Hi to all my fellow July O6'ers !!!!!!!!!!!

Just waned to pop in and say HI!! I hope you are all doing well. I have a quick question. Where are you in weight loss? How much... and have you come up any?? Heres me: I weigh 120 down from 263 I am still losing and trying now to find my balance of not enough calories and too many. Any help would be great being we are all the same amount of time out Thanks friends

I started at 302 and i am currently at 171. I was down to 168 and really sickly and weak, not eating enough, running too much etc. I was sent to the nutritionist and my surgeon by my family and they wanted me to eat 1200 calories a day for a while. Needless to say I then gain 10 pounds but my blood work, health, etc. improved. Now he has let me cut back on my calories and get back to running. I joined a boot camp at the Y so I have lost 7 pounds and gained about 1.5 pounds of muscle. My strength is really great and I feel really good. I would like to get to 160 or 155, but at my height that is probably very thin. I am smaller now than I have ever been. I wear a six and an eight and a medium. The boobs are GONE, though. I went from a 46 D to a 36b, WOW. I feel you on finding the balance. I am scared to eat and scared not to eat. I overeat some days and under eat on others. It is still a struggle daily. And to think some people have told me I took the "easy" way out. Keep up the good work and congrats on your progress, you are doing great. Can you believe it has almost been 2 years. It is amazing how fast the time has gone by.

Hey thanks for responding! You are SOOO pretty! Man you said it...scared to eat and scared not to. But I think this is how it will be..somedays more others day less and ya hope to balance. Weighing a few times a week keeps that in check... if Im up a couple I watch it then back down. I agree almost two years ! Its hard to imagine!!!!!!!! Keep intouch!

Hi there, I'm 3 pounds away from loosing 200!! I started at 374 and now weigh 177. I'm so darn happy, but would love to get those 3 pounds off, just so I can say "I've lost 200 pounds!" when people ask. My surgeon has said if I decided to have plastics I'd probably loose 10-15 pounds more, but I'm not up for that as of yet. I've been blessed with a grouchy pouchy that doesn't tolerate startches, so 98% of my carbs come from fruits and veggies. I also think having as many complications as I did the first year helps to keep me in check. Not to say those Cheeto's don't find a way into my mouth once a month or so, but heck I do limit it to no more than once a month, something I could have never done before! I've also set rules that I follow to a T! One being - No drive thru's! if I can get off my arse then I don't need it, even in the pouring rain. I'm glad you posted this, I love hearing how everyone is doing! Jan

Hi there Linda! I've lost from 361 day of surgery (highest was 170) to 200....so about 161 so far. I have about 30 pounds to go to goal, but I know it's because I'm terrible about sticking to an exercise routine. I'm still losing a few pounds a month, but it's slow and certainly up one down two, up three, down two kind of thing. I actually find that when I think I blow it and eat too much I lose weight...which tells me that I'm probably not eating enough honestly. I have my appt. to check my labs later this week, so we'll see what those results say. I have a sneaking feeling that my proteins will be low since I've gotten out of the habit of having a supplement (which would be ok if I were eating more protein, but that's difficult for me some days). Thanks for posting this...it is good to catch up with people at the same stage as I am. I've been so MIA on the boards overall, but certainly wonder where I fit amongst my peers. Christina S

Hi There! I began at 367 and I am now at 211. Slow process for me but I am so much better than I was and more than grateful. I am so proud of all my weightloss sisters and brothers for the fabulous job you are doing with your tool. It is not the easy way out, but those who say that are ignorant of the facts about wls. I think anything that totally alters your life is in no way easy. It is easy to talk about things you know nothing about though. Anyway. I am losing inches and working toward my goal. Everyone loses at their own pace so I am no way disappointed. We could all be the exact same day and none have the same weight or inches lost. Isn't that strange. Im sure we didn't all gain the same either. Recovering from a recent bout with the flu. That got rid of a few pounds too! Congrats to all on your successes and prayer for many more "WOW" moments for you! Happier and Healthier me! Huggzz, Bejai!

Started at 377, now around 250. Been there for awhile, have to get back to protiens only but it's hard.

Ive been so down on myself the last 4 months and feel like such a loser. I started out at 394 and Im now at 203..I just havent been able to get below that 200 mark and when ppl talk about being the wt I am now and they are getting surgery ...it really depresses me that I cant get my surgery all over again so I can loose about 60 more lbs. Im wearing a size 16...which when I started at a size 32...I would have give my right arm to be. Im my head Im ok with a size 16...but I look in the mirror and I see all the fat and hanging skin and how gross I still look when Im naked and I get so depressed not to mention the psycological barrier of still be considered obese and not being under that 200 mark......sometimes I just want to scream. I need to get motivated and get to exercising. Im hoping that spring will get me out of my funk....Im hoping I can blame this all on a rotten winter....who knows Mariah

Hello friends! Wow, I had forgotten all about this board, after becoming addicted to the OFF and the Minnesota boards. What a pleasure being able to see and read about my initial peers' progress. YEAY to each and every one of you! I agree with the unbelievability of being thisclose to two years out. Yeah, we're sure living proof WLS is definitely not the 'easy way out.' Update on me: The week before surgery I weighed 239, and am currently hovering between 136 and 139. Had gone up to 145 by the end of January for self-medicating on home-made eggnog ice cream after leaving my boyfriend of nineteen months. He physically assaulted me Nov. 19, then sweet-talked me into dropping charges and even took me to the city attorney to do it. Then was led to believe we were working things out (told him I'd stay if he sought professional help. Then it happened again Jan. 18th, exactly a week before my birthday. So I increased the frequency with my psychologist (who, after almost four years is similar to a best friend, yet maintains the professional boundaries). I subscribe to the adage 'fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.' Now I modified that to: 'physically hurt me once, I'm gone!' I'm learning to free myself of the co-dependency: was taking better care of him (nutritionally, emotionally, and financially), than myself, and I have multiple sclerosis (versus his bi-polar disease, which got insane when he stops his meds and self-medicates with booze and cigarettes). I also did the 5DPT, and upped both the protein and exercise. I've reasserted genuine control and am actually much more social, getting to a weekly MS lunch group, bi-weekly WLS support group, and bi-weekly OH coffee. I feel alive and marvelous, as I'm just too busy to think about the disappointment. Oooh, this is way long, but very catharticas well. Best wishes to each of you, and I 've re-bookmarked this board to remember to check in, especially with our upcoming two-year successes! And isn't it amazing to still be amazed by the Wows?! Take it from me, and always take care of you! Hugs galore, Patti

Hello Linda Anne, Sounds like you've made your tool work for you. I've gone down from my all time high of about 335 pounds to maintaining at anywhere between 153-155 depending on the day of the week. I've had a few upwards slides, but I've been good about keeping on track. It's always nice to check back here and see how everyone else is doing.