I have lost 144 lbs. so...127 plus 144=271

Ok, who out there is like me and is now re-discovering bones you forgot you had? Shoulders - Shoulder blades - Colar bones - Hips - tail bone - knees - oh my I always knew they were there, but heck, i forgot what they felt like! LOL How about you? Are you discovering some old bones too?

Thank you, Brenda, and right back at you -- you are definitely much nicer than I am. It's that whole happy then sad thing again. I probably would have kissed him when I was happy with what he said and then when I thought about it a little more and got a little sad I would've kicked him. Oh, how we women overthink things sometimes, huh? Anyway, like your post said the other day, I do agree we should post more good & bad moments when we have them. Your pictures are awesome by the way. I haven't been brave enough to put any pictures up -- not the before shots or even the after. I'm still really, really camera shy. It is a rare occasion that I allow photos and still do my best to avoid, avoid, avoid. I am really working on that and trying to add pictures to my family albums whi*****lude me now. I'm not where I want to be yet but by golly I'm taking pleasure in not being where I WAS anymore either. Seriously though, you are AWESOME and an inspiration with your posts and your encouragement for everyone!

I had one of those moments that makes you soo happy yet so sad at the same time - my son (who is 12) came up to me and hugged me out of the blue. Then, he said wow, mom, I can now get my arms all the way around you. I hugged him again and it was pretty bitter sweet. On one hand, I felt happy that he could do that and then sad too that I for most of his life I've been at a size to where he couldn't. But, of course, as kids do, he then lightened the mood by tellling me that he would have gotten me a better mother's day gift IF he had a better allowance.

Hi Brenda, I must admit, I purposely skipped the "weigh-in" thread this week because I had gained weight. Eight days in Vegas showed me just how easy it would be to regain this weight....very scary. I was with my mother and sister. We ate at a buffet every day we were there (comped by the casinos). It was like I couldn't help myself...I fell right back into my old eating habits. Now that I am home, I'm back on track and this morning I weighed 3lbs less than my previous lowest weight. Yeah!!! I did get lucky in Vegas though....won a $1,000 on my last day which pretty much covered the cost of my vacation (rooms and meals were comped by the casino). I've been to Vegas a number of times and this is the first time I have gotten a royal flush on a video poker machine....hope it is not the last! You are so right about this being a difficult time. I find it much harder to resist temptation these days. I have to keep all trigger foods out of the house and seem to add another food to that list weekly. Eating out is my biggest weakness (remember the gain in Las Vegas and it wasn't the first). I just can't seem to resist my old favorites and I can eat so much more at at one sitting now. I sometimes lose total control and eat until my stomach actually hurts......very, very bad and very, very scary. I just finished reading "The Beck Diet Solution" yesterday and I think it may really help me. It uses cognitive therapy techniques to help you start to think about eating the way a thin person does. I am going to give it an honest try as this surgery does not change the way you think about food....not totally anyway. I will attempt to post more often even though I still have a lot more to lose than the rest of you (I started at 365 and now weigh 229). While I am of course very happy for everyone's success, sometimes I feel a bit jealouse....terrible, I know. Good Luck to everyone and I hope to read more posts on this board too. Donna Kay