ADDED TO THE BEFORE AND AFTER GALLERY, THANKS AND A HOLIDAY THOUGHT

Once again, I want to thank everyone who provided such wonderful feedback to my last post. On this Thanksgiving Holiday weekend, I thought that I'd share a brief story and make an observation. Recently one of the website's volunteers Theresa added my before and after pcitures (which shows in a morphing way theb transformation of at least one hundred pounds of weight loss). I emailed her to thank her for doing so. To my surprise, she emailed me to thank me for thanking her and told me that it was much apppreciated. This got me to reflect on the work of these volunteers and how important it was to me to be added tio the before and after gallery. I've sent the before and after pictures link to so many people who either need help and have asked me for advice or have been encouraging me for years to do something about my weight issue. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. I'm sure many of you can relate but as the scale continued to go up and up and up and up through the years it was sort of an out of body experience. I was in some real denial that I may be putting on weight but I didn't have any problems. I've also found that as the scale went down so rapidly it also didn't seem real. Mentally I still couldn't fit in booths in restaraunts or tie my shoes. I knew that I was losing weight but didn't think that I was losing enough. Even when you look at pictures side by side it sometimes doesn't register. When the "old" me suddenly morphs into the "new" me in the before and after gallery it helps make this all real. It also is such a sense of accomplishment because I remember looking at the pictures of others and getting the little ray of hope that if they could do it maybe I could too. I now hope that I can encourage others who may now be facing similar doubts and apprehension. I still can't believe that on June 9th I had a 54 inch waist and the pants were tight. Yesterday I bought a few pairs of pants that were size 40 at TJ Maxx. My jacket size went from a 56 regular to a 44 regular. This is all without a single fill which means that deep inside of me the potential to deal was this issue was there. The surgery and the support offered by the website was the driving force to turn that potential into reaility. Truth be told, I must have clicked on the before and after pics at least 50-100 times and each time a wave of emotions and feeling overcome me. I guess now I'm rambling but it's my way of saying that even if people don't say thank you to the wonderful volunteers that work so hard on this website, they should realize that the work that they do definitely has an impact on others!! So on this Thanksgiving weekend, I say publicly thanks to Theresa and all of the other wonderful voulnteers! On a side note, I ate like a pig on Thanksgiving and enjoyed every bite! I even had desert and pastries that I hadn't touched in 5 months! I did go on the bike that night. Overall, I still lost 1 pound for the week from 247 to 246. I think that it's important to realize that every once in a while you can treat yourself and that this surgery is not a "death sentence" to EVER eating your favorite foods again. The key words to me are "moderation" and "reward every now and then for hard work. " Happy Holidays everyone.

ed you loooook absolutely fabulous.....everything you said is so true....it is the little things that really mean so much...just being able to tie a shoe is a miracle....i also feel like the volunteers and everyone on here who gives their contributions rather good or bad are a blessing....we need special people who understand what we go through...no one chose to be obese it is an addiction and just like the drug addict we need support....thank you ed for sharing your journey and it has only strengthend my belief this can be done

Lookin Good!!! I am glad you are doing so well and I did cheat for the holiday but actually not very much. I lost 2 pounds this week even with the over endulgences. All our volunteers are awesome. They do a wonderful job. I will join you in singing their praises. Keep up the good work. Deloris 309/288/190/135

You are a true champ!! I wish you the best.............. Renee C