Hi Jeannie & Trish!

Jeannie, so sorry about the knee.Dont feel guilty for complaining! You finally retire & now this happens. I hope a shot takes care of it for now, but sounds like surgery is closer down the road. I relate to not wanting to deal with that, but as I've gotten older I realize I need to take care of myself sooner rather than later...while I am still relatively healthy. 

I'd be eating chips, too, if they were my thing. I am currently addicted to grapes & protein bars...sugar...sugar...sugar! I feel you, Trish! Portion control is another problem...I can do 4-6 oz of lean meat & a couple servings of grapes at one sitting.

Tri**** is great you are following thru on your recommitment 10 years & counting...I hope to be as dedicated that far down the line.

Just posting here on a regular basis is motivating so I need to do so more often. Hope some others do the same as I saw 125 or so views one day last week!

Well, today is Tuesday and my knee is definitely not going to get better on its own.  I thought it was like a temporary sprain but it has swollen up and I am using a cane because it is so unstable.   I've called the knee surgeon because he said it would get to the point to where I would have to have the knee replacement and I kept putting it off but now.....maybe I can talk him into doing a steroid injection. 

Aside from sitting and keeping ice on my knee, I plan on spending the day reading and complaining.  I figure the more I complain, the more sympathy I'll get from DH...LOL...that statement comes with a little sarcasm.   

A couple of weeks ago, someone gave me a few pounds of fresh cabbage, so I decided to make kraut.  I filled a bunch of gallon jars up with the shredded cabbage that I had salted and rubbed a bit to get the juices going and now I have all these huge jars full of fermenting cabbage....so far, they have been doing great and I am sure that in another week or two, I'll have several pints of delicious kraut ready to ho****er bath...let's hope the knee is willing to let me do that or the DH is willing to do it under my direction. 

B: egg and 1/2 toast

Lunch: tomato gouda sandwich

Dinner: we are taking our granddaughter and grandson out for a celebration. So I'll probably eat fish. 

Ladies, I know it looks like we are dwindling down to nothing so it's very important to stop by and comment so we can keep our board going.  Over the many years that I have been a member, it goes through slumps but I think we all can agree that even during the slumps, we still are able to get inspiration and motivation....What is your biggest stumbling block?  Mine is freakin' crackers......and chips....My husband, being the kind man he is, feels bad about my knee so he brings me a bag of chips...I wanted to scream are you serious but instead I ate the.  If I'm not careful, I will gain back the pounds that I have lost this summer...I refuse to let that happen.

Hi Julia & any to follow!

This site has certainly fallen off and I am sorry to see this happen! It was such a source of support last year as I prepared for my weight loss surgery. I preferred this group over many others as some of the other boards seem to be very judgmental about your food and other choices. I also preferred a group of peers my age as many of us were motivated by health reasons to have this kind of surgery.

I have been far from perfect in my journey. My younger brother passed 3 weeks after my surgery and I found it difficult to stay on track. However, I did retain many of the good habits I learned from my dietician, I use myfitnesspal everyday, and exercise on a regular basis. My downside is I have basically been eating in maintenance yet have not achieved my goal weight. I average about 1400 calories a day, and consequently have only lost a total of about 120 lbs...and I had already lost 75 pre-op!

However, my health has improved, I have tons of energy, and am currently working a job where I am always moving. This would have been impossible before. I know I need an ongoing support system to keep this up and this group, myfitnesspal and another group have kept me in touch with the commitment I made to follow through on regaining my health and not gaining back the weight I have lost.

I would love to lose these last 30 lbs, but if that does not happen I will be okay. This is a lifelong journey and I plan to stay on course.

I am sorry I have not posted more often therefore contributing to the slow activity on this site, but when I check in it is usually from my phone, and I cannot respond on my phone. I do want to re-commit to posting more often as this group and many of the people in it are very special to me.

Breakfast - 1 piece of toast w/half tbsp. of peanutbutter

Lunch - grilled cheese

Dinner - 1/2 cup homemade sweet & sour chicken

Snack - Balance protein bar

(yes, ALOT of carbs...working on it!)

Thanks for reminding me o all the tools that helped me ten years ago.

Hugs.

You have already taken the hardest step by saying enough is enough and now I want to get back on track.  Here are some steps I hope will help you. They helped me... 

Planning/Preparing

Remember when we were preparing for surgery?  How many meetings, classes and such did we attend?  We were told the more prepared we were the better our chances were for success.  And they were right. Go through the house, car and work place and get rid of trigger foods.  Stock up on foods that will keep you on track. I removed every bad carb/sugar temptation and replaced it with lots of protein, veggies, grains and fruits.

Journaling

Get back to journaling.  This will help you identify when you feel like eating, stress factors and any triggers in your life.  Once you identify these factors, this will help you put tools in place to keep you from eating.  It became clear I was not taking time for me anymore. I worked my day job and then spent the rest of my time caring for my husband.  It was easy to reach for fast, prepackaged food.  Since I purged my home I have to eat clean as there are no other options LOL

Use a tool to track you're eating and exercise like Getting Started with Health Tracker.  Once I started to track ever bite and drink it became clear why I had gained.

Goals/Rewards

Make a list of goals for yourself.  Make them realistic and small.  Some of mine were move more, purge all junk from my home, eat more protein.

Food

In general, a long term post-weight loss surgery eating plan includes foods that are high in protein, and low in fat?, calories, and sugar. Important, vitamins and minerals are provided as supplements. (if you had a different surgery adjust this to your food plan).

Water

Water is our Best Friend. I have to say I never went back to pop or any bad drinks, however I was drinking tea like crazy. What is wrong with drinking tea?  I was either using sugar or 3 equals and 3 sweet n lows per 32 ounce glass.  So I was either pushing to be diabetic or get cancer.  I found once I started carrying a bottle of water around 24/7 (yes had one at my bedside) I lost the cravings for the sugar and I KNOW those artificial sweeteners are not good for me. Look I am old and if you add up all the artificial sweeteners I have consumed I am sure I am at the rat in the lab getting cancer threshold.

MOVE!

I can't say enough about how key this was for me. The reason I kept my weight off for almost 10 years was no matter what, I kept moving.  If I could not go to the gym I would walk. I loved Zumba, bootcamp workouts, lifting weights. When I stopped, the weight started coming back.  So for me I am starting slow to avoid injury by walking and using some of the workouts on my Demand TV.  Find something you love to do and it won't feel like a pain in the *** to do daily.

Support

If it's an option "run" don't walk to a support group.

Keep me posted on how you are doing.