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I've never been to Plato's Closet, but there is one right here in Las Colinas. Maybe I'll check them out today! Thanks!

Tell me what you mean about The Gap. I wear 4's and 6's from there, but the different styles don't all fit the same. Some are 4's some require a size 6. WTH??? I recommend going window shopping any and everywhere that strikes your fancy.Whereas I use to hate, HATE, going shopping, now it's fun. I don't always buy something but it's fun to just go and try on cute clothes!!!

I'm 52 - I've been at my goal since Dec 2010. Sex has NEVER been this good.

Looking good Patrick!!!!! Enjoy the ride!!!

Get ready for the ride of your life. I was nervous as a cat. I couldn't wait!!! I was up until almost midnight and had to be there at 5 AM!!! It's been a blast, be prepared, tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life!!!

I didn't eat anything fried or sweet while I was losing but if you're going to, I'd say make it special. Get a small iced Mocha on your anniversary date, once a month. You might adjust your caloric intake that day, leave something out, that's what I'd do I think. I could eat so little at two months out, I sometimes only ate 400 calories per day, but at 2 months, I got all my Protein with food. I hated those shakes!

I must confess, cake is my weakness. Plain cake, nothing fancy. chocolate with choc or white icing, carrot or spice with cream cheese icing, white cake with chocolate icing. I love cake, oh, and my mom's "Butter" cake, it's the best pound cake ever!! You get the picture. Well, this summer has been horrible for me, I managed to gain between 4 and 5 lbs, depending on the day. Family reunion, vacation and company here at our house has just about killed me. Sweets at every turn, and potato salad....things that are not normally kept at our house. These are things that I DO indulge in occasionally, just like a 'normal' person, but I don't bake a lot here at the house, unless I'm taking it somewhere else and can LEAVE it there! Everything is over with, grandkids are in school and nothing 'family'ish' planned until Thanksgiving! I'm back on track, I've lost 2.5 lbs and in 3 more, I'll be happy. Cake was not suppose to be on the menu! I have to say, I am just below my doctor's goal, or I was yesterday, this morning I am AT his goal, exactly. I am more comfortable and feel 'safe' at 3 -5 lbs below that number! So, on with this story - my husband's boss was in town yesterday, and it was his birthday. He is from out of state, NOT a Cowboy fan.....so the cake they ordered for him reflected 'his' team, a nice big sheet cake, but someone did order a cute little 6" round layer cake in honor of 'The Boys'. Chocolate cake with white buttercream icing and a Dallas Cowboy star in the middle! Half was left at the end of the day. I guess everyone kissed up and ate the other cake....never the less, my DH brought it home. I about died......there it sat all evening. I always have a little snack in the evening, so I weighed out 2 oz of cake. That is not a lot, a small slice in case you've never weighed cake. If anyone lives in the Dallas area, you've heard of Outta The Oven.....great bakery/deli here in town. That is where they'd gotten the cakes. This morning I weighed a little more than I did yesterday morning, I knew that cake had to go. DH wanted a bite before I tossed it, so he took one bite and I took one last, tiny nibble. Outside to the trashcan it went. I thought I really did good - priorities!!! I chose to keep on track rather than think of how much that half a cake was worth!!! It was worth a couple of lbs, I'm sure!! I am finding it much easier since surgery to just throw something away. How about you, is it easier now? I wish I could HAVE IT IN THE HOUSE and not be the least bit tempted. I don't think that will ever happen!

Kathy, You'd love the carrot cake with cream cheese icing at this Outta The Oven bakery!!! My husband and I have gotten ONE cupcake and will share it.....a time or two. Not often, they are too good, so I KNOW they are bad!!! I'll take about a third and let him have the rest. There are things I can have in the house that aren't tempting, but things that are, have to go. I think it will be this way for me forever. That is fine, just so I have the will power to toss whatever it is!!! stacy

Never, not one. Things will look up, I'm sure of it. It's like Christmas morning when you slip into a pair of jeans a size of two smaller. I went from wearing 18's and 20's to 4's and 6's. When I got to single digit sizes....my first pair of 8's.....I was practically orgasmic!!!!! There is nothing like it! You'll be thrilled, I wanted to go shout it to everybody else in The Gap!!! LoL

I've used the 2% reduced fat American and cheddar and chedar/colby mix since way before surgery, to me it tastes the same except for fat and calories.....fat free on the other hand....NO WAY!!! That FF cheese is bad. We like the whole wheat pasta, we've been using it for a long time too.

I'm another one that had NOTHING sweet, NO sugar and nothing fried as long as I was in the losing stage. It was five months until I reached my doctor's goal and another month when I reached MY goal. Just in time for Christmas, but it was easy as 'pie', no pun intended. I finally started introducing foods back into my life. Some will NEVER make it into my mouth again, but when I attended the pre-op seminar, it was stressed, this surgery is a tool for us to live a normal life, it is not a diet. I took that to heart. I don't ever feel deprived, and if I gain a few lbs, it is not difficult to get back on track and see what I need to do to lose those few lbs. I also still weigh and/or measure my food when I'm at home and I keep an on line food log. I can see what I am doing. I keep track of calories and especially protein. It's my new way of life, I enjoy it, so that helps. I feel like, for the first time in my life, I eat like a normally thin person. Life is good!

Let me throw in my two cents worth. I am almost 27 months out and I haven't eaten mac and cheese. My daughter got some at Dickey's Bar B Q two weeks ago. I lectured her that there was NOTHING good in that stuff. I took on piece of it just to see what all the fuss was about. It was "ok" - but I wasn't thrilled with it. It sure isn't worth all the carbs and calories! IF someone wants this.....and I'd suggest nothing like this before reaching goal. I'd make it at home to TAKE somewhere. Leave any leftovers. That way you can use 1) whole wheat pasta 2) Reduced fat cheese and skim milk. Minimal or NO butter. Ok, there's my advice, you get what you paid for it!!

child birth, by far - hands down!!! VSG was relatively simple in my opinion. no problems or complications and no pain compared to labor and delivery, not to mention the tender noo noo for weeks afterwards!!!

My tummy still 'talks' when I eat, it's 'vocal' right now and I'm just drinking coffee!!!

Yes, but for the life of me, I can't remember how long it took!!! All of a sudden I could take a big drink and it wasn't uncomfortable!!

For a long time, I'd have to reheat my food. A small price to pay!!!!

I could eat very little as well early on, so I had to make it count. I started getting all my Protein from food at about 2 months post op. I started and ended every day with 8 oz of skim milk. (8 grams per cup), I would have an egg or a third of a cup of cottage cheese. I increased the cottage cheese, 1% of course, a little at a time. I can eat a half cup now, and I'm not quite 27 months out. A fourth cup of tuna (packed in Water, 2 TB of Lite Mayo per can) is about 13 grams of protein. I still keep a bag of frozen shrimp in my freezer. It's loaded with protein, and shrimp goes down easy!! You may have to add a snack of steamed shrimp or some lean deli turkey or roast beef to get your protein in. During the losing stage I was getting between 400 and 550 calories per day, and I could get all the protein required!! NEVER had a hair problem!!! You can do it, this is normal!!!

The gummy vitimins are like candy and the choc protein chews are like tootsie rolls. I love them!!

In the south we say we are 'full as a tick' and that's the feeling, basically like before but with a LOT less food. It's best to under eat your sleeve. You'll still feel full, but not uncomfortable. Before surgery most of us would 'stuff' ourselves, at time anyway, where you just don't feel good and want to undo your pants. That is how I feel when I over eat, it just doesn't feel good at all. If I really over do it, I get a saliva in my mouth and feel better if i go to the bathroom and spit. Weird.....I still don't know if this is what people are talking about when they talk about the slimes. Ugh....

BTW - my whole life, my mom said I was 'big boned' - everything but my wrists - shockingly, that is not the case!!!! I love having a collar bone, legs that actually have that little gap when you're laying down and your legs are bent...you can see light!! Shoulder bones, I feel my own shoulders and think I feel BONEY!!!! That 'hump' at the back of my neck....GONE!!!!! It IS weird getting use to the new us......I still have my husband point out someone when we are shopping that is about my size. It's easier to see than when we look in the mirror!!!

First....do NOT underestimate what you can do with your new little tummy!! I did and was shocked at how low I could go!! My initial goal was not a weight, but a size. Eight was what I had in mind, but I got there so fast and kept on losing. The first time I slipped into a size 4, I was talking to myself in the dressing room. I wanted to run out and shout it to everybody in The Gap!!! In there now, I have 8's, 6's and 4's. I've gained about six lbs this summer because of all the summertime stuff, vacation, fam reunion, company, but as of this morning, I'm on my way to where I'm comfortable, between 142 and 145. Three more lbs and I'll be in the 4's again comfortably. Right now the 6's are best, but seriously, a SIX????!!!! You can do it. I'm just under 5'7", I started at 228, today I was just over 148. You can do it, don't think you're dreaming.....it's doable, I'm proof. I'm almost 53 and I don't ever remember being this small. I swear I went from a size 6X in 2nd grade to a 14!!!! LOL My wedding dress (I was 19) is a size 9. I too am OCD, I weigh twice a day, and have for over 2 yrs now. I do not freak out when the scale goes up a little, I can get it off pretty easy....and YES 5 lbs can make the difference with a size clothing. Like I said, I can GET into my 4's, but the 6's feel better right now. In 5 lbs, a 6 will look like the rest of the family moved out!!!! You've done amazing. Give it some time, enjoy the ride and you'll be surprised at what can happen!!! Good luck!

I think my husband was afraid that my surgery would change our life. We like our 'date nights' and of course it always includes going out to eat. I try and always know what's on the menu before we go. I'm pretty good at it now that I'm this far out, but have an idea of what you'll get. Sharing with someone is good, if not, you'll have plenty of leftovers to take home for later. I love leftovers! IF you can find a pretty healthy appitizer, that is always enough....early on, it will probably be too much!!! I still don't get hungry but love to go out because it tastes good, it's fun and the whole 'social' thing is fun!! Don't worry, other than being aware of what you are eating, and not mindlessly putting stuff in your mouth....and eating a LOT less, life will not change. Oh, I forgot, you'll be shopping for new clothes, and enjoying it!!!! Enjoy the journey, it's a fun ride!!!

My doctor advised me to find a 'Center Of Excellence' so I set out to do just that. I narrowed it down between Dr. Davidson and Dr. Nicholson, both here in the Dallas area. Both are also 'Top Docs' in D Magazine. Voted on by their peers. I chose Dr. Davidson because he does, or at least did, surgery on Friday and Dr. Nicholson didn't, back in 2010 he didn't. I don't know about now. Friday worked best for me, so it was a done deal. I was very happy with Dr. Davidson, he knows what he's doing, a lot of experience. I'd use him again, but Dr. Nicholson would also be my 'back up plan'.

I weigh twice a day. Dr. Davidson says to weigh every morning to keep an eye on what we are doing. He says it's better to nip it in the bud if we find ourselves up two or three lbs. I weigh at night, just for fun. It's a game I play, I guess what I'll weigh the next morning. I've been weighing like this since June 2010!!! Avoiding the scaless all those years, except when at the doctor's office and you have NO choice.....I think is easier to be in denial!!!!