Finally finding my way back to this forum, it's been a LONG time. I'm about 16 or so pounds from my new goal weight. Ha! 175 seemed so unobtainable that I never thought I'd actually hit that number, much less pass it and keep going. I'm still losing - in month 19, I'm at 5 pounds lost. I weigh 166 and am 5'6".

Best decision I've ever made, but it's also a LOT of hard work. There's no easy way out. I make decisions every single day and I live with the consequences of those choices. I still only eat around 800 calories a day. I can get up to 1200 if I try really hard, but I still have amazing restriction and I seem to lose best at 800, so I just keep it there. I get around 30-50 carbs per day, a LOT of Water and 70-100 Protein. I use MyFitnessPal to keep myself in check.

There's a LOT of skin. I held most of my weight for 30 years in my stomach. It's really bad. There will be eventual plastic surgery to deal with it. But I'd much rather have that than all the fat that was hanging around.

My life is so much different now. I'm a totally different person, yet completely the same. I'm able to do more and live life how I'm supposed to be living it. I have been married to the most amazing man in the world for nearly 20 years and we have two (nearly) perfect children and life is pretty darn good.

To those of you struggling, stalling, wondering if you can do it... you can. You just have to want it bad enough. And by that I mean... BAD. Stalls are normal. I lose some, stall, gain some back, stall, lose that and then a little more, stall again. My longest stall was 20 days at 3 weeks out. I routinely stall for about 2 weeks at a time nowadays. It's all good, as long as the overall trend is down.

I'll attach a photo of me at 200 lost, I've lost 8 more since then, but the difference is pretty amazing.

Amazing!!!!

Great stuff... but you need to buy new jeans... they are WAY too big!!

Congrats! =]

Ugh. Pants and I hvae a constant fight. I have an absurbly large pannus so I can wear a size 10 or 12 in the waist, but it's SO tight around my lower hanging stomach that I have to go up a size to a 14. I also have REALLY thin legs, I always have had "chicken legs" compared to the rest of me. So yeah, I try to buy "skinny jeans" so that they fit my legs a little better. The waistline still gaps, although the sweetheart ones at Old Navy seem to fit best because they cinch in a little more.

Ah, the problems I have!

But yes, those jeans went away a few weeks after that photo because they were 16s The shirt was already too big. LOL. Constantly swapping clothes. It should be fun, but really, it's annoying LOL

Try jeggings or jeans with some stretch

Wow you have totally rocked your sleeve. Great to hear your still losing, since I'm at the 6 month point and still have more to lose. Great pics:)

Wow you look great!!!

You look great!

This really gives me hope. I'm still in the early stages, first meeting with the surgeon this Wednesday, and I'd love to lose 200+ lbs also. I'm nervous but can't wait to get this journey rolling. Thank you for sharing, you are an inspiration.

You are such an inspiration! Thank you so much for your posting!

you look so good! keep up the good work

That's truly amazing! Congratulations!!!

Inspirational!!!

Thanks for sharing

Thank you for sharing your story. You are very inspiring!

Wow! Amazing transformation! Its very evident that you have done a LOT of hardwork to reach where you are... Congrats on your success!

I was dreading that my weight loss would stop near the one year mark, but my surgeon told me I can still lose weight easily for 3 to 5 more months. I was hoping to, if not reach goal, atleast get close to goal by 18th month. Your post has given me great confidence! Losing 5+ lbs at around 18th month is AMAZING! Thank you very much for posting this!

You look fabulous!!! Great job!!

You look great! Congratulations! Thanks for the inspirational post!

You look bloody amazing!

What a fantastic transformation. You must feel on top of the world.

As for the skin, meh, what a great problem to have!

You're awesome. Thanks for sharing,

Deano