This has been a great year! I had my surgeon one year follow up yesterday. She said that I was doing great. I have to agree with her. The scale read 268 pounds. I started at 450! As I start my 2 week vacation I'll be travailing across country in my motor home hoping to see a few people that I've meet on the message boards. I've had my ups and downs over the year, but I must say I would not change one thing. I hope each of you have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. Darrol 450/268/?

Today is my one year and now i am 152.5 pounds lighter God is soooooooooooo good.

12-15-04 / 1 YEAR! - Well here it is....a whole year later and I seemed to have lost an average man somewhere during this time. It has been great! I cannot begin to explain all of the emotions that I am feeling right now as I truly am experiencing my 1st birthday of my new life! I look back to the journals kept from this time last year and how I was shaking like a leaf on a tree! My turn came and I was more mixed up then emotionally than I have ever been in my life. That was the end of one chapter and the beginning of an entire new one. I want to thank all of you who have provided words of comfort and support throughout this experience. Even those that have not personally reached out, you have provided support by sharing your personal experiences here online and I thank you all very much.

Jenni, my prayers are with you as you undergo surgery. Congratulations on your 1st year anniversary and the wonderful weight loss. We are so fortunate to have DHs and families who support us during pre-op, the surgery and post op. My family has been an amazing support, too. You will do well because you are so much healthier now than you were a year ago. Blessings, LuvitsunnyV@goal

Well, I'm posting my one-year anniversary 2 days early as I'll be having my hysterectomy tomorrow and won't be able to post on the actual day. What an amazing, incredible year....I had given up on ever loosing the weight I needed to lose...I knew conventional diets would never net the results I needed. I was resigned to dying young, trapped inside a body that didn't totally seem like mine. Then I learned about WLS and found out it was covered by my insurance. I was very scared.......I was a mess the days before. I wanted it so bad and I knew I had to go through this surgery to get my dream. I cried when I left my children to travel 3 hours to have the surgery. My hubby was with me through all of it. I thank God for all He has done to give me this gift! He is my Rock! In the last year, I have blossomed back into the person that I felt was trapped inside of a body that had "deceived" me by gaining weight. Oh yes, I had something to do with it too...but truly, I came to the point where I felt I had no control...that was was just going to get bigger and bigger and more unhappy about it. Then, this year I became the person I knew I was all along.....confident, happy, energetic. I can't even tell you all the cool things that have happened but a few of them are: getting onto carnival rides with my hubby on my 17th anniversary and cinching up the seat belts, doing the same when I got on planes, having my step-son come home from Iraq and see me (at the time) 93 lbs. lighter. Ok, this one is naughty, but the same day, his mother, my hubby's ex (who is not nice at all) "had to" also see me 93 lbs. lighter. I've gone off my b/p meds and my cholesterol meds..both those are normal without meds now. My knees don't hurt. I can walk 3 miles at a time with no trouble (could go more but don't usually have time). Before surgery, I could barely do 20 minutes of walking. I can CROSS my legs! I love clothes shopping....which I totally hated before. This has been a sad year too as I lost my brother on Nov. 2....BUT I was able to have the confidence to get on a plane and go see him the weekend before he died....and I did so at the stong urging of my wonderful friends on obesityhelp....so you all are angels in so many ways! I've lost 126 lbs and have 9 to my dr's goal and another 6-10 to my own goal. I'm hoping my lack of eating after the hysterectomy will jump-start the weight loss. It would have been nice to be at goal at 1 year but I'm still VERY happy. I'm a big-boned gal and tall so I'll never be tiny but people use the words "thin" and "skinny" when they refer to me! That seems surreal! I'm grateful to my wonderful Dr., Brent Steward and his staff. I emailed him to tell him that and also told him that I knew his family also made sacrifices due his busy schedule. He is such a nice man, in addition to being so skilled at WLS! To all my fellow travelers on this journey....what would I do without you? So many of you gave me courage, hope and love over the last 2 years.....the research year and the post-surgery year. I have my life back. May you have the same! Hugs, Jenni -126, 9 to goal (I'll get there) 2 days till 1 year anniversary