Awesome tranformation. I loved your comment that when you looked in the mirror you now see a beautiful black butterfly. I have always associated this journey with the butterfly too: Caterpillar stage: running around with a million tasks to do to get approval and ready for surgery; Cacoon stage: Approval in hand, waiting for surgery to happen Butterfly: we start emerging from the cacoon the minute we wake up from surgery. It takes time to break free and test our wings but soon we are flying free just like a butterfly. Congratulations. Mary

Thank you so much Wanda. What is so great about this site is the amount of support and positive comments you get here. Sometimes, this group is easier to talk to than my own family. I guess it is because we truly can relate to one another. I am just glad I have this site... Andrea

I am glad you found these pictures. At least I am not going crazy. Although she is pregnant, those first few photos are about as unflattering as any I have ever seen. I feel like poor Carnie will forever be living in a fishbowl; the media pounces all over her, and never misses an opportunity to criticize her weight.

WOW, WoW wow!! You look great. Always great to hear from others that have taken this journey and had great results. Did I mention you look great! Your Hubby had a wonderful wife before WLS, Now has a Hot wonderful wife! We all have to have an attitude, it comes with the territory and the way our fat lives have been and will no longer be! We change physically and emotionally too. Enjoy your new re birth and what ever else life has to offer! Dale

Next wednesday, the 16th, will be a year for me. Happy re-birthday everyone! I posted a few weeks ago about worrying about my eating habits and the fear of gaining weight back. Since then I have been having terrible anxiety attacks and depression has really kicked in big time. I have gone to my psychiatrist and got on some meds for both the anxiety and depression. I'm feeling better now. Before the meds kicked in, I was eating REALLY badly! Back to my old self...found myself eating a full bag of microwave butter popcorn and I bought a box of Chocolate Fudge Pop Tarts and ate two packages of them in one sitting. At work I would eat a whole box of Mike & Ike's and some Nestle Crunch bite size bags. All other kinds of bad stuff. I decided yesterday that today I'm going back to basics - soups, protein shakes, water, broths, sf popsicles, jello. I'm going to do this for a week so I can hopefully start dumping if I go back into sugar mode again. I'm thinking with the combination of my meds and my re-birthday and the thoughts and rememberences of being 350 lbs will kick in my will power and give up that bad sh*& that I've been putting into my belly. I'm finding myself more tired than I was a month or two ago. I'm also finding I have diarrhea a LOT lately. So far today I've had a cup of cream of celery soup. A Slim Fast Low Carb Chocolate Royale shake and 20 oz of water so far. I went grocery shopping this morning and I bought my partner food for the week. He's a sugarholic too and it's hard for me to know that all the foods that I am addicted to are sitting in the pantry. I cannot throw them out because I can't force my necessities and bad habits on him. I am strong and have will power and can get back into my healthy good habits. I can and I will!!!!!!