1. I fit comfortably in a backseat of a taxi with a child in a car seat on either side of me.
2. I moved from a saggy, baggy size 50D bra (which used to be very tight) to a 44C. My sister asked me if I was planning to store nuts in there for the winter!
3. I found an ouchy pimple on the back of my thigh and squeezed it. Got in the shower and found ANOTHER pimple on my thigh. Took a minute to figure out it was the SAME damn pimple and that since I could reach all the way around my thigh, I had actually felt it twice, but from different directions!
4. I am now such a meat-eater that these guys who sell meat from freezers in a Sprinter van stop regularly at my house.
5. I am now such a good meat wagon customer that they gave me a free freezer to store the meat I buy in my garage!
6. I can eat at ANY restaurant and enjoy myself!
7. I can eat desserts at every meal if I want to.
8. I started this journey in 4x tops. Now I can fit into roomier-style size 1X.
9. I started in size 30/32 pants and now I am in 22s. I recently wore a generous size XL stretchy skirt.
10. I just wore a size 20 pair of Walmart city shorts to the DS BBQ at Lori’s house!!! Probably an anomaly, but I’ll claim it!
11. I have had to move my car seat WAY up to be closer to the steering wheel, since my gut is not in the way anymore!
12. I have had to adjust my car’s rearview mirror because I sit a LOT lower in the car these days without the extra butt padding!
13. I can’t sit still for very long, on account of my bonier butt.
14. I open my closet every morning and KNOW that the clothes in there will fit or even be too loose.
15. Crazy, wonderful lovemaking with my husband, since my big belly is gone! I actually wept the first time we made love after I lost 88 pounds. It was mind-blowing, to say the least.
16. My shoe size has dropped from an 11 back to a 10.
17. My lower back (with three herniated disks) does not hurt anymore after exertion.
18. I can stand for much longer periods of time than pre-surgery.
19. I fit comfortably in movie theater seats.
20. I can sit in any restaurant booth comfortably!
21. The pile of clothes that do not fit me anymore is getting bigger and bigger as I am getting smaller and smaller!
22. Everything old in my wardrobe is new again—I am shopping in my own closet!
23. My bathing suit practically fell off me when I was swimming after my first 40-pound loss.
24. I recently went to a Ringo Starr concert at the lakefront and had a choice of walking 1.25 miles or taking a shuttle to get to the venue, I chose the walk! It was a breeze!
25. The trainers at my gym all know me and my story, so I get high-fives and ego strokes each time I go there.
26. My trainer sees me each time and says “damn girl, you’re lookin’ lean!”
27. I can run up my front porch or basement stairs without getting winded.
28. I suggest we go to places with the kids where we have to walk all day, like the zoo or major Chicago museums, because it feels good to move my body.
29. It takes a lot for me to get sweaty or hot. Some days I even forget to wear deodorant! (TMI, I know!)
30. I like outdoor seating at restaurants—I don’t get too sweaty anymore.
31. My soaking bathtub is sooo much roomier and relaxing since I got smaller!
32. I can really shave my legs well now—no more big patches of left-behind fur on my knees or ankles.
33. I look more normal-sized on my bike with the boys in the trailer, not like a planet pulling a shooting star.
34. I’m less afraid to speak my mind these days.
35. I feel like I can talk more freely and openly with friends about health issues, since I am actually actively working on mine.
36. I have so much extra energy that my house is cleaner, my yard is better kept.
37. From me, my elder son has learned how to read food labels and spy the protein, calories and carbs!
38. I weigh myself several times a day because I am excited to see my progress!
39. I’m not afraid to sit on our folding camp chairs while we watch our son play soccer. They hold me without breaking!
40. My skin is clearer than it has ever been!
41. Thanks to the vitamins, my nails are growing like weeds!
42. I sat at the Ringo concert on a light folding chair and I felt okay. I didn’t panic that it was going to break into shards.
43. At the same concert, I asked the boney teeny-bopper next to move to shove over and stand in front of her own goddam seat. I’m sure she was silently calling me a “fat ass” out of spite, but I knew I was only occupying MY seat area, and not a centimeter more! She had no reason to complain.
44. I believe I can now fit in an airplane seat without a belt extender. That was a mortifying part of life before the DS.
45. I threw away my size 14 granny panties! I now wear a Lane Bryant 18/20. It feels amazing to have undies that fit well and hold you in a little!!
46. I don’t feel pissed when I forget something in the house and have to run back up stairs—I just say “oh, it’s good exercise.” Seriously!
47. I actually can allow myself to dream about being a normal size for longer than it takes for the average diet to fail. I actually believe I’m going to get there this time!
48. I actually feel like I have something to add (advice, humor, etc.) to the OH threads.
49. I feel very knowledgeable about the procedure I had done—most people just go to a doctor and say “help me lose weight, I don’t care how” and then have to live with their problems down the line. I have been able to answer all questions that have been directed at me, or turn to my peeps on OH for answers.
50. I have been able to work out for 45 minutes—hard—on the elliptical machine at the club, without having a heart attack! I love it!
51.  I am becoming a camera whore! I’m not always the one behind the camera anymore!
52. I can feel the bones in my shoulder! Can’t wait to reintroduce myself to my collarbones someday!
53. I’m not self-conscious about getting on the floor and doing exercises with my trainer at the health club. Even the doggy-style, crazy ones. LOL
54. When I follow my trainer around the health club, I can fit in between the machines. Pre-op, I used to have to walk over to the wide aisle so I wouldn’t bump my hips and then have to run to catch up with her/him.
55. When I was tossing a medicine ball around with my trainer, I almost lost my wedding rings because they have become so loose!
56. I no longer need to take naps when my kids do—I have energy to spare!
57. When I’m not dragging my kids with me, I park far away from stores and walk and actually enjoy it!
58. In a public restroom, I don’t automatically seek out the largest stall. I go into any one that is open (and cleanish-looking!).
59. I can cross my legs when I am sitting and it actually feels comfortable!! (And I don’t have to cheat and grab onto my leg and place it on top of the other one—I can just do it at-will, with no hands!)
60. After 2 months and 44 pounds down, I got a new driver’s license and I actually liked the picture! The woman in the new picture looks nothing like the woman on my passport! Wonder what Erma Bombeck would say about that!
61. My sugar levels are non-diabetic! Perfectly normal now, baby!
62. I took myself off my anti-depressant medication after 88 pounds gone and have not looked back since! I hope I continue to thrive without it.
63. I’m able to wear nice lingerie, including some cute ones I bought for my honeymoon 10 years ago! I have some size large Victoria’s Secret ones waiting for me that my cute husband bought to cheer me on!
64. My engagement and wedding rings are falling off of me. They slide off so easily that I have to be careful when I am in the pool and exercising.
65. If I drop something on the floor, I don’t have to bend down like a baby giraffe on wobbly legs to pick it up. I easily and quickly swoop down and back up again to get it.
66. I actually POSED for a picture, devouring Val’s Ricotta Fluff dessert, at a DS barbecue this past weekend! In the past, I would NEVER be photographed with food!
67. If I drop something while I am driving, (such as a coin or peanut or even an open bottle of water!), I can just reach down and pick it up. I don’t have to wait until I stop to retrieve it.
68. My necklace that I wear daily (a “push present” from my hubby) feels so loose around my neck! It now hangs where it is supposed to, instead of being almost a choker around my fat neck!
69. I openly tell anyone and everyone about my DS and am proud to say how much I’ve lost. I enjoy their surprised looks and enjoy teaching them there are other options.
70. I can snuggle thisclose to my hubby in bed.
71. My three-month labs were good. I expect the 6-month ones to tank, because that’s what seems to happen, but I’m ready!
72. Since I am eating so much meat now, I’ve been teaching myself how to grill stuff, and I think I am getting better at it! I recently made ribs that were pretty awesome, if I do say so myself!
73. I like my hair short, a style that was not so good with my former bigger body. I think it will look even more “matched” to my body as I lose more weight. By then, I may even like it long! It’s nice to finally have options.
74. I’m actually talking about reconstructive surgery with my husband, as if I know I will get to goal and need it. I have lots of weight to go yet, but I have such hope!
75. I LOVE going to my monthly support group meeting. That’s the only scale I trust and use as my official weigh-in source. And it’s a little like show-and-tell for me these days.
76. I am actually looking forward to my next GYN appointment. The last time I went was before my DS and he was so supportive of the surgery idea. I know he’ll be pleased to see me healthier.
77. I am not afraid of the first day of my son’s kindergarten class this fall. I was nervous for him that kids would tease him because I was so fat. I’m still big, but at least I don’t have my own satellite system anymore!
78. I wish I could say that my feet don’t hurt anymore, but I can’t. My feet hurt differently these days. I had plantar fasciitis, aggravated by my heavy weight. That’s better, but now my feet are simply sore from use! Treadmill, elliptical, standing longer all adds up to make my tootsies tired!
79. I actually look at myself more in the mirror now. I had no idea how much I avoided seeing my body’s reflection until now. I guess I just didn’t like what I saw, so I looked away. Not anymore, baby!
80. My surgeon and I had set a goal of me losing 100 pounds by 6 months after my DS. So, it’s nothing short of a miracle to me that I did it in just under five months!
81. As I am getting rid of clothes that do not fit me anymore, I find that I am not even giving them a backward glance. It’s so easy to say goodbye to that which is not a part of me and my identity anymore. They were rags that covered my body, instead of clothes hat I coveted or felt good in.
82. My next-door neighbor wondered “who was taking my kids out one day, was it a babysitter?” The answer was ME, of course, not some stranger! She was shocked at the difference in my appearance.
83. My shirts keep sliding to the left and to the right, revealing my bra strap. It’s nice to look down and fix it, and see that my bra strap is not the big, thick mama that it used to be! This bra looks practically dainty by comparison to the practically-military contraptions I used to wear!
84. My five-year son said I’m not as “thick” as I used to be!
85. When I do go to a fast food drive-thru, I am no longer embarrassed by being there. I order my food happily, without any shame. (I actually used to order myself pizza on the phone and pretend to ask imaginary others what they wanted, s if the pizza person cared!!)
86. I weigh less today than I did when I met my husband 11 years ago!
87. I have lost more than my toddler and 5-year old weigh, put together!
88. My hubby and I were waving “goodbye” to our kids from our porch as they left for an outing with their aunt and uncle and I heard a strange chiming sound coming from my hand. It was my 3-banded wedding ring sliding up and down on my finger and clinking against one another. My husband and I cracked up.
89. When I do a little jog around the house or to dash and catch a kid falling off a swingset or something, my loose panni and thighs slap up and down together, making kind of a clapping noise. I guess my body is so happy that I can run again, it’s applauding!
90. I actually looked forward to seeing the photos posted from the Indy gathering. I figure now that even if I look like a fat ass in them, that won’t be the case in a few more months.
91. I just hosted a major yard sale and my old, jumbo clothes were a big part of it!
92. When I walk down the stairs to my basement, I can actually see my feet. Before, with my stomach in the way, I had to take it on faith that they were there and would actually land on each step.
93. I don’t really crave any food, at this point. Before the DS, my life was ruled by my cravings: pizza, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, cheese fries, etc. I could plan a whole day around my cravings and how I was going to get them! Now I don’t care a whole lot about what I eat, as long as it is high-protein and low-carb and tastes good. I feel FREE.
94. My boobs don’t get in the way of all of my tight hugs anymore.
95. The Menards (hardware store) turnstile didn’t spook me into going in though the wide cart door the last time I was there. I just turned sideways and popped easily through.
96. I am gearing up to do my freelance PR business again and the thought of meeting potential clients face-to-face doesn’t worry me at all. I think they’ll see a PR professional, not just an obese out-of-control woman.
97.  Thus far, I have been complication-free from my DS surgery. No leaks, no obstructions, no infections. I continue to be vigilant (and hopeful).
98. I can see the reflection of my naked silhouette in the shiny shower tiles each day and man, has it changed! I see less lumps and bumps.
99. My shelf ass has diminished. Before, someone at a cocktail party could have rested a drink on it, but now it would hit the floor! I can’t wait until it’s completely gone.
100. I don’t feel like a pig at the movies, even when I am doing my piggy butter trick with my popcorn. (I meticulously use a straw and the butter machine to distribute butter evenly throughout my bag of popcorn.)
101. My fuzzball of a dog sheds everywhere, so I constantly find myself vacuuming with the hand attachment, bending this way and that. It’s now a breeze for me, instead of drudgery.
102. Opening doors and windows is harder for me now, since I actually have to use muscle and leverage, instead of just “throwing my ass in to it.”
103. I’ve always loved my engagement ring, so it’s nice that I’ve been getting compliments on it these days. I think that it is because I have less fat obstructing it on my hands and the diamond looks bigger than it actually is! When I get to goal, it should look like the Hope Diamond!
104. Weeding is a breeze! I just spy a little stray green bugger, bend down and whisk it out of there, instead of walking by and ignoring it until the weeds get critical mass and something has to be done!
105. I can carry my toddler for a lot longer distances than I ever did before!
106. When I play on the floor with my kids, I can get up and down easily. No more grabbing onto furniture to hoist my carcass up!
107. I actually rode a camel with my husband and two kids a couple for months ago! When I hit 200 pounds, I am going to ride a horse.
108. After a lifetime of sweating just doing activities of daily living, I now actually feel cold in the air conditioning or on a cooler evening. My friend Marlene thinks that is the gateway to thinness and now feels comfortable lovingly calling me a “skinny bitch” on that basis alone!

I'd like to give a special "thanks" to  my terrific family and friends, who have been truly supportive of me all the way. Thanks fo reading this blog!! A special shout out to my husband, mom, sister and brother-in-law for all their love and TLC. To my beautiful little boys, who have loved me through thick and thin: I love you! And to all of the wonderful folks here on OH--thanks, I couldn't have done it without your support and guidance.