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Dr. Olsen was clear that she felt 135 would be too low for me.  It'll probably be a good goal for after pregnancy and plastic surgery, but not yet.  :(  I'm a little sad, but do understand what she's talking about.  I've trusted her opinion from the start, and don't see a reason to stop now, so change I will.  Plus, I said in the beginning that I didn't know what a good adult weight was for me...it always was an adaptable number.  I'm liking the curves I have now.  The only parts of my body that I don't like are the ones that are going to need surgery to fix, and more weight loss won't change that.

So...this morning I changed my ticker to show 149 as my goal!  When I achieve that I'll be able to say I lost 100 pounds, and I'll have a healthy BMI.  Sounds great to me!  9 pounds to go!!!

I had my 6 month follow-up with my surgeon yesterday!  It went pretty well, and I’m excited!  So, first off we talked about my goal.  Her goal for me was 150.  Mine was 135.  My goal has always been just a number I picked out of the sky, and I’ve never really been married to it or anything.  I always thought I’d get to 150 and then re-assess.  So, Dr. Olsen said she thinks 135 will be too small for me.  She said 150…maybe 145.  Especially since my goals are:  1 – goal weight.  2 – pregnancy.  3 – lose baby weight.  4 – plastic surgery.  Once I’m done with all of that I could be at 135 (maybe), but for now she’s really recommending 150.  Wow!  That means I’m 9 pounds from goal!  That’s crazy!!!  It totally feels within reach now, and I’m re-focused on getting there.
She agreed that I didn’t have to wait the full 18 months before trying to get pregnant.  Once I maintain my goal weight and goal nutritional #s for a few months she’ll give me the go-ahead.  J  Yippee!!! 

I took the dogs for a walk today and ran across some neighbors outside.  She stopped and asked if I lived at the top of the hill.  I said yes and then she kind of hemmed and hawed for awhile.  Finally she just asked if I had lost a lot of weight.  I smiled and said, yes, I did lose quite a bit of weight, and explained that I had gastric bypass surgery.  She smiled and said that she and her husband had just noticed me in my yard last week and were trying to decide between two possibilities.  
     Option 1 – I had lost a lot of weight, but they didn’t think that was it because it had happened so quickly, and I didn’t really look like the girl that “used to live there”.  J  
     Option 2 – This is the one they were pretty sure of…they thought that Ryan had gotten a new wife!  J  I laughed pretty hard and said, I think he probably feels that way sometimes!  
Anyway, it was very flattering.  After that she explained that she had RNY too!  She had it 7 years ago, and had the open procedure.  It was really interesting.  Also great timing for me, because now that I’m getting closer to goal, I’m starting to have some more questions about how things are for people further out.  We talked about extra skin.  She had plastic surgery (a tummy tuck, augmentation and brachioplasty) and was happy with those results.  She had a post-op pregnancy (which I’ve been thinking about a lot lately).  It was healthy, and she said she only gained 15 pounds.  I asked if it was difficult to lose the baby weight and she said no (music to my ears.)  It was a great conversation.  
In the end, I’m still smiling at the profoundness of what they had suggested…that Ryan got a new wife.  Maybe because even though I’m still Deb, I feel like a new me, and I know it’s a new experience for Ryan too!  So in a way, yes!  Ryan did get a new wife!  A new wife, yet with all of the familiarity and security of a long-standing, loving marriage!  :)  

OK, it’s a little late, but the thoughts remain the same.  Last week was my 6 month surgiversary.  I can’t believe how fast these 6 months have gone!  Wow!  I really didn’t expect the changes to be this quick!  I have had so many improvements in my quality of life, but I have learned so much about myself as I’m changing too!  Here’s a short list of some of the changes:

• 90 pounds gone (92 pounds as of today.)  I’ve lost a teenager or petite adult!
• BMI went from morbidly obese at 41.4 to overweight at 26.5  (26.1 as of today)
• 55.9 inches lost (measuring neck, chest, upper arm, waist, hips, thigh and calf)
• Went from a size 22/24 to a 12 (even some 10’s)
• Lost 2 whole ring sizes:  Before - 8 ½.  After - 6 ½
• Shoe size went from 8 ½ or 9 wide to 8 normal. (a normal width makes shoe shopping so much easier, not to mention fun!)
• My confidence has returned
• My husband is in awe of my physical appearance (I love the looks he gets on his face from time to time.)  He’s been my biggest cheerleader
• I fit into things now! (plane seats, booths, those plastic outdoor chairs, etc)
• Clothes shopping is so much fun!
• I am comfortable whether I’m walking, standing or sitting
• I can cross my legs, and actually prefer to do so!
• I can polish my toes and breathe while doing it
• People look AT me now instead of through me
• I’ve met a whole new group of friends through my support groups (both at Womack and here on OH!)

 I know there are a lot of things that can go wrong with this surgery, but I have been very lucky.  My side effects have been mild.  I don’t dump in the traditional sense.  If I eat too much, I get super tired, but that’s about it.  My life has done a 180.  I still enjoy food, it just takes a lot less before I’m done, and I now gravitate towards the protein rich foods instead of the high-sugar foods.  I can eat just about any meat that I’ve tried, and can enjoy one or two bites of those scrumptious looking desserts that my husband gets from time to time.  That’s rare though.  I look forward to my exercise (most days.)  J  I like going for walks and I love to swim.  I love being able to feel the muscles that I’ve developed.  I have followed my surgeon and NUT recommendations, and it has paid off.  Now I’m 10 pounds from Dr’s goal, and 25 from my personal goal.  I haven’t decided where I’m going to stop and work on maintaining…I’ll just keep re-assessing as I get further down that road.  I’m getting close to goal no matter how you look at it.  Bottom line…I think that even if I stop loosing today, I feel like I’ve succeeded.    

So, my dad is visiting, which is nice.  We saw him at Christmas, but there have been a lot of changes since then.  Anyway, my dad is a go-go-go person, and he just exhausts me!  I've realized that even though my energy level is up, I still really enjoy a mid-day nap, and I haven't been getting that since he's been here.  So, by the time we get to a point that I could sit down and catch up on OH, I'm toast...and end up just going to bed.  Oh well, it's for a limited amount of time.

Last weekend we drove out to Chimney Rock.  It was beautiful!  We did a lot of hiking...I mean A LOT!  And there were a zillion stairs to climb!  So, I certainly got my exercise in that day!  But, I was able to keep up!  The dogs had a blast too!  

I think we're going to Wilmington this weekend.  Oh, and the big news!?!  I finally got a new camera!!!  Thank God!  I've been needing one so badly, and I just love it!  Now that I'm actually starting to like pictures of myself, it's only right that I get a decent camera, isn't it?  :)  

OK...it's good to be back.  My dad will be here for another week or so, but I'll try to be better about posting on OH.