You should post this question on the post-op pregnancy board. You'll get alot of response. I gained 25 during pregnancy and have lost all but 5 since my delivery on 3/13/07. You just have to stick to "pouch basics" with water, vitamins, protein and exercise. Same applies while pregnant. Pictures on my profile if you're interested.

For me I had to get back on the tread machine at work. Just walking for a continuous 30 min has helped alot!

Post Date: 11/2/06 2:32 pm Ballroom Exercise Original Post by Amy Spears at 5:30 PM EST on 11/02/2006 Louisville, KY - RNY (09/22/2006) - Mark A. Shina M.D. Bariatric Ballroom Louisville, KY Located in J-town Blankenship Dance Company 10201 Taylorsville Rd Louisville, KY 40299 502-267-0996 Instructor- Amy Spears 502-235-4438 Basic - Ballroom exercise group lessons Post-op Bariatric Surgery No partner needed Movin to loose Instructor has 19 years of Ballroom dance experience, and is currently 6 weeks post-op Roux-en Y lap Bypass. Anyone interested please contact via phone or E-mail : [email protected] Amy Spears

Tracie, I know exactly what you're going through. I've been going through the same thing for 4 years now with my 6yo dtr. She is defiant beyond belief. Spankings have never worked. Timeouts are a joke. We've done every reward system known to man. We've been to parenting workshops and learned all about the Nurtured Heart Approach. That basically tells you to praise every possible positive thing they do no matter how small and eventually they'll stop doing the bad for attention. Guess what. That worked for a few weeks then back to hell again. I got so sick and tired of hearing people criticize me for not spending enough one on one time with her. I was a stay at home mom for several years until recently and she had plenty of one on one attention. But it was never enough. I took her to a therapist and she was diagnosed as being bipolar. Her acting out and violent temper tantrums where her child's version of manic behavior. So I wasn't crazy and I was doing everything I was supposed to be doing. I had been beating myself up and feeling like a bad parent. The child psychiatrist said that she'll never feel like I'm giving her enough attention. She was started on a medication and has therapy once a week. Things are much better now. Now I'm not saying that your son is bipolar but it might be worth having him evaluated. He sounds like he has oppositional defiance disorder or ODD. That is not the same as just a child looking for a parent's attention. The psychiatric society recognizes it as a legitimate diagnosis. So take a deep breath and do some reading. Become informed and then have him evaluated. There might be more going on. Good luck. Kathleen

Hi Colleen! We think along the same lines about the sugar and soda. My kids have never tasted soda (and at 4 and 5 have never asked to even though my husband drinks Diet Coke like it's water). I've told them that it's an adult drink that's not good for people's bodies and once you start drinking it a lot and then stop, it can give you a bad headache. They've seen it affect my husband, so they don't want it. With sugar, it's a treat maybe once every few weeks. They were always taught that it's not healthy for their body because it has no nutrients though a little bit once in a while is okay. I hope that they'll approach junk food at other peoples houses that way. The 'just a little bit is okay but that's it' mentality. As far as our new way of eating goes, I think you'll have very little issue with Tripp even noticing how much you eat. He will have grown up around you eating that way for his whole life so it won't seem strange at all. Mine were 3 and 5 when I had surgery and maybe twice in almost 7 months have they asked me if that was all I was eating or why I'm not eating much. I just tell them that I eat until I'm a little bit full just like they do and with my stomach being smaller, it means that I don't need to eat as much. That seems to satisfy them and they start talking about something else. So Colleen, don't worry too much. You'll teach your children the best way that you can and all that you can do is trust that they'll follow your guidelines when the time comes for them to make their own choices. Now I have to tell you, genetics play a huge role in if someone is overweight or not. My son (the 5 year old) is slender and weighs about 55 pounds. My daughter (4) is shaped like me and weighs 80, though she is as tall as her brother. They don't eat junk and her favorite things in the world are vegetables which make up the majority of her diet. She would choose salad over mac and cheese any day! Some issues are just out of our hands and we do the best that we can for what what cards are dealt.