5 year surgiversary - life is better, but food is still a struggle...

Thanks, Kathy! Sometimes I feel like a success and sometimes I feel like a failure...but when I think about how much better my life and health are (though I had no health problems other than just being sore and tired from being so large), I think I'm doing A-Ok!

Emily - you should feel like a success, you are !! Thank you for being here every day.

You are doing better than OK! This surgery gave you your life back. No, it's not easy... I am 14 years out and there are days and then there are DAYS! We are always here to help if you need it

Thank you for this post. I'm 14 months out and just about to be to maintenance. I find it scary as my biggest fear is regain. Thank you for reinforcing that it can happen and that it can also be overcome.

Regain was always my biggest fear too, and I thought since I was the model WLS student AND had plastics, that was insurance against regain.

Well, I'm not up to 300 lbs by any means, but just the fact that I am a nudge below 200 is seriously frightening. I did not think this would be my path. And as you can see from my weight trend line, it's a slooooow process and can creep up on you. Try to remain vigilant! Great job reaching goal at 14 months as well!

Thank you for posting!!! One of my big fears as a newbie is being able to maintain. I am so not perfect!

You put a very human touch on a subject most of us here have thoughts about or struggles with.

Thank you again for your honest approach and post!

Thanks, Martha! I think a bit of fear of regain is healthy - because thinking we are incredible and can't make a mistake probably isn't helpful. So hopefully you can do what I SAY and not what I DID lol. As in, don't stop the things that have gotten you to goal. In my case, it was weighing and tracking my food, and eating the things I should be eating, as opposed to what the rest of the people are eating. I am just not normal and I have come to terms with the fact that I never will be, when it comes to food. I see why many people on OH credit some of their success to therapy - food shouldn't be a comfort or a thing to turn to in stress or sadness, but for many of us, it is. Thanks for your nice comment, and good luck on your own journey! Stick around OH and ask questions - tons of folks here will give you great advice!

Your honesty and experience is invaluable to all of us. I applaud your willingness to lay it all out and to challenge yourself. I personally am in awe of you and so thankful for you and others who stick around to help teach the rest of us what is ahead and how to get our heads around it.

Thanks, Liz! You are doing AWESOME, maintaining at below goal for 20+ months! I can certainly learn from you :) It's great when people meet their goal and stick around to give advice and help. God, I remember so clearly how clueless I was when I first joined. And my surgeon's office was no help - their meal plan included mashed potatoes and applesauce and their monthly support group is mandatory before surgery so each month has all the new candidates and no one with any experience! I'm thankful to have found OH, that's for sure :)

OH has definitely made all the difference for me. Since the summer I've been about 5 pounds above the range I had settled in until that point. Though I'm still under goal, I'm still not sure how I feel about where I am now. I can't seem to bring it back down by more than a couple of pounds which I can undo in a few days. I know how easy it is to slip back into bad habits.