Hi April, I'm not on Myspace. Seems like a nice place for youngin's but I'm an old fart! Anyway, congrats on you vocation exam and good luck with clinicals. Hugs, Tracy

Ok, here I am, late as usual... I have been doing pretty good. Settled in at 162 size 8-10 and happy to be here! I still get 1 protein shake in a day during the work week (habit), and if I miss it, I really miss having it. I am still pretty good about taking my vitamins/calcium daily. I love to cook, and now I fully enjoy and taste what I make. I have been experimenting with sugar free recipes for baking as well. I hope that I am not setting my self up by allowing myself that lovely sweetness, but it is sugar free, right? I feel good about the amount of exercise I got over the summer and hope that I can continue to be active during the winter - not become a couch potato. I realized after the surgery that I used to eat out of boredom, I get bored easily. Now I find that when I feel that coming on, I will pick up a book and read, or go work in my garden/yard/anything to keep me busy. I really LOVE where I am right now weight-wise, and do not want to slip back into old habits. I do still lurk and appreciate everyone here - I learn from all of you!

Laurie, I know exactly what you're talking about. I need a 4, sometimes a 6 and sometimes a 2. And are those ever hard to find. I don't know exactly how someone my weight can stuff themself into a size 2 and have it fit, but I can and do. I haven't even had a tummy tuck yet. I am afraid I won't be able to find anything to wear if I do have a tummy tuck. My only advice is to not totally discount the junior's department. Not all of their stuff is too young. And if you buy your pants with a slightly lower rise, they'll fit better both on your butt and your hips than if you try to fit your waist. Sizes are a little different in the junior's department, so make sure to try it on before you buy. I think I wear anywhere from a 3 to a 7 in Juniors. Also, look for a brand that fits you well and stick with it. Go to Goodwill and troll the aisles. I have a fabulous Tommy outfit that I got there for 8 bucks! And it's a good place to try something you might normally try, because the prices are so affordable. You just have to try, try and try again, lol. Good luck, Sonja

Hey there everyone! I hope you all are doing well. I've been busier than a one legged man...well, you know the rest! I'm a full time college student (four, count them FOUR classes), teaching 3 classes at my kid's homeschool thingy - two Ancient Egypt and one Creative Writing - and homeschooling the kids and soccer and piano lessons and, and, and...well you get the picture. I'm not sure what I weigh, but my clothes are starting to fit looser again and people are telling me I'm losing weight again. Last time I weighed I was 183 (a few weeks ago) and I was perfectly content with that as I was wearing mostly size 14 (some 12 some 16, you know how it goes) but now those are fitting loose somewhat. I go see my surgeon Thursday for my 18-month check-up (not officially until Nov. 3rd, but that's alright) and we'll see what I am then. I don't have a scale and don't weigh myself. I eat healthy 99% of the time and judge my weight by my clothes. I'm able to wear more size 12's now and (unfortunately) I'm now in a smaller size than my 13-year old daughter. I'm wearing the clothes that she's grown out of. She's just over 5' tall and is about 160 pounds. She eats pretty healthy, but she's got her mama's genes. I hate to see it and she's expressed that she's not happy with her weight. I see a gastric bypass in her future, too. The night-time snacking has really subsided. What I do when I feel hungry at night (and I do - I eat dinner around the 5-5:30 time frame and I don't go to bed until 11 or 12, so I do get hungry around 9-ish) I eat something that will fill me up - like another meal so that I'm not snacking all night on "small" things and never feeling full or satisfied. Like I'll eat 2-3 oz of lf cheese or 2-3 oz of turkey or chicken and a veggie, fruit, or multi-grain depending on what I've had the rest of the day. One thing I have seriously been lacking on is protein and I can tell as I'm losing hair again. I've really slacked on the protein shakes and while I eat protein for my meals, I know it's not enough to reach my 70-80 grams/day. So, today I started adding a protein shake into my regime again. I'm still in a good deal of pain 90% of the time. The really severe pain that I was having in August and September pretty much went away for a few weeks but came back last Saturday. It started earlier in the day and got worse as the day went on. I was at the Navy Birthday Ball Saturday night and had to leave because I was sweating, shaking, and after a morphine and two Vicodins I still was hurting so bad it hurt to take a deep breath, so we went home. It was bad for the next few days and is now still there, but somewhat bearable. The Fibromyalgia is still kicking my booty, too. Aside from the "bad" pain (which is what I've termed the pain that feels like I've got a knife in my spine and wraps around my right side and under my ribs) the Fibro pain is pretty bad. They're still working on the right "****tail" of medicines to see what works. So far I'm getting good sleep at night with the meds for that, but other than that, I'm still in a good deal of pain. Anyway, that's about what's up with me. I miss you all and will try to check in more frequently. Michelle

I have a myspace but for the love of gad I have no idea how to get to it except look me up under laura philbeck ,my name