Wednesday March 15

Have I told you lately what an inspiration you are.

I have so much respect for anyone and everyone who keeps working it. Especially now that I'm trying to lose again. It's soooo hard. I've thought "maybe I should just try to maintain here"

But my scary truth that I just thought about is...it was hard for me to maintain at 277lbs. Had I not had surgery right then, I'd be even heavier today.

So I guess what I'm trying to say (and in my head it's motivating, so I hope it comes out that way) is: this is going to be a lifetime struggle, unfortunately. But accepting that is kind of freeing in knowing that struggling is not failure, it's just a fact. Maybe the struggle lasts a few hours (like me wanting to eat anything anywhere a few hours ago) or maybe it lasts a few months, or even a few years. But the struggle is part of the journey.

Thanks, Bonnie.

I think that everyone needs to find his or her own groove along this journey. Honestly, I am grateful to my VSG because without having had WLS I would not be this far along in my understanding of my eating issues. It's been a long time coming. I suppose the only thing I might regret is that I didn't understand this about myself prior to WLS. I had assumed it was a lack of discipline and the fact that once obese the body fights to stay obese. Even two years ago I would have told you that I am not an emotional eater. HA! If I have an emotion, it's worth eating over - well, that's been my thinking for 40 some odd years. Now, I'm aware of the disfunction and while it's not uplifting knowledge, I can at least begin to work with it.

Keep up with the gym for reasons other than weight loss. It's good for you in so many ways - metabolism boost, bone density, muscle tone, functional strength, etc.... Sadly, studies have shown that exercise does only have a minor influence on weight loss, but on the positive side has a huge impact on weight maintenance. Exercise will not negatively affect your weight loss, but you can't rely heavily on it to support your weight loss. 95-98% of your loss will come from calorie deficit. The nice thing is that as you continue to strengthen muscle and lose fat your metabolism will naturally rev itself up and you will need more calories to sustain a given weight. That in my book is a huge plus!

I totally get the cookie call. I am the original cookie monster! Glad you worked through it!

Hey Devon and all

Sorry Blue is drying up. My breeder had two litters at the same time and one of the mothers died and the other took both litters on. They called her "St. Mimi". Seven pups for a border terrier. I had a litter of three and one was having trouble so I supplemented her with goats milk for a couple of days. Worked out fine. There was one puppy that was such a pig it weighed at one point twice as much as the others. She is 10 years old now and lives nearby, spoiled rotten and doing well.

Ya know, I bet I will go around the dog show looking for you because you keep saying you are fat and I bet you are not and I won't be able to find you except by what kind of dog you have. Tesla is still totally unready in spite of training. She was terrified today and hid because cleaning lady was vacuuming. DH panicked because he could not find her in our small house or yard. Go figure.

Anyway, good on you for forgetting to eat at night. I find a glass of warm skim milk with a dash of vanilla in it comforting.

Onward all. Diane S

Take care all. Still can't figure out what to do at the gym. All the classes I want are at 8 am. Not gonna happen.