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Looking amazing Seela. Florida agrees with you. I'm with you though, since losing weight, I don't wear LBDS. It's all about color now.

New Year's Eve update 12/13/2012 vs 12/31/2014

Welcome back ms skinniness. Glad you are tackling the regain at 10 lbs. Keep us posted on your journey to recommit. I find that fish oil capsules help with the dry skin.

I don't regret WLS at all. However, I miss eating and drinking at the same time. I miss clothes that fit regardless of a 5 lbs weight swing/bloating. Now I have go up a clothing size every time I get my period. I miss not obsessing about my body and food. Now it's all I think about, before I never gave it a second thought.

At GNC specifically, I like their Total Lean 25 powder.

When I feel ambitious or just can't take another RTD chocolate shake, I go to Dashing Dish's website. Just made a pumpkin pie protein shake for the hubby and I: cottage cheese, one scoop protein powder, canned pumpkin, spices, sweetener of choice and ice/milk blended to desired consistency. Thick, creamy and a great flavor change up. She also has an amazing "Shamrock" shake or mint protein shake that includes a handful of spinach. These take me 5 minutes to make and then rinse the blender out even so I too am lazy so this effort only happens on the weekends.

I hit my initial goal of losing to 140 lbs in 13 months.

I have not heard of insurance covering brachioplasty. I only have heard of them cover plastics for hanging belly skin when it causes rashes or otherwise interferes with normal functions like walking/running. I have always understood arms, breast, etc to be cosmetic and therefore elective which is insurance speak for not covered. If anyone knows otherwise please share. I would love some free plastics!

Any hot yoga fans here? I went hot yoga yesterday for an hour and have had a head ache ever since. I assume it is dehydration. I am pushing water but can't get the headache to abate. How you the rest of you get enough fluid in to do Bikram?

I did C25k and started it when I was about 3 months out. I did it at my own pace so it way longer than outlined to complete. I did my first 5k last December and another this February and September. I agree with advice that there is a noticeable difference between running on a treadmill vs outside. Stick to outdoors when you can but set the treadmill at a 2.5 or 3% incline to approximate an outside condition when you need to run indoors. To answer your initial question, yes as you lose weight and improve your conditioning it does get easier. I highly recommend compression running pants to hold jiggly thighs and belly in place. Lastly, running is a mental game, I've had good runs and bad runs-- I really struggled to finish during my second 5k. I completely agree that running is something you either enjoy or don't. If you find yourself in the second category as I do, then stick with what you love. I enjoy interval training and strength training. I do that 4 times a week. I only run one day a week for a mile as a warm up to my work out.

I tried the tea once and while it worked, I did have some minor cramping for a few days. Point is, "your individual mileage may vary" as the saying goes. I use it only when in dire need now. Apparently, going about 4 times a week is my new normal.

Congratulations on your engagement. Here's an alternative you may want to consider. You may think about buying something off the rack closer to your wedding date versus ordering from a bridal shop six months in advance and going the alterations route. I know that there is a lot of fun and excitement in the dress shopping experience but what looks good on you now, will probably not look good when you are smaller. Nordstroms and department stores carry bridal/formal dresses. I'm getting married in April but I've lost most of my weight. However I went through so many sizes, body changes, and tossed out so many clothes early out in the losing phase that there was no way I would have wanted to have spent hundreds (or possibly thousands) of dollars on a wedding gown and then a few hundred on alterations at that point. Similarly, while I thought I would look good in an A line or similar style, once at a smaller size, that style no longer suited my body (they actually looked pretty dreadful on me). The reality is that you will never be able to wear the dress again. Also part of this journey, at least for me, was the enjoyment of tossing clothes as they became way too big. So many brides preserve their gowns after their wedding but in your case their would be little point. Here's pics that illustrate my point. This was the 'best' A-line/ball gown I tried and it is swallowing me whole (the dress is wearing me versus the other way around): My actual dress, that never in a million years could have told me pre-op that I could wear a strapless mermaid

I can relate! I just did my first yoga class since surgery and learned just how inflexible I have let myself become. I've been so focused on building muscle that I'm tight everywhere. I can't believe I am less able to get into some poses than I was 100 lbs ago. Keep going to class, we can only get better!

Good luck with your upcoming surgery. While you have provided a lot information, I'm not sure I understand all of it. If you have 134 lbs of lean body mass, then if you lose lean body mass in addition to fat you can reach your goal. However most of us are trying to maintain or build our lean mass and only lose fat so at 144-148 lbs that would only allow for 10-14 lbs of body fat which it totally unrealistic. That said, I assume we all lose some of our lean body mass in the beginning. In which case, yes if both your lean body mass and fat percentages reduce, you can reach your goal. Again, I may not be correctly understanding your stats above so forgive me if my answer is flawed. Let me tell you about what I know for certain. Ultimately you drive your results. My surgeon set a goal that I felt was too high so I set my own goal and worked until I reached it. My goal included weight but also body fat percentage and BMI. The only limit you have are those that you set for yourself.

The first few people I told about surgery thought it was a terrible idea but I soon realized that every person I talked to was either talking from a place of ignorance (they have never had WLS) or fear (they didn't know anything about WLS and just didn't like the "idea" of it or they knew someone who had it and that person had "failed"). I got support from my surgeon's office, they connected me with other pre and post-op patients. These folks actually know from experience what they are talking about. They answered many of my pre-op questions and told me about their experiences.

Initially I had picked out a designer purse and a trench coat. In the end, my reward was an entire new wardrobe.

I have two goal outfits. The first is to lose those last 8 lbs for my wedding dress. The second is to wear a swimsuit and own it but that's going to take a thigh lift first.

Congratulations

I'm 41 and have excess skin or an apron. There is not much More I can do about it except when looking back, I think I might have benefitted more by wearing compression garments regularly during my losing phase and I should eat clean more consistently now.

Thank you for breaking out the two mechanisms of these laxatives. Here's a question, anyone know how often we should have a BM? I have used Miralax a couple of times with minimal success. I am lucky if I "go" every other day. Also any other cautions if I tried a cup of this tea besides only using it short term? To the OP, your use of dieter's tea is a form of an eating disorder. As a fellow bulimic, please talk to your nutritionist about your practice. As another poster said, digestion/calorie absorption occurs well before we eliminate waste.

I easily dehydrate now even at almost 2 years out. My only advice is to schedule your liquids. In the beginning, everyone is so focused on protein but it is dehydration that will land you in the hospital.

How many calories is he getting? I found that 95% of the time when I feel run down, especially in the beginning, it wasn't lack of food, it was lack of water. Try increasing water and tracking it consistently. Also if he is extremely low carb, he may see if adding a bit of carbs boosts things. If neither of those work, have him talk to his surgeon and ask to have his labs checked. Best wishes that he feels better.

Just adding my experience for a slightly different take because you specifically mentioned weights. In the beginning, I worked out at home. I have some dumbbells, a kettle bell, and did a lot of body weight exercises. Fast forward a year and I now work out at home only 2 days a week because unless I want to invest in a full weight set, I can't lift heavy enough at home. I'm no 'she-hulk' but I know that the key to looking toned is to build muscle.

Mine deflated and is on top of my thighs.

@Michigan and all. I am curious to hear how it goes. I've been traveling a lot and am now at the top of my bounce range. I think I need to do 5:2 to get back down and to (finally) reach my stretch goal. Overall, I need to lose about 8-10 pounds but feel so "dieted" out from the last couple of years.