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June 2002 Ht: 5'6" weight: 276 Age: 40



I'm a 40 year old mother of a beautiful 19 year old son, and I've been married for almost 23 years. I've been overweight for the better part of 22 years and I'm tired of always being tired. It's been so long since I've been thin I've forgotten what it feels like. I'm just looking forward to crossing over to the other side and joining so many other post ops on their way to a healthier happier life.



 

7/29/02---I had my surgery 4 days ago on July 25,2002 and feel pretty good overall. Definitely glad that I took steps towards better health and self esteem. In the four days since I've lost 12 lbs. Ain't no stopping me now!!



 

8/7/02----I had my 1 week check up with Dr. Powell on Monday 8/5. He said I'm doing great and everything is fine. Gave me the ok for soft foods, which made me happy as I'm so sick of liquids and need something to chew. It's been 13 days since my surgery and I'm down 23 lbs--Yeah!



 

8/29/02----I'm 5 weeks post-op today. Doing great. Having some trouble getting all of my protein in because nothing tastes right to me. I'm down 33 lbs so far after going on a 12 day plateau. My energy is not quite where it should be, but otherwise everything is great. Everything in my closet is entirely too large for me--Yippeeee! So I guess I'll be going shopping soon. Started off as a tight 24 now I'm an 18-20.



 

9/25/02 I'm 2 months post-op today and down a total of 42 lbs. I'm doing well. I have gone back to work after taking 6 wks off. That was a little rough only because my energy was on the low side. I started taking my vitamins regularly (2-3 a day) and now feel much more like my old self. I'm still in size 18-20 but can fit some 16's. No major problems with any foods, just at times chewing too fast and getting things stuck. I work out on the treadmill at least 4 days a week and I'm trying to incorporate some type of upper body/weight lifting type excercises for more muscle tone. I have a mini goal of being under or right at 200 lbs by my birthday which is Nov 18. I will do my darndest to try to hit that goal in 7 weeks. That might be a little ambitious though since it requires an almost 5lb a wk loss. We'll see. That's it for now. Will update again soon.



 

10/22/02 Well, I'm 3 days away from my 3 month anniversary and so far, I'v lost 58 lbs. I expect to lose at least 5 more in the next 3 days so I should be down 61 lbs. I'm very excited at this point, because it looks like I'm definitely going to achieve, if not surpass my mini goal of being 200lbs by Nov 18th. I currently weigh 218 and still have 4 weeks in which to lose those 18 lbs. I wanted to insure that this would happen so I started doing pure protein, to my body into Ketosis and so far it's working fine. I have lost 11 lbs in the last 8 days, and while I don't expect the loss to continue at that rate, I'm pretty sure I can do 5lbs a week which would give me 20 lbs by my birthday. wohooo! BTW I'm now in size 14's and thrilled to death! This is still the best decision ever.



 

11/29/02 This is my four month update and I have to say that I'm thrilled to death. I have so far lost 75 lbs and I look and feel like a different woman. I recently cut my hair off (Halle Berry short) due to excessive shedding, so now it takes a minute for people to recognize me. I started this journey wearing a size 24/26 and now I fit into all 14's and some 12's. I have not worn size 12 since I was 18 and I just turned 41 on Nov 18th. I feel good. I didn't quite make my mini goal of being 199-- I missed it by 3 lbs-- but who the hell cares. I'm not stressing over 3 lbs when I've accomplished so much in so little time. My next mini goal is to be 185 by Christmas, which is 4 weeks away, so we'll see how I do. Christmas day is actually my 5 month anniversary, so I will strive to get to this next goal. I have lost 11 inches off my chest, 11 inches off my waist and 13 inches off my hips. One of these days I will post pics here, but if anyone wants to see me, you can find my photo on Yahoo. I'm a member of the Yahoo OSSG-Black Group . Will update again just before Christmas.



 

2/27/03 I made it to the century club! Yep on my 7th anniversary 2 days ago I got on the scale and weighed exactly 100lbs less than I did on day of surgery (7/25/02). I now weigh 176 and fit into size 10's whohooo!!! Today is my son's 20th birthday and we are going to celebrate--I still do not ingest sugar.. so no birthday cake, but I'll manage. Till next time y'all.



 

3/26/03 Well, it's now been 8 months and I'm down 107 lbs. I currently weigh in at 169 and feel great. Weight loss is slowing quite a bit, but if I never lost another lb, I'd be happy that I came this far. However, I'm a little too driven to settle, so I will lose these last 19 lbs, whatever it takes. Saw my PCP yesterday and asked for a referral to the PS, which I'm now waiting for, so we'll see how that goes. I estimate that I have at leaat 10 lbs of skin on my tummy, so I really only have to lose maybe 9 more lbs. I currently fit size 8's (whohoooo) and figure that after TT I'll be in a 6. At that point my job is done. Then there's maintenance. This part doesn't really concern me so much as I expect to maintain what I've worked so hard to achieve. See y'all next month, unless something really exciting happens before that (like getting approval for plastic surgery-- God willing).



 

5/27/03 10 months out--at goal..yippppeeeee! It's kind of anticlimactic though, like the trip is over. Actually it's just beginning as I now have to maintain this 122 lb loss. Got my referral to PS, but can't see him til July 1st as he's booked up. Will update again next month.



 

6/26/03 11 months....what can I say. It's been a helluva ride so far. Just waiting on my PS consult for my TT which is next week. I can't wait... but I have to :( but hey it's all good.

I now weigh 152 only lost 2 lbs in the last month.. but since I'm technically at goal-- any further loss is a freebie. Til next month y'all.



 

7/25/03----------WHOHOOOOOOO!!!!! 1 YEAR TODAY.

What can I say, it's been an incredible year. I feel beautiful, blessed, amazing, invigorated, ecstatic, overjoyed, fabulous, fantastic, awesome and grateful. Ok did I miss any adjectives???lol. On my one year anniversary, I come home from work and find my approval for my TT in the mail. What more can a girl ask for? I just want to say for those of your pursuing this, stay strong and don't give up. It is soooo worthwhile in the end.



 

8/28/03-----------13 months out. Well not much has changed in the last month for me. I'm still working out like a crazy person. 7 workouts in 5 days--which means I double up 2 days a week. Not much happening on the PS front. What I was approved for, is way less than I need, and my PS insists that they will not cover all the work he needs to do--even though they say they will. Bottom line is he's concerned about getting his $$$ no matter what. In fact, he wants me to pay up front and he will reimburse me whatever the insurance pays him. NOT. Time to look for a new one. Back to square one. My weight seems to have steadied since I've been at the same weight give or take a few for the past month.



 

10/7/03 Sorry y'all I'm a little late with my 14 month update. I found another PS, went to see him on tuesday 9/29 and before leaving his office that day, got my surgery date for my TT. None of the BS like the other PS, he was very straight forward and told me exactly what to expect. My TT is scheduled for Nov 3rd, so we'll see how that goes. Other than that, no other major changes. My sizee 4's are now loose, which means I should be looking at 2's but for some reason I'm freaking out at the thought of being a size 2. It's just unreal to me. That's it for now...



 

11/9/03 Sorry I'm late again with my 15 month update. A lot has happened in the past month. I started wearing some size 2's in misses and I can fit into a 3 or 5 in jrs. Me?? in a jrs' size anything, just blows my mind. I even found a pair of slacks in a size O that fit me. All of this before my TT, which by the way took place 6 days ago on Nov 3rd. I've heard such horror stories about the pain and the recovery and the drains and yada yada yada, but I have to say, mine was a breeze. I firmly believe that being fit helps a thousand percent. The fact that I've been exercising 5 days a week for 5 months played a major part in how I'm handling this. It was done as "same day surgery". In by 5:30 AM out by 4:30 PM. By day 3 I was bored out of my skull. I can't drive anywhere, I can't spend a lot of time sitting fully up yet, but neither could I spend a lot of time reclining. I got so sick of my bed and having to be on my back (I'm a tummy sleeper). Ok enough with the whining, I wanted this TT to get me closer to where I wanted to be physically, so let me stop complainng. Bottom line, it was easier than I thought. Let's see when the swelling is all gone, where I end up size wise. My PS is Dr. Brian Cox and he rocks! He had a bit of a challenge because of my old gall bladder scar, but he did the best he could under the circumstances and I'm satisfied with the job that he's done. Til next time y'all.



 

1/8/04----Boy it's been a minute since I've been here hasn't it? Well, I'm 17 months out now, I'm all recuperated from my TT, and I started going back to the gym on the 5th. I actually went back in December 4 wks after my TT but it was way too soon, so I had to wait a few more weeks. Not much to report now other than I'm loving life, I love shopping and I love exercising. My size didn't change much from before, other than I can now wear JR fashions where before I couldn't. I wear 3's, 5's, and 7's in JR's depending on who made it. I've got people telling me I'm too skinny now, especially my husband who now calls me feather (as in featherweight). I don't look or feel skinny, but I don't plan to lose any more either. My plan now is to maintain my weight, build muscle and enjoy the rest of my life.



2/27/04 I am now 19 months out and feeling pretty good. I'm kinda tired but I think it's because my schedule is sooooo full. In addition to working full time, working out 5 days a week, I have started going to school 2 nights a week. This is exhausting! lol . I am now th e proud mother of a 21 year old son (he turned 21 ysterday) and everyone thinks I had him when I was 10. Anyway, life is good-- no major changes, still maintaining my weight-- this is hard--If I don't eat right, I continue to lose and I don't want to lose anymore. So I eat to maintain my weight at it's present level which is 135 lbs. This is ideal for me---so I plan to stay here. Til next time y'all


5/19/04 Wow y'all it's been a minute since I've been here. My life is very full and I am finally doing things for me. I'm still working out 5 days a week and going to school and working full time. I now enjoy riding on the bike (his Harley) with my hubby, where before the weight loss I wouldn't be caught dead on the bike. In fact, I enjoy it so much, I want my own bike. Maybe for my 43rd birthday I'll get one.. we'll see. Everything is going really well and I'm still happy that I did this almost 22 months ago. I have started a serious love affair with ice-- I crave it something fierce--don't know what that's all about but hopefully it's nothing. Till next time. Feel free to email me with questions if you need to.