We had surgery the same day! You look wonderful and I am happy for your success. I have lost 85lbs and I am very happy. I am struggling with body image because I still see myself as fat. I weigh 136lbs and I am 5'1. Your weight will come off before you know it. We are still in the 18mos range where you lose the most weight. Stick to what you are doing and the weight will start coming off again.

AWESOME SUSAN!!! You are doing fantastic. I did my walk...not as long as normal...but, did it! Jeannie

Hey Brenda, You are looking gorgeous!! Whatever it is you are going through...remember to like yourself...love yourself!! You are special...and you have made a huge accomplishment with losing this weight and getting to goal!! If you can handle that....you can handle anything. Remember that!! And remember, we are all here supporting you...we don't need details, we just need to know you need our prayers!! Good luck!! Jeannie

I just got back from my evening jog. I'm up to running for about an hour now, which amounts to about 5 miles at my tortoise's pace, but I can do it without stopping to walk. The weather gave us a nice break today-it got up to 70 or so today, which is rare this time of year here. The mosquitoes aren't out just yet (maybe later in the week, lol), so it was a great jog through the neighborhood. So many ppl had their backyard grills going-the smells were heavenly. I shuffled my way past the college campus which is about 4 blocks north of our house (dh is a prof) and actually got a "HellOO" from a cute college guy (you know, hello with stress on the second syllable-something I haven't heard for 12 or more years). It made me giggle and lightened my step a bit for the next mile or so. There were tons of ppl outside, walking dogs, riding bikes, rollerblading, going for walks. I passed a woman headed in the opposite direction who must have weighed what I did this time last year. She was out for a walk and while she said hello back to me, she did it with a certain...something...bitterness?...that was a HUGE acknowledgement of the fact that I was jogging and must look really, well, skinny to her. I never in a million years would have imagined that I would have come so very far in such a short time. I used to dream (and laugh ruefully) about running a marathon for Neurofibromatosis (www.ctf.org) for my daughter, but I never thought I would really be ABLE to run even ONE mile, never mind 5 without stopping to walk. I struggle every single day with my eating habits; I am a failure of sorts when it comes to self-discipline over what I eat, but I am a success when it comes to exercise. Thank G-d for this surgery and praise to my surgeon and this website for helping me know that it WAS for me and for liberating me from my miserable achy existence. Thank you to each and every one of you for posting. Even when I'm just lurking, it helps me to know how incredibly varied our experiences can be and how very similar they are at the same time. It's nice to read (and remember) what I SHOULD be eating, and at the same time it's nice to read that others also are flawed. It's so helpful to read that so many of us have reached a plateau or a stall for this little part of our journey-I know that we will move beyond it soon. Hugs, Susan OH MY. This was just supposed to be an exercise shout-out, not my personal testimony. Anyone else get movin today?

OMG Natalie you are so SKINNY!!! (said in an admiring way; skinny is good to me) You look GREAT!!! You are a shining example of success and it's great that you're volunteering now! You are going to help so many ppl! You have already helped me. Hugs, Susan