Hey all! I took a 6 mos "after" pic yesterday and shared it with friends via email. Wow! What a difference from my pre-op pic wearing the same shirt.... How many of you have good pre-op pics to use as a "before" pic?? I had to look hard to find mine as I never let pics of me be taken at 410 pounds! Who wants to see THAT?? Not me, that was for sure! But, now that I'm losing the weight and my life is changing for the better, I don't mind the camera anymore. It is sort of hard to get OUT of the role of picture taker when it has always been you (to avoid being IN the pic) for so many years! Folks just expect you to do it! Now, I have to actually plan to have a pic taken in order to get it done! LOL Anyway, I posted my before/after pics at the top of the "my story" part of my profile... If you are interested, you can check it out at http://obesityhelp.com/member/lea2be Hugs, Lea 410/288/175?

Hey Leah! Sounds like you're doing great--in ONEderland too!! I hope to make it there too! I live 25 miles away from the closest place to workout and that is a Curves. I try to get there at least 2 if not 3 times per week. Then, the rest of the time, I have my exercise bike for cardio and hauling water buckets to the horse trough for resistance! LOL Then, of course, there is laundry, sweeping, mopping, dishes, etc every day. I got so hot hauling water to the mares the other day that I sweat all the way through the layer of clothing closest to my skin. And, my face was all flush like after I do the Curves thing 3 times around the circuit! I carry two 7 gallon buckets at once and they are filled 2/3 of the way full, so about 40 pounds each, one in each hand and tromping through the snow and ice... It can be a workout both mentally (praying you stay upright!) AND physically. I do log my food/liquid intake each day, but I do it in an Excel spreadsheet I made up myself. I have a list of foods entered in now that is over 450 items long and don't need to look stuff up very often these days... I average about 55 to 60 carbs most days. Anytime I eat less than 50 carbs per day, I get that lovely brain fog back again.... I can NOT stand that! So, I try and make sure I don't go below 40-50 per day for the net carbs. My daily calorie intake averages between 900 and 1000 for the monthly average. Some days I get 1150 to 1200, but most days are 1000 or less. I get 65 to 80 grams of protein most days and I get my 64 oz of fluids almost every day without fail and some days are closer to 80 oz. Keep it up! Sounds like you're doing everything right! Hugs, Lea

I've stalled quite a few times. Once for about 5 weeks and recently for about 2-3 weeks. I wasn't really too concerned either time. It was frustrating but I knew I was doing the right things so eventually the weight would come off. I will be more concerned when I'm further out and stall. But right now we are still going to lose weight for a while. I still don't have a scale at home so I only weigh in about once each month when I have a doctor appt or when I take the kids to theirs. The main thing is that I try to stay focused even when I'm not losing. I've been very lucky to be able to get over the amount of protein my doctoro recommends. And I can finally come close to 64 ounces of water. I think that really does help so much. Also I am working out at the gym 4 days every week. And when I don't go to the gym, I make sure that I do something at home that gets my heart rate up for at least 30 minutes. Sometimes that's just doing laundry and housecleaning. But it is definitely working. The last thing that I do religiously is log my foods onto fitday. I notice when I don't log my foods, I start to overdo it in the carb area, lol. Seeing it infront of me keeps me focused! Congrats on the weight loss so far and you can make your goal! I finally made my first goal, to be under 200. I weighed on Friday at 199. Hopefully when I go to my surgeon's appt tomorrow his scale will say the same!!

Congrats Lady T! It feels great, doesn't it! I made it just before Christmas, but I started out at 410 pounds and lost pretty quick that first 4 mos. You've done a great job! Keep up the good work! Pam--on the protein... About the only one I can stand these days is the Isopure ready to drink ones--the blue raspberry in particular. They are costly (about $3.50 a bottle) but are 20 ozs of fruity, clear beverage with 40 grams of protein. I pour half a bottle over ice and drink it for 20 grams of protein per day. This is the only protein I am doing in addition to my food intake. I probably wouldn't be doing these now if I didn't already have them on hand! Hugs, Lea in WV 410/294/175ish

Hi i really think it is normal for us to have a stall around the 5th and 6th month. I have only lost 2 pounds this month. and was losing about 2 or 3 pounds a week. I think the body has to stop once in awhile to normalize itself. Just keep on doing what you are suppose to do it will have to sart comming off again. Hopefully it is soon. I have about another 30 pounds to go that i want off. I have lost 70 so far. Linda is the shirt you have on does it have a picture of you preop on it or is that an picture insert? Jan