March 16th I will be out for 6 months. My surgery was 9-16-03. Started in at 373, now down to 253. So, I have lost 120lbs. You are doing great keep up the great work.

Hi roomies!! My anniversary date is in 2 days, on the 11th. I had my 6 month follow-up yesterday and the doctor is thrilled I am doing so well. I am 5'7", started at 475 and lost 133, down to 342. Got a LONG way to go, but at least I am seeing a glimmer at the end of that tunney now. I've lost 87 1/8 inches, including bust, waist, hips, upper arms, wrists, thighs & calves. I have sagging, prunish looking skin pretty much everywhere, and because of my back being broken twice I can do very little in the way of exercise. However, today I contacted a local motel that has an indoor pool and they are going to probably be letting me use their pool to exercise. The lady I talked to said she was almost positive that they would let me use it free of charge!!! She just has to get final approval from the manager, keep your fingers crossed for me. I am so excited. My doctor wanted me to set a goal weight...I refused. I would rather set smaller interim goals that are doable and reward myself for each goal met (no, not with food, lol). When you start as high as I did, the final goal is too far off to think about it, and get depressed. I'm glad to hear everyone is doing so well, keep up the good work!

Like Kersten, my six month anniversary is tomorrow, March 9. On Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2003, the day I had laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, I weighed 257.2 on hospital scales. On Sunday, March 7, 2004, 182 days after my surgery, I weighed 172 pounds (a weight loss of 85.2 pounds). On the day of my surgery six months ago, I had a BMI of 42.8. As of Sunday, March 7, 2004, my BMI was 28.6. I'm 5'5", and I was wearing mostly size 24 clothing when I started this journey last year. Now, I'm in size 14 pants and tops. My initial goal was 150 pounds, only because at that weight I'd be at a BMI of 25 - the highest BMI in the "normal weight" range. I'd love to get down further, but I'll be happy to hit and maintain my initial 150-pound goal, which is just 22 pounds away. I've posted new pics, graphs and weight loss logs on my profile here at obesityhelp.com and on my personal site: * http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/profile.phtml?N=.1053013504&NoStatic=1 - My obesityhelp.com profile, with a journal and some pics. * http://www.ace-reporter.com/bariatric - My personal site, with more pics, more weight logs, and more weight loss graphs Friends and colleagues -- and even people I *barely* know at all -- are still constantly remarking on the change, which I know has been so dramatic for all of us, no matter at what stage of our journey we're at. Some days I've gotten as many as nine comments from folks saying such things as "Jen, you're wasting away," or "you look amazing!" Today was more typical; two coworkers remarked on my transformation. I have to admit, I am a glutton for the compliments, even though I feel a bit guilty about it at times, mainly because I've had such an easy time post-op, and I'm unwilling to share the secret to my success with everyone. It's a great feeling to get that daily affirmation from the scale and from the people around me. I honestly wonder how difficult it will be to leave that behind when my weight finally does stabilize, when I've reached (or, hopefully, surpassed) my goal! I feel so very normal now. I'm no longer self conscious taking a seat on the subway or on an airplane. And, now, the airplane seat belt fits around me. My belly doesn't bump the bottom of my car's steering wheel. I can climb two flights of stairs with ease. Interestingly, even though I'm still a good 20-30 pounds heavier than some of my friends, I appear to be in much better shape. I'm working out and doing strength training regularly; as a consequence, I'm stronger and healthier even beyond the significant weight loss. This was most clearly illustrated to me a few weeks ago when I was hiking up a path with a friend and she had to stop a few times to rest. I was ready and willing to keep going the entire time. Beyond the physical transformation, I feel changed emotionally and mentally. I've told close friends I feel more fun now. I'm more flirtatious and more confident. I'd like to think that I didn't need to experience dramatic weight loss to unlock all of this great personality that had been covered up for so long, but perhaps I really did. At any rate, I could gush about the dramatic changes in my life for hours; I suspect we all have similar stories, and frankly, I would love to hear them. I'm loving reading about and celebrating everyone's success in the past six months. We've all come a very, very long way. Congratulations!

Hello Everyone! I will be six months post op tomorrow! I am 4'9 in height so weight definitely shows up on me different than taller people. I was 258 before surgery and I now weigh 178. I have lost 80 pounds in six months. My goal is 120 and I hope to be at that by my 1 year anniversary date. I do want to be pregnant by the end of the year if possible. So the lower I can get the better. I am hoping to gain only about 20 pounds. kerstin

Hi! I am not quite six months out, but I am down 110 lb. WOOHOO!!! My goal is about 200 lb. and I have about 102 lb. to go. This might take about 9-12 months, I'm not sure. I can only say what the charts say. They say you should reach your goal of 70% loss, in 15-18 months.We shall see! I'll post again at my 6 month date, in about eleven days. Congratulations to all!