Celebrate and have a good time! Yipee Skipee, Babette has been warned! She is getting evicted soon! Today is my 1 yr surgeversy and I had my 1 yr app't yesterday and the surgeon asked me if I was ready to deliver when he walked into room and saw Babette! Of course I don't have a date yet but I do have app't next Fri with plastic surgeon who will be doing the Tummy Tuck when Babette is moved. My surgeon will repair the hernia then PS will come in and do TT. With Medicare being my primary and Babette being a very large hernia family, the rashes and other medical problems that are going along with her. Both the Surgeon and the PS office said there should be no problem with approval's. So even without a date at least I am moving forward! Ok now as to the rest of the news! I have been stressing for weeks now because I consider myself to be slow loser....and that Surgeon/Nut would not be happy with my progress to date. NOT Silly me, they were thrilled with my progress especially since I was under such physical handicap's for most of this past year. According to their generalized schedule, I am right where I should be for someone who started out at my age, weight, bmi, height. Yipeeeee what a wow that was! Now for the other wow and insensitive men! The surgeon's office was fairly full yesterday with post-ops and a smattering of pre-ops. One gentleman started a conversation off with my DH and said, it is so nice that your wife is supporting your weight loss decision, to which the reply was "I am not getting WLS my wife had it a year ago" The guys jaw dropped and in front of his wife who had surgery about the same time he said. "she doesn't look like she ever needed or had surgery" "my wife has only lost 90 lbs" His wife also walked with 2 canes and leg braces! He was not the only one to compliment me in that fashion and even though it felt good to me, the looks on the wives faces said it all. Hurt and disappointment. MEN! Bless my DH, he looked proud as could be that someone thought I looked good but he also made sure he remarked on how good the wives were looking and congradulated them on their loss! I guess he has retained some of the lessons I have tried to teach him over the years! So folks beware! Even when you mean no harm, watch what you say to someone else, it may come across as a put down to your loved one! Congrats to all of us March 07 losers! We have come a long way in a very short time! Highest Wt 360 Surgery Wt 333 Curent Wt 191 Goal 150

Hi Jennifer I am so proud of us, All of us. They aren't little steps we have come they r "gigantic" steps. We can now cross our legs when we sit, sit in any chair without the fear of it breaking, we can put socks or shoes on without struggling, We have lost a person. WOO HOO! People think we have maybe gotten easier then dieting only BUT it took alot of courage to have surgery. The weight came off easier & faster but all the emotions and changes r extremely hard. We r going though it sooo fast, we can't keep up. You have come a long way and you deserve the very best. Take care Kat

Wow, you guys are the BEST!!! I haven't had time to reply to each post over the last couple of days but I have read every single one and I truly appreciate everything that you took time to post. It is so comforting to know that this boat holds more than just one person and to be reminded of the big picture of this journey. We attended the Thunder Nationals (Monster Truck Show) last night at our Civic Center and it is quite a walk from the parking lot to the center and then up the ramp to get to the doors to enter, then all the way around to the other side that we were sitting on and up the stairs to the seat, then over all of the people who are sitting on the ends of the rows... You get the picture. I haven't done an event at the Civic Center since before surgery so I was happy to see that I didn't get winded at all. It was cool. Oh, and all of the people just stood up and let me by instead of having to file out of their seats to let me in because before there would have been no way that I could have fit between them and the seats... Little moments like that bring me back to reality and remind me of just how far I have come. If the doc or his partner make me feel like I haven't met their expectations, I will be ready to comment about just how far I have come and how happy I am with my progress. That is what matters. Thanks everyone. Jenifer

You're doing great!! I haven't lost as much as you but am not too far behind at 117. I have been dating too, not for the first time but the first time in a LONG time! I'm almost 46 though. It is weird though, the whole dating and all, often I still see myself the same, as I was pre-surgery, and yet I know I have changed drastically! I have a ways to go though. THe changes that impact me the most are all positive ones, like not getting winded taken a flight of stairs, fitting in booths in restaurants and in other seats like movies and airplanes, not being in pain every day, more energy, feeling "normal" for the first time in like forever!

JENNIFER I hope you see this GET OFF YOUR BACK Girl you have lost 91 lbs!!!!! And you are in a size 18 instead of a 26/28! Congratulations!!!!! And I bet that you cant gain 12 pounds in a day now either! I am one year on the 28th. I dread the year mark because it resonates "you will lose your weight in the first year" and that translates in my mind to "your time is up" and "you didn't even try,you didn't go to the gym, you didn't drink water, you didn't ________-" (put whatever there) Then I remember oh yea I have been pretty busy over the last year , I mean, it isn't easy waking up after surgery and realizing in the next weeks and months that I still think I am ME but I have to adjust to being ME and also be a good "weight loss success person" and on the way somewhere I turned into someone who "people don't recognize because I look so different" and at times during the last year it has felt like being in one of those movies where a guy goes into a coma and wakes up and has a totally new life, I don't know if you have any idea what I mean, but my point is, You have done perfect And you have already met success And the future holds more for you Size does matter but pleasure or pain success or gain don't let anyone tell you your time is up Your friend ang