I saw Dr. Chapman today for my 1 yr post-op appointment. He found me to be in great health and had nothing but possitive things to say about my progress thus far. I'll call in a day or so to find out how my blood work comes out. I'm feeling good so I hope that's a good sign that my blood levels will all be good as well.

Since I am a part of the LABS2 study they also drew copious amounts of blood today and took my neck and waist measurments. The guy from the study program didn't have access to last years measurements but he said he would look them up and call me tomorrow with those numbers. I'm interested to know what the difference is from now and last year this time. I still kick myself in the butt for not taking all my measurements right before surgery and keeping up with the inches lost as well as the pounds.

Everyone I saw at the office today was so pleased to see my progress. It makes me feel so good about all the hard work I've been putting in to have those that see this kind of thing all the time make a big deal out of Me. I definitely left there with possitivity in my heart and head. I'm almost sad that it will be a full year before I go back for another visit.

Now it's time for me to buckle down and find a good general practioner. I've only seen my GYN for years now and it's high time I get a good regular Dr. I also need to see a vascular doc to take a look at my vericose veins. They are much more prominent since weight loss and I worry that they are problematic. Dr. Chapman says that's not likely, but it wont hurt to get them checked out.

My stats havn't changed much since my last blog entry, but here they are just the same. :)

Surgery Weight: 284 lbs

Current Weight: 169

Goal Weight: 155

Highest Weight: 306 lbs 

14 lbs to go!! Now that's something to smile about! :-)

I hope everyone is doing well and about to have a wonderful 4th of July! Be safe and eat healthily!

{{hugs}}

Holley

I've been having a hard time finding words for blogs lately and I'm not sure why. It seems that life is getting busier as I become more active and I like that feeling. :)

I can not believe I am 10 months post-op. May 26th made 10 months since my surgery and I can hardly  believe my life these days. The possitive changes in my body, my life, my spirit and my soul are awesome and sometimes overwhelming. I find myself wanting to experience everything and feel everything like I am living for the first time. This must be what Pinocchio felt like when he became a 'real' boy.

The air is cleaner feeling and even the rainy days seem good lately. I am in love with life. *smiles*

On to the good stuff!

High Weight: 306

Surgery Weight: 284

Current Weight: 171

Goal Weight: 155

That's 16 lbs to go ppl!! 16 POUNDS! It's so normal I could just pinch myself! It's been about a month since my last blog and I've lost 4 lbs since then. If I lose 4 lbs every month in 4 months I will reach my goal at around 14 months post-op. What a RUSH! My surgeon told me prior to surgery that I could expect to lose 80% of my excess weight by 1 year out. Well, I've done that already my friend. :)

A friend of mine told me recently that she's considering this surgery. I wish I could truely find the words to tell her how much it has helped me live again. It's not easy by any means, but it's worth every effort, tear, and frustration to feel this good.

On July 26th, I want to cellebrate. I plan to cellebrate like it's my birthday because I feel like I was indeed reborn that day last year. Like God breathed into me once more to give me a second chance on this Earth. What an awesome feeling this is.

Sending out lots of love and support for everyone. I know I haven't been around here as much lately, but I think of my OH family every day. Take good care and eat healthily!

{{hugs}}

Holley

Weeeeeeeeeee Ahhhhhhhhhh!! That's what I was screaming a lot of on Saturday! I took Courtney to Busch Gardens yesterday. We met my best friend and her family up there and we all spent the day at the park, and I mean ALL day, a full 12 hours of theme park walking and riding!

I can not even begin to tell you how much fun I had. I've always enjoyed riding rides, especially the 'dropping' sensation rides. Now I can FIT into ALL of them!! WooooHoooo! I think I'm hooked!! I loved it-loved it-loved it! I rode every ride Busch Gardens had and that includes the smaller rides as well. But the big thrills for me were in the big roller coasters. Everything from the old Lochness Monster to the brand new Griffon and everything in between. Nothing like a 205 ft drop face down to get the blood going baby!! HAHAHAHA! Can you tell I had a good time?

The day worked out so well. Courtney and I rode all the coasters with my best friend's hubby and son as she and her younger daughter do not like the coasters. We also rode the less intense rides as well, that were still fun, but once you've taken a 200 ft dive towards the ground, the spinning rides just aren't the same!

We found good food that was incredibly expensive and I complained about sufficiently. We saw 2 shows, a river dance type show as well as a play/mystery theatre show as well. It was all good.

And you know what? The whole day, not one time did I say, "I can't do that". Anything I wanted to do, I did! I never got exhausted and out of breath, I fit into every seat/ride/isle they had and that was the BEST feeling!! I remember as I was sliding into a couple of the seats on the coasters almost holding my breath thinking, 'this is going to be uncomfortable'... then fitting right in, the safty bar fitting comfortably over me, and a big ole grin on my lips. Life is good!!

Now, since my last blog I've lost some pounds. As of 2 days ago, 3 lbs in fact. I'm axious to see if I've lost more in the morning when I wake up as I've not been at home to weigh on my scales the last 2 mornings so I don't know if I've lost more at this point or not. After being on my feet and on the go for 12 straight hours yesterday, I hope I have lost another pound, however I am quite satisfied with 3 pounds this past week. I think I owe it entirely to getting sufficient nutrition this last week as I have not eaten less, just better.

I am now fitting into size 12s very comfortably. All of my wonderful size 14 capris that I've been wearing are getting to baggy for me to even wear with a belt and I'm going to miss them, but I am sooooo glad to be down to a 12. I am now the same size as my Mom. That is a HUGE mile marker to me, because my mom has always been a small person and someone I've always thought was the perfect size even though she's about 20 lbs heavier than she wants to be.

I only have 19 lbs to go to reach my orriginal goal of 155. That sounds so normal to me. It's still hard to wrap my mind around it all sometimes.

Here are my current stats. Maybe I'll have something new to report after the morning weigh-in, who knows!

Highest Weight: 306

Weight at Surgery: 284

Current Weight: 175

Goal Weight: 155

As you can see, even though my surgeon mentioned that I should probably shoot for 140 as my goal, I continue to keep 155 as my goal. I don't even want to think about getting lower than 155 right now so I've made up my mind to keep my orriginal goal as is and see how I feel when I get there and how the weight is coming off at that time. I have been looking at 155 for so long, I don't want to change it. I just want to get there, take a deep breath, then worry about wanting to go further.

Well that's about all for now. I hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend. We've had some severe weather in NC today and I hope everyone has remained safe out there. Take good care and eat healthily!

{{{Hugs}}}

Holley

.... whatever you want to call it, I'm there again. I wish I understood my body better and could just open up a little door to the inside and see what's going on in there. I know there is a reason for the stall, I'm just not sure what that reason is. I'm going to get back to basics this coming week and really focus on getting my nutrition in more. I've not been paying as close attention to getting in enough of the essentials and I wonder if that's what's going on. We'll see soon enough!

My stats havn't changed since my last post, so no need to post them again.

This has been a work week for me and there have been a couple of days where I didn't get near enough sleep. That always throws me off ballance it seems. When you work at night, you come to realize just how important getting enough sleep really is to your whole life. Sleep deprivation effects every aspect of your existance.

Well, nothing new to report with the guy I met at the dance club a few weeks ago. He travels so much and is rarely home, I think I've just lost interest. However, I have found that I notice men so much more lately. I catch myself checking them out and sizing them up so to speak. It's a little embarasing when I think about it. I think my hormones have gone into over drive and it's got me googling at all the men within range.

It's funny how our outward appearance changes the way we feel on the inside sometimes. We're still the same person, yes, but there are many things about that person that are different now. I am more confident and self assured  now which shows me so many possibilities in this world that I couldn't see before. It's like all that fat was clouding my vision as well as my judment. Now it seems like the world is open for me and I can do anything I want to do. I don't ever remember having those feelings before. I remember being focused on the things that I couldn't do, or didn't think I could do rather. I have become my polar opposite.... from neggative to possitive and damn that feels good people!! :)

A friend of mine posted that she was no longer as camera shy as she used to be. I couldn't agree more. I don't mind having my picture taken anymore, in fact I kinda like it. I like seeing the difference in myself in those pictures. I like seeing the smile on my face and knowing that it's genuine and not a fake for the camera. Feeling good about myself shows when I look at those pictures so anytime I've got on a new outfit or I'm having a good hair day, I get my daughter to take a few shots of me. I've become a hamm! :)

I think I'll find some good pictures of my daughter and put on here. Maybe we'll take some pictures together and I'll post them soon. Her softball season is in full swing now and they've got a really good team this year. It's great to see those girls getting out there on the field and enjoying themselves and playing so hard.

That's all for me for now. I hope everyone else is doing good and enjoying life. Remember this is our one chance  in this world, live it to the fullest!

{{Hugs}}

Holley

That's what I've been doing lately and it's making me smile. :)

I've been busy it seems as I have not blogged in a couple of weeks so it's time to put some thoughts together and give everyone an update. I have been keeping my weight loss ticker and my weight tracker updated here, I've just not had time to blog lately.

Current Stats:

Highest Weight: 306

Surgery Weight: 284

Current Weight: 178

Goal Weight: 155

23 more pounds to go, and I have to tell you my friends, that astounds me and humbles me to my core. 23 pounds is normal. 23 pounds is just any average person needing to drop a few pounds. I am so thankful for the opportunity that I have had to have this surgery. Everyday when I wake up I thank God and my family for everything. Not only have I been able to get healthy physically, but slowly I'm becoming so much more healthy emotionally as well.

I really am learning to love myself more every day. I'm learning about the person that's been inside this fat shell for so many years now. I'm realizing that the woman inside is a damn fine woman indeed and she deserves to be loved and happy. I Love Me, and I haven't been able to say that in a very long time.

As a single Mom, I've been venturing out and about more these days with my friends. About a week and a half ago my best friend April and I met a co-worker of mine up in Raleigh for dinner and dancing. We went to a really neat dance club that is huge and has 3 clubs in one. It was really fun to be able to walk from one club to the next and be immersed in a different world each time. There was a Country club that was the biggest with a live band and even a bull in the corner for those brave souls that wanted to give it a ride. Then there was the Hip Hop club where all the younger crowd gathered and was so full of energy. Then there was my favorite... the 80's club! I grew up in the 80's and all that music was taking me back to the days of middle and highschool and those highschool dances.

I can't tell you when the last time I had that much fun was. It was a blast! I also met and danced with a really nice guy and we've been talking on the phone since. It's been very nice so far getting to know someone new.

I am still finding people that don't know I had WLS and are just amazed at my weight loss. People are getting braver as I get smaller and asking about my weight loss. I had a lady up on one of the ICU units last week say..."I don't mean to be nosy, but havn't you lost a lot of weight?" LOL Yeah, that's an understatement!! She bout hit the floor when I told her the total was 128 lbs so far.

You know what else I'm getting? People think I'm going to be too thin when I reach 155 lbs. They are shocked when I tell them that I have 23 more pounds to go. 155 is in the HIGH side of the healthy range, I don't think I'm being unrealistic about that goal. My surgeon has suggested that I shoot for 140 rather than 155, but I've made the decision to see how I feel at 155 first. :) I think I would be just happy at 155 but I'll have to see when I get there.

That's about all for now. I hope to be able to post some more later this week. This week isn't nearly as full as the past 2 weeks have been so I hope to have more time to get caught up on everyone else as well.

Take care eat healthily!

{{{hugs}}}

Holley