Two year surgiversary!!! Can you believe it!!! From 315 pounds to 194 pounds! 
From a size 22-24 to size 12-14 
From a XXXXXXXXL (so it seemed) to a M-L shirt 
From never walking or exercising to walking 4 miles EVERYDAY! 
From an inter-tube for a waist to a waist where I can actually wear a belt!!! 
Oh my God, I was just sitting here thinking how different my life is now! It is funny because it is almost like you forget the life you lived before! Here is a little look in the life I lived before and the changes these two years have brought to my life: 
My legs don’t rub anymore! 
That awful rash and dark spot I had on my upper-inner thighs is gone! My ankles aren’t swollen and I even wear an ankle bracelet! 
I don’t have to lift up my stomach with one hand and wash underneath the roll with the other! 
I CAN GET IN THE TUB AND LAY BACK AND RELAX! AND THE WATER ACTUALLY STAYS IN THERE! 
I don’t have to do “the rock” to get off the couch! 
I am more active, in bed and out! 
I don’t use the handicap bathroom, (unless I want to)! 
The car seat isn’t pushed all the way back! 
I don’t have to stop by a fast food restaurant to get a #3 to hold me until I finish making dinner! 
I eat regular portions, and leave food on my plate. 
I don’t have to be out to dinner with my husband or my girls and can’t concentrate on the conversation b/c I am too busy “eyeing” the food they left on their plate wondering if they are going to eat it and would I look too greedy if I asked for it! 
When people take pictures I don’t have to be the one to volunteer to take the picture, I can actually get in it, and not way in the back! 
I don’t have to cry when I see pictures of myself! (Especially when I just knew I looked good on that particular day, why did the camera lie? What did I do wrong? God why me?!) 
I don’t wait until my husband is sleep to sneak back in the kitchen for more food! 
I don’t wake up with food and crumbs in my bed, all on the side of my face, nasty taste in my mouth, where I fell asleep eating something!! 
I don’t have to wait until everyone is out of the kitchen so I can sneak more food while I am pretending to put it away! 
I don’t have to sneak sandwiches to the garage and eat them! 
I don’t have to sit in the garage in the dark eating a foot long (from subway of course) because dinner didn’t fill me up! 
I don’t have to order two birthday Oreo cookie ice cream cakes, one for the guests, one for myself! 
I don’t have to lie and say that I am making a plate to take home for my husband after a BBQ then eat it on the way home! Then I had to lie again once I got home and my husband asks me why I didn’t bring him anything! (“Mike if you wanted something then you should’ve gone!!!) 
I don’t have to cut all the tags out of my clothes so I am not reminded of what size I wear! I also don’t have to lie when someone asks me what size I wear! 
I can go shopping with other females and not feel embarrassed when NOTHING in the store fits! 
I can tie my own shoe, cut and paint my own toenails and don’t have to worry about what the Korean lady is saying to the other Korean lady when they are doing my feet!( I know they were talking about how big and fat my feet was, boy I need to learn Korean!) 
I can hold my arms up to style my hair without taking breaks, and don’t have to worry about what the African lady is saying to the other African lady when they are braiding my hair! (I know they were talking about how big my head was, boy I need to learn Creole and French!) 
I can go to a Chinese buffet and don’t have to worry about what the Chinese man is saying to the Chinese lady when I walk in the door, (I know they were talking about how big my stomach was, boy I need to learn Chinese!) 
I can go to the car wash and get my car detailed without worrying about what the Mexican man is saying to the other Mexican man when I got out of the car, (I know they were talking about how big my butt was, boy I need to learn Spanish!) 
I can wash my own hair, leaning over the sink without it hurting my stomach! 
I can sit in a booth, seat on the plane, or any seat with out the fear of it breaking like the girl on Shallow Hal or getting a seat belt extension! I can put my seat belt on without pulling it all the way out and it hurting the side of my neck! 
My butt fits on the hopper seat! 
I can greet folks that I haven’t seen in a while instead of pretending that I don’t see them! 
I can walk the WHOLE mall! 
I can go to a family gathering without always hearing the “big girl” jokes! I can go to a buffet and fix my plate without feeling like the world is looking at me whispering, “why in the world is she in here, she isn’t even trying, don’t she look in the mirror, she must don’t realize it is about portion size! (Don’t they realize that I can hear them?!) 
I can enjoy my food! I can enjoy life! I can enjoy Teena!

For you newbie’s just starting this journey, this is not a fix all. You have to work it or it will work you. But if you use this tool it will be such a blessing! If you don’t eat right and exercise, you will regain weight, trust me, been there done that! Don’t be too hard on yourself if you fall off, dust yourself off and get back on that horse, cow, bull, or whatever will carry your big buttJ! If I can do this, trust me when I tell you, ANYONE can!!! 
I LOVE YOU ALL!!! BE BLESSED! ENJOY YOUR SUMMER!!!