I just signed up to do the Walk From Obesity September 22nd and would appreciate any support.  No amount is too small - seriously.  To sponsor me, please visit this page: https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=239957&lis=0&kntae239957=9FAA33BB43124BD5A4938A3E4B97F41C&supId=188636060

THANKS!

10/30/06

I had my 10th fill this morning of .15ccs to bring me to 3.15ccs (I thought I had 2.95 going in but Dr. Vernon pulled back 3ccs).  Back to lovely liquids!!!

8/8/06
Got another fill yesterday of .15 to bring me to a total of 2.95ccs. Feeling VERY full on liquids and even a bit bloated but having no trouble getting enough in.

4/17/06
Yup, I made it! As of this morning I am well and truly down 100 lbs. I had a rough week - not foodwise (I fought for this victory each and every minute of each and every day) but emotionally was in a very tough place. I am proud to say I still worked my tail off (regular exercise) and followed my everything in moderation philosophy. Who knew you could lose that final pound (or reach that magic mark) the day after Easter???

4/10/06
I had a fill this morning (got .15ccs added to the 2.65ccs I already had for a total of 2.8 - was very happily surprised to see I had not lost ANY of my saline) and when my surgeon went to access my port it was a bit tilted. Not flipped, just tilted. And just a little. I joked with her that it was from building up my ab muscles and she said matter of factly that I could have popped a stitch with my workouts. I kiddingly offered to stop doing crunches to which she laughed and told me I had better not! We just marked on my chart that the port was a little tipped so it would be easier to access next time.

Anyway, maybe I'm a little twisted but I just thought it was cool that I could have done this because I work out. Two years ago the idea of walking an extra block would have tuckered me out; now I'm doing crunches and feeling the burn on a regular basis. Popping a stitch due to careful exercise? 18 months post-op? TOTALLY something I can live with. Weight today = 250. Two more lbs to that magic century mark...

3/27/06
Got my period yesterday. For the first time in my entire life it was completely regular (28 days almost to the minute). For someone who has been fat since pre-adolescence, who has battled PCOS for years and who has never had a consistent cycle, this was a pretty cool NSV, and one I can only attribute to losing weight.

3/24/06
Since the scale is moving ever so slooooooowly (254 this morning), I thought I would have a body composition test (i.e. amount of lean/muscle mass v. fat) to help me monitor my progress in a non-scale way.

My results were:
Percentage of body fat: 35.7
Fat weight = 91 lbs
Lean (fat-free) weight = 163 lbs

While there is always a margin of error on these things, the numbers feel right. By my calculations to achieve a 15% body fat level - and assuming I didn't lose any of my current lean mass - I would weigh 192. At 20% body fat I would weigh 203. Since I would be thrilled to be in the 15-20% body fat range those numbers look d*mn good to me! Definitely affirms my belief that although the scale isn't moving as fast as I'd like, my body IS reshaping and I do have a lot of lean muscle mass. Feeling pretty good!

2/4/06
After 15 months of being banded and for the first time in my 31 years of food addiction (yes, I came out of the womb with and obsession for food), I just started journaling my food on Fitday earlier this week. If you had told me a year ago - even a month ago - I would be journaling and counting calories I would have never believed it. After a childhood where every morsel that went into my mouth was watched and judged (by a well-intentioned by badly misguided mother), the idea of counting calories and writing down my daily food felt incredibly controlling and yes, like a diet. I just wasn't ready for it. But right now it feels like an important tool in my weight loss journey. I had plateaued for months and despite getting back on track with significant exercise still was not seeing any movement with the scale. Something had to be wrong and I could not live in denial about my food choices anymore. So I decided to start tracking my food on Fitday and just as I suspected I was taking in WAY too many calories. Not junk, in fact I was still eating far better than I ever had, but the occasional snacking and calorie dense food choices was adding up. I always thought that seeing my food written down would be painful and I still believe that had I done it sooner it would have been. But the time was right, I was ready and it has in fact been liberating. The scale has moved and I feel great! I don't plan to journal forever but right now its helping me and my philosophy is to do what works. As I learn and grow in this process my behaviors and needs change as well.

Just for today a calorie counter...