Let's get to know each other

Nice to meet you Eileen, thanks for answering my post.  Wow, you've done a great job with your weight loss and subsequent maintanence.  I understand the restriction due to your knees.  I need to have a hip replacement and also have no cartilage in one of my knees.  It certainly resticts what type of exercise I can do.  My doc told me to hold out a long as possible on the hip surgery so that's what I'm gonna do.  As long as I can continue to work, I'm good to go.  I have a pool so I can exercise in the summer but not the winter, other than swimming, I just walk.

Hi Stephanie,
I'm Debbie age 53, on 2nd (happily) marriage with 3 adult step-daughters, 2 grandchildren age 7 and 3, mom and grand-kids live with us probably for another year or less. It's all good because my ex never wanted children so now at this age I'm a mom and grandma!! Wwhhhooooo!!

I work in a hospital where I also had my RNY. I help out at support groups also. I exercise everyday and have a lot of newbies join me at the gym. I also walk 3 miles everyday with a work buddy and ride my bike. Love to dance and sing.

It took me 2 years to get to my goal size of size 6 and 4 pants (depending on the brand) and size 8 top or medium sometimes small if there's room for the "girls, Millie and Maude".

We have 4 dogs: Angel the bloodhound, Ellie the sheltie, Jake and Sophie who are brother and sister half chihuahua and peekapoo. 1 house cat (stepdaughter) 2 rabbits in barn and several barn cats, 2 of the barn cats are friendly, the rest run away when I go into the barn. 1 little black and white barn kitty who is now social and may just end up in the house...OMG!!!! Oh she is a sweetie and gets along with the dogs.

I love to go camping but would like to buy a little trailer instead of tent camping.
I use to teach line dancing and couples dancing, need to get back into that...but who has the time with all the exercise and other stuff I'm doing now...yikes!

I work in Volunteer Services and I just love working with the volunteers. The office is run like a mini HR, I do background checks and make sure their annual training is done along with annual TB shots, flu shots etc... Volunteering is special and I also volunteer here in the No One Dies Alone program.

Hi Debbi, sounds like you have a very busy life between the kids, grandkids and animals.  I wish I was more dedicated to exercise but I just never seem to make the time.  I can't even imagine being a size 4 or 6.  I remember when I started I swore I'd be happy if I ever hit a 16 and thrilled beyond belief if I got into a 14.  Now I get mad that I'm a 10 and people around me are smaller.  How crazy is that? 

We used to go camping all the time too. We started out with a pop-up camper and then got a travel trailer.  It was awesome cuz you could just jump in it and go.  All we had to pack was some food and a few clothes, everything else stayed in the trailer.

Hi Stephanie,
That was my goal size...a 14.  Totally understand the feeling when your around smaller people and suddenly feeling "fat". We really have to put in perspective where we came from,  how far we've come. We need to change what society deems "normal" on sizes.

I love my curves. I don't want to be a size 0 ever. I want to be healthy.
Exercise keeps me healthy.
In my new lifestyle I finally get it. I have learned moderation, exercise and always knowing I will have to follow the rules. I've learned that being in the "thin world" really is different.

When I was fat, I was happy, active and well liked. I didn't feel I was "disregarded". Oops, I later learned different. I will never forget where I came from. I always go out of my way to talk to obese people especially at social settings.

Now as a thin person I'm getting use to this body slowly. The fat suit is off. Sometimes it is scary for me. People get in my "comfort zone" so to speak, stand a little too close. Men are opening doors and actually look me in the eye and smile and say hi. When you are not use to that type of attention, well, I just had some more "adjusting" to do.

Hi Stephanie and everyone else.....

I'm 52 (no children) and have been in remarkably good health for a woman who has spent at least 30 or those 52 years very overweight or obese.  I became a "chubby" child (started around age 12 I think), and an overweight adult....I peaked at 308. 

In the first three months of 2002 I had a job transfer, filed for divorce in Feb, was divorced in April, my grandmother and absolutely best friend in my life died while I was in Nebraska and I couldn't get home to NY to see her, two months later I had hernia surgery and then moved from NE back to NY.  Stress.......just a little!!

After spending about the next 2 years depressed, confused, and angry at myself I started to want to make things better.  I quickly went on another diet, lost a few lbs and then gained it back plus the obligatory extra.

In the middle of 2007 I said enough is enough.....I'm 50, if I don't take control I will surely die too young.  So I started to seriously watch what I ate and decided I need to not go on another diet but needed to make a life change and just eat healthy.  I lost some weight........in Nov of that year I started to seriously exercise;  the lbs really started to come off........I was hooked.  I continued to make changes to my eating habits and for me most importantly I was looking inward to try and understand what drove me to the food each time I would succumb to the pull....slowly but surely I re-trained myself not to turn to food when I was happy, sad, angry, etc, etc....
(FYI - interesting twist is that it is my X-husband who trained me to properly exercise, without his help I'm not sure if I could have done it.  I'm very grateful to him).

Fast forward to today.........I've lost 155 lb**** my goal last month, I went from wearing a 28W to an 8/10.   I still have to work on my internal reaction to hearing I look good because that stirs some ugly memories for me but I am starting to just enjoying hearing it and I'm finding the more and more I hear it the less often the bad memories/reactions come back.  

I am scheduled to have plastic surgery in Sept to remove all the ugly saggy/baggy skin on my lower body.  I can't wait!  I look pretty good in clothes but can't wait to feel good in my smaller skin.  I look forward to my family and friends reaction when they see me at the end of the year....I'm sure some will be shocked but I know they will be happy for me.

That's my story sad but true but it is having a very happy ending....... 

Thanks for sharing your story, I enjoyed learning more about you and I am still trying to retrain myself from eating through feelings, I do it much less than ever, but have not perfected it yet, that combined with my excess skin is what I believe is keeping me from goal. . .  I can take a compliment though and better still I can look in the mirror today and self validate.  Hoping one day to be able to afford plastic surgery for my belly and well, the rest I can live with, though I'd love to do a minifacelift in a couple of years. . .  lol

Hi "Moosie" thanks for telling us your story.  Are you hving a LBL or a TT?  I had the tummy tuck and it was not nearly as bad as I thought it was gonna be.  On my profile I have a list of tips and tricks that I learned when I had my plastics.  Feel free to take a look, you might find some of it useful.  I went from a 12/14 to a 8/10 after plastics so you will be really tiny afterward~woohoo!!

Hello again......
I'm having a LBL whi*****ludes the tummy portion (with muscle tightening) and then I'll do the inner thigh lift (long incision....).  
I'll check your profile for the tips....thanks!!!!!
Ruth

Hi Stephanie!

Good thread!  Gives us a chance to hear from those new and just lurking.

I'm from MI and am in my early 50's.  I have three girls.  The oldest is a marrid stay at home Mom with a 7 year old DD and 3 year old DS.  The second is marrid and has a 7 year old DS and a 1 year old DS.  The third DD graduated from MSU and is now using her 5 year degree to......work at Old Navy.  She is now bicycling from MI to DC.   I have been marrid to my current DH for 14 years. (second, the first was 21 years.  Got dumped for the skinny 20 year old.)

I was banded 2/25/09 and have lost a total of 60 pounds, 20 the 8 months leading up to surgery.  I did Atkins and was very happy with the results as I went thru four cruises, Disney and the Holidays.  I have moved from size 26/28 to 20's. 

I'm a retiered Die Maker-CNC Operator.  I worked for GM for 30 years.  Now I have a Cruise Planers buisness.  I spend most of my time babysitting the Grands.  We also raise and show Pygmy Goats all over the East Coast and Mid West.

I'm looking forward to seeing size 14's which is my goal!

Hi "Pineview" (sorry, don't know what you prefer to be called).  Small world, my husband is a machinist and was a die maker for years as part of his job working for an engraving company.  Now he's the manager of the engraving department for a company that does high end electronics. 

Pygmy goats, how fascinating. I had no idea they even "showed" them, too cool!!  No grandkids here yet...she has 2 1/2 years of grad school she BETTER finish first, lol.  I bet they are the light of your life.  Good meeting you and way to work that band!!