Niurka, how wonderful for you on your rebirthday to be able to say you not only have lost 146 pounds but you are pregnant. Best wishes to you. Please keep us updated. Paula

today is my one year anniversary and I'm just soo excited I'm down from 440 pounds to 294 and I am finally pregnant Im 11 weeks pregnant and I love my life I thank dr schram for giving me soo much I love him and if its a boy Im naming him after him!!

Oh Jody. I too have been very anxious, especially this last month. Thank you for bringing up your increased depression and anxiety. I do believe I need an anti-anxiety med to help me for a while too. I have a long term h/o depression. My anti-depressants help to correct the chemical imbalance in my brain. My good friend, (my good ex-friend) food used to help me cope with anxiety however. I cannot get myself back on track of 3 meals a day, without snacks. I have been grazing all day just like a cow. I have gained 7 pounds this last month alone. My choices have not been bad. Oh no, I somehow gained 7 pounds on appropriate healthy foods. My daughter and I live together and we've both had wls and we both gain weight by just looking at certain foods!! I know my anxiety is d/t my extreme fear of failure. I was 2 pounds away from goal last month and I just panicked. I have never been able to maintain before and I'm soo afraid of failing once again. Thank you for sharing. I'm sorry you are feeling upset. I know it has helped me to know that others are feeling the same way. You are right you will get back into good habits and I will too. Good luck to us all!! Paula

Thanks for sharing Jody. You never know when something you write is what someone else needs to hear. I've been significantly more tired lately and hadn't even recognized that how much my sugar intake had crept up until I read it in your posting and gave it some hard, honest thought. (I'm also a Pop tart junkie (brown sugar cinnamon) and cannot have them in the house!) You're sure not the only one dealing with these types of issues. Food will alwalys be my "thorn in the flesh" but I'm trying hard to deal with not falling into old, familiar habits. My anniversary is Saturday and I'm up 3 pounds and feeling vulnerable. It's so reassuring to hear from others who are just pulling up their boot straps and doing what needs to be done. So am I. I'm back to pushing water, drinking the protein like I'm supposed to and cutting all snacks during the day. Here's to us all...we haven't come this far, just to fail. Julie 254/148

Jody, I too have a SO who HAS to have sweets around. It is also extremely difficult for me to stay out of it. One thing I've done, though, is put my own 'treats' in front of his so I'm more apt to stay out of it. I've been trying to buy more fruit and less cookies, so that helps as well. You're right, you ARE strong and DO have all the willpower you need. You've come so far in your journey to not make your eating habits a priority at this point. We're all rooting for you here, and a lot of us are seeming to have some of the same issues with our relative addictions. I think the only thing keeping me in check these days is my exercise schedule and the fact that I'm pretty sure I suffer from a later form of dumping if my lunch meal has too many carbs. I think we are all still doing a little bit of learning about how to continue with the lessons we've learned to this point. Turning our surgeries into long-term success stories by continuing the good habits we've tried to get into. I believe you will overcome. Linn