I have been absent for a bit. Lack of time early in the day. I have read periodically. December is a rough month for me as I lost my Mom Grandma, and Brother in different years, but all in December. Ianaged to get through the month without eating all of my feelings which is a huge accomplishment. Now my hubby and I are in a plane getting ready to go on a nice nd want Caribbean cruise. Looking forward to scuba diving 150 pounds lighter. It will be a very different experience. Gotta sign off as they are closing the doors. Thanks for the inspiration every day and I love all of the pictures. 

Congratulations! That's amazing. I get on the scale every morning too and am mad if someehow I forget and get dressed first. Of course I have to strip down again and weigh. I think I avoided the scale when my weight was out of control, so I want to stay on top of it now.

I love all of your facts!

You look great!  I am a little over a year and a half out. Your post is completely on target. Every single section. Thanks for sharing.  I don't get to post much, but I read late at night (on the West Coast), so always appreciate the advice. I am at my goal and am focused on maintaining at this point.  Although I wouldn't be opposed to losing a few pounds, but I think it is really the skin I need to take care of and see where I end up. Thank you also for sending me the link to your previous post.  My belt lipectomy is scheduled for 1/25 and I cannot wait!

Have faith in your decision. I told very few people...my family, two friends at work that I trust completely, and two sets of neighbors that we are very close to. I did not want people telling me why it was a bad idea. I was at the point that the risks of not having the surgery outweighed the risks of having the surgery.  It is the best decision I ever made. I only wish I had done it years ago.

I love the ocean/beach and live less than an hour from it, but I have never been to St. Simons and that is on my list of places to see one day. I bet it was beautiful.  The East Coast beaches are so different from California's beaches.  Glad you made it!

Walk and move as soon as you can. I moved position in bed often and I think that really helped prevent gas because I had a terrible time with that after my c section. Stay hydrated. Follow their instructions. Don't rush the phases. Enjoy the ride. It is life changing.

Beautiful pictures and beautiful cards.

Here is my helpful tip for keeping protein bars in good shape.  I don't eat them often. In fact, I think I have only bought a couple of boxes in a year and a half, but took some with me when I have travelled out of the country.  Anyway, I always have one in my purse just in case, but I keep it in a hard eye glass case.  It fits perfectly and stays protected. I also keep a snack size ziplock in there so if I just need a bite or two to tide me over, I can safely store it for another time.  It is also critical that you look at the label as there are so many different ones out there with varying sugar and protein counts.

I am so glad that you like your new job, atmosphere, and co-workers. That is a huge plus with all that you have going on. It is not easy to be surrounded by all of that stuff every day. I work in two different offices, and one is in a hospital. There are always goodies at this time of year. I have to just stay away and tell myself none of it is worth it. Today I walked in the breakroom several times to see a giant tin of Almond Roca. I almost succumbed at the end of the day just as I was getting ready to walk out.  I decided that I would skip it, this time, and hope it is gone when I am back there next week. I think it is a case of one day, one meal at a time. Choose you and your health first. Tonight I chose me. It doesn't always work out that way. But one temptation at a time.  It is definitely a plus that my kids are grown and I don't have to prepare food for them.  I have found that planning my meals helps me to be more successful as it takes the choice out of the matter. On the two days I work out with the trainer, I pickup a Chick-fil-a Grilled Nuggets kids meal right after the gym and come home and eat it. It prevents me from making a bad choice. 6 Grilled nuggets and a small fruit cup. I don't usually eat fruit during the rest of the week, so I actually look forward to this meal. On Tuesday or Wednesday I have grilled shrimp or chicken lettuce wraps. Having a routine helps me so much because if I relied on making the right choice in the moment, things might not work out so well. Maybe plan to have fish a couple of days a week (I think you like fish), shrimp another day, chicken another day.  Now you have 4 days planned already.

I would suggest eliminating the carbs at breakfast because then I find that it makes me crave more carbs. Maybe you can keep some sausage links at work to cook when you get there so you are still eating there if the socializing part of that is important.

I don't have any other suggestions, but I know that you have come a long way on your journey and you can do this. 

I have been feeling the same way. I have to wear a bigger size to fit my waist. I consulted a plastic surgeon last week and he said it is all skin, no fat.  Hard to believe, but it makes sense. Years of stretched out skin have to go somewhere. My legs are also covered with excess skin. As frustrating as it is, it is better than the alternative.  

I also read on one of these boards before that you gain weight proximally and lose it distally, which I definitely found to be true (essentially you gain it in the mid section last and lose it from the appendages first). I remember someone telling me that my arms looked thinner (early on) and I was like WTH?  I don't care about my arms (well, eventually I did care, but I wanted to lose elsewhere).  It all adjusts a bit over time, but excess skin is just something we all have to deal with unless you are very young and have very elastic skin that rebounds well.

Honestly, I have felt it was fat all along, but my family (and others) have said that they felt I didn't have more weight to lose. I am glad I went to see the surgeon and he explained it to me. But seriously, it looks like fat to me. I already booked a surgery date in January for the belt lipectomy. I will do more later. He said it will be 3-1/2 to 4 pounds of skin on the lower body surgery. I really feel I need to do it for long-term success. My husband doesn't care either way, he just wants me to be happy, and will support the cost associated with it.  I am excited, nervous, but excited for the transformation.

I'm enjoying the end of my weekend away. Sitting at the pool for an hour or so and reading while my hubby watches football in the room. This may be the secret to success of our 33 years of wedded bliss. Lol. We arranged a late check out so have to leave in about 2 hours. I am on vacation next week so I am looking forward to puttering about for a few days. Nice to take 3 days off and get 10. We will stop at the chiropractor on the way home for our regular adjustment.

We moved I to our house 16 years ago and I would love to downsize, but my hubby doesn't want to move. We have good neighbors and he does not like change. So I have been trying to reduce the amount of stuff we have accumulated. No easy task. Maybe one day he will agree to move.