Hi everyone, I am so excited I had to buy new jeans yesterday because my 26's were about falling off. I am now -48 pounds and wearing size 24 jeans! Woohoo!!! I never imagined how good it would feel to have to go shopping for clothes. I also never imagined it would happen so soon. I am going to the gym 4-5 times a week and keeping my calories between 800-1200. The results so far have been amazing. I can't tell you how happy I am. Everyday the sun seems to shine a little bit brighter on me. I am so grateful. I am grateful I was able to have surgery. I am grateful I had an uneventful recovery. I am grateful for the support of my family and friends. I am grateful and thankful for all of you on this message board whose kindness and support have helped me through troubled times. I am grateful that I am learning how to make better choices for myself. This has been the best experience of my life so far. Thank you for letting me share it with you all and for sharing your experiences with me Hugs, Sara 364/356/308/175

I just want to thank everyone for all the wonderful replies that I received to my first posting. You make me feel so very welcome. I am sure that the support and freindships that will form from this website will be long lasting. I really look forward to getting to know everyone and following your journeys along with my own. Sherrie from Illinois

Good Morning Susan, Thank you for responding. It is nice to hear from you. I had a realization during my 10 weeks "off the program" and it is that I basically didn't gain any weight and I wasn't really watching what I was eating. I don't feel like my eating was out of control... but I wasn't counting calories/carbs/protein. So this was a good thing. It tells me that continued weight loss depends on me. I started off slow with starting to exercise again. The first week I challenged myself to walk 2 miles total during the week and believe it or not... it was hard. The second week I challenged myself to walk 3.5 miles and it was hard. After completing 2 successful weeks I told myself I would walk 5 miles (Thanksgiving week... what was I thinking??) and again it was hard. I actually had to walk 2.78 miles on the last day of the week to get it done. But there was no way that I was going to fail myself. I have NEVER walked that much in one day!! I certainly amazed myself that day! I thought for sure I would not be able to move the next day... but I was fine and even walked a mile. My challenge to myself this week is to walk 7 miles. Today is day 3 of my week and I have walked 1 mile each day. I will probably walk more than a mile today since it is still so early here and I already have my first mile in. My goal for next week is to walk another 7 miles. After next week I will begin slowly addressing my eating. I will probably work a week at my breakfast choices and build up from there slowly. Recently I have been thinking that I don't need to necessarily "diet" for the rest of my life. But I do need to get down to "goal" and then I just need to maintain!! So what that means for me is I have to work HARD now to get to goal and then I can readjust my plan so that I maintain my weight. This is the first clear thought that I have had that I will not be heavy forever! I actually have thoughts like... hmmm I wonder what it would feel like to be strong and lean?? What would that be like?? And now I can actually see myself accomplishing that if I believe in myself and want it bad enough. I certainly "check-outed" the last 10 weeks. But now that little vacation is over and I am checking back in. I want this and I deserve this and I am willing to do the work to get it done. I have gone back to my individual therapist and we are working on getting me back on track with my weight loss and working on a long range plan for my house (which I hate and is a wreck). Basically I am trying to line my life up for some successes to roll on in. Best Regards to you... Happy Holidays! Believe in yourself Susan and you can do anything... Sharon -121.5# (today)

Sharon, I can understand! I have been on a plateau for months, all because I am not getting in enough excersize. Wow its a dangerous circle we put ourselves in, getting depressed, turning back to bad habits.. as of TODAY I am no longer allowing myself to do that! I have avoided this board because I have felt like a failure but I will be D*MNED after all I went through to get this surgery, that I will loose out on the greatest gift of all...GETTING THIS WEIGHT OFF!! Today is the day things are going to change! I am so happy for you that you are losing again...soon, I will be too!! God Bless!

Good Morning Tammy; Definitely remember to sip, sip, sip and chew, chew, chew. You are lucky, I tried scrambled eggs the saturday after my surgery, it was on my list of stuff I could have, at least that is what the nutrionist at the hospital said. WELLL NOT! I ate about 3 bites and thought I was going to die. I called my doctor and told me that I shouldn't have any type of solids for at least another 2 weeks. It takes awhile for the insides to heal after surgery, even your throat from having that tube thing stuck down it. Take it slow and you will be fine. Good luck and congratulations on the start to a new life. -176