Congratulations, Yolanda! It is so fun to be able to brag! You go for it!! You may have the key to not losing hair...I have not lost any either and like you, I eat regular stuff...except for lowfat (1%) milk and sometimes nonfat yogurt. Otherwise, I just eat regular foods but less of it. I have lost 90 lbs (80 since surgery). I have at least 60 to go, but I am happy and feel so much better going from a 26 to a 16...YAY US!

Yeah Yolanda post some pics so we can see you too!!!!!

Hi everyone, My 6 month appointment is next week. I have lost about 85 pounds and am very happy with that. I swear that I don't loose a thing the first 2 weeks of my cycle and then I will lose 5-10 pounds in the next 2 weeks - strange... Don't really have a goal though I would like to fit into medium sized clothes because my daughter has an outfit from Coldwater Creek that I love and intend to 'borrow.' Everything has been going well. Still have to be very careful how much and how fast I eat but I can at least try most things as long as they don't have alot of sugar. I don't routinely exercise but I have been working outside alot - putting in a garden and flower beds. Last year I could only work for about 1/2 hour and I would be pooped. Tonight I worked on the flower beds for 4 hours and felt great!! Biggest changes - no more pain in my knees and hip, swelling in my ankles is long gone, no more shortness of breath just walking into work, shopping in regular clothing stores(so many choices!), I just discovered that I can cross my legs - haven't done that since college... Oh - and I actually am developing a figure for the first time since college - instead of just being round. Have had alot of complements lately - hard to get used to - I figure that I am still the same person and the only thing that is changing is the way I look. I stopped by to see my husbend aunt the other day and she did not recognise me at first - that was very strange. I hate to say this but you are treated a bit differently when you are thinner - not so much by people you know well but by others - better service, etc. Thank you everyone for all of your support and information - the whole process would have been much worse without this board! Now - everytime that I get someone really interested in the surgery, I give them this website....

HI, my top weight was 365, by the time I got into the bariatric program I was 325 and the day of my surgery I was 305. I am 219 and wearing a 16-18 now (after 5X). I go to a pool program at the "Y" five days a week for an hour. It is called rusty hinges if that gives you any idea of the pace. Drinking water is hard to get it all in, but I definately do better when I manage to get 64 oz. plus. I too have the huge flappy bat wings, lots of skin on my thighs, belly, neck, etc. It is to be expected and a small price to pay. Odd changes...many. My balance seems to be off and I really have to concentrate to walk correctly. I had a couple of WOW moments, the first was when the manager at Catherines told me she didn't have a bra small enough to fit me and that I had outgrown them. The second one happened yesterday when I tried to shop for the first time in a "regular" store and just got so totally overwhelmed that I went home empty handed.

Ahh, another journalist!!! I'm a sports editor at a small weekly paper and everyone wants to know when I'll be getting a new pic for my column. How cool is that???? I decided I couldn't hide from the attention so I just embraced it. I would love to read your first-person account. Is it online??? Todd