Today I received an email from OH congratulating me on my 5 year Post-op Anniversary.  I truly didn't know that it had been that long and definitely didn't realize that today was my 5 year anniversary.  This is the first time that I have posted as well in about 5 years.  I first want to thank God that I have made this far.  I weighed in at almost 400 lbs, shy probably 30 lbs or so.  However, I lost close to 150 lbs and in those 5 years, I gained approximately 30 to 35 back.  However, I am now back to getting in my protein and working out and I have lost 8 lbs of weight I have gained back.  My lowest weight after surgery was between 219 and 220.  Because of my height, I looked rather slim, which was cool.  The weight loss helped me to defeat high blood pressure.

For those of you getting ready for surgery please know that the surgery isn't a quick fix, but a tool to use to help you get healthy.  There is still a lot of work to do after surgery, but it's doable.  I'm back on track and I'm really enjoying my life.

Hello All,

I pray that all who read my blog are doing well and living life to its fullest.  On March 6th, 2009 I completed my first 5k race in Uptown Charlotte.  It was a total of 3.1 miles that I had to complete.  I walked and did a slow jog with one of my co-workers and I completed it in 53 minutesand 34 seconds.  I was so excited and happy for myself.  I couldn't believe that I had completed that many miles in less than an hour.  It was a wonderful way for me to culminate my first year after surgery. 

I just want to encourage those who think that they can't  complete a 5k race, yes you can.  It's amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it.  Now believe me when I say that I was hurting for the next 3 days, but it was well worth it to me.

I would love to be able run a 5k one day, but I really don't like running like that.  I don't mind the slow jog throughout the race, but I don't think me and full stride running will get along.  HA!  But who knows what I will be doing in the next year.
 

Well this is all for now, you all be blessed and stay encouraged!

Hello All,

I can't believe how fast the time has gone.  I will be a year out on March 31st.  I thank God for the opportunity to make it this far and to be at the weight that I am.  I can't remember the last time that I weighed 200 anything.  I broke down and bought a scale.  I hadn't previously bought one, because I didn't want to become obsessed with weighing myself everyday or even every other day.  I figured that since I was almost a year out, that I would go ahead and buy one.  So I had my son to go ahead and put the battery in it for me and of course he had to jump on it first. Ha!

I hadn't weighed myself in a while, so I was sort of hesitant, on top of the fact that I had been eating a lot of junk lately.  Mainly chips and dip this week.  I had done so well up until this weekend.  At any rate I got on the scale and it read 228.8.  I was so excited I had to get on it again to make sure that it was right and the second time it read 228.2.  So, I have finally broken that 230 plateau that I had been on since January.  I felt like I had probably lost some more weight, but I wasn't for sure because I didn't have a scale nor had I weighed myself at my husbands job.  So any way, I got my praise on in my dining room. My son was like "Mom that's not right, you weigh less than me".  I was like yes it is, shoot!  My son is 15 years old and about 6'2 or 6'3 and weighs 229 lbs and I'm only 5'7.  He's a big boy! 

My total weightloss since surgery is 103lbs and 118lbs since the beginning of my journey to lose this weight.  People I have lost a whole person.  When you think about it that way, its hard to comprehend that I was really carrying around an average size female.  God is so good!  I know that a lot of people still believe that this type of surgery is the easy way out,; but they are so uninformed.  This is probably the hardest decision that I have ever made in my life and I don't regret having the surgery at all.  My health is better and I am now open to doing some things that I would have never tried at 346lbs.  I want to go rock climbing, of course in a controlled environment with the straps and bungee cords hooked to me, etc. Ha!  I want to walk a long trail or even a hiking trail with some hills, shoot I might would even try running a little bit.  I do like the adrenaline that I get from running.

I have added more weight traning to my cardio sessions.  I would like to recommend the Prevention workout series with instructor Chris Freytag.  She is awesome and the workouts are not too difficult to learn.  I started out with her walking dvd and have now added about 4 or 5 more of the series to my workout dvd library.  I've learned that it is to your advantage to weight train while doing cardio.  You burn more calories and tone up at the same time.  You can order them from Prevention.com.  You will really be glad that you bought them.

Well, I guess that I'll close now.  To my OH Family, thanks for all of the encouragement and kind comments.  I have made a lot of friends on the site and I thank God for you.  To those who have had the surgery, keep on pressing forward and to those who are going through the process of getting the surgery, keep your head up and know that your day is coming.

Be blessed and stay encouraged!

Hello All,

Just thought that I would drop a few lines and say hello to my OH family.  My journey is still going pretty well.  My weight loss has slowed down a bit, but that's ok, cause it's still coming off.  My goal now is to be in a size 14 by summer and to be able to run a mile by the fall of next year.  I'm back working out at least 5 days a week and I'm enjoying it.  I'm ususally good and tired when I get finished, but I like the benefits that I get from working out.

I am 6 weeks away from finishing my masters degree.  I can't believe that I am this close to finishing.  God is so good and I give Him all the glory, honor and praise for bringing me this far.  Every once in a while I take a moment to reflect on my life and I know that if it wasn't for Christ I wouldn't be here.  We have to trust Him with our everything.  I'm proud of myself for taking my health into my hands and making the decison with Gods approval to have the surgery.  It was a tough decision, one that has definitely changed my life for the better.  I serve an awesome God! 

To those who have had the surgery or preparing for surgery, keep the faith and do what the doctors ask of you.  There are parts of this journey that can be difficult at times, but trust me when I say that the benefits of better health is worth it.  Trust God to carry you through this journey and everything will be alright.  2009 is the year to get your life back and to take your relationship with God to the next level.  My you have peace, love, joy and prosperity from this day forward.

With love, your OH sista!