It's been a crazy few months.  August and September were a blur... suddenly it's October and I'm floored.  

My surgery anniversary came and went without any form of fanfare or celebration.  It snuck up on me.  I attended my 12 month appt a few weeks after the official surgery date and things looked pretty good.  Though my B12 came in lower than we'd like.  I need to work on making sure my vitamins are a priority and get that water in each and every day!  I also need to get exercising more.  

I like the way my body is starting to look WITH clothes on, but OMG... the flabby saggy thing going on when I look at myself in the mirror is less than attractive.  I hope to have plastic surgery in the future... but this will have to wait until after we have children.  

I turned another year older recently and while I've never had a problem with my age, this one felt different.  I think it's mostly about not having kids yet and being 38.  My infertility hasn't been in my control but I would have preferred to be able to work on this sooner than I am now.  My weight certainly delayed tackling this problem.  

I've not been much of a drinker during the last few years, only enjoying an occasional glass of wine or something.  But the last few months I've been in more social situations and the majority of them included alcohol.  
Obviously, having had the surgery, alcohol is NOT the best thing to drink.  The calories, the fact you become drunk so quickly and the terrible way you feel the next day.  
If I'm going to have more than one, I normally try to have a glass or two of water in between having the next.  There were a few times this didn't happen and I was feeling like I could drink like I did years ago.  Other than having surgery, I'm also not able to snap back like I did when I was younger.  Bleh!  Alcohol is bad and not for me.

I'm hoping to lose another 65 lbs by the time my 18 month anniversary arrives.  I've lost about 10 lbs since my 12 month appt so barring any welcomed pregnancy... I think this can be done.  Especially if I stay on track with the protein, add'l exercise, water, vitamins, etc...

Well, it's official.. I'm in the Before & After pictures.  

I'm actually kinda disturbed that the pictures are there... I hate the way I look in the Before picture.  It's NOT about the weight... it's about where I was at and how I was feeling that morning the picture was taken.

My brother died the week before my surgery and I had cried the entire time I was in the shower and I didn't bother to dry my hair.  My face was red and I was sad and angry and terrified about what was supposed to happen to me in the next few hours.

The editors here at OH didn't bother to type in the info I supplied to them about each picture AND they decided to link to my OLD profile here at OH rather than this new profile.  

I guess I would feel a bit better if people who saw the Before & After picture would also see "where I was at" in the pictures.

Needless to say.. I'm a bit disappointed.

ETA: I asked them to remove my Before & After pictures.  It was just too complicated to have my profile page, the information provided and my profile name connected with the pictures... even though I attempted to explain to them the problem multiple times.

I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted!  I guess life has been busier than I thought.  

I have had a few pictures taken since my 6 month photos and will add them in the near future.

I'm losing slowly but am VERY pleased to note that I'm down 101 lbs since my surgery date of Sept 12, 2006.  That's 9 months to lose this much and was certainly hoping for more, but am happy I'm this far along.

I firmly believe I'm able to eat more than I should.  How much should someone at 9 months be able to eat?  I thought I would never be able to eat much more than a cup of food?  I plan to talk to my nut. in the near future.  
I'm never hungry per se, but allow something small and sweet each day to drive away "over indulgance" and cravings.
I still have problems needing to drink while eating.  I feel if I don't, I'm going to choke.  I am better than I was at this, but am still working on this.
My exercise needs to be built up.  I'm getting more than I used to, but still have problems with endometriosis pain and can't get on the treadmill every day.

The thing I've been MOST happy about is I'm not the biggest person in the room anymore!  If I still am?  I'm not SO big that I always stand out.  Mind you, I'm not at the pool when I say this... I'm dressed nicely and fitting in better.  It's been wonderful.  I'm actually a little smaller now than when I was married in 2001.  (those wedding pics are posted at the bottom of my WLS blog here if you'd like to see)  I'll have to add a current picture to the area below too.

What have I been up to in the last 3 months?  Really, a variety of things have been going on.  There's been knitting, blogging (I now have my own blog), a few classes for sewing and quilting, and spending time w/family and friends.  I became a Big Sister this past Spring to a wonderful little girl who's six years old.  It's been fun!

I'm hoping for a good Summer and more weight loss.  There are a few things we have scheduled and DH is going back on shift in July (I'm not happy about this), so I'm sure it will go by quickly.  Time certainly flies the older we get!  I'm hoping to make the most of each and every day.

DH and I are hoping to have kids in the future and will start trying in the Fall after my one year surgery anniversary.

I had my 6 month PostOp Doctor Appt this past Monday, March 12, 2007 and everything went well.  I stayed the same weight 308lbs from when I weighed myself a week earlier.

My labs came back normal and the BEST part is my cholesterol is way down from 250? range to 188.  That makes me feel really good.... I didn't have high cholesterol until I gained so much weight in the last 4-5 years.

We talked about my being tired all the time, more often than before and it was suggested that I up my fluid intake.  Making sure I get a minimum of 64 oz and work on more than that.  I decided that I also need to adjust my vitamin B complex and B12 and will get some new stuff in the next day or so.

We also talked about exercise.  I was given an exercise band and told to get on the treadmill (or other) 4-5 times a week.

I see the surgeon again in 3 more months for my 9 month appt.  I hope that I am down considerably in weight and more active.