Kathy, Thank you so much for your response....I thought no one was listening....you understand I see how it is to need to feel good and be comfortable with our new bodies...THANK YOU, THANK YOU,THANK YOU!!!! LAURA

Laura, You are most definitely a success!! Congrats!!! I too lost more than my body was comfortable with. After months of frustration with weakness, light-headedness and other issues, I decided to allow myself to eat more and put on a few pounds. I felt better pretty much right away...but I had trouble STOPPING, and now need to lose some weight again...ughhhhh! I applaud your ability to stay at a healtyh weight for you...and a size 13 is just fine!!! Just keep maintaing...you're an inspiration! Kathy

Hi there everyone. I have not been on the boards for a long time - in the beginning I was here daily. I had my surgery on 10/23/03 and lost down to 184 which was fine for me cause I was wearing 12 and 14's down from 22/24. Over the last few months my eating has gotten out of control and I have gained back 30 pounds and am now over the dreaded 200 pounds. I even resorted to going back to my diet doctor (though he does not know I had surgery) to get diet pills. I stopped doing that though, kind of made me feel totally defeated. After getting on the scales and seeing 216 on Sunday, I have made a concerted effort to stick to proteins and water - trying to shock myself back on track. I have removed the Fritos, chips, hersheys and other bad foods from my nighttable where I was munching through them every night. All this being said, it has made me feel good to come back "home" to the Board and see that my anniversary sisters are in the same boat. Not that I am happy that we have gained, but I it does make me understand that I am not a total failure. Maybe if we used this forum more often to vent and question, maybe we can all make strides toward relosing the weight. We all went through way too much to go back to where we were. I have a girlfriend who had surgery right before me and I think she is larger now than before. I can't let that happen to me. So ladies, spring is on the way. Let's make a pact to lose at least 20 of the pounds back before our anniversary in October. It is doable - is anyone else game!!??

Hi Sonya, Sorry I just read your responce. You know I started to cut out carbs again and now I'm on a medical weight loss plan with a Dr that is just 4 protein shakes a day with one snack. and Im down 11 lbs total. I dont know How long I can keep doing the protein shake plan but I can tell you it feels as if my stomach is shrinking. I hope this works. try cutting out carbs and protein first. hope to hear from you soon. Martha

I am 4 yrs post-op(10/8/2003), and my weight has been stagnent at 162lbs for almost 2 yrs now..If I eat too much it comes up!! Everytime I go to the doctor I make them do an x-ray of my stomach to make sure I haven't stretched my pouch. I have kinda bad snacking habits. I was told that if you started eating regular foods too early that could stretch your pouch which would allow you to consume more foods which in time wil cause you to gain weight.Good luck and keep me posted..