ObesityHelp

3/29/06 Tomorrow will be 2 years since my surgery. What a wonderful anniversary/birthday/new me day it is! I feel like I've never felt before. wonderful. I love myself. I'm the healthiest that I've ever been. 2 years isn't that long ago to feel and looks so very different. Yesterday I bumped into someone that I've not seen in over a year. They didn't know I'd had the surgery. The reaction was just perfect. They didn't know me! I had to tell them who I was. Then their mouth hung open. I'm getting use to the new me. I now can look in a mirror and see me and know that its me it was hard to get to this point. Isn't it funny to look into a mirror and not recognize yourself? It happens hard to believe. I hope and pray that next year at this time I am still as happy as I am right now.
11/26/05 Another few months of not updating! Here is where I'm at. Weigh in at 157. There is still a one to two pounds that I play with. I have no idea why but they will pop up or down depending on what they want to do. For the most part I'm at the 157 and I plan on keeping it that way! Thats a total of 120 pounds lost since I had the surgery on march 30, 2004. At this time last year I was about 170 and was wearing size 12's. Now I"m still in my 10's but also have some 8's and 6's in there too! I still feel fantastic. Wonderful. Healthy. It was the best thing I'd ever done for me.
No problems eating anythign that I want and what I want is usually healthy. I have had different things but they don't hold the thrills for me that they use to. Now if I want a treat its usually strawberries with cottage cheese that I crave! My nastiest was having a healthy choice fudgey! No longer do I crave real chocolate. No more do I even want hot fudge. I dont care what they say Dr Aranow did a lobotomy!!!!! The changes on the outside are for everyone to see. The changes on the inside no one can see but I can tell you that they are there. My head is on straight. I like myself. Heck I love myself! Its amazing to me that for all those years of being fat I never realized how much I didn't like me. Now that I am normal sized I love me. Everyone wants to be different than someone else but not in the way that I was. People stare now but they are staring because I might have on a pretty dress or my hair looks nice. They no longer stare because I'm so heavy. I can sit in benches at restuarants. I can sit in airplane seats without an extender belt. I can shop in regular sized stores. O and my grocery bill is so low now!!!!! If I had to do it again...in a heart beat I'd sign up over and over and over again.

8/1/05 -wow I've not updated in a while! I now weigh in at 159 to 160 theres this one pound that keeps coming back and then going away. I wear a size 8 to 10. theres a nice comfy lose pair of size 12's jeans that i can't part with. I still feel wonderful. Very active. I've not got a 2nd job to help pay the medical bills off. Not that I had alot left over to pay but I just want to get rid of them. I have no problems eating anythign that I want. I just don't want any of the things that are bad for me. If I do want something sweet I'm happy with making a wise sweet choice like fruit or even something dietic. No sugar things. I went kayaking for the first time with my boyfriend when he took me to the bahamas in may. I didn't even need to get a seat belt extender for the plane!!!!! AND my butt fit in the boat!!!!! It was awesome.


1/3/04-yippie for me! Now weighing in at 174 thats 103 pounds lost, 9 months since surgery, BMI 27.3, wearing size 10 YES you read that right size 10!!!!!! Never not even when I was 10 years old did I wear a size 10. Maybe in shoes when my feet would swell but never in clothing. This can all be alitte bit freaky. Will I shrink & disapear? Any Stephen King readers out there?I feel like I'm living his novel "Thinner". I do know that if you dream hard enough, if you wish upon that star, when you blow out those birthday candles well dreams can come true. I am a hot babe in a size 10. YES!

11/9/04- Its not been that long since I posted to my profile but had to write about my experience today. I've been looking for a party dress for the upcoming holidays. The one from last year was a size 26 and had gone to consignment shop heaven many months ago. One of my customers is a clothing consignment shop so I stoped in to see her and check out what she had. What I found was a slinky black velvety long dress in a size 12!!!!! It is perfect and very beautiful. I also had to buy a strapless bra!!! Never did own one of those before! It fit great but I'm sure that when I wear this outfit I'll be worried that the girls will pop right outta there! Now at 183, with 95 pounds gone, BMI i 28.7 and I'm moderately overweight. Only 33 more pounds to go to make my personal goal of 150.

10/13/04-Weightin yesterday (drum roll pleaseeeeee) I now weigh in at 188!!!!!! YIPPIE for ME!!!! Thats 89 pounds gone. 89!!!! Ive now got 38 pounds to lose toget to my personal goal of 150. My height says that I should be in the 128 to 158 weight. I picked 150 cause I'm older. I don't want to look like I'm sick! If I can get to 145 that would work good because I'd have that 5 pounds to work with. I cant imaging having to worry about that 5 extra pounds all the skinny people talk about "saving" cause I don't eat that much now. Funny only 6 months ago if asked I'd say I eat like a bird..terridactical!! Now that bird has been scaled down to a finch!

10/4/04-6 months after surgery. 86 pounds gone! I'm now 191. This is the first time that I've been under 200 pounds since I was 11 years old. I feel like I've added 10 years to my life. No more size 18's in my closet! Only 16's an 14's and those are getting too big. My favorite boutque is Goodwill or Salvation Army cause I can't keep up with buying clothes that fit at regular prices when in a 2 week time period they aren't going to fit! Still losing weekly but now losing mostly 1 pound sometimes 2 a week. I eat everything still without any problems. I love it when I bump into someone who hasn't seen me since before the surgery and they don't recognize me! I love to go into all those stores that I always avoided because they didn't carry BIG sizes. Now I'm one of them! Goodbye Lane Bryant! So Long Lerner Woman!Adios black pant suits in size 26!!!! O O O and Shoes! Did you know that you lose weight in your feet??? Now I'm a size 8 t 8 1/2 from size 9 to 9 1/2. AND my ring size has gone from size 8 to 6 1/2. Bras (hehehe) from size 44DD to 36D. Panties (geesh!) size 26 now size 8. Well there everyone you've got my shopping lists HAHAHAHAHA

8/4/04-Four months after surgery. 73 pounds gone! I can go up & down my stairs without any pain & I'm not out of breath. No arthritis meds in over 4 months. I DON'T NEED EM! I'm wearing sizes 16 to 18 and I have a 14 that is a tight fit. I feel human. Now I'm merely obese instead of morbidly obese. My BMI was 43.2 now its 31.4 i'm losing 2 pounds a week. No problems ever with vomiting I'm eating frsesh fruits without any problems. 2 weeks ago I started with the hair fall out Yikes thought I'd escaped that! the day after surgery I was saying to myself, "what did I do to myself" Now Im so happy I did this. I feel wonderful I wish I'd done this years ago. Life is good.

3/30/04-today is the big day. i can't believe how excited i am. i couldnt eat supper last night and didnt get to sleep until after 1am. this morning woke up at 5am. excited like going on a vacation! i'm to be at the hospital at 11:45 and the surgery is scheduled for 1:40. Right now at this moment I sure do wish I'd eaten supper! I went to support group last night. there was a panel meeting of 3 people who had had it done. one of them was 3 yrs out, another 1 yr andthe last was a man 3 month out. they each had a dfferent story. all of them had something to say that was important to me. I looked aroundthat room at all the hopeful faces. So many people who are heavy. So much weight siting in one room. Its sad. Then I felt so happy to know that we were all there for the same reason. We'd finally found a way to lose the weight for many of us after years of trying.

3/24/04-Less that a week away now! Today is the trip to the hospital to view the operating room. Still staying calm. In the past for different surgerys I would be very scared and nervous. But right now I'm not I believe thats because this is something I've chosen. This surgery will improve my life. Hard to be scared and nervous of something that is good now isn't it? I'm prepared thats the important thing. I'm aware of what will happen thats 1/2 the battle. Lets go!!!

3/15/04-Well its 2 weeks til my surgery and i'm pretty calm about it. sometimes i get alittle nervous but nothing major. i'm finding that i'm not sleeping as good cause i'm making those mental planning lists in my head so now i have a pad of paper right on my night stand so when i have a hard time sleeping i jot down what i need to do. that saves me the worry of forgetting!

3/4/04-WOW already a call from the insurance company nurse who covers. Their office had closed so I'll have to call them tomorrow to find out what it is about. She is the case worker. Anyone know what thats about?

3/3/04-Got the call from Lois my insurance company has approved the surgery! Whew that was quick!

3/1/04-Well I did it I lost the required 10 pounds!!!! Today Lovely Lois called and we talked about my surgery date which is...(drum roll please) MARCH 30, 2004. Boy oh boy am I excited! Scared too! Is that normal?

2/23/04i'm excited because my doctor called to have me come into the office for a weigh in. he requires that i lose 10 pounds before surgery date. once i've lost that they will give me my date. i go on friday morning for the weigh-in. i'm pretty sure its (or at least most of it) is gone! cross your fingers and toes!