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The short answer is "No".  I had set a goal to hit 100 lbs lost by my birthday.  Well, that magic day was yesterday and as of this morning I am down 88 lbs.  So, I am a little disappointed, but that is awesome and something I never would have accomplished before.

Now for the positive news....I AM DOWN 88 LBS!!!!   That is so great and I am really proud of myself.  I recently found some pictures from Mother's Day last year and OMG, I looked terrible.  I had no idea how bad I was.  So I just loaded that picture into my profile along with some of my recent loss pictures.  I can really see the difference now.  Now for the best birthday gift.  I went shopping this past weekend and I bought a pair of jeans at the Gap!!!  I haven't shopped anywhere but Lane Bryant in 15 years.  I SHOPPED AT THE GAP!!!!  I couldn't believe it, I wanted to scream I was so excited.  I wish I had not been alone, but it was a very proud moment for me.

Its time to start stepping it up though.  I need to get motivated and really start working out harder.  I want to do the Breast Cancer 3 day in October, so I really need to start training for that.  But I feel great and I am really happy.  Just waiting to hit that 100 lb mark.

I will let you know when I do.

I hadn't realized how long I had been away until I came to look today.  Its been two months since I posted last.  Not much has changed.  I got through the Holidays.  My goal was to not gain and I did that.  I fluctuated a lot around the holidays.  Frustrating, but I guess its to be expected.  I plateaued for about a month.  My longest plateau so far.  But as of last week, its finally broken.  Tony and I joined a gym two weeks ago.  The first week I only went a couple of times, but last week I made it four times and I lost 4 pounds, so the workouts really do make a difference. 

So the most frustrating thing is I woke up one morning after New Year's and my left knee hurt so much I could barely walk on it.  I have no idea what I did, but I was taking stairs one at a time for several weeks.  I started getting in the pool at the gym and its amazing how quickly it has recovered since then.  Now, I try and swim every day.  We are going to start a water aerobics class tonight, so that should be fun.

I have officially hit the 80lbs lost mark.  Its really exciting.  Its one month to my 34th birthday and I am hoping to hit 100lbs gone by then.  So long as I keep with the gym, it should be doable.  We made a lot of resolutions this year.  The biggest being that we will only eat out once a week.  So far, we are doing really well.  I don't think we have eaten at home without carry-out this much our entire marriage.  I will get some pictures to update my site soon and I will try and get on here more!!!

Its almost been a month since my last post.  I told myself that I would post more then this, but there hasn't been anything really to post....until this weekend!!!

So, last week I lost 11 pounds!!!  11 pounds, I couldn't believe it.  Now, this morning, when I got on the scale I had put 1 back on, but you know what, 11 pounds in 1 week is a lot, so putting 1 back on is fine and if I didn't weigh myself so much, I would never know about putting the 1 back on and would have just thought that I lost 10 pounds last week, which is still twice what I typically lose.  BUT, that is not where my WOWs stop. 

I went out to dinner with a friend on thursday night.  I don't like sitting in booths because honestly, my stomach always hit the table and it was uncomfortable.  Well, Thursday night I had a 4 inch clearance between me and the table!!!  I was so exciting to not be uncomfortable at the table.  I also felt thinner for the first time that night. 

So that in itself would be a great WOW, but there was more!!!  I went shopping for the first time since my surgery.  I am into 18/20 in shirts and 22 in pants.  Actually, I tried on a size 20 pant and it fit.  I looked terrible on me, wide leg is not my style, but it fit.  It was a little tighter then I am comfortable with, but there was no struggle to put it on.  Up until this point, I haven't really been able to see the change.  Well, it helps wearing clothes that actually fit you instead of just making due with what you have!!!

My last WOW moment is actually my biggest WOW moment.  I played flag football yesterday!!!  OMG!!!!  I played flag football.  I have sat on the sideline for years knowing that I wouldn't be able to do it without hurting myself.  But yesterday I played for 45 minutes straight, we didn't have any substitutes.  And on top of all that, our team won!!! 18-0.  It felt amazing.  I even ran a little.  Mostly I was quarterback, but I blocked some too and I recovered a fumble.  I hurt today, boy do I hurt today, but it was so worth it. 

I saw my friend Andrea this weekend for the first time in 6 months and she said she almost cried when she saw me.  I couldn't see it, but knowing that others can really helps!!!  My sister gets in from NYC on Tuesday.  I can't wait to see her and her reaction.  She hasn't seen me since February.  I will post with how that goes later!!!!

Well, I did it.  I have lost over 50 lbs.  I always get worried when I hit a new weight range.  Like I will be below 280 and be in the 270s one day and the next I will get back on and be back in the 280s.  But it never happens that way.  I was at 279.6 yesterday and today I was at 278.4, so I feel like I have enough of a buffer to say good-bye forever to the 280s.  It hasn't been fun, it hasn't been real, good riddance!!!  So my next goal is to hit the 260s.  I can't wait.  I weighed 260 when I got married 9 years ago.  I know I shouldn't get on the scale everyday, but I gave up so much pre-surgery, this is the one bad habit I have held onto and I am not ready to let this one go.  Especially since the weight loss is incentive to stay off the soda, sugar, high fat foods and high carb foods.  So far I only miss the diet coke.  Weird huh!  I threw a bridal shower yesterday and did really well.  I went to a baby shower last night and it was ok too.  I mean I threw the bridal shower, so I was able to make sure I could eat, but the baby shower was loaded with stuff I couldn't have, brownies, cupcakes, chocolate fondue.  But I was ok, I actually didn't really want any of it. 

Now its time to up the exercise.  I think the weight will drop even more quickly if I get a routine down and follow it everyday!  Go Wii Fit!!!!  I also think I am going to try swimming before work in the morning.  Wish me luck!

So I got on the scale this morning and it said 280.8!!!!  WOW, just 0.8 pounds away froma 50 pound loss!!!  That is AWESOME!!!  I am about to kiss the 280s goodbye and never look back.  I think its officially time to get rid of my size 26 clothes and welcome all my 24s with open arms.  Although to be honest, some of the 24s are starting to get to be too big as well, but I can make them work for awhile longer. 

It's amazing, I know how much more weight I lose when I exercise, but it is still a struggle to get it in everyday.  My knee has been really bothering me lately and it has been the perfect excuse to not work out.  When I saw my doctor on Tuesday she said its not swollen and there are no signs of damage so its just a strain and not to quit exercising, just go a little easier.  So I did my Wii Fit yesterday.  Some of the exercises were fine for my knee, like the step workout, but some of the yoga stuff was a little hard on my knee.  BUT, I lost 2 pounds since yesterday, so the exercise really does make a difference.  I need to dig out my bathing suit and go to the pool and do some laps.  That will help with my knee and give me a full body workout.  I just can't wait to hit the 270s.  Hopefully I will be there tomorrow.  Again, I know I am not supposed to weigh everyday, but when you are so close to a goal you don't want to miss it!

Wow, its been two weeks since my last post.  Time is really flying.  I had my first lab work post-op done yesterday.  I won't get the results until my 2 month post op appt on Nov. 5th.  But the doctor was really encouraged.  She officially took me off of all my meds, which I had unofficially been off of for most of the past month.  Hopefully everything will come back ok.  I need to be better about my vitamins and protein.  I think I am just ready to get onto life as normal and am rebelling a bit.  Stupid I know because the only person it hurts is me.  I don't mean to miss them but I get to the end of the day and I realize I haven't had all my vitamins and I can't just take them all at once, so I get in what I can.  The good thing is I am drinking more milk then ever before, so that should help with the missed calcium and vitamin D a little.

So I know this is not a big thing, but I have started eating cereal.  I hated cereal pre-op.  My parents made us eat cereal for breakfast everyday growing up and not the fun sugary stuff but the healthy stuff.  So once it became my decision I avoided cereal like the plague.  Well, eggs have been giving me some problems so I decided to try cereal and it is really filling.  I found a Fiber One cereal and Special K High Protein.  Not bad.  Now if I can just eat them before they turn to mush I will be in business.  Just 1 and a half weeks and I am off of pureed foods.  I never thought I would want to eat an apple or a salad. Who knew! 

Our 9 year anniversary was last week.  Tony got back from London just in time.  But I decided to wait until November to celebrate.  I want to be on solid foods if we are going to go out and celebrate.  I did get sick the other day for the first time.  It was my fault, I ate too fast.  But once it was done I felt so much better.  I have discovered that I plateau once a month.  Fortunately, I don't gain, just sit at the same weight for a week.  But then I drop a couple of pounds and its all good from their.  So long as I am in the 270s when I go to see Dr. Mo in November.  His scale is between 8 and 10 lbs higher then mine, so I want to make sure it shows a good drop.

Oh, I almost forgot.  I got a Wii Fit last week.  That sucker is pretty hard.  I haven't used it as much as I wanted to, strained my knee pushing too hard on the elliptical.  I am hoping to get back on it today.  The doctor said to do leg lifts and strenghten my upper legs and it will take some of the pressure off of my knees.  Going to give it a try.

Ok, well now I am going to wrap this up.  Will update again soon!

That I am a quarter of the way to my final goal and its just been a month.  I am halfway to 90 which is halfway to 180.  6.5 more pounds and I will have lost 50 pounds.  I don't know if I have ever, EVER, lost 50 lbs on any weight lose plan.  This is AWESOME!!!!  I was discouraged for a bit when I hit a plateau on week 2.  The doctor's can't guarantee weight lose, so I had this fear that I had lost all I was going to lose.  But I got past it and the weight is just coming off.  I am loosing about 1lb/day now.  I know I am not supposed to weigh myself everyday, but when I am loosing it feels great to see that number drop everyday.  When I hit my next plateau I will back off the scale for a bit.

My goal is to get on my elliptical everyday and do at least 20-30 minutes.  This is between 2-3.5 miles for me.  I also want to start lifting some light weights for my arms.  They are a little wiggly and I want to get that under control before its too late.  Also, I think I might go buy a bike.  We live right on the W&OD bike trail and never use it.  Tony has a bike, so it would be nice to get out there at least once a week and ride together.  He is going to London tomorrow for a week, so I will get out a couple  more times a day to walk the pups, which will be good, so long as we aren't attacked by any other dogs, which always seems to happen when Tony is out of town.

Well its off to schedule an appointment with my PCP for my first lab work!!!

I had my 1 month post-op appt. with Dr. Moazzez yesterday.  He was extremely pleased with my progress.  I still hate his scale, it is so much higher then mine, but since mine is the one I have always gone by, I am going to stick with it.  I go back in a month for my next follow-up and they want me to have my labs redone by then.  Hopefully I move onto solid foods at that appointment.

As of this morning, I have officially left the 290s.  289.4!!!!    I am so excited.

So I discovered my first no go food...peanut butter.    I loved peanut butter pre-op, but last night I had some and I felt horrible after wards.  I have had a small amount in some no sugar ice cream and I was fine, but  I guess straight peanut butter doesn't work.  I will just have to be careful what I have it in.  I am bummed though, I really liked peanut butter.  Hope its just the butter and not peanuts, that would really stink.  It was reduced fat, I wonder if that had anything to do with it, something added to it that made me sick.  I might try with regular peanut butter, but it just might not be worth it.

Tonight we have our friend Matt's birthday dinner at an Irish pub.  I looked at their menu and I think I will have a pretty good selection to choose from tonight.  Tony's office is having a party at a different Irish pub tomorrow night.  They don't have as many options, but I think I will be ok there too.  I am looking forward to something different.

Dr. Moazzez gave me the all clear to exercise again.  So I might try and go to the gym tomorrow morning and just try out a few things.  Don't want to over do it.  But some arm exercises might be good.  Plus I drink more water when I work out.

I met some really nice ladies yesterday at the doctor's office.  Two were there for their initial consultation.  They asked me a lot of questions and I felt good being able to give them advice.  Then two ladies came in who had already had the surgery, so I was able to tell them what I was experiencing and compare.  I am right where I should be.  I am just so excited about losing 4lbs this week so far.  I didn't get to workout yesterday and I won't get to today, but tomorrow, back in the saddle.  I think that has made a big difference in the weight coming off.

Well, let's see, where to begin.  Last week was an interesting week.  I had my first experience post-op with my sugars dropping too low.  That was fun.  Fortunately, my dad had given me some glucose tablets and they helped.  Not only did my stall continue last week, but I actually gained 3 lbs.  Oh well, I have dropped 2 lbs back off so far this week, so I am going to just keep plugging away.  It doesn't look like I will make my goal of 260 by October 16th since that is 30lbs and only 17 days away.  I guess anything is possible, but that might be hoping for too much.

My other big news from last week has absolutely nothing to do with my surgery.  My boss called me into his office on Friday (nothing good ever starts with that sentence does it!).  Anyway, he was informed by his boss that our department is being eliminated due to budget cuts.  As of June 30, 2009 our department will no longer exsist.  My boss is leaving the university and I have to decide if I want to apply for other positions within the univresity or use this as an opportunity to move on to something else.  I am not freaking out about this.  Its 9 months away and I think its exciting.  This may be exactly what I needed to have happen to get out of this rut I am in at work and move on to something I actually want to do.  So I am being extremely positive about this.

Ok, so onto happier news.  Last night I got on my elliptical and did 2 miles in under 18 minutes!!!!!  I am so excited.  I was sweating up a storm, but it felt good.  I can't wait to get home and do the same thing today.  If I can start building up on the elliptical then the weight should really start to fall off and hopefully I can get past this stall I have hit.  I must say my attitude has definitely improved.  Not to mention that I got permission to work from home on Fridays, which means I should be able to get a couple of workouts in on Fridays.

It is so amazing when I talk to people and tell them I had gastric bypass less then a month ago.  Nobody can believe it.  They all expect me to still be lying around recovering, not jumping on my elliptical and doing 2 miles.    Now I just need to get permission to start lifting weights, especially for my arms.  I really need Lisa to move back to Virginia so she can start kicking my butt again!!!!

Well, I haven't been posting as much as I had thought I would.  Things have been going so well that I just haven't been getting on the computer.  But now that I am back at work and on the computer all day, I think things will start to pick up again. 

For the most part today is going pretty well.  I remembered to bring everything with me except my pill crusher.  I took my sugars this morning and they were a little high, so I was hoping to take my meds when I got to work, but they will have to wait until I get home.  I have been at my desk for just about 4-41/2 hours now.  I am starting to get sore.  I took a walk and bought a bottle of water at the cafeteria.  Just wanted to stop in and say hi to the ladies since they were worried about me and I needed to walk around a bit.  I was hoping to make it all day, but I might have to cut it short a couple of hours.  I will get through lunch and then head home around 1.  That's only 2 hours early, not bad for a first day back.

My weight loss stalled last week.  I lost 18lbs the first week and just 1 lb last week.  I am not complaining, but I am hoping things take a turn this week.  I would really like to be down to 280 by October.  It would be even better to be at 260 by October 16th, since that was my wedding day weight and that will be my 9 year anniversary.  But that might be a little much to ask for. 

I am off to get back to work so I can leave and go home and take a nap.