IcanMakeit

Thanks for continuing the challenges. My starting weight is 114 and my goal weight is 112. I'm in maintenance, but I feel having a goal to lose a couple of pounds will help me stay focused.

@@jackie's journey the acne might be from the hormones that get released when you lose a lot of fat. If so, then it's probably a temporary nuisance. Talk to your doc about effective treatments. Things are much better in that department than they were when I was a teen. hair loss is also a temporary side effect of rapid weight loss. Biotin is said to help with regrowth, although it doesn't seem to prevent the loss in the first place. Don't despair. Hair grows back.

Currently, I'm 11 months out from my surgery and wear size 6 or 8 in tops and dresses and size 4 in slacks. Before I started losing weight, I wore size 26-28 tops and size 1X or 2X bottoms. It took a long time before I was out of plus sizes, but once I got into regular sizes, I progressed through them rapidly. It was quite expensive to keep replacing my clothes, but I kept underestimating how much I would lose.

My doctor asked me if I preferred to have my tummy tuck surgery in the hospital or at the surgical center. If I go to the surgical center, they will want me to stay the night in a hotel near the surgical center rather than drive all the way home. (I live about 40 miles from both the hospital and the surgical center.) I asked her which was the least hassle. She said that most people prefer the surgical center because they sleep better in the hotel than they could in the hospital. But she also said that I would have to leave the surgical center and go to the hotel very soon after surgery is completed. So, which should I choose?

I have decided to wait until at least the end of 2015 before I get my tummy tuck. There is some uncertainty about my company's future right now in that one of the owners is retiring. It would be prudent to wait until I'm sure that I'm still going to be employed before spending such a huge part of my savings for surgery that is not urgent. Part of me is disappointed that I won't be getting my new tummy soon, but the other part is relieved. I had breast reduction surgery at the end of last year and the recovery was slow and a little uncomfortable. I'm not really anxious to go through all that again. Also, as my weight has come down significantly since the beginning of the year, I am finding that I am not as uncomfortable with my "apron" as I once was. It's still there, but it's less in my way now that there's less fat trapped in it. My current strategy is to try to stay on the thin side of normal and work on building my abdominal muscles. Maybe that would help with jiggles and dangles.

I'm not giving up on my plastics. I just want to be sure we'll still have a roof over our heads before I go spending our savings. My husband is turning 65 (and has been retired for years) and I will be 62 this year. We don't have a lot of earning in our future. On the other hand I believe that @@AvaFern is correct to point out that improving the quality of one's life is worth a financial sacrifice.

But first you sucker all the other racers into taking the penalty as well. © Boston Rob.

I'm not the most organized person, but since I know I like snacks, I divide my daily allotment of calories into four (on weekends) or five (on workdays) meals and I always keep my current favorites on hand. I'm not saying everyone should eat so many meals in a day, but it really helps me stay satisfied.

I have never posted a photo because of privacy concerns, but I just might post a pic of me in my new skort. I want to be a trendsetter.

This is taking off on a tangent, but I want to endorse the call for kindness. There is another bariatric website that I read, but have never posted on because some of the members tend to be judgmental and acerbic. I'm not a timid person, but I don't thrive in situations of conflict. I don't want this website to become like that one and I wince when I feel someone has responded unkindly or sarcastically to a poster who clearly needs information and support. I don't think we need more rules or Internet nannies to read and approve our posts. We all have our own way of expressing ourselves and a right to say what we think in our own style. I just hope that we can all remember that we are here to give and receive support and that the people who feel supported by sarcastic responses are probably in the minority.

115 lbs. today. I surpassed my goal, but more importantly, I stayed on track for the entire challenge. Thank you Susan for running the past few challenges. Keeping up with all of our changes must be time consuming.

Thank you for taking over the hosting of these challenges. They are very helpful to me. Although I am now in maintenance, I want to participate in the challenge again. I don't want to lose focus and start down the road to regain. I'll post my starting weight and goal weight next week.

I know I would feel lonely if I was doing this without any support. Maybe you can educate your friend. Perhaps you should send her the URL of this website. She is obviously uninformed and some real stories from real people might be what she needs to read to shake her preconceptions.

My problem is that I like my current weight. I really want to maintain it for as long as possible. I know it's a foolish vanity, but this (115 lbs) is the least I have weighed since Jr. High school. I'm enjoying fitting into waist-hugging dresses and skinny jeans. I guess the answer is in the other end of the equation. If I want to broaden my diet, I'll need to exercise more.

What a coincidence. After not having come across one for years, I just bought a skort in a really fun print this week. It was at a local consignment shop. I wasn't sure if I could get away with wearing it, but your post gives me permission.

I'm glad you posted this. I'm really interested in reading the responses to this question. I'm already below my goal weight, but I'm not confident about transitioning from weight loss mode to maintenance. I'm afraid that as I add calories, I'll add pounds as well. I'm hoping someone will know the best way to stop losing without gaining.

Congratulations on your success @Sreeder. You are doing great! How wonderful that you are incorporating new healthy habits into your family's lifestyle. Your list of do's and don'ts is spot on. You are an inspiration to others and should be proud of yourself. If you update your ticker, everyone will see how well you've done.

Today is Crazy Shirt Friday at my office. This is a fun group activity that I'm trying to keep going through the Spring and Summer. In anticipation, I went to a thrift shop yesterday and got 7 wild and crazy blouses for $20. This could not have happened last year. I had to buy my clothes online and at plus size stores. I never would have found 7 different items that would fit in an impromptu stop at a thrift shop!

Please don't eat the popcorn! Movie popcorn is full of fat and salt. Also, the hulls are pretty indigestible and might do you harm this early out. Although I love popcorn, I'm 10 months out and I haven't tried it yet. When I do, I'll make it myself so I know how much fat (if any) has been added.

I have to admit that I sometimes find myself tsk tsking to myself about other people's spelling, grammar and netspeak. However, I agree that my mild irritation is not worth commenting on out loud. Communication is the important thing, not the form. I enjoy using slang and modernisms, and I have been chagrined to re-read my own postings and find words omitted and errors in spelling. Younger people are used to text-speak and tend to use that form for all their informal communications. I shouldn't get all "stay off my lawn" about it. The point that I want to disagree with is that people should add comments to existing threads about common topics rather than starting their own. Firstly, as has been pointed out above, we don't all have the same knowledge about this website and may not know how to use the search function. And secondly, starting your own thread is a way of asking for help. You will probably get different (and more) responses from your own thread than you will from adding to an existing one. I agree that it is more convenient for us readers when all of the answers are in one thread, but I think the enhanced ability to connect to others and receive support outweighs that benefit.

Thanks for all the info and advice. I'm really looking forward to getting beyond the surgery. From what I've been reading, recovery can be slow and problematic, but the end results are worth the trouble and expense.

I forgot to mention that I would be visited by a nurse at the hotel if I chose the surgical center. But even with that help, I think I'll go ahead and opt for the hospital. In the first 12 hours after my breast reduction I was in no shape to go anywhere. I think the recovery from the TT will probably be similar.

116 this morning. One pound below my challenge goal. I wonder if I can hold it through the end of the challenge. I'm in uncharted territory right now.

@@HappySenior, have fun shopping, but don't go overboard. I had to give away tons of clothes that had barely, if ever, been worn because I went shopping too much, too soon. You will be astonished how quickly you go through sizes once you transition from plus sizes to regular sizes. Don't forget to check out thrift and consignment stores. You can often find fabulous clothes at fantastic prices in them.