1. I am fighting a cold right now. I feel foggy. 2. I was 256 lbs, now I'm 168 lbs. That means only 12 lbs till I reach my goal and 100 pound mark. After that, when I am in the 150's I will just try to eat right most of the time and exercise as much as possible. If I loose any more weight fine, if not, fine. 3. I went from a 24/22 to a 16/14. Size 12 is within reach if I squeeze. 4. Unlike most MO's I never considered myself obese. I felt and acted like I was thin. When I see pictures of myself from back then it is unbelievable, I was a cow. 5. The only thing I miss is my hair and the ability to stop my gas. It comes out with a vengence now. That's ok, I'm smaller and quicker and can make quick get-a-ways. Karen -88 lbs

The main thing you need to do is exercise. My wife had ws in march, so we starting a walking progam and water aerobics. I will help our weight loss. I am more liberal on food. I eat and enoy my food. I get my protien in and mostly make healthy choices, but if I want a treat I eat a small portion. There are also some wonderful sugar-free desserts you can make. I went to one of my wls support group members birthday party last night. He asked me to make him a sugar-free carrot cake. It turned out pretty good. I made cream cheese frosting with spenda and crushed pinepple in it. I made the cake with carrots, pineapple, raisons, pecans. sugar-free applesauce, and a little oil. It was pretty healthy and we didnt feel deprived at all. Even his skinny friends liked the cake.

Hi! Just wanted to see if anyone else is feeling a little unsettled, like I am. I am very grateful for the amount of weight I've lost, and for the improvement in my quality of life. I find now that I can eat quite a variety of food, and it's harder to stick with 3 meals a day. I am hungry now in between meals. For the first 6 months post-op, I really wasn't. Most days I do okay. I follow my program and eat well. However, I am not as diligent in making good choices these days... I will eat an onion ring or two, share part of a Reuben sandwich with someone-- I'm not sticking with chicken and veggies so much anymore. I am continuing to lose weight. It's really slowed down, though. I started at 332 lbs. and was losing 5-6 lbs. per week. Now I'm losing 1-3 lbs. per week. I worry that if I continue to eat higher fat foods, and more food, I'll stop losing altogether! I try to keep my portions at 1 cup for each meal, and I do drink a protein shake for breakfast most days. I currently weigh 210 lbs. (down 122) and I have a lot of excess skin. I haven't been exercising much, though I plan to start now that it's warmer and I have the energy. I still don't snack. That's one thing I'm afraid to start. I think it would mean a lot of extra calories for me! Also, I've been a little "blue" of late. I feel grateful, but resentful because the novelty has worn off and I miss food. I miss EATING until I'm full. Isn't that rotten of me? To miss the thing that almost killed me? I haven't felt these mood swings until just recently. Anyone else experiencing some of the things I'm feeling? Catherine 332/210/150

YEAH for you! I too joined the Century club this week, almost 7 months out. But I still have 50 lbs to go to get to goal. Congratulations on all your hard work. I love reading your profile! Have a great day! LeeAnn

Hi, Congratulations to you!!! I was going to post a similar message, as of today I'm also 7 months and 2 weeks and have joined the Centennial club and I am 1 lb away from goal... I celebrated by going to an expensive hairdresser and love my new do, which by the way looks very much like yours... Now to figure out how to stay the course, I've always been gaining or loosing, now I have to figure out how to stabilize... a new challenge