you should be losing TONS! C U Next Tuesday.

Okay.  So.  I attended my first "Lifestyle" meeting at Magee Women's Hospital on Aug. 12.  It's held in an auditorium.  I wasn't sure what to expect.

At each class, you complete a "Module."  Basically, they have us read an educational packet and set some goals for the month.  We don't interact with each other.  We just sit and mind our own business.  Not everyone is working on the same module.  After writing our goals, a nutritionist looks over our goals, puts us on a scale, logs our weight, and sends us home.  There are 6 modules you complete as a requirement for the insurance company (the 6 month diet).

When I started checking into gastric banding in July, I weighed my highest non-pregnancy weight ever.  I cut back calories, started getting more active and lost five pounds before even meeting my surgeon or getting weighed for the first time.  It felt good to see I had lost five pounds on my own.  I completed Module 1 that day in August and the educational packet I read suggested eating 1400 calories.  So for one month I faithfully exercised and filled out my food log.  I did, however, frequently (but not always) eat as much as 1700 calories because I'm breastfeeding my youngest child (born May 1).

Fast forward to September---I looked forward to seeing how much weight I'd lost.  You know what I lost?  One whole pound.  One!  I asked the nutritionist, "How many calories a day should I be eating?" and explained I was breastfeeding a 20 lb four month old.  She said, "Oh?!!  You're breastfeeding?  You should be losing TONS.  When I breastfed I lost tons!"

In the words of a good friend, "What a C U Next Tuesday!"

Don't you love that phrase?  I hate the "C" word, but I love that phrase.  It's just so appropriate at times.

The nutritionist never answered my question.  She just said, "Fill out a really good food log this next month and I'll go over it with you next time."

Ummm.  Okay.  B-b-b-but I thought that's what I was here for.  I *did* pay my $20 to be here today.  And I did bring my monthly food log today.  Again, I felt like the fat girl getting brushed aside.