Six month update

Sorry I've been scarce... the stresses of the work situation have had me depressed and not engaged in my life. First, the WLS update. I bought a home scale today. I didn't know they made home scales in the 400 lb range these days - I always remember 300 being the max, so I was waiting. Anyway, in the almost-three-weeks since my last weigh in, I'm down 7.2 lbs, for a grand total of 103.2 lb in 27 weeks. I broke through 300 lbs, and I broke the century mark! This is also one of the nice scales with the body fat estimator - it tells me my body fat is 39.4%, so my lean mass (if I had ZERO fat - skin, muscle, bone and organs) is 178.4 lbs - which is why I think 175 may NOT be a reasonable target for me, unless I'm planning to LOSE a certain amount of muscle. With that amount of lean mass, at 20% body fat (high normal for a male my age), I'd be 214 lbs. Hell, if I never lose another pound from where I am right now, I have nothing to complain about. I haven't been in Twoterville since college. NSV: I was away in Syracuse all of last week. On the flight home, I was able to buckle the airplane seatbelt comfortably WITHOUT using an extension! Work: I have accepted a job at New York Medical College/Westchester Medical Center, my alma mater. I'll be working the night shift, supervising the house staff and running the Rapid Response Team (aka the Code Team). I'll be starting that as soon as my privileges go through, and will be moving up to Westchester shortly thereafter (I have to save enough money to put a deposit on an apartment first). Question: Did anyone else find that they started to get sloppy about eating habits and vitamins in the 5th or 6th month post-op? I'm finding I can eat almost anything now (including small amounts of sweets, as many as three or four cookies), and I'm starting to develop grazing behaviours occasionally - over the course of four or five hours last night, I ate almost an entire bag of pretzels. I'm forgetting my vitamins (not to mention my blood pressure pill and antidepressant). Is it just fatigue with the lifestyle? Am I just backsliding? Any advice for getting back on track? (I'm still losing, of course, but I want to avoid the rebound...)

it's called being lazy and getting back into bad habits knock it off -- you know better -- you been reading these boards long enough  stop eating the 3 or 4 cookies -- don't buy the pretzels -- or break them down into serving sizes and use snack bags and only have 1 serving when you are SUPPOSED to have a snack -- chart out your 3 meals and 3 snacks a day and stick to a timed schedule put your pills in daily pill containers and put them beside your bed -- when you get up in the morning  -- take them with you to the bathroom and then to the kitchen to get something ti wash them down with -- marry those dam pills!! sew them to your hip if you have too  congrats on the weight loss :) but this is also the time of LEARNING how to keep it off -- how to eat better -- how to make better choices  you are in the medical field -- what would  you be telling your patients who were doing what you are doing?? take care and good luck roberta

hi randy congrats on the new job and all.  your weight loss news if wonderful!! dont let work and stress get in the way of the great job you are doing.  take the time for yourself that you need to plan your food and vitamin needs. we all have a bad day, hey we are human, but dont let one bad day become another and another, cause we all know where that leads. dont bring those things into the house that you KNOW are not good for you, then they cant talk to you when you are feeling stressed. buy yourself healthy snacks and plan for them in your daily schedule. and please be sure to take your medication, as a physician you know how important that is. good luck with everything. jacki  (Lakewood group)