PROFILE & PICTURES UPDATED

OH MY GOSH ... I'M FINALLY CAUGHT UP, KINDA, ON MY PROFILE. I'VE GOT MY WEIGHT LOSSES LISTED, BMI CHANGES, WOW MOMENTS & SUCH ALL CAUGHT UP. MS HEATHER WAS AN ABSOLUTE DOLL & HELPED ME PUT PICTURES IN MY PROFILE. CHECK OUT THE COMPARISON PICS AT THE BEGINNING OF MY PROFILE AS MY WEIGHT WAS GOING UP ... THEN, THERE ARE SOME FAMILY PICTURES, MY "OH MY GOSH" HOSPITAL PICTURES & THEN WEIGHT LOSS COMPARISON PICTURES WITH MY PRE-OP vs MY 50 #s LOST PICTURES. LATER, I'LL CHANGE OUT THE PICS AT THE VERY BOTTOM & I HAVE SOME HURRICANE KATRINA PICS I WANT TO UPLOAD INTO SNAPFISH FOR ANYONE INTERESTED, BUT THAT COMES AT A LATER DATE. HOPE Y'ALL ENJOY; THIS IS QUITE A JOURNEY, ISN'T IT??? GOD BLESS DAWN & NICK

Ms. Dawn you look wonderful

THANK YOU, MS STEPHANIE ... "WONDERFUL" IS A PRETTY B-I-G WORD! I'D SAY, I LOOK "BETTER"!

I AM SO EXCITED ... I STAYED UP ALL NIGHT & FOLLOWED THE PATTERN MS HEATHER PUT IN MY PROFILE FOR POSTING PICTURES (SHE'S SO TALENTED) ... &, I FINALLY GOT OUR DAUGHTER'S "HURRICANE KATRINA" PICTURES ON MY PROFILE. IF YOU HAVE A FEW MINUTES, PLEASE CHECK THEM OUT. &, BETTER YET ... IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU DON'T NEED THAT YOU COULD DONATE TO HELP THE KATRINA SURVIVORS, CONTACT NATALIE AT THE E-MAIL ADDRESS LISTED IN MY "KATRINA" ARTICLE IN MY PROFILE (ABOUT 3/4 THE WAY DOWN MY PROFILE AT THE END OF 2005). THANKS FOR DROPPING IN! GOD BLESS DAWN & NICK

I love it Dawn!!! The pics are great. Funny how we all seem to have that linebacker look in our before pictures. (I have a few more before pics on my profile). You are such an inspiration and you can see it in your new pictures. Keep up the awesome work!!! Hugs, Dianne

I KNOW, MS DIANNE. WHEN I ACTUALLY "SAW" THE BEFORE PICS, I WAS SHOCKED! I HAVE ALWAYS "SEEN" MYSELF AS BIG, BUT THESE PICTURES WERE LIKE "SUPER , SUPER , MASSIVE , HUGE , BIG" ... SO BIG IT'S A WONDER NICK GOT ME IN THE PICTURE WITHOUT PARTS OF ME HANGING OUTSIDE THE FRAME. I ASKED NICK IF I HAD LOOKED "THAT" BIG TO HIM. HE SAID, "YES, BUT IT NEVER MATTERED BECAUSE HE LOVED ME." AWWWWWHHHHH ... BUT, I WAS FLABBERGASTED. I'M GONNA PERMANENTLY POST MY SUMO/LINEBACKER PICS ON THE FRIG! THAT OUGHT TO STOP ME FROM E-V-E-R RE-GAINING THE WEIGHT! GOD BLESS DAWN & NICK

It's funny how we perceive ourselves. I sing in the choir at my church and our music director loves the teckie stuff. He has a lot of pictures on the church website of our rehearsals and programs and stuff. I see these pictures of everybody looking normal...then this HUGE picture of me!!! YIKES!!! If that wasn't enough to have wls, nothing was!

I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN ... IN THE END, I WOULD PURPOSELY TRY TO HAVE ONE OF THE GRANDKIDS IN MY LAP OR SOMEONE IN FRONT OF ME ... OR, STAND A LITTLE SIDEWAYS SO MY E-N-T-I-R-E WIDTH WASN'T SOOOOOOOOO APPARENT, BUT REALLY, THERE ISN'T ANY WAY TO DISGUISE BEING AS BIG AS WE WERE! THE GREAT THING IS THAT NO MATTER HOW LITTLE OR HOW MUCH WE LOSE, WE NOW LOOK FANTASTIC (CUZ WE LOOKED SOOOO BAD BEFORE!) &, SPEAKING OF ... HOW'S YOUR NEW LIFE SETTLING IN? LIKE THIS WLS LIFESTYLE, DO YA, MS DIANNE? GOD BLESS DAWN & NICK

I'm hanging in there. This week, I've been doing more and been getting tired more. Today I just had NO energy. I've been trying to get more "food" and less dependent on my protein shakes. In our post-op class, I was told that I needed to do this. But I'm thinking that I still need to supplement more. But other than that....I've been doing good. My pastor's wife asked me today if I could tell a difference in myself as much as they could. She is so excited....so even if I would let myself down, I can't let her down!!! Doesn't God have a funny way of keeping us straight!! Hugs, Dianne

NOW, REMEMBER MS DIANNE ... AS GOOD AS YOU FEEL, YOU'VE JUST HAD MAJOR, MAJOR SURGERY ... PUSHING IS ONE THING, BUT DON'T PUSH SO MUCH THAT YOU SET YOURSELF BACK IN YOUR RECOVERY! EASY DOES IT ... THIS PROCESS WILL WORK NO MATTER WHAT. I COULDN'T EXERCISE FOR THE 1st 3 MONTHS BECAUSE OF MY HEART & SILL LOST 57 #s ... SO, EASY DOES IT! MOVE TO FOODS AS YOUR POUCH ALLOWS. YOU'LL FIND OUT THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO EAT FOOD/PROTEIN PRODUCTS IN THE AMOUNTS THAT YOUR POUCH SAYS IS WHAT IT WANTS. "POUCHES RULE!" MS BARBARA RARELY EATS "FOOD" & SHE'S 14-15 MONTHS POST OP. THE ONLY TIME SHE DOES IS WHEN SHE'S OUT IN A RESTUARANT, BUT AT HOME, SHE LIVES ON PROTEIN PRODUCTS AS THAT IS WHAT AGREES WITH HER POUCH THE MOST. I FIND THAT I CAN EAT SOFT FOODS & FISH THE BEST ... STEAK, CHICKEN & PORK ARE VERY HARD ON MY POUCH. THE PROTEIN PRODUCTS HAVE NUTRIENTS AS WELL. THE REASON FOR THE "FOOD" ISSUE IS THAT THE HEAVY TEXTURE PUSHES AGAINST THE SIDES OF YOUR POUCH TO GIVE YOU THAT "FULL" FEELING, BUT MOST OF US DON'T HAVE A REAL APPETITE ANYWAY THIS EARLY IN THE GAME, SO NOT TO WORRY. YES, GOD ALWAYS PUTS SOMEONE IN OUR PATH TO KEEP US "HONEST" WHEN WE HAVE A TASK TO PERFORM! THAT'S ANOTHER REASON I LOVE THE BOARDS & OUR LCBBuddies' MEETINGS ... KEEPS ME FROM SLACKIN' OFF & HELPS ME WHEN I'M STRUGGLING AS SOMEONE ALWAYS HAS A SUGGESTION & SUPPORT! BE GOOD TO YOURSELF ... GOD BLESS DAWN & NICK PS: OH YEAH ... ARE YOU MEGA DOSING ON YOUR SUPPLEMENTS ... ESPECIALLY YOUR VITAMINS/MINERALS, BIOTIN & SUBLINGUAL B-12? REMEMBER, YOU ONLY ABSORB 20 - 40% OF EVERYTHING YOU INGEST, SO I TAKE 3 CHEWABLE FLINTSTONES A DAY ... 3 BIOTIN ... 5,000 MCG OF SUBLINGUAL B-12 ... 3 CALCIUM & 3 VITAMIN C A DAY ... I JUST TRIED TO GO TO 2 A DAY & I'M DRAGGIN' BUTT HERE. SO, IF YOU'RE REALLY TIRED, INCREASE YOUR SUPPLEMENTS ... & KEEP YOUR FLUIDS FLOWING.