ROLL CALL!! Sept 17th, 2007

Wow, another week gone already. The kids are back in school, Fall is in the air, and everything is groovy! LOL This week's question of the week deals with your kids... Do you have children who are overweight? Do you think that your having had the surgery and changing your habits will have a more positive impact on them than having done it the "hard way" (just exercise/diet) would have? If you don't have children, please give some feedback anyway... We all have a child in our life whom we know watches and sometimes mimics our actions! It may be a grandchild, niece/nephew, cousin, etc. How can you see your changing lifestyle impacting your children/family's eating habits? Please don't forget to post your current weight as well! Hugs, Lea

Last week: 210 This week: 210 goal: 205 Yep, no weight lost this week. Rare for me, but I'm hoping it's a good sign that I may be slowing down or stopping losing the weight. I'm very happy with where I'm at, and have been considering raising my total goal for the past 20-30 lbs. I'm in a very good range for a muscular 6'4" Kids question: I have 4 kids, almost 2, 4, 6, and 8. None of my kids are overweight, they are healthy and active. As many of you know, my wife and I both had RNY in March of this year. I think my kids are benefiting greatly from dad and mom's surgery. First, they are so young, that much of what they do is by mimic. They see us eating less and being active. Second, we've had to question the types of foods that we feed them. For example, if we aren't willing to eat at McDonalds we have asked ourselves why we'd be willing to feed it to our kids. Third, we have gradually transitioned to a "one meal family" for most meals. This means that a healthier meal is had by all. Hope everyone is losing well, and feeling well. Never forget to focus on lifestyle change, becasue that alone will help us truly get and stay where we want to be!! --Dave 350/210/205

Well, as you got closer to your goal, you knew things would slow down... And, I wonder if you've not already reached a good stopping point?? 210 at 6'4" sounds awesome to me! Think how great your kids' lives will be now with healthier and more active parents to keep up with them and enjoy being more a part of their activities! I so wish I had done this 10 years (or more) ago so that I could have been more involved in my girls' activities! Lea

Lea, Thanks for your reply. I just dropped 2 more lbs, even though I was hoping 210 would be a hard stop for weight loss. I really don't want to lose any more weight, and am starting to get "concerned" because I just passed my 6 months out mark. This week, I've started increasing my protein intake and am getting really serious about weight lifting. Hopefully pumping up some muscle will help me slow down the weight loss. I'm already down to between 15-16% body fat. I still look really healthy/fit, but I fear the potential of looking like a skeleton. Halloween is coming, but I don't really want to be that much "in character" I don't really want to increase my calorie intake too much because I'm afraid I'll sabotage how far I've already come. It would also require "grazing," or multiple meals a day. Maybe a trip to the nutritionist for an assessment is in order. I'm open to any suggestions folks out there have, although many may wish they had my problem. --Dave

Hi Lea , It's early for me . I had a good week for a change . Last week = 181 this week = 178 3 pound loss , yeah ! Goal = 169 My boys weren't overweight as kids , but are now . My surgery has made them more concsience of what they're eating . The two grandkids i'm raising are bothe skinny . I try to get them to eat healthy snacks . One is a herbavore & one is a carnivore . lol .

WOW, 3 pounds in one week after staying at 180 to 181 for what, about 3 weeks? You go girl! Did you do anything different?? Glad to hear your boys are starting to pay more attention. Sounds like the grandkids will be fine. I have a friend who has a 16 year old girl. She told me (the girl, not her mom) the other day that no one had to worry about her ever getting fat because she was a vegetarian. Well, she may not eat MEAT, but she eats enough JUNK to make up for it AND she really needs to think about the junk she eats that is fried in something from an animal too! LOL Sort of a double standard there, I guess... We'll see how that pans out in another few years when she's not quite as active and energetic! She needs to learn now that the line is VERY fine! Lea

No kids and no change weight wise, still hanging around 168 or so.. i do however have several girls who are extremely overweight in my youthgroup and I want to help them so bad... when i say overweight i mean candidates for surgery overweight already... 300 pounds or more... it's sad I really need to pray harder for them and do more to help them be active and more conscious of what they're eating... I did buy weigh****cher muffins to take to class this morning.. it's a start.. not for me but for them...

Good for you for working with these girls and setting a good role model! It may have a great impact on them! Lea

Current weight: 287lbs. We don't have kids yet, but I worry about how I will teach them good habits. I grew up in a home where food was always a focus. Every celebration, every tragedy, every hurt, or triumph was another reason to eat. It's scary to me now, but I thought every family did that. Now that I eat differently, I hope the kids would be more used to normal servings and healthier foods just because that is what is available in our house now. I hope my kids will never go through the pain I did growing up fat. Thanks, Lea!

Last week 282lbs This week 278lbs -4 lbs I have a son who will be 16 next month and he is 6ft 4in tall and when I had my surgery 6 weeks ago weighed 307lbs. He carries his weight well and plays football so people don't think of him as being obese but that is what he is. Since my surgery we no longer keep soda, sugary treats, or junkfood in the house so he has lost 14lbs. He told me that he doesn't miss the junk and he's happy about the weight loss. We have also joined a gym and he requested that I get the family membership instead of just a membership for me. We encourage each other to work out and we eat better. I definitely think that it has been very positive on the whole family.