It has been a long time - I hope you will feel better soon. We all backslide now and then and not all of us reach the goals we set for ourselves. It takes time. Just look - you have lost 133 pounds. Good heavens, girl, that's one slender gal 5'6. Stop measuring your success according to the success of others. Each one of us is a unique individual. Please try to reprogram your eating and drinking. Start like you were brand new, with a day off. I usually go through a day of creamy food, like yougurt, cream of wheat, protein shakes. then I start all over again with trying to eat properly the next day. You are going to be fine. [hugs you big]

Me too! You know at my support group they say that the WLS was a tool to help us get to our goal, that WLS itself will NOT get us to our goal but only serve as a tool to help us get there. That being said, I did hope like mad that simply WLS itself and the rules that come with it would get me where I wanted to be. Every day is a HUGE struggle for me to stay out of the kitchen, especially at night. I find old habits creeping back. I think of myslef now as a "normal" person who has the urge to eat and snack and gain weight. I think so this is what it feels like to be "normal" ie: struggling like the rest of the world to maintain and/or lose weight. I gained 5 lbs back after reaching my goal weight and boy was that a wake up call! So I am slowily trying to be better behaved. A few tricks that help me are: 1- stick to a schedule of when to eat, allow for 3 square meals and 3 snacks 2- drink a lot throughout the day (I got bored with water so I have a variety of crystal light as well as mixing cranberry juice with my water 3- exercise EVERY day! (I do jazzercise for 1 hour each day) and my final trick: Stay busy! (Hence why I am on the computer now Hope this helps- I find the struggles so hard too! Celeste 303/155

Have reached a plateau and am extremely frustrated!! The scale isn't moveing and I find myself hungry!!!! a lot!!! I am afraid of stretching my pouch and know all those things I am suppose to do but have fallen back on old, negative habits! I need a kick in the pants - even if they are smaller and I am only 20 lbs away from my goal weight! I do not want to regain any more weight and want so very hard to lose the rest! I know its a continuing battle - I need some support!

Hello Shawn! First congratulations on your weight loss so far. You MUST feel better than you did before. As far as being discouraged, I can understand that, but the surgery was only a tool. Take a day or two and write down what you eat and when. Then review it. You should be concentrating on eating protein first, this helps to maintain a full feeling longer-then you are not hunger so early. You will be surprised at the things that have protein too. The drs tell us no candy, but that is unrealistic. Just be aware of how much you are eating. The loose skin--well the plastic surgeon told me there is no exercise to get rid of it, only surgery. make a consult appointment with a PS and ask how much excess you have and how much could be removed. Most consults are covered by insurance. As for your ravenous appetite, are you truly hungry, or are you thirsty? Most of us don't know how to discern the difference, so we eat (I still do), but I think more often than not I am really thirsty. These boards are great for advice and support. You are successful and with a few changes you could continue to lose what you want to. Marianne

Hi, I am about 18 months out as well and I have lost about 130 pounds. My weight loss is at a still and I mean a stand still. However I think it is because I eat 24 hours a day! I am always hungry too. I alos feel very shakey and all most faint after eating a lot of the time. I feel all most flushed. I am wondering if I have low blood sugar as well. I know this response is not helpful but I just wanted you to know that your NOT alone in this. I am going to begin asking around to see whats going on because this happens to me even when I eat a complete balanced meal. What ever I find out I will write you back. The best of luck to you and may God Bless YOU. KIM in NC