It has been six months since surgery and things are going well.  I’ve lost 83 lbs. since surgery and 110 lbs. altogether. I feel great!  I am able to do so much more of the things I love to do because of the weight loss.  Food is an issue for me though, I’m not eating enough and I have a hard time getting enough calories.  I should consume about 2200 calories per day but I only get about 1000.  Occasionally I get close to 1500 but that is still not enough.   Of course I am thrilled about the weight loss but the food issue is scary, I don’t know how I am going to deal with it.  I only have 10 or 15 lbs left to lose so the food issue is really at the forefront of my thinking.

After 2 weeks of slow losing, I decided to try something different to kick start weight loss.  It worked!  I started riding my road bicycle again and after a couple of 10+ mile rides, I am losing again.  I hope I can keep this up, I am so close to goal...

I changed my goal weight to 164 which is 10 lbs. from my current weight.  I don't really know if that is the right weight for me though, maybe I still have 15 or so to go...

It's been awhile since I enjoyed a good hike, so I promised myself that I would hike one of my favorite local trails today and I fulfilled that promise.  The temperature was a pleasant 45° and the sun was shining brightly.  As I walked along I noticed that I was not breathing as heavily as I used to, in fact I only had to catch my breath one time on the entire 5 mile hike. After about 3 ½ miles into it I pulled up a rock and spent a few minutes enjoying my captivating surroundings, then I had a protein bullet.  On the way back to the truck I noticed that as I swing my arms they no longer hit the water bottles that I carry in my hiking pack because my shoulders are now wider than my waist.  What a delightful hike, and as a bonus I was accompanied by my beloved 100 lb. hound dog, Big Z.