Hi all! I don't post much here but wanted to share my story!

I was 250 pounds and miserable when I first met with my surgeon (I'm only 5 feet tall!). Four short months later I'm 181 and yesterday, I ran 5 miles without stopping.

I'm one of the lucky ones who has never had any complications - well luck AND following the rules I suppose! I have some tequila every week or 2 and a piece of dark chocolate when I need it. I stick to 700-800 calories a day with 70-90 grams of Protein.

I think the thing that has made me the most successful is my exercise. I burn around 500 calories a day doing hot yoga, weight training and running. I work out just about every day - sometimes twice and it's completely changing my life. I'm training for a 10k in July and I'm currently 20 minutes faster than last year. Not carrying around 69 extra pounds makes you really fast

I worked out a lot prior to surgery but never made much progress losing weight. Now I'm doing things I never thought possible with my new body. I'm about half way to my goal of 125 pounds and I can't even imagine what I'll be doing when I get to goal!

I encourage anyone who's struggling to just get out there and move, move, MOVE. It will speed this process up tremedously. Sure it's hard as hell sometimes but if you never do anything challenging, you'll never know what you accomplish. Don't worry about what you look like or what's jiggling or what you look like in a bathing suit.

Best of luck to everyone in this crazy journey! You can follow my blog and progress pictures at http://fatgirldivesin.blogspot.com

Wow, I am impressed. Hopefully I will follow in your footsteps. I´m 12 days post-op and I am already loving my new lifestyle

Congrats!!! Great job - your hard work is paying off. I too, had no complications or problems. My 6 month anniversary is tomorrow and I love the life I am leading now.

Keep it up girl.