What's on your Monday menu RNY'ers?

Congratulations, you've done so well on your weightloss and your pictures are lovely xoxo

Congrats!! Super cute pics.

Beautiful family photos!!!

What WONDERFUL pictures, Amber! I love all of them! I think my favorite is the one where you are all reading "The Night Before Christmas". Beautiful!

great pictures!!!

Congratulations on 135 lost! Your doctor will be so impressed, I am certain!! The family pix are adorable!!

Great pictures of all of you!

Hi Amber!

A big congratulations to you on your fantastic 135-lb weight loss in 9 months!! You've done a wonderful job and I see it in the pictures.

I love your family pictures. Story looks so adorable hugging her stuffed animal. You look like you're hugging your "teddy bear" in the picture where you are hugging your hubby!

I also love the one where all 3 of you are reading "The Night Before Christmas"! And you all have matching outfits!

Your idea to keep your hands busy when you're stressed is a good one. If my hands are busy, then they can't go into a bag of chips or bowl of candy. I have to especially remrmber this at work

You're amazing!

---Joyce

Mornin' All!

Just a drive-by for now since I didn't make it to the Zumba class this morning that I'd intended to go to, so I've committed going to a yoga class at 9:30!! (not cardio, of course, but good for me in other ways!)

Joyce - I had a horrible few months like that about 18 months ago when my father passed and everything seemed to be going wrong. Fortunately, I happened to be in a 10-month "well-being" study that some of the professors at our university were doing at the time. As part of the study, I had to do either gentle yoga or meditate at least 30 minutes a day, six days a week (I had to mix it up some so I was getting a little of both - otherwise, I probably would have done only yoga since I prefer that!). It was a huge pain some days - I had to force myself to do it, but I swear it saved my butt. I think that year would have been much worse had I not been in that study! (and hopefully I didn't skew their results too much! But I think hundreds of people participated over the five years or whatever that they were doing the study, so maybe my N=1 wasn't too significant!!). SOOO....I now try to step up on my yoga - or add some meditation here and there - when I start to feel like that. I think it helps - or at least makes it more tolerable!

weight is up - too much eating out and too much sodium. I am going to stay on plan this week. I have no more restaurant eating on the agenda until Friday, so I have several days to be on the straight & narrow!!

3 years 5 months out:

B: homemade coconut Greek yogurt, 1/2 mango

MS: coffee with half & half, protein shake

L: cottage cheese

AS: hummus with baby carrots

D: diced chicken breast & tomato with hummus on a Flat Out wrap

Hi!

I'm sorry you had such a terrible time when your dad passed away. You seemed to have found a positive way to cope, though.

I think your idea about regular meditation as a stress buster is a great one. My psychiatrist has also recommended this to me.

I haven't been consistent enough with meditation to get sufficient benefit. I think I will schedule a time to do it daily, maybe even a time towards the middle of the day at work when I can sneak away for a few minutes of solitude to re-center myself. I'm sure my co-workers would appreciate, too!

I've been trying the app "Mindfulness Coach." The VA put it out. I used to work at the local VA medical center and this app was highly regarded.

Now, I just have to follow through . . .

---Joyce