Doranna S.

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...and I've found my way back to OH.  It's been a rough time for me after losing my Husband to cancer on May 23, 2010.  I kept my best friend, Arthur Lee Slaton, at home on hospice.  I thank God for not letting him suffer long though.  I still miss him and have a rough time with April 21 (his birthday),  May 23 (the day he died) and June 23 (our anniversary). I just had to pause and give honor to this man who stuck by my side during good times and bad, especially on this weight-loss journey, always encouraging me. I still love you, HunnyBunny. Moving along, my lowest weight was 108lbs, occurring due to a combination of heartache for my Husband and illness due to a small bowel obstruction which occurred in 2009. Of course I was diagnosed with a case of malnutrition and my surgeon insisted that I gain weight.  I usually maintain a weight of 163-165, although I'd recently dropped to 150lbs due to an unrelated illness. I think I picked it back up though!  LOL Anyway, I want to try to check in from time to time to see what's new with all who took/will take this Journey.

Well, weighing in at 144LBS was just too good to be true.  So now, 154LBS is the thing.  I have to admit that my body was re-adjusting following a short illness in July.  I was hospitalized.  When I came out, the weight was literally falling off.  Now it's falling on!  Anyway, I have to share the good with the bad on this journey.  I can still wear some size 6's with a little "stretch" and, of course, I wear my size 8's with ease and comfort.  I am basically back to my June, 2008, weight.  I need to be very careful at this point.  I've slowly begun to do some walking/moving my body again.  Today's weight:  154LBS.

Check out this website all you bariatric patients.  Even if you AREN'T a bariatric surgery patient, this vitamin is a real hit with me and HB:  www.shopgbg.com/arthurslaton . It's GBG's 10-in-1 liquid multi-vitamin!

Time sure flies when you're having fun!  We just came back from Dania Beach, FL, where we had fun in the sun.  So much fun that we will soon move to FL!  Anyway, I WAS down to 143 LBS prior to vacation but I was eating my butt off...or shall I say, on??  LOL  Anyway, back up to  151 LBS.  I know what to do, though:  work it out and work it off!  Do a few "push aways" from the food!  Anyway, we did some thrift store shopping in FL!!  Fun fun FUN!  And I found that I can now wear some size 6's!  Yesss!!  So, to keep my girlish figure (yeah, right), I'd better do what I need to do to get rid of this excess weight.  Until next time....

My scale has recently started to move and is still on the move.  I've reached another point on this journey that I've been waiting for:  the point where I can say that I've lost half of my start weight, which was 311lbs.  Half would be 155.5lbs lost and as of this morning I've lost 157.5 lbs!  I have to pause and thank God for all He's done in my life.  Not just with this weightloss journey, but even the seemingly small things.  I thank Him for keeping us safe during the tornado that touched down in my area last Saturday (6/7/08).  I thank Him for keeping us out of harm's way and even for protecting our possessions.  He even gave us a place to go, when we had to evacuate, that allowed us to bring our dog.  She is so important to us.  Anyway, just wanted to touch bases and let you know that, although my weightloss slowed down considerably as I approached my one year mark, it has started again.  If you're out there and you're feeling the frustration of slow-to-no weightloss, just hold on and know that you're not done.   When you least expect it, expect it!  Today's weight:  153.5lbs.

I stood on the scale this morning and realized that I finally have a "normal" BMI!!!  At 5'7", today's weight:  159 LBS!  I've officially lost 152lbs (and then some!)  I've reached my "near-future goal" indicated in my last blog!!!  I thank GOD for the progress.  My surgeon's goal/estimated end-weight was 170lbs.  I've exceeded that.  Now I'm still working towards my goal of 140lbs.  If I can drop a little lower, I'd love to have that "bounce-back" room.  Sure, if I could maintain 140, why not??  However, 140-150 would do it for me.  Anyway, I couldn't let today go by without blogging.  I plan on uploading some more-recent pics later on today (I've got to clear out the older ones first).

Edit:  Okay, just posted a few more photos.  I have some from February, but I thought I'd try wearing a wig back then and let's just say....I neva shoulda bought it!  So, I'll spare you those photos.  Anyway, there are a couple from March and June, 2008 in the Photos folder labeled "January-June 2008".

Height:	5 feet   7 inches
Weight:	159 pounds

You have a BMI of 24.9.
This shows that you are of a normal weight.

The table below shows value ranges and what they mean.

Range	Meaning
less than 18.5	Underweight
18.5 - 24.9	Normal
25.0 - 29.9	Overweight
30.0 - 39.9	Obese
40.0 - 50	Extremely Obese
over 50	Super Obese

The BMI Formula:

(Weight in kilograms)

(Height in meters)2

Today makes one year since I had my surgery.  Through it all, God has sustained me.  The road has not been easy.  There've been times when I wondered why I ever took this route.  Then, when I look at the fact that I'm no longer on meds for diabetes and hypertension, I start to get it:  I WANT TO LIVE!!!!  By losing this weight, I've increased my chances of a longer and healthier life.  At this point, however, I am equipped to tell others that it DOES GET BETTER!!  Trust and believe -- it DOES get better!  Anyway, I have surpassed my surgeon's anticipated goal of 170:  as of this morning the scale reads162.5.  

My goal is 140 and I'll continue to work towards this goal.  I currently wear sizes 8-10.  I started at 311lbs, sizes 24-26.  Although my ultimate goal is 140, my near-future goal is 159, which will put me in the NORMAL WEIGHT range according to the BMI chart (see below).  What a difference a year makes. 

Well, I'm back to working in the Children's Church at my church and loving it.  I saw one of our former students and not only did I not recognize him (he has grown so much) but he didn't recognize me.  His grandma had to tell him, "That's Arthur Lee's wife!".  The kid was shocked and I was like, wow, I guess people really CAN see a big difference.  Anyway, I have to update my pictures soon:  my last pics are at a weight that's 20lbs heavier.

On another note, however, I was diagnosed with Polymyalgia and put on Lyrica.  I'm not hearing good things about this med (WEIGHT GAIN!) but will try to get relief from my aches, pains and numbness by using this med. If I start to gain too much weight....well, I don't know what I'll do.  I'll cross that road IF I get there -- I'm not claiming the side effect of weight gain!  God is in control!

                                           

Height:	5 feet  7 inches
Weight:	163 pounds

You have a BMI of 25.5.
This shows that you are moderately overweight.  WHO, ME??
Your BMI is not high enough to qualify you for bariatric surgery. WHAT?? THANK YOU JESUS!!!!!  

The table below shows value ranges and what they mean.

Range	Meaning
less than 18.5	Underweight
18.5 - 24.9	Normal
25.0 - 29.9	Overweight
30.0 - 39.9	Obese
40.0 - 50	Extremely Obese
over 50	Super Obese

Okay, so now I'm somewhere around 9 months post-op.  Let's review.  Initially, weightloss is automatic.  I mean, you can step on the scale daily and see the pounds go away.  NOW, weightloss is slow.  You DON'T want to step on the scale daily because the pounds go down, then they go UP! (Sidebar:  An advantage to weighing DAILY, as my Bariatric Nurse advises,  is that you are able to "catch" that weight if it starts to creep up on ya' and get back to the basics/kick it into gear before it's out of control!)  That is, unless you are putting in the work!  I've read on the profiles of others how, at this point, they manage to gain weight but then they put it in gear and get back on track.  At 9 mos, I should still be in the throes of malabsorption.  I will not give myself the excuse that, "that's just the way it is."  Yeah, that's the way it is if you haven't been putting in the proper "work" from the beginning!  I had this surgery because I want to become healthier -- I want to lose weight and keep it off.  So, the best thing for me is to do what the doc says -- high protein and excercise; MAXIMIZE my weightloss window (12 - 18 months).  Just get the weight off now and work on maintaining.  Well, how could I POSSIBLY maintain if I'm not PRACTICING now??  See, in the beginning, it's easy to be lazy, not excercise, not take your vitamins, not worry about eating that protein first!  But guess what?  I am ON it!!  Yes, indeed!  This past Monday, I've rededicated myself to my TOOL.  I'm back to using fitday.com and I'm monitoring my protein.  I get in at LEAST 70gms of protein a day!  Waaayyy up from the usual.  I mean, I would just nibble on this-and-that during the day.  Still not eating much but thought, hey, that's good enuff, right??  It wasn't!  Weightloss was stagnant.  So now, I'm eating my protein AND doing (for now) one shake a day.  I'm trying those Chike protein shakes I got in the mail and they are really good!!  Especially the banana -- no aftertaste at all on the banana flavor.  Also,   I started excercising:  I go over to the fitness center to walk the treadmill for 30mins/3.3mph AND I dance to music ENERGETICALLY (for 30mins) at home.  I alternate days to keep it interesting.  I give myself 2 days off (Friday and Sunday) since those are my busiest days of the week.  And, as you can see, I'm starting out slow -- no real strain on my body, but I do sweat and feel good afterwards.  I'll kick it up later, but what's important is that I'm MOVING MY BODY !  And let's not forget the WATER!  I haven't gotten in 64 oz yet but I'm getting there!  I aim to get in at least 4 of those 16.9oz bottles a day.  I've made a little system where I mark my bottles.  So far, I'm up to 3 a day.  That's waaayyy up from maybe 1 a day! Vitamins...still working on it...honestly!  I'm experimenting with the timing on the vitamins because I've noticed that I get sick -- vomit that "fluid"/even really VOMITTED food once! -- behind my vitamins.  So it is somewhat hard for me to do something to myself (vitamins) that I associate with making me sick.  Maybe "Miss Missy" (my pouch) will eventually adjust.  Maybe I need to take the vitamins with more food.  Like I said, I'm experimenting...I know they are a NECESSITY!
Current weight:   ???   I'll keep you in suspense for now, but I did step on the scale this morning and I'll just say THIS much.....my TOOL is in full effect!

This post is for me and about me.  This is an excerpt from Mary J Blige's song, "Just Fine".  This excerpt  isn't about the physical and/or weightloss...although it most certainly can be incorporated into the whole idea of being "Just Fine".  Although this post is for and about me, it is a point in life at which we should all arrive.  I'm "JUST FINE" with who I am.  Are you?  Oh, no -- I'm not asking if you are "JUST FINE" with who I am!  There has already been waayyyy too much of me asking that question in the past.  No, not anymore!  What I meant was, "Are you 'JUST FINE' with who you are?"  If not, the year is still young!  We should ALL get to the point where we can echo these sentiments:

So I like what I see when I'm looking at me
When I'm walking past the mirror
Don't stress through the night, at a time in my life
Ain't worried about if you feel it
Got my head on straight, I got my vibe right
I ain't gonna let you kill it
See I wouldn't change my life, my life's just fine

Welcome to 2008!  I thank God that I made it!  Last time I blogged, I was at a standstill with the weightloss.  Well, the weightloss has started again in the RIGHT direction.  I am just sooo guilty of being too lazy to workout.  I signed up for the Discovery Health National Fitness Challenge and even printed my 2-month free Bally's pass.  Have I used it yet?  No.  Some guy called me (I assumed correctly that he was from Bally's) to schedule my "walkthru" (since the pass indicates that a personal trainer will call you).  However, Lord forgive me, I lied and said he had the wrong number!  Well, first off, I couldn't "catch the voice"; secondly, he mispronounced my name (and no, I'm not anal about it because it isn't a common name--I just don't like the way he mispronounced it); lastly, he was too "common" -- he didn't use my last name and he sounded like he was calling up his lover or somebody!  Just a bad feeling!  So after I hung up the phone, I thought about the fact that the area code and exchange were in my area.  I just dialed the number back (*67, of course!) and it was, indeed, Bally's.  Well, I'm back in church (as I'd been slacking off) and I'm back working in the Children's Church, alongside with my spiritual mentor Minister Dorsey.  Oh, I had the opportunity to talk to Treena (Jus_Chan_J) and we had a wonderful conversation!  She keeps it real, just as she does on BAF.  One day, we will meet...  Also, I'm at the point where people are telling me that I've lost enuff weight....okaaayyyy....welllll, I'm still considered overweight according to my BMI and I'm just not where I want to be.  They are surprised when I tell them that I am 174lbs (well, I just say 175lbs).  That's just a hop, skip and jump from 200lbs, so I need to put some more distance between myself and the 200's!! 

Anyway, I'm just feeling lazy and rundown.  Experiencing some numbness and trying to play catch-up with the vitamins...just in case.  Current weight:  174.