Greetings, Everyone! HAPPY 1 YR ANNIVERSARY TO EVERYONE! I myself am ONE year out and have LOST over 107lbs!! (4eva) I am very HAPPY, Blessed and Healthy to date! I feel and LOOK Wonderful!! I hope EVERYONE does also! MANY more years of SUCCESS to everyone here! PS If anyone knows how to UPDATE pix on my profile, please lemme know! I have NEW ONES! Thanx!

Hi Jennifer, Isn't it amazing that it's been a year since we all made a decision to change our lives! What a year it has been. I'll share my philosophy with you. I know everyone won't agree with me but it works for me so I guess that's what is most important. Sorry it's so long... I have been a yo-yo dieter for all of my adult life. Long, long ago, diets deprived us of everything & we truly suffered through them. I would exercise for a short time, but always got tired of that and eventually got lazy and stopped. I always quit my diet early, when I got tired and gave in to my cravings. I could never turn it around and "get back on the wagon". The most I ever lost was 48 lbs. Unfortunately I NEVER reached my goal - and I was on hundreds of diets. When I gave in to temptation and binged, I always regained everything and then some, which got me to where I was before my surgery. Anyway - I finally realized that I am not an "eat in moderation" kind of person. As many of us can relate to - I have some trigger foods that I will eat until they're gone - no matter how much is there. I can't just eat a few fries or a few chips, or one piece of candy. It's almost like an alcoholic (and I don't drink, thank heavens). I just can't quit once I get started. SO - I made a few decisions before my surgery. 1. I will NEVER eat a dessert or candy that contains over 16g of sugar again - ever. I find substitutes (protein bars, lo-carb no added sugar ice cream, fruit, 100cal Nabisco snacks packs - like Honey Maid Cinnamon grahams, etc.) I limit these snacks to 2 per day. No exceptions. 2. I will NEVER eat white flour products or rice again - ever - except for potatoes. (That includes bread & rolls, white rice, chips, noodles or pasta, creamed soups, breaded/deep fried foods, etc.) I will eat whole wheat products or brown rice products but it's very infrequent. Believe me - I LOVED these products, but just couldn't quit eating them. 3. I make sure that I eat 80-100g of protein per day. 4. I take my vitamins faithfully. 5. I never take caffeine in any form - I only drink water, Fruit2O or similar flavored water or SF hot chocolate. 6. I run/walk 2.5 miles every other day. I'm up to running 1.6 miles and then walking .9 miles at this point. I started walking .25 mile - very slowly - last January and just kept increasing. I know this helps me maintain my loss AND I really enjoy it! I know it sounds fanatical, but it really works. At first, I felt a little sad at dinner when everyone had a dinner roll or chips and salsa while I watched, but I never gave in and those feelings of being "deprived" went away months ago. As for the breaded foods or white flour products - when I eat protein first, there's just no room for them and I really don't miss them. I guess what I'm saying is to find your "trigger" foods and eliminate them forever. You may be the type of person who can eat a little of this and a little of that, but it's been my experience that most of us got to the weight that caused us to seek WLS BECAUSE of those trigger foods. It's just not worth gaining the weight back. I LOVE being thin! From what I understand many WLS patients gain back weight because they're able to eat more as time passes and they over-do it by grazing on the wrong things. I do find that I can eat much more - so I choose popcorn, fruit (grapes and apples are my favorite) and honey-roasted peanuts & cheese to satisfy my cravings. Maintenance is almost more difficult than losing the weight and for me, I just needed to find a way to maintain, eat healthy and stay thin! So far I've maintained a 113 pound loss since July 30th. I fluctuate 1-2pounds when my period comes and that's about it. Hope that helps someone...and I don't mean to offend you if your plan works for you and you CAN eat anything if you eat it in moderation. I just can't and many overweight people I know have the same problem. I do guarantee that when you've made a "forever" decision, the cravings for those foods will leave. I believe that the cravings come because we subconsciously know that some day we can have it again and we want "someday" to be "now". If we know we can't ever have it, our minds eventually let it go. Mary B. 260/240/147/150

A typical day for goes like this; 6:00 am, go to the gym, 30 min cardio (either eliptical or treadmill) and about 15 min weight workout. I alternate days on arms & legs and about 10 minutes of crunches. I go 4 times a week and once on the weekends. I also walk on my breaks at work. 8:00 at work I eat breakfast, this varies everyday but options are a sausage patty, protien shake, protien bar and some form of carbs. (toast or pastry) 10:30ish a snack, either a piece of fruit or a piece of candy 1:00 lunch, usually leftovers from previous dinner or a salad. Always high protien and vegitables though 3;00 munchies kick in....I usually go for a protien bar but if someone has something sweet, I will have a bite or two. 6:00 dinner, either fish, chicken or meat and a vegitable. 7:30 snack, sugar free pudding or popcicle. I know some days I do better than others and I try not to beat myself up over them. And I know that my carb mornings hurt some days but since I am still slowly losing, it works for me. The holidays are going to be challenging I am sure. Good post. Melissa

I can definitely relate!!! Every day is a new battle but the good the thing is, we have eachother for support and encouragement!! God Bless! Annette

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO ALL!!!! God Bless! Annette