It's hard to believe that 1 year ago, I went into surgery in an attempt to dramatically improve my health.  If I had the choice, I would do it again in a heartbeat.  I write this knowing that there is a chance that people may be reading this with many different perspectives.  Some may be considering weight loss surgery, others may just be friends and family members accompanying me on this amazing journey. 

At my highest Weight, I was just over 350 lbs.  I now am weighing in at 184 lbs.  That's a total loss of 166 lbs.  I weighed 322 on the day of my surgery, having lost some weight leading up to surgery.  As many may be aware, my wife Jodell (theshumgirl) also had surgery in March 07.  We are both healthy and doing well.  

This surgery doesn't solve all of your problems, but for us it's at least helped us both lose the weight, and establish more healthy relationships with food and exercise.  We find ourselves able to do many things for "fun" that we wouldn't have thought to be fun before.  I used to avoid exercise like it was a dirty word.  Now, one year later, I can't wait to be released by my doctor to return to training for my first Sprint triathlon.  We are thankful for each other and the support we've been able to provide each other through this entire process.  We are both able to be more active with our kids.  We are optimistic that we have extended our lifespan, and within a very short period of time dramatically improved our day to day health.

Just wanted to write an update on how I'm doing.  I'm now almost 10 months out and am doing very well.  Weight wise, I've settled in to 195, which is a wonderful weight for me at my height of 6'4".  Not bad considering Oct 06 I was tipping the scales at about 350.  We've just survived a wonderful Christmas break, and are back into the grind.  

Since Thanksgiving I've made some great improvements to my exercise routine and training.  I made the decision to start training for my first Sprint Triathlon.  I find it amazing that I would even consider that a possibility for me as in the past I used to avoid exercise like the plague.  I just signed up for my first official event at the end of May in our community.  It will be a 1KM swim, 10K bike, and 5K run.  I got a road bike for Christmas which I bought from my dad for $160.00.  He had it built up from the frame in the past couple months, but then came across a deal he couldn't pass up on another bike, so he passed it off to me.  It is a 10 yr old frame that had been sitting after somebody bought it and never rode it.  It is running well, and I just got back from a short 6 1/2 mi. ride.  Training for this sprint tri has really helped me refocus on my fitness goals.  With how well I'm doing now, I'm very optimistic that I won't be at the event all day trying to finish.

After taking a couple months off school (Nov and Dec) I'm now back into the final stretch to complete my MBA.  I should be completed by the end of June.  I just started my first Becker CPA review course, and it is pretty intense.  My goal is to pass all parts of the exam and get my certification by the end of the year.  This will be quite an undertaking.

Work is keeping me busy too.  I've been asked to co-lead a team to help improve a process at work, which will be something new for me. 

--Dave