Aww, thanks for all the sweet comments. At 12 years out and no significant issues (knock wook), and not being a particular carb-Nazi, I am grateful every day for the life I have. Paying It Forward is both an ethical requirement I made for myself, and also a one that gives back to me, in that I am reminded (and prodded) pretty much daily of my responsibility to take care of myself by giving others that advice.
My weight loss pattern was neither typical nor all that unusual. My highest weight I recall seeing was 293 - I may have grazed 300 once or twice, but didn't see/acknowledge it if I did. I was 285 on the day of surgery. I spent the majority of my adult life around 205, until a strenuous diet when I was 39 (got to 172) led to regain to 220 at 42, and then 235 by the time I remarried at 45. The next 5 years saw a 50+ lb gain - I'm not sure why - perimenopause, new marriage, cross-country move, working a lot, stress eating?
So I had my DS after exactly 5 years of morbid obesity, but was obese to severely obese the whole time before that since age 16. Exactly a year later, I was at 205 again, and stopped dead. I had not been really careful about carbs is probably a big part of that reason, but the freedom from dieting was worth it to me to not get lower. 2.5 years later, after shoulder surgery (but I have no idea if it was related), I started losing again, slowly, and then started working out with a trainer and by 6 years out, got to 169 for about 30 minutes. I had the first round of plastics - and had a very bad reaction to meds (I think Reglan) and gave up the idea of having more - I had to go on antidepressants and gained back 35 lbs very quickly - back to 205.
Over the last several months, I've lost 10 again, mostly from sloth and lack of appetite - so not a good way. But I will try to leverage this by working out more and see how things go.
