Yes, it is a hernia. The surgeon [not the original one...naturally] says that the hernia must be fixed within a few months. So, I will try to make it until September. By then I will have lost some more weight and the surgery will be safer. If the hernia goes bad then the surgery will be sooner and an emergency. That will not sit well. But I will hope this will be the FINAL surgery for me. Thanks for your support everyone.

He everyone I really appreciate my cheering squad!!! You all are the best!!! I am so very glad there is a place that we can go to share our excitement and bad moments and always have a supporive shoulder. Tanya

YEAH!!! Now I'm inspired to go find my fat pants! 2 more pounds and I'll be 100 lighter myself!

Hi kathy, Thanks for your response. This is true, we do have to work at our habits really hard now. However I use the Ketostix to see if I am burning fat and to my suprise I have been everyday, even when the scale does not appear to move, so that is incentive. Adrienne

Hi Susan! Thanks for asking the question I was going to ask this week! Like you and a few other folks as well, I've noticed I am certainly "hungrier" of late. I think it's "head-hunger". My body seems to get hungry before meals, as it should, but I find myself thinking about old favorites and sweets a lot more often than I used to. I find I can eat 1 cup to 1 and 1/4 cup food at any given meal. That's solidly packed food. I drink a protein shake mixed with 1/3 banana, 1/2 cup skim milk, and ice for breakfast. Tastes great and gets me on the right track! At noon, I have a meal with protein and veggies-- usually a salad with meat. For supper, I have another meal. Again, I lead with the protein and follow with veggies. I do try to avoid potatoes, pasta, rice and bread. I might have a smidgen of one of these twice a week. I don't snack, unless it's a protein drink mixed with water and ice if I'm feeling I didn't get enough protein during the day. I'm afraid to start snacking... I did try the Atkin's Endulge bars and I liked them, but I'd rather not set myself up for bad habits. I know myself, and one snack leads to an extra meal for me... I started out at 332 lbs. I'm 5'6" tall. I now weigh 214 lbs. I hope to reach 150 lbs. in the next year. I don't feel deprived or anything. I haven't added sugar back into my diet yet. I thought I might try bites of things, only as part of a meal, within the next 4-5 months. I never want to go back to being the woman I was-- a slave to food. This feels so much better! However, I do find myself getting a bit blue some days. Now, I think, comes the tough part. I have to put into practice all of the good habits I've learned over the past 7 months, even though I have the capacity to eat more food, and more food variety. I have to learn a bit of self-discipline, just like most balanced people.