This little "cheap and cliche" commercial occurred to me this weekend. We went swimming at a public waterpark. Now, I did very little swimmig b/c of my health, but I did enjoy laying on a tube and floating the lazy river. BUT, here's the thing: I was in a one piece swimsuit and completely comfortable. I did not feel one bit self conscious and I did not wear a t shirt over my bathing suit. I walked around and felt completely at ease with my body and my appearance. It felt great. I saw women in bikinis who were much larger than me and thought "wow". I'm smaller than that. It was amazing and I honestly don't think I could have put a price tag on it. ((( HUGS ))) Leslie

Karen, You are not alone. I read your post and thought it should have been my name at the end. I find myself eating items that I never would have dreamed about eating in the beginning or several months ago. I also am constantly hungry. Certainly this is my old habit coming into play and I have always been an emotional eater. I am vowing to get back on the treadmill tomorrow and continue until I leave for vacation next Saturday. I am hoping that I don't eat myself into a "gastric blowout" on vacation! I know that I have the option of talking to the psych dr. at my surgeon's office. But, I am so embarrassed to even tell her how much and what I have been eating. I have 16 more pounds to go to get to 150, I am 5'5" and feel like that is where I want to be. BUT, it looks like I may never make it. What makes us go through this wls process only to sabatoge ourselves? Hang in there, maybe together we can figure this thing out. Joy 296/166/??????

you have done great girl...not sure what your goal is but if you minus 230 from 370 you have done great and you are not yet 11 months out either...and I know you feel like a new person and how wonderful you must feel..and you would never have gotten to 230 any other way...I will be on round 2 as well before i get to goal....but thats ok....these size 10's are fine by me..

Hi, Karen! You aren't alone. The head hunger and emotional eating is really rearing its ugly head for me, too. It's frightening, isn't it? The one thing I have discovered since having this procedure, though, is I CAN get back on track. By filling the pouch with dense protein and making sure I drink lots of water helps. Also, using Fitday.com and being completely honest on my food intake helps. It's good to start the next day with a clean slate. If I find myself losing this battle with my head and habits, I plan on attending some kind of support group--like Weigh****chers. Congratulations on your weight loss but most of all, congratulations on acknowledging what it is you need to do next!!!! That's one of the most important steps for us who are food addicts!! Take and know you aren't alone--and tell yourself you will WIN this battle for today!! Beth -135

Once in awhile, I have a low fat yogurt, but ever since I discovered Healthwise Hot Chocolate Mixes (ammaretto, cinnamon, mint, mocha, raspberry, Cappuccino, etc.) on line, I generally have one of them first thing when I get up and another mid-morning at work. They are each 70 calories and 15 grams of protein and are absolutely delicious! I get them now from a bariatric specialist in town, but if you do a search on the web, you will find several sites that have them for sale. NashuaNutrition.com is one. They are priced between $10-12 for a box of 7 individual packages. They also travel well. I couldn't eat eggs. They made me deathly ill, so these have been wonderful! Trust me, you really will love them! Linda p.s. The Dr. I buy them from here in Naples, FL will also ship. Her name is Carolyn Cederquist, MD. She charges $10 per box, plus shipping.