well - now down to 184. I have to keep reminding myself that the muscle I have gained has slowed the loss - so have to look at sizes and am still in a 12 pants and xl tops - of course, depending on the brand and make of the clothes. Darned if I will ever figure out what is misses and what is "grown-up" clothes, though!! I bought a couple of pair of pants and then figured out they were misses - no wonder they ride so low on my butt!! Anyway - goals this week are simple and similar: 1) Maintain food control. 2) Get to the gym 5-6 times, (it's going to be a busy week). 3) NO MORE PEANUT BUTTER!! 4) Sit down to eat dinner with the family! That's enough for me. Sorry that it's same ole, same ole for my goals, but they are so necessary for me! For the off topic question - what type of vehicle do you drive and what color is it? If you don't want to share that - what type of vehicle do you wish you had? I drive a 1999 silver Dodge Durango - believe me - bought it used and without a bunch of frills so we could get low mileage. I would love to have a new Durango with a hemi, a Tahoe or a Denali (yeah, right - I teach!). Color - I like red - even though I hear the police do too. Hope that your week is good! God bless, Andrea

I struggled all last week with trying to stay away from snacking. It was very stressful at work & it showed when I ate. I usually take a fairly large salad with me for supper. I eat all the cheese & meat first & then nibble on the veggies (my favorite part of the salad.) On Thursday, the worse night, I gobbled down the whole salad without tasting it & a half hour later, when one of the printers decided to reboot & lost several thousand pages of output, I snarfed down a protein bar in about 15 seconds. I have to work on a different way to battle that danged stress. I did manage to not snack this weekend! I was really proud of myself & this morning my scales showed a 2 lb loss. I am slowly sneaking out of the 180's. My personal goal for me used to be 175#. I am only 6# from there. However, recently I changed the goal to 165#. Maybe when I get close I'll change it to my surgeon's goal of 155. I drive a boring but reliable 2000 white Buick Century. I like it. It was Mom's & I bought it from the estate. The mileage was very low at the time but I put a lot of miles on driving to work. Someday I'd like a PT Cruiser, mostly because it reminds me of the cars my dad used to drive when I was small. My goal for this week is to remember to set my alarm clock so I can get to my water aerobics classes on time. Already messed that up for today so I used my Gazelle & the "bean" & worked out here instead. Dixie

Dixie, Hey - I'm sure that you didn't do that badly snacking last week. A protein bar isn't going to be bad for you if you only had that one and then stopped. I sure do relate with what you are going through, though. This morning, in a meeting, I ate a protein bar in no time - and ONLY because everyone else was eating and I felt left out. Can you say n~a~u~s~e~o~u~s???????? How low are you in the 180's? Like I said, I'm slowly but surely getting there. I bet that you are almost to the 170's. I'm envious. Have a great week, dear, and get that alarm set so you can get to those classes. God bless, Andrea

Last week I went to see the nutritionist since my PCP wants me to go that route first. She didnt really tell me a lot of things I didnt know before. I have been struggling for years (since I was a child) with my weight. I am going to give this a good go before I approach my PCP about the surgery seriously.... I started new this week. I am allowed 1400 calories a day. So far I have measured, counted and tracked everything I have put in my mouth today. I even made a schedule of when I can eat and when to do my excercise. Its posted on the fridge so its there every time I go in the kitchen. One good suggestion she did give me was when you are making dinner...if you tend to taste a lot (and i do) to make a big salad and nibble on that instead. I am going to try that tonight. My goals this week are: Measure Bite it write it WATER!! and Walk walk walk. I have the Walk Away the Pounds DVD...I did the 2 mile walk. I feel really good that I was able to do it. I have done the 1 mile walk before and it wasnt that much of a work out. I hate walking outside. I think everyone is staring at me.....and to be honest...im sure no one even cares! I guess that is just me being embarassed about my weight. As for my car...A purple-ly plum colored 1996 Chevy Baretta. I like my little car. Gets really good gas mileage. My favorite car I have ever owned was a 1969 Opel GT. It looked like a mini Corvette. But what a piece of junk! My dream car.... a PT Cruiser. Just because it is a lot like a mini van...people who have mini vans are grown ups....and I will never be one of them! hehehehe I also like them because they look old...and I like old. best get back to the laundry! billie jo

Billie Jo, Good for you for trying the low cal route first. It sounds like you are very organized and have to plan and think about what you are going to eat and when. That's very similar to after surgery. I find that, for me, a schedule works good. On the weekends, I don't do as well. I'm sure that this summer when I am off school, I will have to adjust A LOT!! About the walking - good for you for doing the 2 mile tape. I started walking a mile 3 days a week before surgery. After surgery, did 1/2 mile, then 1, then 2, then 4 then walked a summer race in a neighboring town and now am addicted to going to the gym. If I don't get some cardio in daily - I don't feel right. Now that I think about it, I am going to have to figure out something else for tonight because I won't make it to the gym. The kids will probably have to take a jog with me after we get home. I like the idea of the salad when making dinner. I might have to try that. My problem is that I spend a lot of time serving everyone so I don't sit down for long to eat. It's not that the family expects it of me, it's just that I do it so I don't focus on eating, I think. Anyway, too funny about what you think about mini vans. I needed a vehicle with a third back seat and told my hubby that I'm not old enough for a mini van. Maybe someday - NOT!!! (((HUGS to all you mini-van drivers, no offense meant))))). Have a great week. God bless, Andrea

Well where should I begin? My goals are very small as I'm not even 3 weeks out yet and my tummy hurts like crazy!!! I did eat a half of a soft shell taco last night at my parents house. Went down just fine with enough chewing. I also had one piece of whole wheat crunchy toast. I can wait for awhile before I try that again. I immediately felt nauseous afterwards. I am having such a hard time getting my fluids in each day. I just want to gulp and then I get gassy. I guess my goals are: 1. WALK, WALK WALK 2. Back to work on Wednesday (hoping not too painfully!) 3. Focus on Protein choices and not what I want. 4. Learn to live with the healing pain of my incisions I drive a 95 Olds Cutlass. It's a piece of crap BUT it's bought and paid for! No payments and low insurance. I know it sounds dreadful but I'd love a minivan...yes, a minivan. I need the space for the kids and the comfort and security of one. I'd love an SUV but the gas and insurance are just too expensive. I just wish that I didn't have pain anymore. I want to be able to hold my daughter and pick her up every time she wants. Just can't do it. I feel like all my internal stitches have popped and it worries me some. Everyone says that's just the healing process though. I gotta toughen up!!! Hugs to all, Jen

Hi Jen, Sorry to hear that you are still having stomach pains. Is it from the incisions, or is it on the inside? I'm a little concerned about the taco and toast. I know that at 3 weeks out, I was still on a soft food diet. Even now, at about 16 months out, I still can only eat 1/2 of a taco and that is with some of the soft shell removed. I also won't eat a full piece of toast without some protein. Please be sure that you are following your surgeon's orders in terms of what you should be eating. Remember, that your new little tummy is still healing, too. (Please forgive me if any of this sounds out of line, I am just concerned about YOU.) Remember, with the fluids, sip, sip, sip, all day. You will learn to drink faster, eventually. (I had to teach myself to drink a little faster to get in all of my fluids and can now drink 8 oz pretty quickly.) Don't let yourself get dehydrated. I hope and pray that going back to work tomorrow isn't too painful for you. Have you checked with your surgeon about the pain? If you're not ready to return, will he write you an extended leave of absence? Take care of YOU, hon. About the minivan - I'm so common sense dumb, that I didn't even think insurance may be cheaper than in a Durango. Oh well, too late now. Have a great week and God bless, Andrea

Thank you so much for the good advice! I don't eat much at all. I try things but not too much. I was craving whole wheat toast which has 5g of protein and I just can't do that yet. I drink a lot of protein drinks and getting fluids in is hard but I'm doing it. I didn't think I was but my husband measured out what I've been drinking and I'm at about 2 Liters a day. It's my incisions that hurt. nothing internal. They just pull and tug and pinch. But my aunt said that was normal so I'm just taking it in a stride. I've lost 34 pounds. Gotta go put my daughter down..I'll write soon. Thanks!!!! Jen

Morning all Well where do I begin? I agree about the sizes Andrea, I'm frustrated by them right now! From CATO'S I wear Carolina Jeans in size 14 jr. (almost to the 12 jr's) BUT Janet bless her heart lent me jeans & capri's in the "right" sizes only 1 pair fits! Other's are way to small right now! That's the difference in the cuts & styles from other manufacturers I guess, depressing to say the least! Goals for the week: More water (been doing fairly well) Exercise more, Max is loving the walks Get to work packing, sorting & throwing away (have started already) I have a maroon Dodge mini-van. I love the mini vans have owned one for several years now. This one is easy on gas, 1989. My dream car is either a 65 Mustang or 65 GTO, I have always loved the muscle cars, use to drive my uncles 56 Chevy, beefed up of course! Even at 50 I still haven't grown up! On the practical side of a car I like the PT Cruisers. Colors I would choose would be a soft yellow or purple. Maybe someday I'll win the lottery so I can have all of them! Have a good week & keep up the good work. Hugs Carolyn

Carolyn, Aren't the sizes of things frustrating? Okay, so you're packing this week - did I miss something? Did you get a house? Fill me in, please. I need o do some deep cleaning and throwing away, but no time for it at all! Now, a mini-van? YUCK! The gas issue is good, though - eats less gas then my Durango, I'm sure. Yeah - who wouldn't want to drive a Mustang or GTO?? How about a GTO Judge? A Cruiser would remind me of a ZZ Top car. Good luck with the lottery! God bless, Andrea