Hi Dee... I am a fellow December person... had my RNY on Dec 28th. I would love to pay postage on the clothes. I was in about 6 or 7 X but am down to 2X and 3X now. I am also about 5 foot 5 inches if that makes a difference. I will also email you my email address. Let me know. thanks so so much.

Hi. I just had to share this with people that could understand. To begin with I need to tell you that I am a manager at Chili's Grill and Bar and my surgery was Dec. 5th, 2005. About two weeks before I went out on leave to have surgery, I hired a new employee to work in the kitchen. On my last day before my surgery, he gave me hug, wished me well, and thanked me for giving him the job. Three days before I was originally supposed to go back to work, I suffered a major complication... spent another 2 months at home on bed rest so I was out of my store for over three months. Now, I've been back to work now for a while and I've lost 80 lbs. Ever since I came back, this new employee that I hired has been very reserved. Last night as I was in the office counting money, he came in the office and closed the door. I thought, here it comes, he's going to quit... So he says, " Barbara, when you came back to work last month, I thought you were another new manager. I didn't realize until tonight when I was talking to the guys, that you are the same person that hired me. I had heard that you were back in the hospital and on life support. I just assumed you'd passed. All this time, I thought you were someone else. I just can't believe it. Everything about you is different from your size to your personality. You're a totally different person." I must hear people telling me everyday how different I look, how good I look, etc... But, this really stopped me and made me think about how much WLS has changed my life- for the better. Thanks for letting me share. -Barbara 240/160

Thanks to all of you *****plied. Now I know I'm not the only one still dealing with this. Hopefuly as we hit the 6-month mark, this part of the WLS will subside. My doc said that some people even have hair grow back as curly, which would be awesome for me since my hair is fine, thin and straight.

Hi There! First of all, thanks for the congrats. And I read your profile and I send a huge CONGRATS to you for all of your weight loss! I believe that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE! And I truly mean that. Let me give you some background: I have overcome a severe back injury and 3 major back surgeries that damn near took my life. The doctors held out little to no hope for any quality of life. I was drowning in a pit of excruciating pain, loneliness, depression, etc. There were times that I wanted to give up but I didn't. There were times that I believed things were going to get better and had hope for the future. There were times that I didn't "feel" anything at all - just numb all over. But I had this thing going through my mind that I had heard, "With God, the only way to fail is to quit. And quitters never win and winners never quit". I actually hit bottom emotionally when I was ready to ca**** all in and give up on life, but man I had this awesome lifechanging experience. Since that time, I have had this FAITH and a fighter's mentality. I will not give up!!! So, I went into the pool and started swimming. I couldn't do much. At first, it took all I could do just to get undressed and put a bathing suit on (which was painful in itself wearing one in front of people, not to mention physically painful!) I swam two days per week for a half hour. I put on one of those aqua jogger belts and moved around. Then I started using the Delta Bells and did some arms and abs exercises in the pool. I eventually worked my way up to swimming for one hour 4-5 days per week - doing both laps and aqua aerobics. I was getting into great shape. i was fat but very fit by the time I decided to have WLS. Right after WLS, which was 12/5/05, I made the decision to bump up my workout and was going to hire a personal trainer. Within two weeks of my WLS, I received a post card in the mail from the American Stroke Association (ASA) about their Train To End Stroke program (TTES). It caught my eye because it said "Free Personal Training". Basically, it said that if I would raise funds for the ASA and agree to walk/run a marathon, they would provide the training. They went on to say that most people who do the TTES marathon are walkers and people who have never walked/run a marathon. So, I said, "Let's try it. What's the worst that can happen? Even if I can't do the actual marathon, I'll get free personal training and get into the best shape of my life!" Well, let me tell you! I HAVE gotten into the BEST SHAPE OF MY LIFE for sure. I've lost alot of weight and gained a lot of muscle. I'm in size 10s for the first time in my life. I am tone; I am fit. I am so healthy. I have gotten so much more out of this training! I have learned so much about myself. I have pushed myself beyond what I thought I could ever do. I've learned that I can do ANYTHING. I've learned that I can go the extra mile - even when I feel that I can't, I can do it! I have gained a greater appreciation for God's wonderful creation/nature as most of my walks/runs are outside. I started training over the winter at the end of January. So, when the Spring arrived, it was so incredible to watch the trees and flowers bud and see all the signs of new life appear. This marathon experience is so indicative of LIFE in so many ways. I think I'm actually going to write a book about my experience because I have been so changed. As far as the actual training for the marathon, you work your way up to the high miles. We have a great coach and wonderful mentors who are awesome role models. I highly recommend the book, THe Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer by David A. Whitsett, Forrest A. Dolgener, and Tanjala Mabon Kole. We used a training schedule very similar to the one that they used. If you ever have any questions, PLEASE FEEL FREE to email me at [email protected]. Get the book - it is awesome. Sorry that I gave you so much more info than you asked for. It's just that this has been so great and I am so excited about how this has changed my life. And the marathon hasn't even happened yet! But it is less than 2 weeks away now! June 11th here I come!!! WooHoo!!!

hi fellow decembers!! i had surgery dec 20th and have lost 76 pounds (yay!).. just curious how much everyone is eating. i saw a recent post indicating that someone was told to eat 2 ounces per meal.. that is ridiculous! i eat about 4-6 ounces per meal and try to break it up into protein, veggie and if i have room a little carb. i also have 3 protein shakes a day... also all vitamins, etc. so far, so good.. i'm just curious how much you are eating???