I'll first say that I know I should be really proud of myself and what I have accomplished. On Jan 2 of this year, I decided that this would be MY year. MY year to commit to doing something to improve myself, and stick with it as my utmost goal for the year. I would have had gastric bypass if my insurance had covered it, but they refused. I'm glad now that I didn't have it, because I now know that you can have trouble getting insurance for the rest of your life if you have had a gastric bypass, and I found liberation in that I was strong enough and willful enough to do it on my own. I've come a long way--I started at 335 lbs and am now at 228 (I'm 6 feet tall and muscular). I started at a size 30 womens, and am now wearing an 18, the size I wore when I got married. I still want to lose another 48 lbs, but I know I probably have about 15 lbs of extra skin that I have to account for. I don't think that I can get to my goal without surgery because if I do go to 180 with 15 lbs of extra skin, I'll be too skinny for my height and muscle structure.

It's very discouraging to have come this far and to lose this much weight, and have a huge skin bag to have to stuff into my jeans. I think I would probably wear a 14 or 16 without the extra skin, and I never thought I would get there. My minimum size I want to be at is a 14--anything less is too small for me, and I can't even remember the last time I was at that size. It's seriously a matter of stuffing skin into my pants-it's awful, I can't buy clothes that fit because if I buy a size that fits me around the waist, they aren't big enough to push in the huge skin flap, and I have a huge popover where extra skin balloons out the top. I have a true apron--measuring from the underside where it connects to my pubis, it's about three inches of hanging skin. It's totally unsexy, and I am very conscious of how I look naked, more than I was at 335 lbs.

I'm a 30 year old stay-at-home mom with three kids I homeschool, and I don't have the money for plastic surgery. My doc says that maybe it will become more affordable several years down the road, when there are more plastic surgeons. Even at that, I still wouldn't be able to afford it--if it's a matter of feeding the family or me getting plasic surgery, it will never happen. It's very depressing--I don't want to live the rest of my life hauling around this extra skin. I look very young, like I'm in high school, but my body under my clothes is totally wrecked.

Yes, I am proud of what I have accomplished, and that I have done it without gastric bypass, but sometimes I wonder which scenario is worse: fat or weighed down with skin. At least I could buy clothes that fit me at 335 lbs.

(has anyone had any luck getting their health insurance company to pay for skin removal? if so, please PLEASE send me some tips!)

Andrea Sampson

I heard that health insurnace may pay if you frequently get yeast or fungal infections under the flap of skin. I would go to the doctor with complaints about any rash, itch, twitch, etc, until he deems it necessary for plastic surgery. I have 53 pounds to go, and I already lost 40. I have a big apron, too, and plan to get a home equity loan to pay for surgery when the time comes. Sounds extremely selfish to put my husband in bigger debt, but I work 2 jobs and go to school, and hope to make more money when I finish school.