A year out

06/06/08 and I will be a year out. Where has it gone? Well 99 pounds of it have left me and they call me a slow loser. I have gained though so much knowledge and much better health. Am I glad I did this? Yes. Was I scared? Yes but I turned it over to the Lord. Did I get mixed reviews from family and friends on my decission in the beginning? Yep. Did I cheat on the 2 week pre diet? Yea one day 2 days before, I had steak and a yeast roll. They want your orgins to shrink to be able to limit possible damage to the liver which sits on your stomach or the spleen since they are all right there together. Under drastic dieting aparently this organs do shrink faster which innables them to lift them up and out of the way. Was I hungery after surgury yea I guess so. Things smell so good but the nerves having something to do with taste is severed so things taste different for about 6 months untill they heal. Yes taste and hunger do come back as these real nerves heal so you have 6 months to lose alot and get it under control. Expect your taste buds to taste chemicals in water and foods. Expect it to all taste like candy if you go fresh and organic. Honestly. I still have issues with some tap waters and processed salads. I promise most of you will be able to eat your favorites again but not as much and why would you? BUt you will just have to learn to be the soldier of disipline. You will have days way out when you will be sure you have ate to much and ruined your pouch but most likely you haven't. Like I said much later on you will find some of your old enemies like chips will still go down with out filling you up, hence the possiblility of gaining. Slider foods and drinking with meals will push them through your pouch easier the farther you get out. There is areason they send us to the nutrionist and the pschologist. It is to get us mentally aware of our food issues and to help us through our old habits. I suggest you are always honest with your Doctor's....they won't go back and take your surgery away but they need to know the truth in case there are real issues. You won't be the first to cheat, stray or get scared and you won't be the last. Remember there are more of us out there who have succeeded than failed that you won't hear about. Lastly make great friends here, don't be afraid to ask questions and vent. It will be a great physical andemotional journey. Oh one more thing...about 3 weeks out almost everyone stalls. Your body is catching up. It will happen again about 3 months later and a few other times. Don't worry it isn't over you will still keep losing that first year! Good Luck everyone and visit last Junes and Mays board to see where folks are at but remember we are all different, we lose different, have different diets and so on so love yourself, don't be hard on yourself!

hi lynn my surgery date is 6/10 im very new to this site and to be honest scared that im doing the right thing im 52 and have 4 yr old twins and at 319 ive developed all the regular problems diabeties meds. cpap machine trouble playing on the floor etc. and as you stated im getting all kinds of advice from everyone (most of them have no idea what they are talking about) they talk out of fear,things they heard on the news, or just the ever popular "well they say " who ever they is but reading your 1 year out just set me straight and i just wanted to say thanks . i did not intend it to be so long just thanks frank

99 pounds! Thats wonderful. My surgery is June 2nd. I can't wait. I know I have made the right choice. Congrats on all you have accomplished!

Thank you for your honesty and encouragement. I will have my surgery the first week of June 08 and I am nervous. Your post was very helpful to me. I know it's not going to be a picnic, but I also know being this fat is no picnic either. Thanks again and continued good luck!