Jennifer- Hello! Yup on the same boat. Halloween has been tortorous for me!! I finally had to "hide" the candy in the cupboard. Yes I know exactly where it is but it's not staring me in the face. I ate nowhere near what I would have did eat a year ago but still... a piece here a piece there. Never enough to make me sick but I was still eating it. I woke up Sunday Am and said I did not come this far to do this to myself. I have gone 4 days without candy. I did have one piece today and I felt naseous afterwards which was a good thing! It's hard because if I have the opportunity, I will usually eat it. I just try not to have the temptation. It is so true we had surgery on our stomachs not on our brains. I look at old pictures of myself and see how far I have come. I just cannot go back down that road. Now with all that said, don't feel like you need to completely deprive yourself either otherwise you WILL go If you want french fries, have a few, don't make it a staple of your diet, don't even eat a whole serving if you don't want. As for pizza, have a piece, not every day but once in awhile is okay. We had this surgery to have some normalcy in our lives. Normal sized people eat french fries and pizza. Don't beat yourself up for minor discrepancies, just don't make then daily habits. Janet

I can't believe it is November... our anniversary month! Congratulations! Sounds like you are doing well and feeling great. You have a nice holiday season also! Keep up the great work! We need to keep this Forum going. It has slowed down sooo much. I guess because our quality of life has improved... we no longer depend on this site as much! Way To Go! Jen

Hello my November brothers & sisters... I feel like I have been making poor choices and I don't know how to stop myself. I don't over eat. I just keep reaching for the wrong things. From pizza to french fries. Sometimes I will take a bite of something sweet. I am sooo scared I am going back to my old habits. Have any of you gone through this and if so what are you doing???? I feel like I need help!!!! Jennifer

Well today being my 1 year anniversary. I feel like I'm still me inside but now I walk a little more with my head held high. I have a new stride in my step. I have more confidence about speaking in front of groups. A year ago I didn't like the way I looked or felt. I couldn't breathe which was one of the most scariest feelings ever. I never knew when I'd just pass out from an asthma attack. Today I can breathe with ease and do more activities without tiring so quickly. I learned that I don't have to be ashamed of who I am or what I look like because as long as God is pleased with me then nothing else matters! God bless! ~Angel 255/222/130/120

You know, I just posted on my profile that I've been doing a lot of reminiscing this week. I think, more than anything else, this year I learned that miracles come in strange packages. I know this surgery is a medical procedure with years of hard scientific data to support it's success.. but to me, it's still a miracle. A year ago today, I was still a post op. I had just started my time off work in preparation for surgery and I was still a little in disbelief. I kept waiting for the other boot to drop.. but it never did. I am having a little trouble realizing that the person who wrote all those entries over the past year is still ME. I feel VERY different. I still feel like Stefanie... just.. different. Like I woke up from a haze.. really shook the sleep out of my head and saw the world clearly around me. My outlook has changed. My motivations have changed. My logic has even changed. Also, while I still struggle with eating habits that I don't necessarily want to perpetuate, I really worked hard to change my attitude towards food. Mostly I'm successful and I still stop eating when I'm full. I throw whatever's left straight in the trash. Sometimes I forget to eat. Literally. I *never* thought that was possible and used to make fun of skinny people who said they did. I used to call my girlfriends who said that "nutjobs" -- well guess who the nutjob is, now! Anyway.. this has been a year of true growth for me.. well.. growth and shrinkage.. but all in a good way. Stef