Dawn B.
January 2006
1/2/06 - Well, the step family of course didn't say much at all. Didn't surprise me... though they only see me annually so maybe they don't remember how big I was. The rest of the trip went okay. A little too much snacking towards the end though. Actually one of hardest part of the trip was not being able to stand on a scale for over a week! Well, as of this morning, I only have 4 pounds to go to hit the 100 mark! I'm now wearing 14 & 12's and my large tops are starting to get too large.
1/16/06 -
This last Saturday was our group's 3rd Annual Extravaganza that I was part of decorating committee. It turned out beautiful. I was in the fashion show wearing clothes from Corral West, a store I've loved the clothing in forever, but could never get into.
Jacket: $350; Shirt: $55; Belt: $140; Jeans: $40 - Wearing size 11/12, low-rise, slim-cut jeans on stage and feeling great about it - PRICELESS.
The doctors were there and they noted that though we were thanking them, they thanked us for trusting them to do a life-threatening surgery. What I don't think they understand is that the thanks we give them stems from the fact that they were willing to give back the hope we'd lost in all our failed attempts to conquer our weight issues.
Now 5 1/2 months out I'm 100% PLEASED and GLAD I chose to have it. I've lost almost 100 lbs, over 65", 6 sizes, and my hypertension pills. On another positive note, after weighing 162 for almost 3 weeks, I finally broke the 160 mark and have now lost 99 lbs! Next week, the C-Note!!!
1/23/06 - I've officially reached the C-mark - I've lost 102 lbs! Just how cool is that? At my support meeting last Thursday we had to finish three different statements. "I am..." "I can..." I will...". Mine were "I am in charge of my destiny." "I can exercise regularly." and "I will get up tomorrow morning to go exercise." Well, I did, as well as on Sunday and today! Created a lot of hunger today and sore muscles, but I feel good. I also tried wearing a thong yesterday after a conversation w/ co-workers who said they were actually comfortable. Well, either they lie or mine was too small still, because the comfort came and went. Anyway.. while looking in the mirror, and thinking that 20 lbs was not going to get rid of the fat/cellulite that I'm carrying on my lower stomach, buttocks, and thighs, I started re-thinking my 135 goal. I'm now contemplating a 125-128 weight goal. I have to admit that part of it is to be able to say I'm HALF old size. Also, if I continue to lose at the pace that I have, especially since I've started, and will continue, to exercise I figure I might as well as continue losing weight as long as my body will allow it. We'll see what happens at 135 and/or when I talk with my surgeon.
December 2005
12/10/05 - Well, I made it through Thanksgiving and my first Christmas party. Thank goodness for deviled eggs. I am now down to 174 lbs and have 2 weeks until I go down and see family. I'm hoping to get below the 170 mark. That will make me lighter than anyone in my family has seen me since right after I got out of the Navy. My friend joined a gym with her husband this last week. Yeah! We're going to go while I'm there, which is good for me since I won't get to karate for a long week. I've made my plans to head south so that I can get in a class Tuesday at 11:30 before leaving. I've reached yellow belt and the moves have gotten a lot more steps. No wonder it takes close to 3 months to move up again. I'm now wearing lose 16 and tight 14 pants, med/12 size tops and 12-14 skirts/dresses. Quite cool. I have 40 lbs to go so I'm hoping to hit goal by my birthday as the weight loss has definitely slowed down. I need to pick up the exercise by hitting the gym more often.
12/19/05 - Wow! I've hit 90 lbs lost in basically 5 months when you count the 2-3 weeks pre-op. And I was all concerned when I thought I was losing too little weight back in August. I am going home tomorrow lighter than anyone in my family has seen me since I got of the Navy in 1993. I'm quite excited to see their reactions.
12/23/05 - Well, it's been an eventful couple of days. My friend Connie who saw me in Nov. said she could see the difference the last month has brought. My brother said he doesn't think he's ever seen my face so slim and as we went around
November 2005
11/13/05 - Well, my best friend just left after a 3 day visit. I let slip how much weight I had lost when I had her on my cell phone and was talking to my landlady. Even though she now knew I had lost 70 lbs, she didn't know what it looked like. When she got here she was surprised! My hope was that she would be given a kick in the butt to lose weight as she now weighs over 200lbs and is only 5'4". It's a reversal of our teen/early adult years. I'd always been her 'fat' friend and in her words, she's now mine. I don’t think it sits well with her. Oh! I barely made it into my size 16s so I did meet that goal. We drove up to Medford & Ashland, Oregon and hit Christopher & Banks. I was able to buy a MEDIUM blue jean jacket, sweater and t-shirt. How cool is that?! On a not so good note... it looks like I may gain weight this week. After the last two weeks (5lbs, 4.5lbs) I can't say I'm too surprised. I'm hoping it's a combo of a minor plateau, some water retention, constipation, and muscle weight and next week will make up for it.
October 2005
10/1/05 - Today is my 2-month anniversary. I'm down 34" and 35.5 lbs post-op and 53.5 lbs total. I feel great, except for always being tired, but that could be for many reasons. I've finally started going to the gym.. my slip on the 20th compelled me into the gym the following Thursday.
10/6/05 - I'm starting to make getting to the gym a priority so that's a great thing. A sign of mental changes to go with the weight loss... I just my 2nd karate lesson! I have two more private before seeing whether I will keep doing it, which I lean towards, and what would be the best placement for me. It's nice to be doing something physical that I've never even thought about doing before.
10/13/05 - I've finished my intro karate lessons and I've decided to keep doing it. Happens I can go MWF & Sat. which corresponds to my aerobic days. I have my uniform and I have my first class tomorrow. I'm having issues with retaining water this week so have actually gained weight. I've been exercising - every other day - and water is about 6 glasses or so a day. Slightly confused, annoyed.
10/17/05 - YEAH!! I broke the 200 lb. mark and I'm now officially 50% of the way there for my total weight loss. I put it into perspective this afternoon. A couple of years ago I went of WW. I started 7/1 and by Christmas I had lost about 50 lbs. I started this life change really on 7/5 and here it is, 6-7 weeks earlier and I've lost 10 more lbs. How cool is that?! Karate was fun tonight - sparring. Great workout - sweated like there was no tomorrow. Starting to get to know some of the folks - turns out one of my students is in the class. I told him he wasn't allowed to laugh at me tomorrow at school.
10/24/05 - Well, on Friday while stretching during karate warm-up I pulled/strained an abdomen muscle. So much for double leg lifts and push-ups. Tonight, Monday, is sparring night, so I think I'll stay home (I did go on Saturday) and go again on Wednesday. I'm staying at a steady 3 lbs per week and I'm content with that.
10/31/05 - Happy Halloween! I lost 5 lbs this week! I'm very jazzed to say the least. I'm really trying to get to a size 16 before Nov. 10th... May not make it, but I should be close. I would love to go home at Christmas time close to 170 lbs. That would put me where I was at my lightest a few years ago when I lost a lot of weight via WW. The difference is I would have lost 40 additional pounds in the same timeframe.
September 2005
9/19/05 - Wow, been a while since I've added anything. Today marks week 7 post-op. I received my menu options for basically the rest of the time until I hit goal. I get to add veggies & fruit. Yeah! I've dropped 47 lbs total (18 pre-op, the rest post-op.) and I've dropped 3 1/2 sizes. I've started riding my recumbent bike again and I'm making the outside me fancier. :o)
9/22/05 - Reality is here. Tuesday I was baking mini-cupcakes and ate 2, with frosting and all. But, on a high note... I went to the gym for the first time since February! I received my new menu, I get to eat veggies (soft) and fruit (w/o skin). It's amazing how much more human/normal it makes you feel. I'm actually able to go out to a restaurant. It's been great.
August 2005 - Surgery Date 9/1/05
8/9/05 - My surgery went great. It only took 1 1/2 hours. The surprise pain was that my ENTIRE body, especially my thighs and upper back, hurt. It felt like I had ran a marathon cold turkey. I didn't need pain meds for the stomach but for muscle pain. The second issue was the gas... OH, MY GOODNESS, I thought I was going to die... The majority of the gas was gone by the middle of Friday night. My biggest problem post-op has been getting my blood pressure to regulate. I had hypertension and as of Sunday I'm off my meds, but I keep having episodes of extreme dizziness. It seems heat (including a shower) triggers a drop in my blood pressure. I'm now allowed soft eggs and high protein drinks. Starting next week I get to add additional soft protein foods and reduce the number of protein drinks. All-in-all, it hasn't been too bad. Lots of naps, but that I can live with.
8/11/05 - Yeah! I actually got all the food I'm supposed to in, all my vitamins, and my water! A first!!!
May - July 2005
5/15/05 - Well, I'm now just waiting for the initial consult with Dr. Nichols. I'm really hoping to getting approved and my date set by the end of the month.
6/3/05 - Still waiting for the surgeon's office to call me so that I can make an appointment for the consultation. UGH!
6/16/05 - Yeah! I ruffled a few feathers, but I now have an appointment with Dr. Nichols on June 28th.
6/28/05 - I saw Dr. Nichols today. Appointment seemed to go okay. It will take 1-3 weeks for him to dictate his notes and the paperwork to get to the coordinator and then to the insurance company. Since I'm hoping for an Aug. 1st surgery date I'm really hoping for closer to 1 week, not 3 weeks. I'm now in the pre-surgery diet to lose 10 pounds.
7/13/05 - As of today, the insurance company said they had pre-authorized the surgery. Now I'm just waiting for the doctor's office to call to confirm my date.
7/23/05 - My surgery is August 1 @ 7:30 am. YEAH
April 2005
4/14/05 - I faxed off the paperwork to officially start the process today. I have the Intro Seminar 4/18, and my first support meeting 4/21. I'm hoping for either an early June or late July surgery date.
4/21/05 - I've now been to the Intro Seminar, Initial Consultation, and 1st Support Meeting. Psych appointments have been made. Looking at a July 25th surgery date baring any difficulties.
4/29/05 - I've taken the psych test, with the meeting with the psychologist on 5/9. I have the consult with the nutritionist on 5/3. My biggest concern, as strange as this sounds, is losing weight as I start to strengthen muscles to be in as good as shape as possible for the operation. I sit at just about 40 BMI depending on the day and I don't want to drop below prior to the surgeon consult.
About Me
Anderson, CA
Location
24.0
BMI
Surgery
08/01/2005
Surgery Date
Apr 10, 2005
Member Since
Before & After
rollover to see after photo
<b>mid-July 2006, pre-op
<b>258lbs
<b>GOAL!! - 5/15/06
<b>135lbs
