I made the following post on the VSG forum on August 8, 2007, and I thought I would put it here on my profile as well:

It's been a long time since I've posted and quite a few people have written to see how I'm doing. You all are so sweet to be concerned! I thought I would make a post & update everyone.

I've got a couple things going on in my life right now. First of course is the VSG... I am very happy with my surgery and I wouldn't trade it for the world. BUT, I will be honest and say that I have had a heck of a time sticking to the diet plan. I have become really exasperated because it seems like no matter what I eat, I don't feel any satisfaction. I get full easily... I know when to stop to prevent the foamies, but even as I sit there feeling full to the brim, the lower part of my stomach is still growling! I mean literally. It's really bizarre to feel both stuffed and hungry at the same time, LOL. So that's been frustrating to deal with. I think that I'm going to ask my surgeon to check to see if I have a restriction, because this really shouldn't be happening. I chew my food very thoroughly and it still doesn't help.

I do not exercise at all, and I know that is the reason why I'm losing weight very slowly. I haven't weighed myself in weeks, but I know I haven't lost much. My clothes are looser though, so that's encouraging. I feel lighter, too... little things like turning over in bed are getting easier. It's the little things that make the difference. :)

The biggest reason I haven't been posting has nothing to do with the VSG. Bear with me here because this is kind of a long story....

My dad and I have a landscape design & installation company, and this is our 20th year in business. Our business is in a central location, surrounded by other businesses, in a nice part of town. One of our neighbors is this evil real estate guy who got in trouble with the city for some serious zoning violations. (His tenant was a landscaping company that had a HUGE compost pile that was breeding HUGE rats.) He ended up suing the city (although he has no grounds to stand on at all), and a judge ordered that all properties near this guy be inspected for code violations. Well, we do have some minor violations, and unfortunately they cannot be fixed, so we now have to move. This is especially upsetting because the city has known about our operations from day one, and they have actually told us in the past that if we lay low and no one complains about us, they will not bug us. But now that the judge ordered it, they HAVE to make us conform. We can't, so basically we're being forced to move out.

This is so very difficult for us. We cannot afford to move and this may very well put us out of business. It's absolutely breaking my heart because my dad has put his heart & soul into this company, and now, at age 56 he's facing the chance of failure. It really hurts to see him have to deal with this!! 

So... needless to say weight loss is the last thing on my mind lately. I just love this forum and I miss coming here... but all my time has been spent with loan specialists, real estate agents, city officials and driving around looking at properties. My stress level is very high and my depression has kicked back in. I've just recently started taking an anti-depressant, so I'm hoping that will give me the boost I need to get through this.

I would really appreciate all the support I could get right now. You all are the greatest group of friends I've never met!! :)

To all the people who have had surgery recently and are scheduled to have it soon... my thoughts are with you, even though I may not be posting. :) I still love my VSG!!!