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Goals

to be a healthy role model for my daughter

40 People
 in progress, 
9 People
 achieved this

Be able to run at least one mile

43 People
 in progress, 
5 People
 achieved this

be healthy and active so that I can enjoy life with my daughter.

30 People
 in progress, 
12 People
 achieved this

Walk up stairs without panting

20 People
 in progress, 
13 People
 achieved this

Buy clothes at a regular store...not a plus size store.

794 People
 in progress, 
592 People
 achieved this
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Surgeon Testimonial

Amir Moazzez M.D.
When I first met Dr. Moazzez he displayed a great sense of humor, and I really liked that. I also immediatley noticed his passion for this field and that really impressed me. His seminar was extremely informative He made sure to explain the pros and cons fully of each procedure, after hours and hours of research I thought I knew about all of them but he was still able to teach me a few things.....lol He answered all questions and urged us to ask away. He never once seemed rushed or hurried and was extrememly knowledgeable and confident in his skills. (but not in a cocky way) When I had my first one on one consult with him he was very cool to meet with. At the time I was considering another surgeon's office and when we met one on one I knew instantly I wanted this surgeon to do my procedure. I felt very comfortable with him and his expertise and look forward to becoming a star patient!! His office staff was great also very informed and passionate about their job. They were very quick to follow up with my insurance and I had my approval within 6 days (4 business days) of the seminar!
Member Interests
  • Music - Very diverse in what I listen to but I always have something playing!!
  • Christianity - I am always looking to edify my faith!
  • Football - Go Skins!!!!!!!!!!!

Latest Surgery Support Comments

  • Comment by Kristie T. on 10/6/08 3:42 am
    WoW you day is here....Congrats & Good Luck...Wishing you a speedy recovery..
Click here for the surgery support page

So......here is my journey. I will try and update as much as possible. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

draple's Blog
draple's Blog


Running a Mile ;o)
on September 25, 2009 8:16 am

OK so here's the thing. While I have been working out pretty intensely since I had RNY I really have not been 'running'. I have been working out with a personal trainer and doing step aerobics and kickboxing. The reason I have not really tried to run much is well because it intimidates me. Every time I have tried to run I have to stop like after sixty seconds or so. I have recently been walking and jogging a bit more to try and up my endurance. However, I never did it on a treadmill so I wasn't sure how long or how far I was actually running. Well yesterday, I go to the gym and completed an hour workout class. After wards, I am feeling pretty good still and decide, well maybe ill hop on the treadmill for a while. I did a quarter mile fast paced walk and then decided ok April its time to test yourself, so I started jogging. I jogged a quarter mile and was feeling great and decided to keep going. So then I hit a half mile and said well shoot I just keep going. I got to 3/4 of a mile and said ok April GO FOR THE MILE, so I cranked the treadmill up to full blast running speed and sprinted the last quarter mile. I was so ecstatic when that treadmill reached one full complete mile of jogging and I had not stopped ONCE!!!! I almost was in tears because I was so proud of myself. When I began this journey I set out for one of my goals: TO BE ABLE TO RUN A MILE, and I can proudly say I can!! What a WOW moment for me. Now its time to shoot for 2 miles and on, because I am gonna RUN that 5K in the spring!!

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Fun Day at Six Flags and HUGE WOW Moment!
on April 27, 2009 2:53 pm
Well what a day yesterday was. I decided on a whim of nice weather and needing some quality time with my little gitl to take Jordan to Six Flags for the day. I didnt have the money to take her but its one of those decisions you make and hope you dont regret afterwards. Well let me tell you I DID NOT!! We had such a blast, as a matter of fact I have not had that much fun in quite some time! We got there as the park opened at 1030am and closed the park down at 615pm. I am not sure how Jordan made it all day without collapsing (especially in that heat) but she did, she must have been running on pure adrenline...lol

I had a few huge moments yesterday. For the first time in a VERY long time I went to an amusement park and I did not feel inhibited by my weight. I have not went in so long because I never fit on the rides and even if I did, I still exceeded the weight maximums the rides set. Well after 110 lb loss this was no longer an issue for me. So I freely and easily got in and out of every ride with Jordan that she needed or wanted me to get on with her! What FREEDOM that was. One of the reasons I choose to have Gastric Bypass is that I did not want my obesity to negatively affect my daughter. So yesterday was HUGE for me and proved to me once again, I made the most absolute best possible choice for my health and so I could be a better Mother to my lil girl.

Ok and I will admit at one moment I did cry. Jordan and I got on this fun little kiddie ride and as we were sitting there waiting for the ride to start this little girl (that looked SO much like Jordan) gets on behind us. Well she yells over to her Mom to get on the ride with her. I look over at the little girl's Mother and she was an overweight woman. I could tell from the look on her face she reluctanly agreed to get on and I felt her pain immediately. So she gets on the ride and goes to lock herself in, and I am sure her worst fears came true.....she did not fit :( She had to get off the ride. So as the ride starts to move and I am sitting there giggling and enjoying the ride with my little girl I start to cry at that bittersweet moment. Because I know that one year ago, that would have been Me, I would have been that Mom that didnt fit and had to be embarrased and get off the ride. What a blessing this RNY has been for me, my health, and my little girl!
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Big Wow Moment for Me!!
on March 9, 2009 4:27 pm
I had a huge wow moment this weekend!

Last summer as my daughter was jumping up and down on the HUGE trampoline in my Moms back yard, she yells to me...."Mommy come jump with me" Well sadly I couldnt because I alone exceeded the weight maximum for the trampoline! It was so disheartening to tell my daughter no.

So on Sunday we went to my Moms house. Well guess who got up on that trampoline and jumped with my daughter..........ME!!! It was such an awesome moment for me. I had tears of happiness to be able to do that with my daughter and see the excitement on her face.

Also on Sat  we took advantage of the nice weather and went to the park and RAN and RAN untill she told *me* to stop she was tired...lol She said Mommy I am tired of running lets walk...lol So I picked her up and ran with her!! What an awesome feeling.

I love that my RNY  has not only made me healthier but I can be the Mother I always wanted to be!!

Just had to share my joy!! :)
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Hello 250s :-) & Exercise Wow
on January 26, 2009 3:15 pm
Well this morning I weighed in and welcomed the 250s I was kinda going through a *mini stall* of only a pound lost here and there so with my 4 pound loss last week I weighed in at 256 this morning. I am not sure why reaching the 250s seems so huge to me......but it does. I think maybe its because all these rides at amusement parks usually say max weight 250. Maybe just the thought of *knowing* I can take my daughter this summer and I will MOST DEF be able to get on any ride with her means so much. It just for me personally has seemed like such a landmark. Losing 80 lbs so far literally blows my mind!!

As far as exercise, I have really stepped up my cardio intensity to try and burn as much fat as possible. Even before surgery I tended to be a gym rat (at times....lol). I always took this one step aerobics class called Group STEP. It is a nationally based program offered at gyms nationwide. It is super fun but very intense. They say on average you can burn over 650-700 calories per class! Well always taking the class I was always having to stop and catch my breath and take a sip of water. Or for some tracks in the class, I was doing the movements without the step because I just couldnt at around 340 lbs. Well last friday I went and did the class again, and for the 1st time, I made it through the WHOLE CLASS without stopping to come up for air once!!! I even took the 'harder' versions of some moves to up my intensity. I was so proud of myself, I could have screamed it from the mountain tops...lol

Thats all for now....so far.....gotta love my RNY
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3 months post-op
on January 3, 2009 7:12 am
Okay sooo I have been horrilbe about updating this thing. I read on other blogs before I had surgery that after you have the surgery your life explodes and takes off and that is SO true. My best friend just said to me, 'well arent you just the social butterfly now' lol But lets see....at 3 months post-op I am literally loving life!

At around 5 weeks post-op I did have a stricture and frankly well that sucked, but honestly I just considered it a lil bump in the road!! But PLEASE dont be like me and wait to long to call your doctor! By the time I was admitted I was severly dehydrated and my labs were HORRIBLE from not being able to eat/drink or take any vitamins so I spent 4 glorious days in the hosiptal getting fixed up...lol So if you find yourself experincing symptons consistent with a Stricture call your doctor IMMED!!

Ok so what else, as of last Monday I am down 71lbs since my WLS journey began. Thats 15 before surgery and a whopping 56 lbs since! I do have to say this is absolutely one of the hardest things I have ever done but SO worth the reward. I have realized I dont tolerate Milk anymore but have switched to Soy and thats working just fine for me.

I do struggle with my protein cause I just can seem to find a shake I like. The RTD shakes leave the most disgusting taste in my mouth for days and the ones you mix up the smell of the protein GAGS me terribly. I did find one I can manage to gag down but I kinda feel yucky afterwards so I am starting to question if maybe I just cant do Whey protein and need to look for another form (On a side note...I bought some protein bars last night and I have tried two different ones, and I really like them and tolerated them well so yay!! lol)

With the loss of 71 lbs so far I have gained a much better nights sleep!! My joints dont ache anymore and exercising is so much more fun now. I have always been into excersing its just....well it sucked before because at 336lbs it was so hard and I never got results.  I am working with the MOST awesome personal trainer and feel so blessed to have found him. I have gained energy like crazy to play with my lil girl. I feel like I am such a better Mom now.....I know that may seem weird but I really taking the time to focus on ME I think helps me be the best Mom I can be for her.

Thats all for now. I am at 265 now. My next little mini goal is to get to 248 because that will mean I only have 100lbs left to lose so wish me luck!!
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My Story

     Well here I go. I have been putting off writing this several days to think of something neat and exciting to write because I like to be dramatic.....lol But the fact of the matter is this is just a sad situation that at 28 years old I have missed out on so much of life due to the fact I was always overweight. I was always a chubby kid and for a long time was told "oh it's just baby fat", well now that I have a daughter of my own, I think it's safe to say it's not "baby fat" anymore. No one in my family has ever really been to concered about my weight because my entire family is obese.
     I am going to my Seminar on June 6th with Dr. Moazzez and I am very excitied about it. As I sat here filling out the huge booklet of paperwork I need to bring with me that day when I meet the doctor I realized that I have been in denail about how morbidly obese (gosh...I really hate that word) I really am. I have done hours and hours of research and comparing and three years ago I would have swore up and down I never would have had this surgery but at this point, I know it is my only option to become healthy for my daughter .
     Back in 2004 I went to visit my Aunt in GA and realized I couldnt walk anywhere because I had such bad back pain. I came home and was FED UP! I started to diet and excercise and after about a month finally got on the scale and was MORTIFIED to see 344lbs. Over the next year (except for a couple months that I dealt with a broken arm and nerve damamge) I managed to do really well exercising and making healthy food choices and I lost 50lbs and then BAM I got pregnant! I fell into the trap of "eating for two" while I was pregnant, and ever since I had my daughter I just cant get it back together again. 
    My final straw was in 2007 I lost 25lbs TWICE...yes twice. I lost the 25 lbs gained about 20 lbs back and then lost 25 again and then proceeded to gain 45lbs back.  and now I am back up to 334. How embarrassing. I refuse to let this affect my daughter when she gets older. I am still very full of life and run and play with my daughter still but of course you can imagine at over 300lbs you have limitations to put it mildly. At this point I am so done with being the fat girl with the awesome smile and pretty face. (Very nice to hear) however my health is most important for myself and my daughter since I am a single mother. My daughter is my life and I cannot imagine being limited as a Mother to her because of my weight. Plus I want to install healthy lifestyle patterns in her (that was never done for me) and I dont want to look like a hypocrite doing it....lol