Well congratulations to all of you who are about to embark on this remarkable journey. It will be life changing if you let it be. What I mean by that is....be realistic. I am almost a year out..I feel absolutely wonderful....I am starting to feel that I am a member of society again and that I am no longer invisible. I wake up each morning excited for the future and I have to actually remind myself of where I was just a few short months ago....I wouldn't change a thing at this point and can only see the benefits to having had this surgery....BUT... I really wish someone had told me that there would be a time that no matter how hard I worked at this my body might have a mind of its own. It will dictate to me what it wants....and apparently it does not want me to be a size 2.....Again be realistic... You will hit a time when old habits will creep back in and you have to be aware of this....It will happen to everyone but we can do it....especially because we have each other...I personally think that's key....the people here encourage me and keep me on track....learn to forgive yourself for the mistakes you will make along the way and the ones that got you here and move on........LOG EVERYTHING because at times you will forget where you came from and it won't seem good enough....I measure...weigh...and log my goals.....it was only a few days ago that I read a passage in my diary that I realized that I have met the majority of my goals already and I am still well over 200 lbs....I felt large and not very successful at that point until I was reminded of where I was......words from others are encouraging but having these words of my own to look back on really hits home for me..... Stick with the program your doc has set out for you....it is very important and RESEARCH everything.....it's so important to have all the information in front of you so that you can stay on the right track........this is not a diet but a lifestyle change and it's so much easier than we've ever thought possible...at least that is my take on it now and believe me I love to eat......loved it before surgery and love it now....but I am so much smarter about it because I RESEARCHED....nutrition...supports....how my body functions....do it and you won't be sorry Well those are the bits of advice that I felt the need to share with you at this point....I will keep in contact and wish each of you the best of luck.....I'm just a single mom who was once 348 lbs and very unhappy...and now I am living again.....I want that for all of you....whether your road is shorter or longer than mine...we can do this together....take care and God Bless!

Hi everyone, Congratulations and best wishes for the journey you are about to begin. I can't believe how quickly the past year has gone for me! I reached my goal in February, and have been maintaining or slightly below since then. The hardest part of this journey for me was about the first 10 weeks, including the 2 week liquid diet prior to surgery. THAT was by far the most difficult! I did not cheat, but I had food withdrawal, headaches and major irritability. But it was well worth it! And it served as a litmus test to see if I could have the strength to follow the plan after the surgery. I turned 49 in January, and I have to say the process was far easier than I ever expected. I did experience dizziness/light-headedness for about 3 months as my body was basically in a starvation mode. I no longer have the dizziness. I had no local support group, so I made OH my support group. People here are amazing, and will answer every question that might arise. One thing I did not know going into this.... you can, and will be able to eat regular food after a time. I was worried that I'd never be able to eat "normal" again. However, your "normal" does change. I now crave protein a lot. I love red meat, chicken and seafood. And I allow myself the occasional bite of cake, pie or cookies. I have had no complications, and I wish you all the same success. Good luck everyone!

I hear ya. this is takeing up allllll my mental time and this is all I want to think about and do. I know I have to do and want to, but man I am going go crazy waiting

I'm pretty much keeping to myself on the whole thing. Of course my family and my girlfriend know, but only about 2 people at work know anything about it. I only have a few people at work that I would really consider close, and the rest of them can just wonder I guess...LOL. It WILL be a suprise for most of the ones that I do consider close since I have taken a 3rd shift job until mid-July and haven't seen most of them since January. With surgery on 5/5, I'm guessing some of them will see a different me when I go back to day shift in July.

WooooHoooooo Congrats to the quickly approaching May date! Keep coming back for support.