hi from Australia

G'day everyone!! I am 7 days post op, so a real newbie at this forum,, Usually I just check out the alaska forum, 'cause its the first one on the list, but I checked you guys out, ' cause my eldest daughter lived in NJ for aobut a year and loved it, so our family has a soft spot for you all! . Anyhoo,,, about me ( me me me , its all about me!) married to MOTH (man of the House) for the last 24 years or so,, I am 40 ( as of last week! sighhhhh), with 3 amazingly beautiful kiddies,, 21 yrs, 16 yrs and 14 yrs... we live on the bea*****ueensland, Australia,, and yes I talk with that 'funny' accent (apparently - i happen to think you all have accents - but that is just my view) I teach at university, my MOTH is a policeman,,,we live active lives and sport plays a big part of our lives, as does the beach and surfing and swimming, when I hit around 220 pounds ( see how nice I was by NOT writing the weight in kilos!! we don't use pounds in aussie land!) I was at the beach in my swimmers and for the first time in my life realised I was (shhhhhh don't say it out loud) fat.......yep.....no more could i squeeze those rolls into that suit and look/feel good -- squeeze a bit in here, it only popped out the other side.... and all of a sudden I didn't want to particpate in the family fun as much,, so I sort of hung back (so unlike me I am a really 'out' there type of girl),, and before I knew it 12 months had passed and summer was back and those bathing suits were NOT going to stretch the extra mile,,, and so I just didn't swim/suf/beach anymore -- and then 12 monthe later I was sitting under a shady tree, WATCHING the rest of my family have fun in the water -- what the ??!! I said to myself,,, I have always taught my kids to reach out, grab that start and live your life,, do it , say it, feel it, be it, hold on tight, the ride of your life should be amazing.........and they all have done that so far,, they do everything they can as well as they can... and here was Momma sitting under a shady tree, not doing it, not saying it, not feeling it, not being it.........Momma was letting her life ride slow down,, in fact it could of come to a dramatic stop if the weight kept piling on.......... so off I went,,, researched and found the lapbad surgery,, talked to everyone about it,, got good and bad feedback which was wonderful, and then on september 19 last year, said this was the day...But I gave myself 12 months to think about it properly,, and I did,, I took another 12 months to really consider it - talked to everyone again and again,, and this last week on Septemeber 19 at 1pm,, had the surgery done .... i have been so lucky, my recovery has been as perfect as it gets,, and I am already up and into life again.......... So that's my story,,, so far so good,,, Now i am embarking on a new exercise program,, adn this week i have walked on the beach each day for 1/2 to an hour......... what suggestions do you have to add a bit of zing to this for me while I am still healing. Cheers Selina

Welcome to the NJ board Selma -- you've come a long way -- both in terms of mileage and in terms of your WLS journey. Walking is great exercise and the easiest and best as far as I'm concerned. Walking on the beach is even better -- more calories burned walking on sand! Perhaps once you are about six weeks out, you can add an easy workout to your regime -- like Curves -- I imagine they have even reached Australia. That is how I started and was perfect in the beginning. Make sure you are taking your vitamins and getting in your water too. Hugs, Nannette