Both of you deserve huge congratulations for coming so far in so little time. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Yes, there is a limited amount of "losing time" but the lessons we learn during that time will live with us forever. I learn new lessons every day. Yesterday's lesson was about depressions. I just can't get my Christmas spirit to blossom. When this type of feeling hit, I would just eat till it went away. Last night was the first time I realized that I made the healthy choice before eating too much of the wrong thing and getting sick. Don't get too discouraged. The scale will always start moving again. It's taken me two weeks to lose two pounds. I'm at the end of my losing cycle, I think. I wanted to lose 105 pounds and I've lost 96. Only 4 pounds to the Century Club and 9 pounds to goal. I have to fight for those 9 pounds, but I'm satisfied with my body, my decision to have this procedure and my life even if I never lose another ounce!! Happy Holidays!! L*

Hi Danielle, I know just how you feel. I have been stuck in the 180's for over 2 months now. Yes, it sucks. But, I have eaten things that I know I shouldn;t have and I havent exercised like I should either. The first 11 weeks for me was pure hell on earth. I dumped more than once on a daily basis. Then one morning I woke up and it was ok. I still get nausous[ didn't spell it right I know} but that is ok too. I am glad of that because it does keep me from eating too much. I was away from the board for several months and when I was able to get back I came here to the April board and got very upset at how far behind I seem to be. As I have read other profiles I have seen how strict they have been and how they exercised too and I haven't done that. Yes it is aggravating that we can't eat like we used to, but isn't that what the surgery was for. Yes I have gotten mad like you have many many times, but now I have come to my senses. I thank God above that I dump and get sick when I overeat or eat too much sweets. I love the way I look and feel now. I have found out that people that I thought were my friends when I was obese are not my friends now. They don't like the fact that I look as nice as they do. I don't wake up depressed anymore, and when I look in the mirror I now see the person inside me looking back at me and not a stranger. I love it. Please, see yourself as the beautiful woman that we see you are. I eat the cookies and candies too and feel really bad about it but I just look at it as it is going to take me longer to get the weight off . None of us are perfect and we are all different. We must accept ourselves and just be the best that we can possibly be. We all care about you. Just enjoy your life to the fullest and don't be so hard on yourself. I care, Judy

Hey everyone....wishing you the best during the holidays!! My WOW came at the mall too. $$$ is a little tight this year and I hit the clearance rack at the Gap and got two pairs of dress pants that were origianlly priced at $68.00 each for $19.99!! I LOVE ME SOME CLEARANCE RACKS!!! I'm 5 pounds away from the Century Club and 10 pounds from my goal. This has been the most amazing experience of my life... L*

Good Morning Everyone, I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and got all of their Christmas shopping done. It's Monday morning and it's confession time. Who had a WOW moment(s) this week? I had several. My first WOW moment was at Wal-Mart. I had my oil changed in my car and as I was leaving the mechanic was trying to get my phone number from me. My second WOW moment was at Old Navy. I tried on some pajama bottoms and my man said try on a medium I bet they will fit. Well, he was right, I got into a medium. WOW me and a medium never went in the same sentence. My third WOW moment was Saturday. Tracy and I went to the mall, it was my first adventure in the mall since WLS and let me tell you it was AWESOME! I was able to go into any store I wanted and try on anything I wanted too!!! We walked the mall for about 3 hours and neither one of us ever got tired. We couldn't have done that before WLS. My fourth WOW moment was Sunday. Tracy and I had to go back to the mall to get another gift. We went to Dillards and I asked the sales lady where the petite section was and she never looked at me like I was nuts. She simply pointed me in the right direction and even offered to help me. My fifth WOW moment was going into Victoria's Secret and getting waited on. In the past they never would have offered to help me. That was a good feeling. And the BEST WOW moment this week was losing 6 lbs. Whether you are pre-op, post-o*****n-op we love to hear about your WOW moments. It keeps others motivated and going. So, come on out and share them with us so we can cheer you on to victory. Gina

I can relate ton that Danielle, I have went back to the basics for the past week and I finaly got the scales to drop. I was so paraniod going into my 8 month check up on Thursday.. I thought my surgeon was going to chew my a$$, but he just said to keep up the good work! I found out that I was getting in to many carbs. Those darn Ritz crackers are so addicting... Also I am doing more cardio at the gym now too and that has helped.. My surgeon says that I have lost about 40% of the fat that I started out with and that the muscle that the muscle is making the scales go up higher.. Because muscle holds more water weight. I was only able to go for 4 minutes on the treadmill when I started 8 weeks ago and now I can go the full 15 minutes. Keep up the Great Work ! Happy Holiday's to you and your Family! Tom