Kim Ferguson

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Well, December 9 was not only my 6 month anniversary, but it's also the date of my 6 month follow up with Dr. Snyder's office.  I met with Kim, his RN.  She said I'm doing good, I'm down 109 pounds, I said great, she said no, you are doing GOOD!!! And she put it into perspective for me.  Because everbody has a different amount of weight to lose, they  look at a percentage to gauge where each patient is at.  Typically, at 3 months, patients are at 30% of goal, a5 6 months, 45-55% of goal and 1 year - 80% of goal.  When she told me my percentage is 80%, I got excited.!!!  All that hard working out at the gym is paying off!!!  Woo hoo. 

What's funny right now, is that I have 51 pounds to get to goal and I have people that tell me that I should stay where I'm at now,  because I look good, I shouldn't lose too much and get sick looking... Sick looking?????  Are you kidding me???  Dr. Snyder gave me a challenge to get to 137 and 137 is where I will get to.  I don't have any idea what I will look like at that weight, all I do know is that is a healthy weight for me and that's where I'm headed.

I'm now at the point where I can eat most foods and so now I must be even more careful.  I'm using the skills that I have learned the past six month.  When I'm full, I'm done!!!  Eat slowly and stop when my body says done....   I still haven't really tried any of the foods that could potentially make me sick, no carbs, no sugars, etc.  I have not had any "episodes" and I don't want any.  I'm just making sure to get my protein into my diet everyday and I work out hard 5-6 times per week.  I'm addicted to going to the gym.  My hubby is as supportive as ever, I'm so lucky!!!

I've been using my tracker every week, but I realized that I haven't updated my story...

I had surgery on June 9 2008.  Dr. Snyder and the staff at Rose Medical is great!!!  I had all the normal "stuff", walked right away, drank liquids for a long time, and had some trouble with foods.  However, that's mostly my fault, not chewing very well and taking too big of bites...

Well, here I am 4 months out from surgery and I'm doing well.  Ive lost 93 pounds at this point.  What is really strange is that I still don't "see it", but I definitely wear different clothes.  Speaking of clothes, everytime I drop a size, I get rid of that size.  No more big clothes.  I don't want them in the house,  I don't care if I can show someone "what I used to wear".  If I need to do that, I will go to the store and show them.  i don't want the big clothes in my house anymore.

I joined Snap Fitness about 3 weeks ago to help me increase my workouts and start building more muscle.  It's amazing to me how little strength I had on my upper body.  But I'm changing that.  I work out at the gym 3-4 days per week and do cardio, at least 6 days a week.   The best feeling about working out is...... you guessed it.  When I'm done, I feel great!!!  I started working with a personal trainer and although I knew quite a bit about "lifting", I'm challenged with some new ways to work out the muscles and work the whole muscle group.  It  really feels good.  Jim also did a "heart healthy" test on me and my heart rate increases nicely when I do my cardio, but it drops to "Normal" in a very good way, so he says, I'm very heart healthy.  Isn't that the whole point of this excerise???

About 7 weeks after surgery, we were at the family cabin in Nederland and I decided to do a hike.  I was feeling good and thought, I want to prove to myself I can do it.  I did it, but I thought I was going to DIE doing it.  I'm hoping to go back to that hike this weekend and try it again.  Last time it took me about 2 1/2 hours to complete and I just want to see how I do at this point.  I will keep you posted.

I did a test on my BMI, just last week, and I was looking at my starting BMI at 55.2, I'm now at 34.  WOW!!!  That's really come down.  I'm really happy with the way everything has gone.  I think that the "honeymoon" period is over, the not ever hungry thing, that is.  I'm starting to feel hunger, but I'm listening to my body about when I'm full and when I'm hungry and looking at as "fuel".    I did have kind of the "sicky" phase where everytime I ate, I got sick, but I'm past that now and as long as I chew my food well and take small bites and take my time eating, I do well..

Well, if you are reading this and contemplating surgery, I saw GO FOR IT !!  Take control of your life, use this "tool" that the surgeon's have given us to change your life forever.  It's not easy, but if you have the right mindset, it's definitely not hard!!!

I'm on my way.  My hubby and I attended the nutrition class this week, WOW, what a lot of information.  Amanda, Dr. Snyder's nurse was great, she is a former patient of Dr. Snyder too, and she looks great....  She covered a lot of information, and I've been reviewing all the information so that I am well educated.

I find myself kind of nervous actually, the class and my appointments this week have made me realize that this is real.  I'm having major surgery, I'm in the very best hands and I'm excited.  I want to be finished with living the life of a fat person, excuse me, morbidly obese.

My best friend and biggest supporter, Doug has been so incredible.  I'm amazed at how much he is inspiring me.  Doug's always been great, but I feel even closer to him as we embark on this new journey.  Yes, it's my journey, but Doug is an integral part of it and is planning to be with me every step of the way.  I'm also really lucky because my family is being so supportive, that's really no surprise, really, my family has always been great.  

Since meeting with Dr. Snyder, I've been following his suggestion to get as healthy as I can.  I've been watching what I'm eating, excercising regularly and hopefully losing a little weight before the big day.

I've had psych exam this week, I'm confident that I'm ready for this and so is Gene.  I've met with the pulmonary doctor and I'm confident that everything will be fine there too.  I have my breathing tests and my xrays on Monday morning.  Dr. Pluss seems to think everything should came back great.  Woo hoo!!