I just wanted to share with everyone my major accomplishment of the past year of losing over 100 pounds - I had a vertical sleeve gastrectomy on 4/24/2010.  It really is the best decision I have ever made and I am so proud of myself for changing my whole life!  I love to exercise now, and my goal is to become a yoga and pilates teacher.  I have some loose skin on my arms and thighs which I hate, but I am hoping it will lessen as I get closer to my goal and in the following year of maintenence.  I am so happy I am healthy, active, and have overcome a lifelong struggle with my difficult relationship with food.  I eat what I like within reason - this surgery taught me what reason is!  I have such a sense of freedom - all that weight was like a prison of my own creation.  One of my cousin's kids weighs exactly the amount of weight I had lost so far...I gave her a piggyback ride and feeling how heavy she was on my back, I could not believe I was carrying that around every day.  I thank the people on OH for giving me so much information and hope in the beginning of my weight loss journey, I hope that I can do the same for the new people coming in now!  

Here's my before and after! 
www.obesityhelp.com/myoh/photos/733673/album/Old-me/

Wonderful.Wow. You lost a ton! You look so happy and beautiful.

My aappetite is not small, although it is much smaller then pre-surgery.  

I needed to be told of capacity limit's, so I didn't go over.  My stomach has never experienced "not" feeling hungry, and I never had to find out by trial and error that something contained too much of anything. (ex: sauteed veggies)  

I never had any concrete food plan to follow, I guess they assumed it would just all fall into place on it's own.  You know "eat sugar free, eat low fat, no fried foods, no soda, etc" Well someone also needed to say try to "keep it no more then X-AMOUNT"

We eat on the run a lot, I was always told "not a problem, you'll never fini**** so take the rest home" and that's what I do. They said, after the surgery, you won't be able to eat a lot, so you'll be fine, just stop at your first sign of fullness.

WELL I'M NOT FINE!

A year later and I'm only down 69 pounds. (from pre-surgery) and 84 pounds (from surgery deciding weight) Still 6 pounds from my lowest do-it-yourselfer weight loss a few years earlier. (and 25 of THAT is because I was re-hospitalized 10 day's after surgery and had to delay eating for another 2 weeks)

Dr's restrictions on weight strengthening (due to medical issues) and bursitis preventing more walking then I'd like. (you should see me limping on the treadmill)  But still, I did more on my own variation of Atkins Diet.

I'm thinking that crying and hearing my stomach growl, from being hungry, will be forever.

You look so great!! And the short hair compliments you very well! Good job friend!!

Life does go on and many times it's easy to forget I had surgery. Congratulations on your anniversary too! Cheers!