Cinderellen

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So, late last week, I hit 198.  That would be the first time in 18 years that I have seen that number!  I have posted a picture from the Valentine's Dance that my husband and I attended last weekend of me. 

God is good!

I have officially lost 200 pounds from my highest weight!  How unbelievable is that.  My husband said that I am nearly half the woman I used to be!    To break it down, I weighed 425 at the start of my journey and lost 75 pounds while I was in the insurance approval stage.  Since surgery, I've lost another 125 pounds.  In addition, my BP at 6 months was 116/66 and my cholesterol was 100.  The other labs were also great.  God has been good to me!

My life is still .... er..... interesting, but as I said God has been good.  He has me no matter what the outcome. 

"So do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."  (Isaiah 41:10)

Silly little thing to post about, I know, but I got my hair colored and cut today!  It felt so good to make that decision for myself and not worry what the spousal unit would think!  I needed to do it, I've had some hair loss post surgery, and most of what fell out was the darker more vibrant hair.  I was left with this gray/brown mousy dry mess.  Anyway, she warmed it back up and it looks so much better.  It really gave it more depth. 

For the record, my hair isn't falling out at the root, it's breaking!  There's a lot of really short pieces where it looks like it broke rather than totally coming out.  Just an fyi for those that care.

I am down 190 pounds as of yesterday, from my highest.  That's 115 since surgery, if I've done my math right.  How exciting is that?!?

God is soooooo good!!!!

Take care.
Ellen

Due to some "events" in my life of late, it's been quite a struggle since to maintain the lifestyle I know I need to do.  Not just the food, which I eat okay amounts of, just the wrong choices.  I have had a couple of weeks where I only walked 2 days a week and forget the water, and sometimes the vitamins. 

I have battled depression for a long time and recognize the signs.  It's all about defeating yourself.  Not taking care of the one person you need to take care of more than anyone else, you.  If I'm not healthy, then I'm not as able to take care of my children or others in my life.  It's about making sure you get enough sleep!  That's one of my first signs, I start staying up later and later.  It tires me out then I can't function during the day. 


What fragmented thoughts I'm having this morning!  I just know that so many of us struggle with depression and general life mess.  However, through it all, God has been so good to me.  He has, and is continuing to, "uphold me with His righteous right hand."  I was reminded by a friend that when I struggle with these things, I should look down, because there are only one set of footprints in the sand.

Walk the walk!  Keep the faith!  God is Good!
Ellen

When you have this surgery they tell you something to the effect of, "This is surgery on your stomach, not your brain, you still have to deal with the head issues."  There are certainly a lot of head issues to deal with.

Anyway, I found myself thinking the other night that they must have done  a partial lobotomy because now I feel like things are possible rather than feeling like I can't do it.  The energy and confidence that I read on other people's profiles is finally emerging in me.  That has been the neatest part of my experience of late.  The weight loss and exercise are cool, and I'm grateful for that, but it's the change in attitude that excites me right now.  I say that right up until I fit into the next size down, and I'll probably be singing a different tune.

I wish that the rest of my life was going as smoothly as my weight loss has been.  My marriage is struggling mightily, but I have faith that God will see me through no matter what.  He has been good to me thus far, He isn't going to stop.  The victory here, among other things, is that I haven't let this sabotage my progress as I would have in the past.  I am grateful for Him "upholding me with His righteous right hand."

Anyway, that's enough for now.  Time to go pretend I'm Martha Stewart.  God is good all the time!

I posted my Three Month Post Op and my Day of Surgery pictures the other day.  I didn't really see it in my body until I saw the pictures side by side. 

As of this morning, I've lost 71 pounds!  Amazing how much you can lose and not even entirely realize you have.  Not that this is any great revelation, but exercise is really pivotal to losing it quickly and being healthy.  I spent one month not exercising much and lost almost nothing, since then I've exercised fairly faithfully and am steadily taking it off.  Interesting how that works.....

Anyway, that's about it.  What an amazing surgery.  What an awesome God!

I just got weighed and I'm officially down 50 pounds in the 2 months and 5 days since surgery.  That also puts me under 300 for the first time in 13 years!  God is good!  Praise!

I just walked 2.75 miles in one hour exactly.  How exciting!  I used to walk 2-2.5 miles when I was 350-375, but it took more like two hours.  I think I somewhat get the "rush" that joggers talk about after I'm done.  I want to remember, tomorrow morning, when I get up how good it felt today so I'll do it again.  :-)

Today, 6 weeks and 2 days after surgery, I got rid of all my 5x and 6x clothes.  What a liberating feeling.  It was confirmation to me that this surgery really did happen and really is working.  It was like a huge weight had fallen off my neck.  Er..... I guess it has. ;-)

All I can say today is God is good! 

I went for my one month post op appointment on Tuesday. I am down 36 pounds since surgery. Dr Chapman said he was pleased with my progress and that I was right where he wanted me to be. I have been having some minor problems though. I apparently have what he termed the "blahs". He said that some of his patients, around one month, lose all their energy. I can relate, I feel like my limbs are made of lead. Also, I've been having some fainting spells. I was very dehydrated, so they doubled my water intake. At this early stage of the game, I'm having difficulty getting 2 liters of water down, but it is getting better. I'm not so lightheaded and dizzy all the time. Which is good, I'm tired of looking drunk when I stand up.

The downside of all of this is that exercise is difficult. Between the weakness and the dizziness, it's hard to get any serious movement going. I am a better match for my aged dog though, I don't wear him out as easy.

Anyway, all in all, it's not bad. This surgery is working and I've been assured that the energy will return in a month or so. I cannot wait, I have so much I want to do.

In other news, I just got my grades for this half-semester. My courses run 8 weeks, so I take 2 classes on the front half of the semester and two classes on the back half. Anyway, the classes I was taking while I had the surgery were History and a computer course. I got an A in computers and a B in History. That maintains my 3.5 gpa and keeps me on the Deans list. I was excited so I thought I'd share.