ObesityHelp

**6/22/01 - Lap RNY 284lbs.**
**6/29/01 - 1st Week - 18lbs.!!**
**7/06/01 - 2nd Week - 21lbs.!!**
**7/13/01 - 3rd Week - 23lbs!!**
**7/20/01 - 4th Week - 27lbs!!**
**8/17/01 - 8 Weeks - 42lbs!!**
**9/21/01 - 3 Months - 59lbs!!**
**10/22/01- 4 Months - 68lbs!!**
**11/22/01- 5 Months - 78lbs!!**
**12/24/01- 6 Months - 89lbs!!**
**1/22/02 - 7 Months - 98lbs!!**
**1/24/02 - 7 mons & 2 days - 100lbs!!**
**2/22/02 - 8 Months - 105lbs!!**
**3/22/02 - 9 Months - 110lbs!!
**4/22/02 -10 Months - 117lbs!!**
**5/22/02 -11 Months - 121lbs!!**
**6/22/02 -1 Yr!! Down - 127 lbs!!**
**7/22/02 -13 Months-127lbs.-Hanging tough at 157 pounds:)
**10/15/02-15 1/2 Mons-137lbs.-Weighing in at 147 pounds:)
**12/01/02-17 months-140lbs.**
**6/22/03 -2 Yrs!! 142lbs. lost Weighing in at 142 pounds:)

12/01/02 - Well, the holidays are upon all of us. Thanksgiving was such a blessing. I planned days in advanced what I wanted to eat on Thursday, and I stuck to that. I only put enough food on my plate to satisfy me. There was no reason to overfill my plate knowing I would not be able to finish. It is amazing the perspective I have now. I allowed my entire family to go to the table and fill their plates up as much as they wanted before I even decided it was time for me. If this was a couple of years ago, I would have been one of the first if not the first to try and fill my plate up before my favorite dishes were gone!!:)

Christmas is going to be soooo much fun. My youngest daughter is really into it this year. She was such a good girl on Santa's lap this year. We really got an adorable picture of her. My oldest daughter will be with her father's family this year in IRELAND!!!! She's going for a wedding on December 12th and won't be back until after the new year!! I'm happy for her, she gets to experience her Christmas in a different country, and see the traditions of the other side of her family.

Friday was my husband's school reunion. It was alot of fun. The best part about it, was that I just slipped on a pair of nice pants and a top and didn't worry about how I looked. What a refreshing feeling not to feel self conscience in front of strangers. I even said to my husband that I didn't even feel competitive torwards the females in the room. I looked just as good as everyone else did!! That feeling is a gift of it's own. I took a bunch of pictures that night. I'm hoping to get them developed soon. I really need to update my after picture, especially since having my tummy tuck. What a difference my tt has made in my appearance and self confidence. Friday night's experience is just one of many joys I have experienced. I know my husband is loving it!!:)

Well, time to sign off. I hope everyone who reads this a blessed holiday season. God bless and be safe.

10/15/02- It's been a while since I posted. Life has been so unbelievably satisfying now that I am a full time mom and house wife. Working had many rewards, all monetary, yet I have found my new status much more satisfying and challenging.

I continue to lose weight at a snail's crawl, but I continue to lose. I've lost 10 pounds since my last posting, making my weight now at 147 pounds. It is amazing at the transformation I have seen in my physical being since my surgery in June 2001. I now fit into size small/medium shirts, and between 10/12 in pants.

My posting today is more about my tummy tuck. I had it done on September 25th, 2002. I am about 3 weeks post-op from it and have found many positives and negatives I wanted to share. My surgery was done on an outpatient basis. I went in at 6:30am (I requested first surgery done), and I was home on my recliner at 12:02 in the afternoon. I felt pretty good that day, and even ate chinese food for dinner. As for the pain, I barely felt anything at all. It could have been from all the meds I was on, but I also tolerate pain very well. I was on steroids for the first 6 days, cipro for infection for the first 14 days, and percasets as needed. I realized after only 2 days that I was having an adverse reaction from them. I suffered a panic attack within 2 days, and swore that I was dying from a pulmonary embolism. I had to be rushed back to the doctor's office where they examined me and found absolutely nothing wrong. My oxygen level was at 100%, my blood pressure and heart rate were normal. Then, I went home, took another percaset, and all the symptoms started up again! That's when I realized I was allergic to my pain meds!!! No more oxycotin for me!:) So I haven't been on anything since 2 days after surgery. I feel normal, but my body is still healing.

My incision runs from hip to hip, but it is pencil thin. I've been given a new belly button, which is pretty ugly right now, but the doctor assures me it will shrink in time. I'm not sure how much skin was taken, but I can tell you that my wls incision, which was done lap, is now down at my crotch and isn't as long as it once was!!:) All my stretch marks from gaining weight and having children are completely gone! Dr. Gabay must have taken at least 3 pounds worth of dead skin and fat from my body!

I had the jp drain in me for 6 days-I hated it!! It did not hurt or anything, but having a foreign object attached to my insides for a couple of days was very unpleasant to me. They put me in a compression garment while I was still in surgery. This thing was from my knees all the way up to underneath my breasts. It had zippers and hooks on the sides, and the crotch was opened so I wouldn't have to take it off. I was crushed inside this thing! To top it all off, then the nurses put the stomach binder around the damn thing. I felt like a mummy! I was telling my mom just today, that I don't know how women in other times wore those corsets. This thing was horrible! I had to wear it for the first 2 weeks. I've graduated down to the stomach binder, the dressings underneath, and a girtle to keep everything together. I saw my doctor yesterday. I was experiencing a pain at the very top of my stomach, he thought it could have been some fluid build up. So he put this huge needle in the area and absolutely no fluid came out. He now thinks that the area is still swollen, and wants me to keep the area tightly bound. I don't know how much more tighter I can make the binder without passing out. He wants to see me on Friday again. He didn't seem very concerned, and advised me not to do anything else, not even icing it. So we'll take it from there. I'm not in excrutiating pain, but I'd like to start getting back to my normal way of life.

My experience has been very mixed for me. I would do this again, but I would have better prepared myself. I feel I did do alot of research, but my recovery is going too slow for me. When I had my wls done, I was 100% prepared for everything, and handled my obstacles alot better. I have found this recovery much more challenging for me. Since losing my 137 pounds, I am full of energy that needs to be released. It's been hard to slow down, but I have done it. I have followed all of my doctor's suggestions. I do not pick up my 35 pound daughter-she has become quite independent throughout this process. I do not vaccum, carry baskets of laundry-jeans are quite heavy!, take the trash out, and the front of my home needs some serious tlc, but I just can not do it yet. Gardening, which is one of my loves, has taken a back seat and it shows!!:(

I am sooo impatient. I wish it was around Christmas, and I was back to normal. I want to be able to wear regular jeans, instead of stretchy pants. I want to stop having to change my dressings every single day and treat the areas with neosporin. I wish my belly button was small, and the areas were not swollen. I want to be able to sleep on my stomach like I normally do. I must say, the pain I had in my lower back is completely gone, for that I am truly grateful. I know I sound ungrateful, but I'm not. I just wish I would have mentally prepared myself for my recovery. It is soo time consuming. Getting up in the morning, taking a shower, changing my dressings, trying to figure out what to wear that will be comfortable right now, putting the neosporin on, placing new dressings on each morning, it all takes about an hour. And when you have a 3 year old being impatient for her breakfast, it can be nerve racking as well.

As I sign off, I want all who read this to know, that I am happy that I had my tummy tuck. I also know that I will be reaping the rewards of my new appearance much sooner than I think. I am just one of those people that like to do things quickly and see results quickly, so this is really hard for me. I want to get up and go, and I have held myself back these past 3 weeks. I know I have about another 3 weeks, hopefully, of this, so I am half way there. This experience has been very personal, and I hope all that read this just share in my experience and not use my information to decide whether or not to have a tummy tuck. This website has helped me along for 2 years and that is why I feel very comfortable in sharing this experience. What's next for me? I haven't ruled out having a breast lift, but as of right now, I'm not thrilled about it. Maybe in the next few months, I'll be looking forward to it. As of now, I'm just trying to stay patient with my day to day recovery.

God bless everyone that reads this. May He give to all, everything He has given me. For that I am truly grateful. Take care.

7/22/02 - What a month!! I had my consult with my plastic surgeon earlier in the month, and am waiting for insurance approval for my tummy tuck. I can't wait!! My mid section is flabby and even the scars look funny because they are on hanging skin! Haven't seen the scale move at all this month except for one morning when it played a trick on me, and said 155lbs!! I thought my plateau was over, but I'm back to 157 EVERY SINGLE DAY!!:) I'm really not upset about it, I figure if I never lose another pound, and DON'T gain any, I'm quite content where I am today.

I continue to fight an infection through my system. I've just finished taking Cipro for the last 7 days. The doctor thinks if this doesn't do the job, we need to get an ultrasound of my bladder to make sure it is functioning properly. This problem is NOT WLS related. I've had problems with my kidneys and bladder for a long time. My mom has problems with hers as well.

I will be officially laid off from my job on July 31st. I'm not upset about it, I've actually accepted it, and acceptance is the first step in moving on in my life. I'm looking forward to it. We get our basement back, and since it is completely finished, it will now become a family room. Diana's toys will have a new home-Thank the good Lord!!:) I will now have more room for my sewing, and we will have a TV down there for my children to watch. I am also looking forward to spending the rest of the summer home with my kids, and then off to Ocean City, MD at the end of the month!!

Lord willing, I am planning on going back to school. I'd like to take courses on nursing. 2 nurses in the house!!!:) I need a career change, and I've always wanted to be a nurse. I was actually quite jealous of my husband when he was going through his schooling. I know it will be tough, but at 35, I can still start over and don't have to take a job I don't want to do. I won't settle for that. The last time I did that, I got stuck doing a job for 14 years, until I got laid off recently!!:)

Well, off to work for another 8 days!! God bless every one reading this!!

6/22/02 - What an amazing year!! I woke up this morning thinking wow, this time last year I was in surgery, getting ready to be wheeled down to recovery thinking I've made it! What a difference 1 year has made! Before surgery I was so unhappy with myself. Everything was such an effort. Breathing, walking, sleeping, sitting, showering, going to the bathroom, lifting my arms to do my hair! Not now!!:)

My life was an existence. I didn't participate in a day to day being. I sat around waiting for 24 hours to go by to wait around again for the same thing! Everything hurt. I prayed for relief from the hell I put myself in.

In 12 short months, I've gained self-control, self-confidence, and a much more healthier life style. I cook most of the time now, instead of eating fast food. I completely gave up fruit juices, soda, fried food, ice cream, and many of my old eating food. I can walk up stairs without being winded, I sleep straight through the night without snoring!!:) My hemorroids (sorry!)have amazingly gone down, and I can actually wipe myself after going to the bathroom! I know, that is gross! I have lost ALOT of hair. I started my journey with thick, curly hair. Once I lost all the hair, I started pulling my hair back into a ponytail so people couldn't see how drastic the hair loss really was. Well, just in the last few days, I've come to accept the hair loss, and stop denying my curls the right to flow freely. I'm beginning to let them out and do the crazy thing they do. My pictures on my profile show me with my hair pulled back, I will update that soon showing my hair in my face. It all comes down to acceptance.

I have accepted the fact that this surgery is a tool. That as amazing as it is to weigh 157 pounds, I can not get complacent, and believe that I can now slack off and eat and do whatever I want. God has granted me the gift of being re-born into a smaller body, but I must take care of my gift, and work hard to continue to reap the blessings from it. I must always be aware of the food choices I make, and keep myself active. Sitting down and experimenting with "junk" is not an option. Protein and water must always come first. To keep my body healthy, I must fuel it with healthy choices. Although I won't give up mayo with tuna, rest assure, I don't eat it on a daily basis. Mostly I eat eggs everyday, turkey or chicken. I do love my hamburgers, and eat them alittle more frequently because of summertime BBQ's.

I have notice a decrease in my appetite lately. I'm only eating a fraction of what I could a month ago. I'm not complaining, but I think my body is adjusting to the fact that I am NOT starving it, and the choices I'm giving it are healthy ones. I have notice more time lapsing from meal to meal, and even forgetting to eat at times!! Weird isn't it?!

Reconstructive surgery is inevitable. The sag of my tummy, breasts, arms and inner thighs are pretty gross! My appointment is on July 10th for a consult. I still have very mixed feelings about it because I really do want to have 1 last baby. But the pain in my lower back is a killer! I have to take tylenol every morning just to keep the pain bearable.

I booked a vacation down to Ocean City, MD for the last week in August. I am thrilled to death! Getting out of Philadelphia for a week is going to be heaven! It's been over 6 years since we have gone on vacation as a family. It's been even longer since I dared to put a bathing suit on! I found a really nice one with a skirt attached to it. Plain black but pretty. Even my 12 year old daughter thought I looked great in it. I like it cause it covers the excess skin of my inner thighs!!:) I promised myself that this year I will take pictures of myself on the beach! Can't wait for another 8 weeks to get here!

That is all for now, as if it weren't enough. I praise this site for giving me an outlet where I have been able to track this year's journey, get to know beautiful and wonderful people, be upbeat, and rant when I needed to. To all I say, God bless you!!

5/22/02 - Today marks 11 months post-op. My weight loss has dramatically slowed down. I've only lost 4 pounds this month, but on the brighter side, I only have 13 pounds to my personal goal of 150 pounds!! I can say that today I am a completely different person than I was last May. I try to live my life on a day to day basis, since I am not guaranteed a tomorrow.

One issue that I want to address this month is depression. Although I fight everyday to stay bright, there are times I DO feel down. I believe alot of it has to do with all the changes my body has gone through this year. I don't feel weird in my smaller body today, and I don't regret my choice for this surgery. I think that my mind plays tricks on me. There are times that my mind thinks I can still eat more than my stoma can handle, and I have to slow down when I eat.

I dumped last night. My dumping is more like being in a fog, almost an out of body experience and I get very sleepy. I don't vomit or have diarhea, I just need to take a nap. I had a few cracker with peanut butter and jam, and the jam must have done it. It is still all trial and error. So now I know that jam is a no-no. I try making right choices with food, but I do fall short.

I go for my 1 year check up on June 3rd. One of the main issues will be a tummy tuck and breast lifts. I can wait for a couple of months for this, but I need to get the ball rolling now.

Well, time to sign off right now. I pray the Lord blesses everyone reading this.

4/23/02-Wow, another month gone by. 8 more weeks for my 1st post-op birthday. God is good. He has blessed me in so many ways. Let me count them:

1) Better quality of life. I am not sitting around watching life pass me by anymore. I am participating in life now.
2) Closer relationship with my husband and children. Being able to enjoy doing things now that were so hard last year, like taking my 2 year old for a walk.
3) Confidence. Knowing that today I am who I am and not feel falsely ashamed anymore.
4) Crossing my legs!!!! Not even realizing that my legs are crossed has been a big blessing.
5) Energy-Just to walk a flight of steps.

Those are only the tip of the iceberg, but today I appreciate all the little things I never realized would bring me joy.

I have finally posted a before/after picture. The Website link is at the top of my profile. Not the best pictures, but they work for now. I am also happy to report that I have a new posting picture. The other one was not representing me as to who I am today. I'm glad I updated it.

I want to thank this website for giving me an outlet to be who I am. Enjoying others accomplishments, and sharing in others trials, that is what a family does. This place is where I watch and listen to my extended family share their experiences. I am blessed more than I can express. Love to all.


3/25/02 - I've decided to post today because there is alot on my mind, and I just didn't want to clog up the message board with it all. I've been away from the board all weekend, and sooooo much has occured on here.

First, I want to reflect on our losses this past week. To think 4 of our very own have passed on
has me very saddened. I only pray that they are relieved of all their torments while here on earth. But at the same time, I think about their families, and how they are supposed to now manage without them. I can not question God because I am only human, and He is all knowing, so I pray that he gives each family the comfort needed to continue on without their loved one.

When I was researching this surgery in early 2001, I knew I wanted this surgery. My reasons were quite obvious-I wanted to enjoy my children, see them graduate high school, get married, and have children of their own. I wanted my life with my girls to have meaning and quality, and not just existance. I wanted to enjoy growing older with my husband. I wanted to share my life with him, and not be a burden to him because my weight was limiting my day to day activities. I wanted our life together to be meaningful and full of day to day joys.

Finding this site has been the biggest God send to my quest for a better quality of life. As I continued to do my research, I sucked in all sorts of information I was reading on here. People that were post-op, people trying to find information on the surgery, people getting denied by their insurance companies, others getting approval quickly. I'd spend hours looking at all the before/after pictures knowing that I had the before picture, and was striving for that after picture. Lastly, I came across the Memorial pages. I WAS SCARED!! I knew that there were risks involved. Risks that could potentially take my life, leave my daughters without their mother, and my husband without his soul mate. I weighed everything.

At this point in my life, I weighed about 284 pounds. I could hardly get myself off the couch without rocking abit and getting the momentum to lift myself up. My youngest daughter was about 1 1/2 years old, and would need frequent diaper changes. Picking her up, and walking up those 14 steps was a chore. I was certain that one day, I would be found on the top step dead from a heart attack.

My husband has always been a great man to me. He NEVER belittled me for the weight, but I could see that it was getting to him that he had to pick up more slack that I because I JUST COULDN'T DO IT! When I first went to him about WLS he was against it, mainly because he was afraid I would die. But I was dying anyway. If not physically, mentally I was close to death. I didn't want to go to family functions, I wouldn't visit clients, I wouldn't go food shopping, clothes shopping, or any other shopping. Internet shopping became my favorite thing. Go to toysrus.com and get my children their Christmas presents. Or I was buying off of HSN or QVC. If you would come and visit me, you would find me on the same spot of my couch day in and day out. Infact, the springs on my couch were braking through the leather of the couch. My husband had to keep putting duck tape on the hole to hold the springs in. My knees hurt, my back hurt, the adema on my leggs made them look like elephant leggs, every step I took hurt, I had very strong body odor going on from all the sweating I was doing. I couldn't wipe myself very well at all after going to the bathroom. Everything was a big effort.

So, skipping a bit in the future, I received my approval for WLS in the beginning of June 2001. I had all this pre-testing to do, a psych evail, sitting with my nutritionist, and breaking the news to my family members. I waited in telling my in-laws, because my mother-in-law (God bless her heart!!) is a real worry wart, and I would have to try and keep her as well as myself sane through this.

3 weeks before surgery, I picked up my nasty habit of smoking, from all the anxiety. Surgery is real business, and I was scared. I just wasn't scared to the point of not having it. Does that make sense? My biggest fear? Dying! Plain and simple. The thing was, I felt like I was dying anyway. Many of my family and friends will tell you that all I kept saying for years was that I felt like my body had swallowed me up and was slowing squeezing the life out of me. So I had to make the decision of either dying at 34 from weight loss surgery, or most likely being dead by the time I reached 40. A very hard decision to say the least.

Days before surgery, when I was fasting, doing my bowel prep (Yuck!!), buying my chewable vitamins, ensure lite drinks, and packing, I got my house in order. I sat with my husband and oldest daughter and told them what I wanted done, should I not make it. Where all the accounts were, what our debt was, my different 401k plans, the life insurance plan, what my wishes were for my burial, and anything else I could think of. I felt that even though I had a slight chance of dying, there still was a chance. I was scared when the nurse told me to give my husband a kiss goodbye. I thought that this might be the last time I see him. Even while the nurse was wheeling me down to surgery, I was scared. I talked to him about it. He didn't seem too concern. He assured me that surgeries took place in the hospital 24/7, and that he did not know of anyone in HUP that had died from WLS. It did little to comfort me.

My relief came after surgery when I was being wheeled into recovery and I was waking up in this horrible, excruciating pain. That's how I know I made it. I remember saying to myself, 'You've made it to the other side.'

Fear is a very nature thing. It means you are normal. The fear of the unknown can be very unbearable, thats were faith comes in. For me, being afraid was horrible, but living the unproductive life I had was worse. As a woman of faith, I knew that God would do one of 2 things. 1)See me through this surgery, and give me day to day recovery with it. 2)Call me home to be with Him. Either way, as scared as I was, I was ready.

Fast forwarding to 9 months later, I am grateful and thankful to God for this blessing. I went to Strawbridge's on Saturday, picked up a size 16 zip up pair of shorts, fit perfectly, and bought them. Only $14.95!! I crawl on the floor and play with my youngest daughter, I can pick her up, give her a bath, change her diaper, chase her around. By the way, her name is also Diana. My 12 year old, Victoria, is fun also, just in a different way. We go clothes shopping together. We talk style alot together. She does my hair for me, we joke around alot, and even though she never said or acted like she was embarrassed by my weight, she is my cheerleading squad now. Happy for my accomplishments. My husband, who has loved me for years, and married me when I weighed 218 pounds, supports me dearly. He can see all the life just pouring back into me. We enjoy so much. Mostly we enjoy our time together, whether it's watching a movie, in bed, out to breakfast, or cleaning the yard, we are content that our life together will be a long one-Lord willing of course. My knees have stopped hurting, my hair thinned out after 4 months, but is growing in much nicer. My back pain is at a minimum. I run all day long, and sleep nice and comfortable at night. The springs in my couch don't pertrude out anymore, my sex life (sorry don't mean to offend)is more passionate and comfortable. I have a great sense of who I am today. I am not intimidated by anyone anylonger. I may never get to be a size 8, but at a size 16, I feel real good. I do have some negative problems-I have hemmorroids (yuck!!), and I get constipated easily. Milk of Magnesia is one of my closests friends!!:) Although, I am not guaranteed a tomorrow, all the todays God has given me have exceeded all my expectations.

I saw a friend last Thursday. She says to me, "Diana, you have big brass b@*%$ for having that surgery done. I could never do that." I looked at her and said, "Yes you could, if you felt it was your last resort before dying." For me, it was my last resort before dying.

3/22/02 - Wow! 9 Months post-op! I can't believe I have come this far. I remember the day after my surgery, wondering where I would be 3 months post-op, 6 months post-op, 9 months post-op!! I don't need to figure it out any longer. At 9 months, I'm 174lbs, 14/16 size depending on the cut of the clothes. I am a comfortable size large shirt. My mid section is sagging and the excess skin makes it hard to button some pants at times. I hope to talk to my doctor about a tummy tuck at my 1 year anniversary.

Tommorrow I go to get my hair done. I can't wait. I feel like I'm gonna be at a spa all day. My hair dresser is going to cut, color, and highlight my hair. I'm pretty excited because I've wanted this done for a long time.

I leave for Arizona on April 3rd on a business trip. I'm so looking forward to meeting my account out there. They have never met me in person, so this is sweet for me, because they don't know that 9 months ago, I weighed 284 pounds. My confidence is up, and I think my trip will be most positive.

Last weekend, I put on a pair of size 26 jeans that did not even fit me the day of my surgery, I was able to slip them on without unbuttoning them, and they slipped right back off! I will keep them as a reminder of how uncontrollable I let myself get, and the blessings God has given me to this date.

I cannot believe that in 12 weeks I will be 1 year post-op!! My goal is to get to 150, but if I don't, I am going to try hard not to be too dissappointed. I am happy today, and I must always remember one day at a time is all I get. This site has been a big part of my day to day life, and I want to Thank Every Member for allowing me to share my life with you, and hearing about everyone else's journey. God bless everyone that reads this.

2/22/02 - Today is my 8 month post-op anniversary. There are so many exciting changes going on. My hair loss has FINALLY stopped. I can only be grateful that God blessed me with a full head of thick curly hair at one point. It is thinner, and I've lost ALOT of the curl, but it really doesn't look bad. I see ribs now. I have to bend over to see them, but they are there!!!! My knees are clanking together when I sleep, it wakes me up sometimes, but it's a good thing. I can see the bones in my chest now. Haven't seen them in about 6 or 7 years, I even filed a missing report looking for them!!:o) And the last neat thing happening to me this month was that when I lay flat on my back in bed, my hip bones stick way out!!!!!!!!! That is sooooooo cool!

This month I was only able to lose 7lbs. I can tell my weight lose is decreasing quickly. At 179lbs., my BMI is now 30, so I have graduated from extremely overweight, to overweight. That in itself is a great accomplishment! I tried on a few dresses yesterday, dresses that have been in the dry cleaning wraps for years, and they fit!! I am officially a comfortable size 14 dress. I tried on a size 12 that was also in the back of the closet. The mid section won't button!! That's okay, because it is a spring dress, and I expect to be wearing it in April. HOW AMBITIOUS!!

I've had bouts of depression this month. Especially during my 3 week plateau that just floored me. I think my fear was that I had lost 100lbs. and that was all that I was going to lose. My sex drive has come back, my desire to have a 3rd child is also returning, although that will stay in the back burner for another year.

My skin is really loose, especially in the mid area. I would love to have a tummy tuck, but if DH and I decide to have another child, I'm afraid that will defeat the purpose.

I need a new picture. I look nothing like the picture taken in November. I want to borrow a digital camera to take a photo, hopefully I can do that soon. I will continue to update everyone on my progress on a month to month. My goal is to get to 150lbs. I hope to be there by my 1 year anniversary. I just have to remind myself how far I've come, and how close I am to that goal. God bless and love everyone reading this.


1/24/02 - I hit my 100lbs. loss today! It's quite amazing to look at my pre-op picture that was taken a day before surgery and look at myself now. My pre-op picture, at the bottom of my profile, looks as though my body is swallowing me up whole. I've looked at that picture so many times, and to this day I can say that I was a prisoner in my own skin. Not anymore! I am enjoying my body now. The loose skin doesn't bother me that much. There really isn't alot of it anyway. The hair loss has saddened me a bit, because I use to have a full head of curly hair. It really doesn't look that bad. I pray it come back soon. My BMI is now 31, which makes me extremely overweight, but no longer morbidly obsese!!:) God is good and life is grand! This is my wish for all who read my profile!!:)

1/22/02 - Well, I can actually state that I definitely see a difference in my physical appearance now. My stomach doesn't even stick out anymore. I weigh 186lbs, and feel really blessed about having my life back.

I have even started sewing classes. It has been soooooo much fun!! I think I am a natural born seamstress, because in 4 weeks, I've made 2 shirts, 4 pants, 3 pajamas, 2 night shirts, and I'm still going. I even bought a serger to clean up my material!! I post this, because I would have NEVER taken classes like this when I was pre-op, I would have been too embarrassed about being the largest person in the class. Plus, no patterns would have fit me at that point. But these classes have helped me save alot of money on clothes. Since I continue to shrink, I'm not paying top dollar at the stores every 2-3months on clothes that are going to get too big for me anyway. Life is good. I do still have hair falling out like crazy, but I know that will soon stop. I hope it does!!:) Well, I'll post again as soon as I hit 100lbs!! God bless everyone. LIFE IS GOOD.

12/24/01 - My 6 month anniversary was Saturday. 89lbs gone forever! What a big difference 6 months have made in my life. Gone from 284 to 195 right before Christmas. I reached my personal goal of being below 200lbs by Christmas. I've noticed that I average around 10-12lbs a month, so I forsee joining the Century Club by the time my 7th month anniversary rolls around. I have had some adjustments to make in my attitude since my surgery. Acceptance is a Big adjustment. I've had to accept hair loss, no sexual appetite, constipation, hemmorroids, as well as bursts of energy, no more pain in my back and knees, compliments, and so on. I've had to accept both good and bad results from this surgery or else everything becomes too overwhelming for me. I accept what is happening to me today, and continue to ask for God's direction in my life in all of it's aspects. Lastly, as humbly as I can say this, this surgery really saved my life!! God bless everyone reading this.

11/22/01 - Today is my 5 month anniversary. Wow, 78lbs. gone forever!! I weigh 206lbs, and feel real great. My e