a few more opinions....

Thanks for the info Joyce. Your suggestions on consuming mimic my nuts almost to a tee. I mostly stay on the main boards now, but of course check in on my "homies", one of the main reasons I do this is to read your posts which are always helpful, if not always rushed I also like to check in on Nicole whom I adore and through which I found the best doctor I have ever had. Just a quick "holla" to let youse guys know you are appreciated. Joyce, you are a wonder, fascinating, and a wealth of knowledge. I got the peppercinni' joke...or was a joke to me Thanks again.

Good luck Joyce, you can do it. You are a strong woman, and you so many things....definitely a type A personality....smile.

Linda! I'm having myself a little soggy moment! I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with life right now and I appreciate your sweet cheerful post more than you know!!!!!! ......even the oldie post-ops need support! Thanks sweetie pie! Joyce

Joyce, you are a giver. You give and care so much and it shows. Is it a wonder that your well might run dry now and then. We are all here for each other. You have your own style, but always the concern comes through. Take what you need to re-plenish yourself. I know this may be hard for you to do, but it sounds like for a little while you need or may benefit from making it all about YOU.

Ahhhhhh "sniff, sniff" I'm just gonna have to give you a big 'ol juicy kiss next time I see you!!!! .....RUN......... I'm actually feeling GREAT today! I've been up since 4:30 tackling my list! I'm a little OCD about lists and just LOVE checking things off!!!! .....now, to get ready to go to work! .....See all you folks at Dr. Gitt's amazing Miracle hangout today! It was sooooo much fun seeing good friends yesterday in the office and I"m looking forward to seeing more of you later this week!!!! ....It is sooooo amazing to see y'all when you've lost all that weight and then even more amazing to see you after you've shed all that loose skin. Soooo...... I need opinions..... How do you like my saying.... "Continue the journey~~leave the excess baggage with us!!" Opinons????? Suggestions???? Big Hugggzzz, Joyce

Sounds like all you needed was a nap! The slogan, if it is for plastics, it is good. ....or if it is for therapy also. P.S. I have always counted calories, once I started eating "Food"...thats just me. I am not able to do whole bunches of exercise, if I did not count what went in my mouth...I would be Have a good one dear

I definitely understand both sides to that one. The calorie counting. Some people need that to measure where they should be. Especially if they are hitting a plateau they might feel they need to watch their calories. Our doctors philosophy is that 99% of dieting fails. And I believe the reason they don't like to tell their patients how many calories to eat is that for some of us that gets us back into the mind set of "dieting". They want us to focus more on mindful eating then how many calories. They go into great depths on speaking about the differences of being stuffed, hungry, or satisfied. They want us to strive for that satisfied feeling. I have to agree with Nicole on this one. I don't think we need to count calories. I believe if we eat until we are satisfied, make healthy choices, and examine why we are snacking on salty goodies like pretzels or sugary yummies like dried pineapple (those are just my personal two favorites). Chances are snacking on those things have little to do with being hungry and more to do with emotional issues like stress, boredom, pms, so on so on so would we really care at that moment how many calories there were in them? None of us got to be the weight we were because we didn't know how to count calories or what a vegetable or fruit was. We all just made poor choices for our own reasons. My personal goal is to change my attitude about food and to change my relationship with it. And obsessing about how much of it, or how little of it, or how many calories I am eating is not the way I wish to proceed. That all just says "diet, diet, diet" to me and I know that has not worked for me in the past. In it's simplest terms once I can establish good exercise habits, and truly begin to eat to live, versus live to eat I know my weight issues will be behind me. That of course will be a long road. And i don't think anyone takes what you post here with a grain of salt. You give a tremendous wealth of knowledge here on the post and it is appreciated by all of us. And for some counting calories may not feel like dieting. For those I think they should have that information. But i have to agree with Nicole and our Doctor on this one that I don't feel counting calories is a great way to stop the obsession with food. But thats just me And like you I have problems with the protein first too. But i'm getting better. I was so burned out on yogurt, fish and cheese. I am actually getting to the point when I am hungry I want the protein. I have learned enough about my body the past few months and I can feel the difference in the way i feel, and my energy level if i don't eat my protein first. And i am starting to want to eat it over the other stuff. And of course now that I can eat chicken again it has gotten MUCH easier!

Hiya melting away girlfriend! No need for anyone to take sides with anyone on calories. They are what they are and science has proven it in a zillion ways. Positive affirmations, behavioral therapy, self talk, etc. are awesome and are more powerful than any counting of anything! If "diet" is a 4 letter word for anyone then it should be zapped from their vocab! However.....once that window of losing opportunity (12 to 18 months) is drawing to a close....calories matter! But....weigh****chers does the mental thing by calling them points. Whatever works for each of us to stay on track and focused is the key. I fought the calorie counting for the first 3 years post-op but finally realized that this journey of health requires full guns from all angles. So, I count protein, miles at the gym, glasses of water, vitamins, AND calories! I guess I'm related to that awesome dude on Sesame Street!!!! High Fives to you Melissa for tackling those snack attacks! Your pics show amazing progress!!!! LOSER'S Rock! Joyce

Nicole, your weight loss is great. I have lost a bit more, but then I was bigger than you to start with. Good idea...not to compare your lost to others, and you are kicking butt girl!

Oops. Are we not supposed to compare are weight to anyone else? (just kidding) I say that because you (Nicole) are the one I am always gaging my weight loss by. LOL. I always check out your profile to make sure i am staying on track. I just figure we started about the same time, and i was only about 20 pounds or a little more then you when we started. So I figure if I can stay caught up with you I am doing okay. Is that wrong? Oh well if it is. LOL. Just don't stop losing or that will give me an excuse to stop losing too! Anyways. I think you are doing awesome! As far as snacking I wish I could say I had stopped snacking. I snack all the time. But then I only eat one meal a day. Or maybe it is just that the food I eat now is so little compared to before that it just feels like a snack and it is a meal? Again just kidding, well, sorta. By the way. The Asian salads at McDonalds are soooo yummy! I am offcially addicted to them. And don't need the extra dressing they give you as they already put dressing on it. I looked it up and it is 17 fat grams for the crispy chicken, and i think it was 14 for the grilled. So i figure heck or 3 fat grams i am going for the crispy. Seriously, YUMMY!!!! It comes with almonds too but I don't add those because they are another 8 fat grams. I use them as a snack later on in the day.