[merrynail]

Hi, I'm Mary in Marquette Mi. I've lived in the U.P. since 1993. I'm originally from San Diego. I'm married and have 4 kids. My husband and I have been together for 28 happy years. My baby is the only boy and he's almost 14. My girls are 25, 23, and 19. I have 2 grandkids and one on the way. I've had my RNY in October. I haven't lost as much as I thought but I am still losing. I've got a ways to go. But I'll get there afterall I've really only just begun. I am so grateful of finding this group. You all are very supportive and helpful.

[Perfesser]

So Mary, have you noticed any differences in the winters between SD and the UP?

Just keep living the rules and good things will come to you. Your body has her own schedule in mind, and you can't rush her. All you can do is give her the conditions she needs to do her best work for you.



CT

[MJ Fan]

I am Crystal and I am 29. I will have been married for 6 years this August. We are tying to have our first child this year.

I love to knit, crochet, play video games and board games, I love watching my favorite tv shows and movies. I am a major Michael Jackson fan, I am always listening to his music or watching his short films. I love to knit & crochet my own clothes.

I have 1 dog, 2 cats, 1 parakeet, and 5 fish. I will be getting me another kitten some time in March after I get back from Florida.

I enjoy raiding my Mom's closet (now that I finally can) and I love stealing my husband's winter clothes since his are so warm.

I love going swimming at the aquatic center and doing the swimming classes. It's fun and exercise two things in one! I love when family give me clothes that they no longer want. I get new to me clothes that way that don't cost me anything and I help them get rid of stuff they no longer want.

I am enjoying my new thinner life. I now enjoy walking my dog and going shopping since I won't get out of breath or have to sit down and rest.

[lhchrissy]

Hi, I'm Chrissy and live in Baltimore, Maryland. I'll be 40 in a week and am a single parent of a 10 year old boy. I'm coming up on 8 weeks post RNY and have lost 40 lbs. The first week or so was rough and if asked my thoughts on my surgery, I would've said that I shouldn't have done it. Now I feel that it is one of the best decisions I've ever made and each day gets easier.

I have found so much support through groups and sites like this. I am so grateful to be where I am today and moving each day to a healthier me.

[AllyGator]

Hi there. I've been fat since my 1st child at 19. Two boys and 1 girl; the youngest is 28 yrs now. NDH and I have been married for 16 yrs last February. ODH...22 yrs but old story there. Due to a bunch of rotten stuff in my life I promised NDH that I wouldn't kill myself but silently I told myself that I'd just eat myself to death. My shrink told me "OK, but it's a hard way to go." LOL, no sympathy there...smart man! And he was right. By the time that I couldn't walk to the WC without huffing and puffing, I called it quits. Lost nearly 45 lbs after a year of dieting then decided to have WLS. I'm glad I did and I no longer even think about the darker side. Now I'm getting close to onederland and I'm exercising every day. Life is good!

[2dolphins]

Hi! I'm Maryam (47). I live near St. Louis, Missouri. I have one 16 year old son. I have had issues with my weight since I was in my early 20's. I was a very active swimmer and athlete when I was young until about age 18. Kinda down hill from there. Now I am morbidly obese and full of medical conditions, so I am "practicing" for my RNY this fall. I have 6 months of monitoring from my insurance company. I'm in the 3rd month. I have lost 10 pounds and gained one back so far. I've done alot of research on RNY and WLS, but it is so good to hear from people who have walked the walk. I've tried a few protein drinks, cut my portions down, cut back on eating out (my weakness!), and getting my fluids in. Oh and logging my food intake. Something I don't like to do, but it sure has opened my eyes to what I am actually consuming.

I'm glad I found the group and I look forward to reading your posts!

[NowaDiver]

Gosh - I never did this!

I'm Betsy and I live in Rhode Island and have for the last 12 years. Prior to that, I lived in MD, NY and MA (with VA for college). I'm single, 51 and live in my little house with 2 cats. As pathetic as that sounds , I'm very active and enjoy walking, working out at the gym, skiing, scuba diving and underwater photography (the last two are my passions).

I had biliopancreatic diversion (no duodenal switch) back in 1994 when WLS was relatively rare and before it was done laparoscopically. I lost 136 pounds and got down to 217 from 353 after my surgery and panniculectomy. I bounced up to 245 and stayed there for many years - which my surgeon was fine with.

At the time when I had surgery, there weren't any "pouch rules," and we were pretty much told to "eat a lot of protein," "avoid sugar 'cause it can cause dumping," and went on our way to lose weight with just annual visits to our surgeons. No nutritionist, no psych eval, none of the pre-op stuff you guys go through now. In fact, it was only three months from my first call to my surgeon until my surgery date!

That said, without the nutritional guidance that is available now, I never got down to my goal weight (at the time, I didn't HAVE a goal weight - I just lost until I didn't lose any more!).

A few years ago, I went on a medication for my migraines that had a side effect of taking away my appetite for sweets (needless to say, I'm NOT someone who dumps, unfortunately!) and I got down to 185. I LOVED it! I felt skinny and wore a size 14 easily. It was wonderful and I got rid of all my "fat" clothes .

Unfortuately, while I'm still on the medication, that side effect went away and I started eating sweets and simple carbs again- and lo and behold, the weight came back. When I hit 229.9, I freaked and started googling Roux-en-y/biliopancreatic diversion and ended up here! In my reading, I discovered there were RULES! (who knew???) And I started following them. Once I did, I started losing weight again. Not NEARLY as quickly as I did when I was fresh out of surgery, but definitely more easily than I ever did pre-surgery.

I'm determined to get down to my goal this time, which is 175. And if that doesn't do it, I may make it 165 or even 150 (doubtful - I'm 5'10" tall - that would be pretty darned thin!). Since coming here, I've found a tremendous amount of support from those who know the rules so much better than I, even though I've had my surgery so much longer.

Thanks to all of you!

Betsy

[AllyGator]

What a story Betsy! You're a pioneer for the rest of us.