OH MY GOSH!!!! Ruth, you did it!!! I am so proud of you!!! Do you know that the very first mile is the toughest by far? I always, always struggle through my first mile and then things start to loosen up from there. Just think, you will be running 2 miles before you know it! You just opened up a whole new world to yourself! You NEED to sign up for a 5K event ... if you can run 1 mile, you can run 3 miles ... you totally can do it! And, you get this huge sense of accomplishment when you complete your races ... you will love the high you get from it! I'm so excited for you! Hurray, you are a RUNNER Ruth! A runner!!! --Deanna

Thanks Andi - your understanding means a lot to me. I will definitely keep in better touch from now on. We all need support - no one else truly understands what this is like. Take care, Heather

Thanks Andi! You are always so positive. Sorry for the delay in responding - I've been out of town. I'm struggling with a 18lb regain from goal (due to medications, lack of exercise), so I'm a bit frustrated. I think being a regular member of this message board will help me get back on track. Plus I missed you all! Talk to you later, Heather

How much of your excess weight have you lost? Doctors regard wls a success if the patient has lost 70% or more of their excess weight. Here is the formula: beginning weight less goal weight (or normal bmi maximum weight) gives the total excess weight. divide this number by 100 to get 1% Then take total pounds lost so far (ie beginning weight less current weight) and divide by the 1% figure. Answer gives the total % of excess weight lost. eg, using my numbers: 266 (beginning weight) less 154 (highest I can be to have a normal bmi) = 112 (total of my excess weight) 112 divided by 100 = 1.12 lbs which is 1% of my total excess weight I have lost 96lbs so far (266 less 170 current weight) so 96 divided by 1.12 = 85.7% Woohoo, even if I don't feel it at times - my wls was a success. I bet yours was too...........

I get cold a lot too. Not as much now as I did at first. I remember when I 1st. had my surgery I would get so cold that I'd have to get out of bed and go outside and find some sun to sit in just to warm up. and if that didn't work my daughter would pile covers on me until I could just stop shaking. Glad to hear I wasn't the only one that went through this. My doctor told me it was from having all that weight for so many yrs. to keep me warm and then it being gone. It's like when you put insulation in your house and it stays warmer, but over the years you lose some of it and your house doesn't hold the heat in as good any more. You house gets colder in the winter and hotter in the summer. Well he said thats the way our body is. Once we started losing our padding we didn't hold the heat in as well and we get cold. It never goes completely away but it does get a little better as time goes by. Here's to staying warm and losing that extra padding God Bless and keep up the good work, we are all in this together. Hope to see Less of you all soon!!! Libby G. in Boiling Springs, SC