Happy anniversary to you too......Life is wonderful for me also. I too have tummy tuck and hernia repair scheduled in April. I am most thankful for an insurance company who understood the necessity of this surgery and kept their promise to pay for it. Keep up the good work and have a wonderful year Jan P 326/190/1??

I am 20 pounds from my goal also. I know another march 2003 girl who is 20 pounds away also. That is funny. We have all lost different amounts but are all 20 pounds from goal. 232/160/140.

HERE IS A VERY DISTURBING POST: I have taken the liberty of copying a post of a WLS patient that is 42 yrs old. All I can say is that DOCTORS ARE NEW AT THIS SURGERY. WE ARE ALL EXPERIMENTS as this surgery has not been approved and is still experimental. Doctors do not know everything about this surgery. We must learn from one another as we are the rats in the lab and the world is watching us. Here it is: Well, the final diagnosis is in. I have Osteopenia, one step away from Osteoporosis. I simple slip or fall can cause a fracture or a break. This is all caused from taking the wrong type of calcium supplement for 4 years. And to make matters worse my surgeon is still telling his patients it is ok to take TUMS for their calcium. I just want to scream NO!!!!!!!!!!!!! I now need to take 1500mg of calcium citrate and 800mg of vitamin D daily and that is just in hopes that I don't go into full blown Osteoporosis. My rheumatologist will do another bone density scan in 6 months to see where things stand. She suggested that ALL gastric by pass patients have a bone density scan at least 1 year out of surgery and then every year after that. Since there are no real studies on how we absorb calcium and exactly what type I cannot go after my surgeon or my primary care physician for malpractice. The legal society considers this surgery a "fad" at the moment. One attorney I spoke with said that in a couple of years, less than 5 this surgery will no longer be done because of the premiums for malpractice insurance for the surgeons. They won't be able to afford it. All I can say is please, please watch your calcium intake. Make sure you are getting what you need. I am almost 4 years out of surgery and am paying a huge price for not having the right calcium. I have lost 4" in height over the last 4 years, my fibromyalgia is back and now I have Osteopenia. Please watch your calcium and vitamin D.

This is a two-part question. 1. What are some foods that are low in carbs, fat grams and calories? 2. What is a good daily intake for a WLS patient for carbs, fat grams and calories? Many Blessings, Marilyn Lexington, KY 341/263/175 3/27/03 (-78lbs)

Hi Marilyn, Your diet looks fine. I would wonder more about your sodium intake. The salt will cause you to retain water and slow your weightloss too. So you should be drinking at least 80oz if you are consuming a lot of salt. It does look like you need some fiber in your diet. How about adding some veggies to your calorie intake. I know that when I have some good fiber carbs, my body burns fat and I lose better than if I am eating totally protein. My body seems to like it when I get at least 50 carbs per day when I am working out. You need that for energy. How high is your heartrate for your workouts? How often are your working out? And how long have you been working out? I don't know how old you are but you should be working out at your maximum heart rate range. The higher your heart rate the more fat you burn. You should be increasing your cardio workouts by 5 minutes every wee****il you are doing about an hour. Then once you reach that goal, you should increase the intensity so you don't have to work out so long. I hope this helps you... Keisha