Seven months to the day, I lost 100 lbs. AW YISS.

When I first started my journey, I was considering WLS for the second time (my mother got it years ago, then a friend of hers had it recently as did a friend of mine). This time I was for serious, doing a lot more research. I went in for an evaluation on March 5th, and while the surgeon had good feelings about me, I still had to lose 30-40 lbs first so the surgery would be safer. So I got busy on March 6th.

I ended up kind of liking doing it on my own. I didn't go back to the hospital, even after I had procedures done for them already, such as a sleep study a barium swallow (YUCK!!).

There were some ups and downs, especially for the last five pounds or so. Not only was I sort of freaking out about my calorie and protein intake and my lean muscle mass, but since my mother is recovering from a kidney transplant (I believe I've mentioned this in some other thread), there were things like chips and candy around that I just couldn't keep away from. But my seven month anniversary was coming up, so I made myself buckle down for the last week and found a balance of calories, exercise, and rest this past week that paid off. That and I "discovered" almonds as a snack. Those things are the bloody best and I will tell that to anybody.

I still have a long way to go, but it's been an amazing ride so far.

(This is not to disparage anyone that uses WLS to help them. You have to be beyond brave so put yourself on the surgeon's table and deal with any of the consequences thereafter. I just wasn't up for it, being turned off by many things that were niggling at me but I was willing to ignore it for a while. I'll support anyone that is determined to do it.)

EDIT: Aww, lookit! This is my 50th post, too. Arbitrary numbers everywhere!

Awesome job on the amazing loss!!!!

I'm not going to make a 100lbs by my seven month mark but working toward 80 and hoping for a 100 by the end of the year.

Wow! 100 pounds in 7 months is AMAZING! Way to go!

(You'll still have to convince me about almonds. I don't buy it! )

Way to go! That is such an accomplishment! Most women take a year to lose 100lbs and you did it in 7 months?! That's some hard work and determination.

And I hear you on those barium swallows...that's a special kind of horrible. I have an esophagous/stomach problem though, so I didn't have the test for WLS. Did you have to take the gas pellets too? Those I found almost worse than the barium liquid if that's possible. At my local hospital they have a Starbucks in the lobby, thank God for that! Washed away that horrible flavour as soon as I could!

That's great, Coolacrity!

I am pretty much doing the same thing as you. I started out at about 405 and considered the idea of WLS. Several of my friends did it -- and it worked for them. I was hesitant about doing it for a few reasons. First, there was the fear of undergoing the surgery. And then there was the cost. For my friends who got the surgery, their health insurance paid for it! I would have had to pay out of pocket. Now, if there was no other way of losing the weight, I would have bitten the bullet and found a way to pay for. But I wanted to really try to do it on my own first.

2 1/2 months ago I started on my diet plan and so far I am down 55 pounds. I have a ways to go, but I am confident now that I can do it without having to undergo surgery.

I have to say that it has been very encouraging and motivating seeing people, such as yourself, share their experiences on this forum. With all of that support I know I can do it too.

See what happens when we put faith in our own abilities. Awesome job.