To everyone who had surgery just before new years 12-12:Where are you now?

My surgery was 12-18-12

SW:414

GW:199

CW:341

Height:5'7"

Typical food intake:

B: activia light or 1 egg omelette

S:protein shake

L:cottage cheese, veggies, or soup

D:fish, chicken, or steak and veggies

S:fresh fruit or smoothie or greek yogurt popsicle

NSVs Expereienced: I hiked the smoky mountains! I have room in my bathtub! Yesterday, I jogged for 1 min on the treadmill! (just 1 min, lol but still amazing to me). I am fitting back into some of my clothes from 5 to 10 years ago!

Biggest Body Issue so far: I hate how my boobs are looking :(

Confession:Easter got the best of me and I did have some sugar free candy. Typically, I keep sugar free werthers butterscotch candies to suck on throughout the day. It helps me to resist grazing.

I am very curious where others are at in their journeys who started around the same time as me. I'd love to hear all of this info and more! 

Ok I will go :)

My surgery was 12-04-12

SW:401 (per0op...lost some and surgery date I was 377)

GW:175

CW:295

Height:5'7"

Typical food intake:

B: 1 egg with bellpeppers, ham and red onions

L: Whatever protein I have around. Yesterday it was leftover spaghetti meat without noodles. Doctor wants to me to have 1/2 cup.

D: Roast chicken from Barnes and some crunchy raw veggies. I eat steak a lot and lots of chicken :)

S: Beef jerky, or cheese stic****asionally pistachios (not often as they are my weakness!)

NSVs Expereienced: I jogged too! It feels awesome! I can lean back in the tub without creating a tidal wave! lol My daughter told me she can fit her arms around me :) Wearing size 22s after busting out of my 30ws is awesome. Just being able to go to a concert and stand for a few hours. Or actually wanting to walk more is a foreign concept to me.

Biggest Body Issue so far: Hate my boobs too. Or lack there of....Also my stomach seems to lose fat in little pits and chunks...I'll never wear a bikini lol

Confession: I've had a drinkor two....twice, I've had a white carb here and there, I dont track my food very well, and I am obsessed with my scale and weight every day. I am just coming off a one MONTH long stall that was really scaring me! But my biggest confession is that I am disappointed because everyone always told me that I would be oh soooo gorgeous if only I would lose weight, which unfortionatly i am afraid that even the loss of over a hundred plans and I am begining to think that I wont be pretty skinny either :(

I've had a drink or two, too!    But my surgeon allows alcohol after 8 weeks.

I have the same concern about being "pretty."  But I think we just have to wait it out.  I keep trying to be patient that I blossom into a swan from an ugly duckling, but time is not my friend.  And even once we get to goal, our bodies are going to change and adapt.  It might take a while, but I have confidence that we will both look in the mirror and see beauty.

Hang in there, shygirl!

Hi Robyn!  My surgery was 12-11-12.  I have lost a total of 68 pounds since surgery.

HW:  375

SW:  349

GW:  175

CW:  283

Height:  5'5", Age: 29

I have had a few 5-day "stalls" if you can call them that.  Overall I am pleased with my progress.  I workout most days.  I am training for a 5k in 2 weeks.  I play volleyball on Monday nights.  I also just started Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred.  I am waiting until I have officially lost 100 pounds to do my measurements and take photos, etc.  I have definitely dropped a few sizes.  I typically eat every 2-3 hours, six times a day.  I have not had any dumping episodes so far.  I did have a piece of roast beef get stuck and I got the foamies and had to get it out, but that's it.  No vomiting, no complications.

B:  Greek Yogurt

Snack:  Hard boiled egg, string cheese

Lunch:  Cottage cheese, pasta sauce, parmesan cheese

Snack:  Lunchmeat (and sometimes crackers)

Dinner:  Protein and frozen veggies, sometimes mashed potatoes

Snack:  Almonds, skim milk, or protein bar

My food is pretty varied, but the above is what I eat in general.  I only eat up to a cup at a time, even though I feel like I could eat more.  I have had rice and tortillas, but I do not eat bread (except an occasional sandwich thin) or pasta.  I don't drink protein shakes anymore if I can help it.  Some days when I haven't met my goal I will have a fruit punch protein shot.  I also haven't had any sweets yet.  I'm afraid to go down that road!  I do probably have fast food about once a week, though.  Like Wendy's Chili or a quesadilla from Taco Bell.

I am also kind of stressing over my saggy boobs.  Actually, my arms are the worst right now.  I never thought it would bother me, but it does a little bit.  When I do kick boxing my bat wings are flying!  I mean, what can you do?  It is what it is, so just own it!  At least I see nice biceps developing up higher... lol

Congrats on running for a minute!  That is a big deal!

shygirl: congrats on your success so far! You're actually where I hoped I'd be at this point. I have been a bit disappointed in my weight loss rate, but ti is what it is and goal will come eventually. I also was told a lot that I will be gorgeous once I lose the weight. I take that as an insult, not a challenge. I think I was always pretty. You, by the way I looked at your picture, are beautiful! Oh, and I had a couple of drinks on vacation last week. lol

Kelly: congrats on your success so far! My mom is 7 years out and she complains about her bat wings all the time. I don't have that issue yet, but I can see it coming. You, too are very pretty. Any regrets yet? My only regret so far is that I didn't get approved when I tried at 18 years old. I am 30 now and can't help but think skin elasticity would be so much better and I wouldn't have been starting at such a high weight if only I'd been approved way back then.

Robyn, I see so many similarities between the two of us!  Lol!  Thank you for the compliments!

I also wanted the surgery at 18.  However, I don't think that I regret not doing it.  I would have done it out of state, and the surgeon had a horrible success rate.  I also think that mentally at that age, I was not ready.  It wasn't until I was out in the world on my own that I realized what I had done to myself all those years.  It made me take responsibility for my actions over the years.  Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if I had lost all the weight at 18 and re-gained it by now.  The timing was just right for me.

However, yes, in terms of elasticity, I miss my 18-year-old self!  Ha.  I am probably about the weight I was at 18, but my arms and boobs definitely did not look like this.  I have found my hip bones though... Didn't know I had those!

Also, a question for you guys:  do you track calories?  When I track food on MyFitnessPal, I get to see how many calories I'm eating.  I am close to 1200 calories a day.  I "feel" like it's too much, but my NUT said not to worry about calories.

Kelly, 

I haven't tracked calories in a month or so. My NUT told me to stop because I tend to drive myself crazy thinking about how many calories everything has in it (including my protein). I guess it's because I've heard "it's all calories in and calories out" my entire life. It's engrained and haunts me. I do feel that I've been eating too much snack and not enough meal lately, though; so I may start again. I use sparkpeople.com

I think I am driving myself crazy, too!  Maybe I'll stop being so "digital" and just use pen and paper to track my protein and fluids.  I am longing to feel like "normal" person for a while, and not fretting over everything I put in my mouth.  I am so over all the food anxiety...

I had my surgery on 12/18/12.  My starting weight was 256.  My current weight is 206, so down 50 pounds.  I do track everything I eat with Myfitnesspal and have found this very helpful.  I still do a protein shake and usually a Quest bar about every day to get my protein in - still can't eat much.  I haven't lost as much as I thought I would've by now, but it seems that my starting weight is lower than some. . . guessing this is the reason??  People are just now starting to notice that I've lost weight!