I went from a size 24 to a slim 6. I lost a total of 130 lbs and i feel fantastic and would do the surgery all over again if i could. Recently I also had an arm life and a breast lift. In the upcoming months I will be having a tummy tuck. After that, I will be a guaranteed SIZE 4!!!!!

Hi Jackie! Congrats on your year anniversary! Hope you're doing great! I had my surgery on January 13, 2003. It has been 16 months now and I lost a total of 160 lbs. I feel fantastic! I know what you mean about talking to someone sometimes! It's hard to talk to someone who hasn't gone through what we've gone through. They just don't undestand! I live in Chicago, IL., but I would love to just talk once in awhile, whenever you need to. Email me anytime you need to get something off your chest or need a shoulder to lean on! I'm hear for you!!! Sharon Campbell [email protected]

It's amazing that you posted today when I needed to see this post and read your profile. I too want to lose 150 lbs from my surgery day weight and have been battling my doubts about making it. In reading your profile and seeing your weight loss chart I could compare. My weight loss has seemed slow but it seems to compare well to yours which means I really can do this if I just keep doing what I've been doing. Thanks so much for the post and the encouragement it gave me. Best of luck for your continued success.

Hi Hollie...I was going to email you but for some reason I couldn't find an email address for you. I had surgery Jan 6, 2003 and I am about 135 pounds down...about 25 pounds away from my goal. My weight loss has also slowed down dramatically!!! I go 3-4 weeks without losing an ounce! It gets discouraging at times but I don't complain. I am so very proud of where I am now. I also find that I can eat just about anything and those old eating habits are slowing sneaking up on me. I haven't yet figured out how to handle that. The surgery didn't help at all with my lack of will power! The other thing I wanted to share with you is that although I live in Maine now and have for the last 15 years, I lived in Kansas prior and a lot of my fathers family lives in Tulsa. That caught my attention when you said you had surgery there. Small world huh? Anyway...I'd love to talk more with you if you'd like to email me sometime. [email protected] Take Care! Missy

A year ago today, we were all probably just getting used to the surgery and the only thing we really cared much about was losing the weight. Now that you are 15-months or so out from surgery, what are the issues you are dealing with? Are they still weight loss related or something else? For me, I struggle to work out every day. And dilly bars have been my friend lately -- not good except that I keep losing weight when my diet is bad and don't lose weight when my diet is good -- go figure! I monitor my weight regularly and it is going down or staying the same so I don't have the fear that I will gain it back anymore. I am also working on what I want to be when I grow up. I'm ready to stop working for other people and start working for myself. I have so much more energy now that I'm finding ways to use it. What about you? Leslie