It's a great feeling, looks like you will be there soon.  We had our surgeries close to each other.
Hope you are doing well with your progress.   Are you having any trouble with any foods?  I have discovered I can't do scrambled eggs or omelettes.

Joanne

I am so excited that I finally have a 1 in front of my weight instead of a 2.  It was such a great feeling to see 198 at my weight for the first time in probably 14 years.    It was fun to find bins of clothes in my basement that I forgot that I had kept that I now fit into and many are actually big on me as I haven't been this low in such a long time.   Motivation is high and I just wanted to share with all of you my celebration.

Joanne

 ****Any NSV's or SV's.**** 
I have a lot more energy and I am down from a 28W pants to a 22W pants and down a 2-3x to a 1x
****What stage are you on?****
  I can eat anything. I am trying to eat more vegetables but it is hard since I don't like vegetables.

****How are you doing with it****
 I'm doing okay. I have so much more energy.

****How much are you eating now?**** 
About 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup. 

****Any complications so far?**** 
The only complication I had was an infection before I got out of the hospital but antibotics cleared that right up.

****Where are you emotionally?**** 
I feel fantastic.

****So far what has been you biggest surprise?**** 
How easy this is

****What has been your hardest obstacle?****
Finding bras that fit. I have big breast and I am having a hard time finding bras.

****Anyone tried drinking alcohol yet?****
  I haven't had any alcohol. I had decided to stop drinking before I had the surgery because it would always make me hot. So I didn't care if I drank or not so it was easy to give up.

****Any NSV's or SV's.****
I can fit into a size 16, from a snug 22/loose 24. People notice my weight loss in photos now--and doesn't the camera add 10 lbs

****What stage are you on?****
Full normal foods

****How are you doing with it****
I'm doing alright, sometimes I feel like I'm gross, then the other times I feel like I'm the sexiest woman alive (which so isn't the case...lol). The hardest is when the scales don't move all the time. It was easy the first few weeks when I'd get on the scale every day and it'd drop atleast a lb each time...not so easy when you do the same thing, and it goes up .5 from the day before, or doesn't move at all.

****How much are you eating now?****
I eat between 1/4 (2oz) to 1/2 (4oz) a cup depending on what it is. I can also drink about 8 oz of a protein smoothie in about a 20 minute period.

****Any complications so far?****
none, and I'm so thankful for that!

****Where are you emotionally?****
I'm pretty stable. However, I notice around "that time of month" I get more emotional than I ever have in my life. I was never on for PMS (or atleast, i don't think so), but now it's CRAZY!

****So far what has been you biggest surprise?****
that it actually happened. I've thought about having WLS since I was 23. I never thought that I would a) work up the nerve to talk to my doctor about it, and b) actually get approved for it.

****What has been your hardest obstacle?****
Going two weeks at a time not loosing...getting up and exercising, and getting all my fluid and protein in.

****Anyone tried drinking alcohol yet?****
nope, my husband and I don't drink at all, so I don't have to worry about it

****Any NSV's or SV's.**** 
I'm feeling great.  Everything is easier when you are down 40+ pounds.

****What stage are you on?****
I am on a normal diet but avoid high fat and anything with a sugar content > 16 g's per serving. 

****How are you doing with it****
 I'm doing okay. I find it difficult to get all the fluids in.  Before surgery, I was lucky to drink 16 ozs of fluids all day - including coffee - so this has been a real struggle.

****How much are you eating now?**** 
I eat about 1/2 cup of food at a sitting?  I can eat an entire protein bar (1.5 oz size) but it is very filling.  My daily protein shake is ~ 8 - 10 ozs.

****Any complications so far?**** 
I had an impacted bowel 10 days out of surgery and two of my incisions did not heal for a couple of months.  I had to go to a wound specialist daily for a couple of weeks and three times a week for another couple of weeks before it healed.  I also had some weird hot flashes and sensory memory experiences that disappeared after I introduced small amounts of carbs to my diet.

****Where are you emotionally?**** 
My emotional health has been really good.  I had one black moment on the second morning after my surgery and I do mean BLACK.  I was convinced my body would reject the surgery and that "this life was not worth living."  Very dramatic stuff.  It was very fleeting though.  I called my Primary Care Doctor and she was at the hospital within the hour.  She put things in perspective when I said "what have I done" she responded "you have saved your life."  That kind of put things in prespective and I never looked back.

****So far what has been you biggest surprise?**** 
No need for pain pills after 36 hours and how easy this really has been for me overall.  I don't feel hungry, I don't dump and I'm not feeling deprived.

****What has been your hardest obstacle?****
Drinking water.

****Anyone tried drinking alcohol yet?****
Nope.  I didn't drink much before and don't expect to drink much after.  I have a lot of respect for the prospect of cross addiction and come from a long line of alcoholics.  Why tempt fate?

Catherine