ROLL CALL!! Sept 17th, 2007

No kids YET. I guess that means you plan to have some at some point later? Those things seem to fall into place for many after WLS. I certainly know what you mean about life revolving around food. My family would plan an event and it was always 1) what is the date? and then 2) what are we serving? Well, if it is at 2 pm and most folks should have eaten lunch by then and not yet time for dinner, then why do we need to serve ANYthing?? LOL Have you seen that Quaker minis commercial where the girl looks at the cake and asks something like "when did we start celebrating everything with 10 pound bakery items?" LOL THAT was SO my family! LOL It doesn't help any that we are all good cooks (my sis is a pastry chef and my brother did a long stint as the chef in a steakhouse) and love to cook for others. But, in my little portion of the family at least, we've started equating get-togethers as quality time with each other and not so much as a time to stuff our faces. And, when we do eat at a gathering, it is healthy choices and not bakery items! Now, it is no wonder that my whole family (my Mom, my Dad, and all 3 of my sibs) are overweight. My mom is balancing on the line between morbid obesity and SUPER morbid obesity. My sisters are both in the 5'6" and 200+ bracket. My brother is 6 feet tall and close to 300 pounds. My dad was 6'1 1/2" tall and stayed between 280 and 300 for most of my life (and his). And, my hubby is overweight (6'2" and about 259--not nearly as bad as some truckers!) and my youngest daughter is now 230 at just 5'6". She had lost down to 211 after my surgery with all the eating changes made in my household. Then she took off to FL or the summer and gained it all back living with my family! She is struggling now to get back on track and hates that I, her overweight all her life Mom, now weigh less than she does! Being fat as a kid sucks and I soooo want her to get control NOW while she's still young and can bounce back easier... Hugs, Lea

I weighed 139 this morning. I haven't seen this weight since middle school. I don't remember what I was last week. 142 maybe. That was my 100 lb mark. I have a 17 year old and a 13 year old. My oldest is a girl and she's short like me. I weigh less than her now but she doesn't seem heavy to me. My son plays football and is about 3 inches taller than me and has slimmed down a lot since practice started.

Hi Lea! I'm at 259 this week. I'm happy with my three pound loss for the week. =) I've definitely helped to change my kids eating habits. Before my surgery we were all having A LOT of fast food and now they have it maybe once every three or four weeks. That's pretty darn good since they used to have it three or four times a week! They've been eating a lot more fruits and veggies as well. My daughter is already a skinny little thing (she's 8) so she wasn't a concern for me on how much she actually weighs. My son, however, is the one who I've worried about since he's 10 and was 25 pounds overweight. He's doing much better on portion control now and has already lost 10 pounds!!!!!! I'm so proud of both of my kids for taking to our new diet so well and not fighting me on any of it. I make meals fun for them so that they will continue to enjoy good food in a healthy way. =)

Hi Lea I'm the same as last week 241 I have four children, youngest is 18 and started college this school year. We're empty nesters now . Sometimes sad and sometimes happy about that. Very happy for him though. Anyways, my children are not overweight and really none of them have ever been. Two of them tend to gain and lose and have to watch more carefully. The oldest and youngest don't have an ounce of fat on them. But I do think they have all seen thoroughout their lives the struggle that I have gone through. They have always been my BIGGEST supporters when it came to all the diets I ever tried and failed at. They were all at the hospital for my WLS and they all supported and have continued to support and cheer me on daily and weekly. They are all so GREAT! I have the BEST kids!!! Barb

Lea and company, 239 this week!!! That's a 3lb loss. As for this week's question, my son is one of the main reasons I had this WLS. He is 8 and already has a weight problem. We are doing much better in the snack department, as of this week no more chips in the lunch. Just a sandwich wrap, veggies, fruit and 1 goodie (less than 100 cal and low fat). His father and I both have weight issues and are both loosing, even though we go about it differently. I'm trying to take the focus off food and onto other things. Some days it's great and we've forgotten to eat because we're so busy doing something else. Other days there's an obsession with food that just can't be explained. I'm glad for the surgery and the way it has changed our family and making us healthier, but Rome wasn't built in a day and the change for our son has taken time and will take even more time to be complete. Have a great week everyone!!! Robin

My kids were a major motivator for me as well. And, since my surgery we've made progress towards them making healthier choices. But, my youngest continues to battle her weight. As you say, it takes more than a day, week, or even month as we're working to change lifelong habits... Lea

175.8 this week. Goal is 170.

Pre surgery weight- 297 Highest weight ever- 367 Weight last week- 151 Current weight- 149 I have two children, my son is 22 and never has had a weight problem. My beautiful daughter who is 17 does have a weight problem and is considering surgery. My daughter is over 330pds. Yes, I do feel terrible guilt about it. I feel like it is mostly my fault because of my previous poor eating habits. Since sugery, there are no more chips, sweets, or pop cluttering up our kitchen. No more Ramen noodles. No more mom stopping at the hamburger dump on the way home. No more Long's Bakery donuts on Saturday morning. If my daughter or husband want an ice cream, they go out and get an ice cream, but no longer do we have them stashed in our freezer to go to whenever they want. It is an occassional thing to have a treat now. I do think my surgery and new eating habits has been a positive for her and I believe she has lost a few pounds. At least she is no longer gaining. It is heartbreaking watching what she goes through. Unmerciful teasing at school, feeling not worthy, and uncomfortable. I have been trying myself to be more active to help my weight loss, but I am having a hard time getting her motivated. She wants to spend all her time on the phone, Internet, or television. I have asked her to go do water aerobics with me at the gym tomorrow. Say a prayer that she will get motivated and go with me. I love her so much and would simply be heaven if she could feel the happiness of going from super morbidly obese to a normal weight. Can't wait to buy her all those pretty little girlie clothes.

Ok here it goes My High 307 Preop 259 Last Week 240 This Week 239 By Halloween 225 I have a 14 year old son who has struggled along with me with his weight. The first time the Dr. wrote obese on his chart I went home and cried(Im sure I ate too!) He actually is the one that I had surgery for. I wanted to be able to keep up with him. When he was in the third grade he weighed 230. He maintained that weight for 2-3 years. In the fifth grade he started Football and has been active ever since. He is a large football player but in very good shape. Can run 3+ miles no problem, plays 3 sports a year, plus snowboarding. He is built with a large amount of his weight in his thighs and calves. He eats fairly healthy most of the time. Drinks water (we have never been pop drinkers.) He doesn't eat red meat or pork and rarely goes to a fast food place. My mom is good about feeding him fresh fruits and veggies and not a bunch of junk. I don't worry about him much because he knows how to make good food choices. Check out my blog from a few days ago. It explains our struggle with food!

Good morning Lea. Well, the scale is finally moving again. My weight is now 185.2 lbs. As for your question of the week, yes, I do have two children that are overweight. Well, I should say one now. My oldest son was about 30 pounds overweight, but since having my surgery, he, too, eats healthier and has lost about all that 30 pounds in the past 8 months. My youngest son is quite overweight. It seems no matter what I do to change this boys eating habits, nothing ever changes. He still sneaks down to Burger King with his friends and that is not good!!! He eats there almost every day. It's really hard because I just don't want to see him suffer like I did. At home he eats really well and loves veggies, it's just the eating outside of home that is ruining it. Michele