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As of this afternoon, I weigh 128 lbs. That is is lowest weight I have been since I was a teenager and went on a 500 calorie diet with Physician's weight loss clinic and lost the weight only to put it back on with friends. 
 
I can wear a size 2 in jeans and size 8 in suits. I put on a size 5 in juniors. I have lost 99 lbs since the day of surgery. I lost weight over Thanksgiving and Christmas. My surgeon said that I am at goal but my nutritionist said that I could lose more. I am thinking about a breast lift or reduction. It has been a wonderful ride. 

I still have people that find out that I call "haters"...They tell you about how people that they know that had the "surgery" gained everything back. Even the lady in my physician's office said that "oooh I have seen just about everyone gain it all back".. now this was not my surgeon's office but my primary doc.

Just for everyone to know.. at Dr. Facundus' office I have been treated very ugly by his staff. My insurance changed and I no longer have my own insurance and my secondary insurance that I have become my primary insurance. I told the lady at the desk and that seemed like it pissed them off. They wanted to know everything about the dates that my insurance changed and when it terminated. I told them that they just needed to file on my secondary insurance as my primary and that nothing else has changed... Stephanie came out and said this is information that they required do to outstanding balances. I informed them that I did not owe them a dime and have never went without paying for services. It was horrible ... I almost started crying in the back... but Dr. Facundus came in and I was excited about my success and progress that I did not feel like reliving the nightmare that his staff puts me through..

They are extremely mean and hateful ... at times they can be sweet.. but I would most accurately describe their office as MOODY....it just depends on their mood and how you are treated. Hunter at the nutritionist office is nice but be careful with everyone else.. you never know how you will be treated..It was extremely rude.  

Also.. the first thing that anyone ever notices about people is their weight. I have been embarassed a number of times when people announce to everyone about my weight... you look so good..... how much weight have you lost... in front of everyone in restaurants and things... I wished that whatever I weighed was not the first thing that people noticed.... size matters too much to everyone... I am smaller than I have ever been as an adult, but is that all that matters to anyone. People need to get over themselves and their obsession about someone else's weight. 

Maybe they are trying to be nice, but it still reminds me of how they treated me before my weight loss. Thank God for WLS.. but shame on everyone for cataloging my size over everything else. It just shows how deep perceptions and thoughts run about weight. 

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and I will try to update.. I have thought about it many times.. but it seems that no one reads are responds so I just quit updating even though I think about it.

I hope it helps someone.

I am 4.5 months post op and I am down to 163.5 lbs. I went to a wedding last weekend and bought a size 8 dress and went back to the mall and bought a size 6 pair of Ralph Lauren Classic fit jeans. I feel great. 

I think it is quite a difference, but I do not see a dramatic change when I look in the mirror. I still feel large... my mind has not caught up with the rest of me.  On a health note, I have had monthly periods and hoping that the polycystic ovarian syndrome may have gotten better. I need to see my GYN to have my ovaries checked. 

I am happy with my decision to have the surgery and new doors are opening. I have finals next week and currently I have an A in my class. I am volunteering in a lab to get some experience and taking a large load in the fall. The classes that I am taking is supposed to be extremely difficult so I am quite scared.  I still don't know if I am smart enough, but we will see. 
I feel lost sometimes because my background is not as strong as I wished. I do not remember things from undergraduate school and really needed remediation... but I rememdiate as I go along. 

WLS has been a saving grace and I thank god for giving me this gift.
I hope anyone that reads this know that it is not for everyone, but it was right for me.

I am happy to say that I am still losing weight. I have dropped more weight. 
I am down to 171lbs and my size 12's are getting large. There is a pair of jeans that I could not wear in the beginning that were extremely tight for a while and now they can be pulled down without un-buttoning them..

I went to see a friend that has not seen me in about two weeks and she said that I was little but had huge boobs. My breasts have not lost in proportion with the rest of me. I thought that would be the first thing to go... but that is not the case. I ran into a lady that I worked with three years ago and she said that my face was familiar, but she did not know where to place me. She said  I was so little. 

In my mind, I know that I have lost weight, but I don't see myself as little. I have mostly good days, but sometimes I  feel bad after  I eat. It just depends. 

I start graduate school on monday and am exciting about my new life. I just hope that I am smart enough. 

I really need to get some pictures on my profile. I don't know if people read this, but I sure spend a lot of time reading profiles of other people before I made my decision to have the surgery. It was years of reading and I hope that I have provided information to others.

I will be married 4 years tomorrow. Time is flying by and my family is very supportive. My dad told me that he was proud of me for losing the weight. 
I don't know if my scale is correct, but my clothes are showing a difference. I am happy with my decision and am learning to eat again, except for this time it is a healthier way of living.

Although I have gone through a huge ordeal... I feel optimistic about the future. I have made a big decision... I am going back to graduate school full-time. The issue that I have is that I do not know whether to pursue a Master's in Molecular Biology or Biochemistry. I feel like my background in biology is the molecular level... but I have always been gifted in Chemistry. I just don't know. The hard part is that we have to sell our house and move. I need to be closer to the university. I do not want to commute. 

I just pray for guidance to send me in the right direction. When it comes down to it, I need to make the decision and stick to it. Molecular Biology is extremely exciting and I am ready to start a new chapter in my life and completely change careers. I am going to do what I love to do... research.. and work with people that are interested in ideas... I want to feel like I am contributing to the world of science. I am finished working in High School and Post Secondary Institutions... it is a waste of time and the politics are extremely corrupt.

Here is my wow moments... I stepped on the scale this morning and I weigh 179lbs.... I went to the mall yesterday and wanted to try on some clothes.. I wear a size medium shirt... and I could put on a size 10 pair of shorts. .. My size 12 clothes are getting lose. 
I went to the beach for a week and i was able to wear a bathing suite without feeling gross. I got in the water.. and felt good. .. It was amazing. I am going back to the beach the beach house this next saturday and I am going to stay for another week or so... 
I need to get out of town and enjoy myself before classes begin. 

My next graduate class is going to be Psychopharmacology.. (drug interactions in the brain and behavior) It sounds extremely interesting. I have been reading my undergraduate Biochemistry text book.. I have memorized most of the amino acids.. and am ready to start a new chapter of life...

Again.. pray for me and my family so that we are OK with my new transitions.

Until then....

Right now, I can't complain about the weight loss. I have dropped from a size 18W to a 12. I can even get into some of my old size 10 clothes. 
On my scale at home, I weigh around 185lbs. I have not been exercising like I need to be because of light headedness. I feel like my blood sugar drops and I feel faint. I can walk around well, but if I lift weights or get on a cross country machine, I get really dizzy. My husband likes to chase me around the house. I am still subconscious about my size although I feel more feminine and much healthier.

My taste buds have changed. I do not like the smell of pizza and will never eat Macaroni Grill again. Some foods make me feel like death. I do not throw up, but I get really weak for about 45 minutes and then I am good. Sometimes the smell of food that makes me feel bad is enough to make me want to gag. It helps me chose the right foods. If I am not careful, I can overeat. I have to pay attention to my portions and try to eat slowly. Some bad habits are harder to break. I use to always eat real fast. I am learning what works. 
My favorite thing to drink is sugar free KOOLAID.. yum yum.. It is great. I like red. (in the South,... red is a flavor)

Bad news, I have been laid off from my teaching job. It was my first year at a small town, "political" school. I know that I did my job. I was told that I would not be renewed. The sad thing about this is that I was on a Alternative Baculaureate program and that means that I had to work at the same school system for three years to get a full teaching certificate. Without renewal, I will not be able to teach high school again. The administrators knew this when I started. I am not an education major, I am a science geek. I taught chemistry. I know my science. I have high standards of my students. During my first semester, I had some students that were very disruptive and caused issues everyday. Most people say that it is the teacher's responsibility to manage student behavior, but some students will not be managed. They have been given free rule to run over everyone and their "connected" parents believe that there child is so special that you must be the problem. I had a student come up to me and tell me "I told you so"... "they were going to get you fired" She said that they got another teacher fired and it was the same parents. I told the administrators that I know that I can go to sleep at night knowing that I did my job and taught these students. They are ready for college. So the first semester was rocky and the second semester, I had a wonderful class. 

During this time, one of the students had a family member in the legislature. This student was rude and disruptive. When I had my back turned, this student would make obscene gestures and made comments continuously to disrupt. At the beginning of the semester, I was giving lecture and this student interrupted multiple times " when are we going to lunch" ... My response was that if this student did not let me finish that we might not get lunch. Of course, we were going to lunch, but this student was asking every few minutes. After I said we might not get lunch.. this student said "if I don't get lunch ... you won't be here tomorrow".
Everyone in the class went "ooooH"
and this student laughed. 
I took it as a threat. I referred the student to the office. The assistant principal gave the student in school suspension. Well, the connected parents came to the school and the student was not suspended anymore. The student came in the classroom the very next day laughing while I was calling roll. This was at the beginning of the semester, and I had trouble with this particular student and his friends from that day forward. Some days were better than others. From that point on, everytime I referred a student to the office, I had to have a parent conference. 
It was awful. If you have football players, I learned quickly that it does not matter what they do... they are held to a different (lower) standard than others. I was walking in the hall and the student that had a family member in the legislature was walking with his buddy and was sure to tell me that if "anyone crosses you... they get fired" and now I do not have a job. 
I told them that I refused to believe that and another student said that they did because they had seen it. 

Well, myphilosophy is the following:
People put on their pants one leg at a time, just like I do. I do not give special treatment to the rich or the people who are politically connected. I do not play favorites just because of their last name. 

It does not work that way in this small town and I have made enemies because I do not care about your heritage.. I look at the person and their exhibited behavior. 

I may be flawed by not sucking up.. but I will not compromise this standard... It makes me sick and I stand by my assessment of losing my teaching position. I am not originally from this area and individuals in this area do not want an "outsider" to do better for themselves. 

So.. I am out looking for a new job.  I have had it with education. I have worked five years in education in some form or fashion and it is a corrupt business. There are many good people, but the people in charge are highly influenced by money and political power. I know it is like that everywhere, but I have found that the quality of your work does not matter... it is who you know and the favors that you do for certain people. 

I am bitter and I don't know what I am going to do, but I am changing fields and I am not afraid to tell my story. The state of alabama has the ABC program for individuals with bachelor degree to earn teaching certificates by being trained by the school system, therefore it is their responsbility to identify deficits in skills and train me. I grew from one semester to the next, but the damage was done by the administrators not backing me up and supporting the parents wishes. 
The said thing is that the principal said that this family is responsible for a lot of funding to the school. He said to me that if this particular family would have said that we are responsible for the amount of funding you get and you need to change the punishment.. he would have reversed the suspension... but he said that they did not do that and his decision was based upon that the student did not get in trouble. (Well that is not what other teachers said about the behavior problems exnibited by this student in other classes) From what I gather... this student and his football playing friend... put teachers through torment and have a history of bad behavior. I just was not going to tolerate it from them.

I sure do wish that the outcome was different, but GOD has a plan for me. It is the school systems loss because I work and do not miss work!!! I work hard and am proud of it!! Plus, I know my science!!

I will return to school this summer and change my major... Wish me luck and pray that  I make the right decision. 

Until then....

OK.. Well.. I made it to six flags and was able to walk everywhere. I did not have foot pain like I experienced in the past. It was great.. my family was having to keep up with me. We went to six flags for two full days.. opening to closing .. and then went to the zoo before coming home. 

I started on solid foods this weekend and it was ok. I am a little scared about eating too much. I try to stop myself before I feel full. I had trouble finding things that I could eat at Six flags... everything in the park had sugar. Water was my best friend.. but it is hard to keep it cold long enough to drink it all. I tried a little bit of lemonade.. it did not bother me .. but I do not want sugar... it is too sweet. I had my family finish the drinks and I would eat the ice. I found that was the best way. I tried pizza... tasted OK.. but I felt gross later... can't do beef hot dogs... at all. I don't think I will ever eat a hot dog (half of one) ever again. GROSS... I wanted canteloupe so bad it was unbelievable. I never threw up.. but I sure wanted to. I think I would have felt better... so next time I go to a theme park.. I am going to request that I be allowed to bring my own food. I have dietary needs that are not being met by fat and sugar. It made me sick until I went to the restroom. 

We had to eat out alot and I just don't like it. I want to eat my little food at home. I thought I missed going out for food... but frankly it was not that great anyway. On my scales at home ... I have reached onederland. .. I weigh 198. I don't know if that is official... I will try again to weigh in the morning.. if that is the case.. then I am stuck at that weight because I weighed 197 last week. I hope that I did not mess anything up by eating out. 

Next week I have a new lease on life... I am going to check into hiring a personal trainer... I do not know whether I can afford it.. but I am going to find out. 

Until then.................

Well, it is one month since my surgery and I took the day off to see the nutritionist. It was my one month nutritionist update.  I have lost 24.5lbs in 1 month. He said that I was on the high end for my size. He also said that I needed to get in more protein. He gave me some recipes to make things. I put half of a frozen banana in a blender with one cup of milk and protein powder and made a shake. I wanted it a little thicker and to taste less of the protein powder.. so I mixed up some cottage cheese in with it. It was good. I was able to drink it. 
I use to like protein drinks but since the surgery.. I don't like it. Weird huh? I also have been eating scrambled and boiled eggs. Well on the morning I went to the nutritionist .. I brought a boiled egg with me to eat. I took one bite and spit it out.... IT WAS NASTY. I liked them all week long and then I was totally against the flavor and texture. 

I have not had any nausea or any real pain. I have little energy in the afternoons. I take my vitamins..citracal and iron daily.. (sometimes I forget) and then I take B-12 two times a week. 

My fingernails are growing.. so I must be doing something right. 

Well officially 24.5lbs... I can't wait to be in ONEDERLAND.
I am going to Six flags next weekend to see if I can walk around and hopefully my weightloss will help my feet. 

Until then.........

Well, I have been on my journey now for four weeks. It has not been easy. My head still wants the food, but my body is just not hungry. I have not had any nausea or pain. I eat mashed potatoes, eggs, jello, pudding, apple sauce, bananas, etc. Very soft foods.... at this point I don't know if I want to try solid foods. It seems scary. Deviled Chicken was good and is the consistency of baby food. I bought a can of it the other day and ate it for two days. It was salty... but something different. 

Well the moment that I had been waiting for ... on April 5th I went to see Dr. Facundus for my post-op. My official weight loss is 21lbs. The funny thing is that although I am still over 200 lbs., I went from a 20 -18WP to a size 12. Of course the size 12's are tight, but I still was able to pull them up and button them. Some of my co-workers have started noticing my weight loss. One of my students said that I looked "little". I still do not see the results in the mirror.. but I feel them in my clothes. I looked at some pictures the other day and it was obvious that my face has changed. I have a little pain in my side right but I think it is gas. Today is the first day that I felt somewhat nauseated after I ate. I think I ate too fast. 

Well, for all of you on the journey.. I still can't say that I would do it again.. yet..  it has gotten easier as the days progress. It is funny how are minds can still be programmed to eat large portions to feel satisfied. I want to eat half a pizza... I want to eat cake and enjoy. I know that if I do .. then I will gain my weight back and will not have the results that I prayed for in the very beginning. I am trading food for a longer life. 

My highest weight was 232-236
Surgery date: March 12th 2007 weighed 227lbs
April 5th, 2007 .... 206lbs ... loss of 21 lbs 

I will not have to see Dr. Facundus until October 18th ... if things go well. I am tempted not to weigh until then... but I bet I will.

I almost forgot... I will see the nutritionist tomorrow. .. he may weigh me .. I don't know. 
It is weird that one day you try on a pair of paints and they will not fit.. the next day.. you can button them and a day after that you can wear them. 
Thanks again for reading.. post again later.!!

Today was the first day that someone from work noticed my weight loss. My students looked at a picture of me from valentine's day and said "OMG, have you lost weight".... Then another student from last semester came in.. it was a young boy that is real into himself... and he just yelled out.. "have you lost weight" and i said yes.. he said how much... and I said about 20 lbs. . then some of my other students said that they were talking about it all day.... 
It is funny how they see me everyday and they are just now noticing. I will have my first Dr. appt on April 5th... 

I am having a hard time getting in all of my water and protein. I did have a problem with wanting food... but that has passed. I could care less and have to make myself eat. Yesterday, I walked for 30 minutes and plan on going a little later tonight. I ate an egg and had a bright idea to put some cheese in it and I did not get sick ... I just felt nasty. I will not do that again. Also, I have gotten to where I love water because it is the only thing that satisfies my thirst.  I did not like water before... now it is wonderful. I need to drink more.

Also.. I use to like protein shakes.. but now they taste nasty... My husband found a protein shake that is a little smoother from walmart... it tastes better.. but it still makes me feel nauseated. I am doing well.. and I hope to have more WOW moments later. 
I will post my accurate weight after I see Dr. Facundus next week. 

Well, I started back to work on Monday. It was one week from my surgery. Things were hard and I was tired, but I made it through the day. About 1pm, my energy began to decline and I felt a little light headed. I was able to make it and the next day was even better. 
As far as food, head hungar is killing me. I want a pizza, hot wings, and a cheeseburger. The biggest thing that I am looking forward to is chicken salad and scrambled eggs. I am not sure that I can eat chicken salad... I will talk to my dietician about that. .. but it was almost like I was crazed for something to eat. I felt like some kind of addict wanting my next fix. It was awful. I called Hunter, the dietician and asked him about it and he assured me that it would get better. It was amazing, but today was much better. I would say that Monday was the worst day when it came to wanting to eat. I decided that it makes me happy to smell food so I started cooking different things. I am not physically hungry... it is my mind.

Again.. this is a hard choice and although I can tell by my clothes that I have lost weight it has not helped my feelings toward food. I LOVE IT and I WISH I COULD HAVE SOME MORE OF IT. This scares the hell out of me because it means that I could fail to lose the weight if my mindset does not change. I am going to have to be strong and pray for help. 

I want this to work, but I wonder if I was really fat and happy and just did not know it. We will see as time goes by... and the weight starts coming off. I started the full liquid phase of the diet and tonight I am going to get some milk and try some soups. I hate jello now and will never eat it again. Pudding is OK but it seems sweet although it is sugar free. I have had absolutely no problem at all with food and do not have any pain. All and all .. things are well and I can't wait until I can eat solid food!!! April 24th .. is the day to chew some food again.....
My next dr appt is April 5th.. I will post preop and weight after surgery... I hope it shows on the scale. 

Until then.....