Merry Christmas Monice. Have a safe and happy new year.

Well I am still in the ninth week of my post op, and I weighed myself today I am down a total of 80 pounds. There are times when I feel as though that I am not losing it fast enough, I can see subtle changes, others see the changes more than I do, and My clothes are getting bigger on me so I know I am losing. I also want to say this some of us lose weight slower than others, some lose it very fast, It is not the speed of the weight loss, it is the weight loss itself that is important, For those that lose it more slowly, it may give your skin more time to adjust to the weight loss and shrink with you. Because I am losing it fast I know that I will have a lot of excess skin to remove, not only because of losing it fast, but also because I am getting older, and have lost a lot of the elasticity of it. However, there are some areas that I thought would be a problem with sagging that aren't sagging like I thought that they would, like under my chin and the back of my arms. I have been through weight loss before, and got ten pounds away from my goal weight when I began to gain it back because of quitting the diet. I will never forget what it was like to be obese, and I have faced psychological issues because people were looking at me differently and no matter whether I am thin or obese I am the same person. I learned that it is ok to like yourself, and through the years I have gotten to the point where I could care less what people think; meaning that I have to do this for myself, and not because I want to be accepted or liked, I have to do this for myself to live, and to become healthier than I was. I have to do this for myself so that maybe instead of being self centered I can encourage or help someone else to make the decision that is right for them. There are so many of us that have faced the prejudice, health problems, and all the hardships that come from a life of obesity. People that have never had to face this problem may never understand what it is that we have to go through to live in Society, So we need to speak up and educate them about all aspects of obesity, and not just what they stereotype says about obesity. We need to speak up and educate them about what causes the obesity, and that in this day and time it is a disease that can become controlled. I applaud all who have gone through this surgery, or are going to have it. I am glad that I have had it done, and know that I have taken a step in my life to get my health back in control.

I bled for an ENTIRE MONTH post surgery only to go off for two weeks and start again .... believe me, I know how you are feeling. It's just your body's reaction to surgery .... completely normal, don't worry. ~Toni

Merry Christmas to all.

Lisa, You and your family also have a wonderful and safe Christmas... good health to you and your family and hope the day brings you all you want... Much Love, Leslie, 326/270/170