What a month this has been

Hello everybody, Sorry I have not been on the forum much, but what a heck of a month this has been! Between school, work, my medical issues, the problems my wife and I have had with our pregnancy, and my sister-in-law's first child being born W/ complications... I have hardly had time to breathe. Marcie is still bleeding, and we don't know if her hematoma is shrinking, staying the same, or getting larger. It certainly has not resolved itself. We both try to remain optimistic, but worry always finds it way inside our minds. My sister-in-law, had her baby a week and a half ago, but there was a blockage in the baby's intestine requiring surgery. We ended up in Albuquerque for that procedure and mother and baby are still there. The baby is doing ok, but still cannot feed on its own. The intestines and stomach are not moving things through effectively yet. We are hopeful they can return home early next week. I am sill on track for my surgery in June, although I am finding it hard to loose the weight I am supposed to, especially spending so much time on the road trying to help with the situation in Albuquerque. I have been going to a psychologist for a month or two now, trying to get myself mentally prepared to deal with the rapid changes coming my way. Together we are exploring my eating, and how I use it emotionally and to find ways to process my emotions more positively. I hope that we can figure something out! Please pray form my wife and baby, my sister-in-law, and me... I would like for everything to work out for all of us. Richard I

Richard I will be doing double duty on the prayer list for you and your family, I hope you can get moving on some weight loss so you dont have any complications, Just a suggestion - grab a baby spoon and fork to eat , one mouthfull at a time - setting the spoons down between bites, limit meals to 20 min and drop the water - I think you will see a differance in a few short weeks - Plus this is what Blackstone Preach's so might as well get started now .

I have cut out soda, caffene, drinking with meals, and try to chew, chew, chew... I still manage to eat poorly, but I think that is a lack of disipline. I really need to work harder... I do not want my surgery canceled because I didn't loose the weight. Thank you

Hi Richard, You, your wife and baby, and your family are in my thoughts and prayers. It is good that you both are trying to be optimistic but don't fault yourself for worry because all the emotions you both are going through are normal. I will certainly pray that your wife's condition improves and that you will, in the near future, be posting pictures of your beautiful baby. I enjoyed the ultrasound pictures you posted on your profile. I can certainly understand the struggle with losing weight before surgery. When I started my 6-month physician supervised diet, I thought I had to lose 10% of my weight or that insurance would not cover the surgery. Even with this motivation, it has still been a struggle for me. Luckily that requirement has been removed. What has been working for me though is to remove something from my diet every two weeks. First, I eliminated soda, then take-out food, then sugar and caffeine drinks, and currently I am eliminating chips and sugar sweets/desserts. I have been losing weight even though I have not been dieting. I just focus on not eating the things I have committed to not eat. I wanted to eliminate these types of foods so that I will be more successful after surgery. I have always thought of dieting as eliminating one big habit. I recently realized that I have individual habits to different foods and it was necessary to give myself time to eliminate each one (or two) at a time. I am not losing weight as fast as I would if I cut everything out at once but I am still heading in the right direction. I hope this info helps. This approach was just a real epiphany for me and since I have not given up everything I like all at once I haven't felt so deprived. Best wishes to you and your family! Take care, Sandi

Thank you Sandi, I will consider your approach to diet, as it makes sense. I have already cut out carbonated drinks, Caffene, drinking with meals, and attempted sweets. Somehow I allowed myself cookies lately, and I am cutting them out again. It is so easy to allow old bad habbits back into my life. I need to learn disipline and avoid the negative foods. Thank you for the good thoughts and prayers... Richard I

Richard, Hope things have turned around for you, your having your WLS in June, well so is mine on the 28th, tried to get in earlier, hat to go through summer heat and sweat right after surgery. Where is your surgery and with who?, I'm 440 lbs 5'8", diabetes, cpap, dermitology, high bp, knees about to go out, kidney failure because of contrast used to have heart stents installed. Thanks Ron