LOVE you GUYS!!!

Can I tell you how much I admire, respect, and love you guys!!!!!!!!!!  Let's not get mushy or anything...but this is the one place that I know that I can come to be happy or sad, to vent or to inform!!   My post yesterday was honest...I think we all have those moments when we simply want to eat something normal....but we know better.  I think my biggest issue is simply the simplicity of food.  Last night, prior to my post....I was at the grocery store and couldn't find a thing for dinner...or anything to satisfy my craving.  Needless to say, I was ticked off.  Then, I got home and made dinner (couldn't care less about it..just wasn't what I wanted...lol).  My room-mate decided to take me to Starbucks last night (I don't drink coffee or tea...but they have a sugar free banana bread..he was hoping would cheer me up.).....  We got there and he ordered his mega capicino-lattee-coffee...a pecan carmel bar cookie (that is what I wanted...lol)...and there was nothing for me!!!  A little ticked..but no biggie.  Decided to treat myself and go to 7-11 for a sugar free slurpee...  They F@#$#n didn't have them...they were out...  Like going to dairy queen and them not having ice cream!!!  What was up with that.  Well, I walked out...said I am done for the evening.  Take me home and give me a rice cake!!!   Today, however, I got up....ran some errands...mowed my yard (could never have done that two years ago)... Mowed my neighbor's yard (they are out of town).  Then got the newspaper.  Well, guess who made the full page!!!!   I did!!!  I was interviewed a while back regarding the cookbook and the surgery... and my story (photos and all) made the front page and the continuation to page nine.  Who needs to be a page two girl...when you can be a page nine boy...lol AGAIN.........guys.... you are great for listening and supporting....

Hi Daniel, aka Page Nine Boy, Don't worry--too much!--about getting mushy. I think the feeling you're describing afftects us all. I know how much the Locker room means to me and how much it especially meant when I was out of town for about a month due to a death in our family. Even when I couldn't post, just reading whatever the guys were talking about helped. As for the hunger cravings and frustration, I sympathize. Sometimes we just want something special and different, a real treat, not a "good for you" treat. We're told that these cravings are "head" hunger, not "real" hunger. Maybe. But when I'm in a foul, woe-am-I mood, I don't bleepin' care. I want to scream, "Thanks a lot! That's like telling a guy with a toothache that it's only a psychological toothache!" Give yourself a huge pat on the back for doing the right things: 1) venting to a bunch of guys who know what you're going through and who care about you; 2) trying to satisfy your desire for a treat wisely; 3) not sabotaging yourself when you couldn't find a sugar-free treat; and, 4) getting up the next day and starting fresh. Good job, Oh, can you post a link to the newspaper article about you? Hope today stays as good as it started out.

Dear Page9Boi,
Congrats, dude! Not on the news coverage and overcoming cravings, and a carmel macchiato or so, but on mowing two lawns after doing errands! See, not only have you become wildly successful, but you're still a nice guy (if they paid you, don't tell me).
Next time you're at Starbucks you can order a steamed milk with sugarfree chocolate syrup in it (i.e. hot chocolate). I do it from time to time, and it's a nice treat. I often go to "coffee" with co-workers etc, but I don't touch the stuff. The chocolate is a way to fit in as if you never had WLS.
Best of luck,
Jake

Congrats on the newspaper article. Good job getting the word out about WLS.  Now imagine what could have happened if someone who'd read that article had seen you sucking on a Slurpee, or shoving a Starbucks carmel death roll into your puss. Sounds like you had angels on your shoulders to me. Thanks for sharing, not only the good news, but all the little battles and heartaches, that go along with our journey's. You're not alone. Hang tough, Buddy. DD 

Congratz on the cookbook and publicity adn "getting through" yesterday.  I had no idea 7/11 had SF slurpees. I am on my way to get one NOW

Hi Daniel, I am an ice cream junkie :).  I crave the stuff!  But a few months ago, I found a healthier alternative and it satisfies my craving for ice cream, so that's a good thing.  I make homemade yogurt! When I made mine the first few times, I noticed some graininess at the bottom of each jar (I put mine in wide-mouth pint canning jars). I think it was because of the milk sticking a bit at the bottom of the pan when I'm heating it up. I don't have a double boiler or I'd use that instead. Anyway, I have taken to using a small kitchen strainer when I'm ladling the yogurt into the jars, and that has taken care of the problem for me. Here's how I make mine. I just eat mine plain this way, and it's really good. Heat one gallon of whole milk to 180 degrees. Sometimes I mix in a package of powdered milk while it's heating, and sometimes I don't. I can't tell that much difference anyway - it gets pretty thick and creamy either way, so once I use up my current box of milk packets, I won't buy anymore. While the milk is heating up, put a big pan of water on the back burner and heat it up until it just starts steaming, then cut the heat back to simmer. On my stove, that put's the water temp at around 130 degrees. When the milk reaches 180 degrees, remove from heat and allow to cool to 110 degrees. Then I inoculate with about 1/8 teaspoon of cultures (for the first batch - for subsequent batches, I just use about 4 heaping tablespoons of the previous batch). I buy my cultures here. I use the ABY-2C. Next stir in a couple of good "glurgs" of Mexican vanilla and 2.5 cups of Splenda. Pour through strainer into pint jars and cap the jars. Put the jars in a large cooler. Pour the heated water into the cooler and close it up. Let sit for at least 8 hours - I usually let it sit overnight. The longer it sits, the tangier it will be.  Then remove the jars and refrigerate. You can flavor it with fresh fruit, etc. if you wish.  I suppose you could also freeze it in an ice cream freezer if you wanted. Hope this helps!

I also make my own yogurt.  A few tips: 1. If you microwave the milk in a glass dish, you don't have to deal with the scorching problem.  Just set it on high, stir every few minutes, and check with themomerter until it gets to 190 degrees.  It takes about 10 minutes for a quart on mine. 2. If you're having success with the cooler method, more power to you.  I found a cheap yogurt maker that works great for me.  It has it's own quart container, but it will also fit jars or quart plastic yogurt containers.  When Amazon has it in stock, it's about $15 and eligible for free shipping. 3. When I make too much (or have too much milk), I make yogurt cheese, which replaces cream cheese or sour cream well with lower fat.  The whey drains off and has little flavor, so you can add it to a shake for an extra boost of protein. I hate buying paper cartons of milk.  This lets me buy the gallons and use it all before it spoils.

hey, thanks for the link. you've got me thinking now...........carbonblob