I uploaded a picture of me my husband took this morning. I love taking pictures now... Please check it out!

We had 34 participants this month. We've lost a total of 4305 pounds! About 126.6 pounds per person. At a rate of about 2.34 pounds per week. We've lost an average of 88% of our excess weight! xosm

Thank you Beth! I luv ya girl... SB2

Thanks, it's definately been a great year for me. Since 2/5/2007 I've managed to lose 140 lbs. I'm going to try my best to lose another 18-20 before the end of summer. I think once I open the pool it will be much easier for me. Robin D.

Hi Marie, I think you are doing great! I've noticed that with the pounds I've lost since 200, my body feels the difference [my knees and back don't hurt as much]. I hope that will happen with your back, too. These past two months I am losing like mad [for me], so I'd have to say that one of the things I've learned is that this 'tool' still works as well as I work IT. I have been working hard towards making or being very close to my goal when I see the surgeon later this month. I want to have my hernia repaired with TT as soon as possible. I did have an altered body image, I still feel like a big girl. I was [I am actually am wearing one of the sweatshirts today] still wearing my 5x tops and just rolling my big girl stretchy pants at the waist, and it's just recently I can see myself that I look RIDICULOUS in these too big clothes [they are certainly comfy, though!]. Today I went into the basement again to try on my jeans before baby, they are a JUNIORS size 11 and THEY FIT [needless to say they aren't in the basement anymore and I'm wearing them to work Monday]. I am only about 8 pounds from where I was when I wore them last, and my fat apron is way worse, but these pants fit and they are comfortable and I'm just besides myself with that realization. And looking in the mirror, yeah, I actually see that I'm not a 5x anymore, which is seriously so cool. What I learned about food, for me, making better choices WORKS. Eating right makes me FEEL BETTER, physically and mentally. I *can* eat anything I want, and yeah, sometimes [more than enough!] I do just chose to have some junk, but for the first time in my life I can and do feel the difference in the quality of my life when I eat and live healthy, and that makes it a no-brainer for me. I started a new job in January and on my breaks I have some fresh fruit or a cottage cheese double. I do ENJOY it [that's something else I learned since surgery, I enjoy FRUIT], but sometimes I'm stressed out working [I work in a grocery store] and I look around and think I just want a bag of chips or some cookies. But come break time, I still make the better choice [and I still give credit here to the fact that I am still in the honeymoon phase of the surgery and the tool works at helping me make the choice]. Yesterday one of the other employees remarked that I am always eating something 'healthy' and how he admired that. First I thought, WHO ME? But yeah, I DO and I feel good about it. I learned that my husband is happy when I'm happy. I don't know if he SEES the change, this is the man that loved me when we met and I was 250 pounds, and loved me when I lost weight and gained it all back and up to over 300. I don't think he sees size as much as he sees that I'm healthy again, much happier - and it's just easy for us to be happy together. But he did refer to the summer after we met today, and ask me how much I weighed that July 4th, because "your were skinny then." I weighed around 200 pounds if we're thinking of the same day LOLOL. He has no idea what it means when I brag about fitting into my 'Juniors' jeans - but he'll be the first to say 'good for you!' He's said he feels amazed that I lost almost as much as some men weigh. And I tell him about the extra attention I've recently gotten from men [there's a guy at work who moons over me, it's really quite funny] and we can laugh together about it, even better. The extra attention from men is odd, more so because I feel 'old' not because I don't feel beautiful [not in a bad way, just in a 'I can't believe I'm close to the 40 milestone kinda way]. I wish I was 27 with this figure, but then I wouldn't have my hubby and daughter, and they made me what I am today, not the surgery or the weight loss. OK, so what else have I learned? I learned that I have to work for the weight loss [granted, easier, but it doesn't just disappear never to be heard from again] and I DON'T MIND working for it. I learned I have bones and muscles, too. I have ribs, a collar bone, I can feel my abdominal muscle from the outside. I learned that when I move too fast, which I can do now, I'm still clumsy - so, no, gracefulness does not come with WLS I learned that when I run, which I can do now, my fat apron flaps. Gross. But my 4 year old doesn't seem to mind now that I can actually play tag. I learned that I don't think this is the beginning, or the end of anything, it's just my life and yeah, I'm happy to be living it. Thanks for this post, Marie. It made me realize again how lucky I am. xosm