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CONGRATULATIONS Laura! It's so great to be places we haven't been for a long while (or ever).

Wendy, I don't have any recommendations, but just wanted to say welcome! (I was born and raised in the Puget Sound, and have been missing it a lot lately.) Congratulations on your date!

Welcome Laura! I hope your pre-op goes well. Keep us posted on your progress.

I wasn't sure if I'd ever even out (I too lost up top first), but seems the closer I get to goal the better it has gotten. I'm now deflated both up top and down low:-) I'm trying to add strength training in to help work with the flabby deflation, but I've also heard that running is one of the best ways to slim down (I'm just petrified of it personally). I've always wondered though if spot training was actually possible...there seems to be some controversy over it. Good luck! Spot Reduction Myth Contrary to what the infomercials suggest there is no such thing as spot reduction. Fat is lost throughout the body in a pattern dependent upon genetics, sex (hormones), and age. Overall body fat must be reduced to lose fat in any particular area. Although fat is lost or gained throughout the body it seems the first area to get fat, or the last area to become lean, is the midsection (in men and some women, especially after menopause) and hips and thighs (in women and few men). Sit-ups, crunches, leg-hip raises, leg raises, hip adduction, hip abduction, etc. will only exercise the muscles under the fat.

It sounds like a great goal! I definitely will be looking for progress updates, running scares the bejeezus out of me.

EXCELLENT job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck with getting motivated! I find that if I exercise it has to be something I really enjoy doing. My husband bought me an elliptical machine one Valentine's day (how romantic) and a home gym at another time and I just never could build a routine using this equipment. I signed up for 1 month at the gym in November just to see if this time would be different...it wasn't and I was very happy to not be locked into a year contract and waste all that money.

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience today, but I'm glad it got better and you were able to workout. That's great that you didn't want to miss it!

Welcome to VST! You've found a great place to learn most anything you'd ever want to know about this procedure both pre-op and post-op. If you let us know a little more about yourself (location, insurance requirements, etc.), people might be able to offer information/advice. Or just feel free to ask any questions you have. Good luck with this research part of your journey!

So this morning I had my Jazzercise class and one of the instructors watched me to provide feedback (my audition is in 5 weeks). She told told me I need to work on the intensity--kicking it up a notch--when doing the heavy routines. One of my biggest concerns all along has been that although I can do the routines fine, I've danced off and on my entire life, my strength isn't where it should be. I really need to add more weight training into my program...so today we pulled one of our tv's from the basement to the living room (I wasn't using it there because we have tile and it's so cold) and hooked up the Wii Fit. It's been soooo long since I'd been on it. I'm committing myself to using it everyday for the next 5 weeks and 15 minutes 3 days per week with my stability ball working on my core. The most amazing thing happened though, it read my bmi as NORMAL!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm attaching a picture and will put it into my profile as well. I'm not counting it for really being at goal because my bathroom scale matches the one at my surgeon's office (well it's actually 2 pounds heavier) and their scale reads heavy, so I like that mine does too. It was just so cool to actually see a normal bmi :thumbup:. I know I'll be there for "real" this month if I pump it up a notch.

You definitely deserve a HUGE pat on the back for your success so far. I'm glad you are well on the mend! I was never so great with the protein drinks and remember having to recommit to being consistent with my vitamins a few times over the last few months. Good luck!

I was still pretty tired after surgery. I attributed it to getting in so few calories. Around 6 weeks out I remember feeling so much closer to normal where my energy was concerned, and now 5 months out and 85 pounds down, I feel more energy than I can remember having ever.

Excellent Job!

I have definitely noticed a correlation between my restriction and stress. I guess on the positive side, I can't "eat" my way out of it, which is still sometimes my urge when stress really piles up.

Tiff, I love A, and think that style would look really cute on you! Can't wait to see pictures.

Judy, it sounds like you have a great plan in place and should definitely see results. Good job finding something to do in this freezing weather!

Welcome Sandy! March will be here before you know it...keep posting and you will find a lot of supportive people to share along in your journey.

Welcome Rachel! I was also a meat and potato girl and although I had done a million diets in my life, never had I even attempted low carb--because of that potato thing--until I had to do the pre-op diet. Like Tiff said, remember it's only temporary. I pretty much stayed strictly to 30 carbs or less per day for 4 months (1 pre-op, 3 post-op) and then decided I wanted to get to goal eating more "normally." My weight loss slowed, but it's been working so far. Good luck on the rest of your pre-op journey! Keep posting about your progress.

I agree with Susan. You should be fine post-op as long as you follow your program.

That sounds a lot like my "full" signal. Slowing down (although I still forget sometimes) helps me to gauge my fullness so I don't take that one bite too many.

Very happy everything went smoothly for you!

Mrs. Sasaki, I would definitely call it willpower and say GOOD for you for exhibiting it! We were sleeved on the same day and I managed to stay off of it for a whole 11 days:-) Congratulation on your journey so far! I can't believe February will already be 6 months out.

Sounds like you are doing so well, congratulations! Going back to work really helped me until I started having to exhibit a lot of self control around all the sweets, snacks, and goodies that people were always offering;-)

CONGRATULATIONS on this first step! Keep us poted on how it goes.