LovableLynn

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                                           Current Weight                         Weight Difference           Total Loss up to date

Before Pre-op Diet           146 KG (322 lbs)

Surgery Weight                  137 KG (302  lbs)                      - 9 KG (20 lbs)                     9 KG (20 lbs)

1 Month                               124.9 KG (275 lbs)                  -12.1 KG (27 lbs)                21.1 KG (47 lbs)
2 months                             119.7 KG (264 lbs)                    -5.2 KG (11 lbs)                 26.3 KG (58 lbs)
3 months                             112.8 KG (249 lbs)                    -6.9 KG (15 lbs)                 33.2 KG (73 lbs)
4 months                             106.3 KG (234 lbs)                    -6.5 KG (15 lbs)                 39.7 KG (88 lbs)
5 months (3 weeks stall) 102.9 KG (227 lbs)                   - 3.4 KG (7 lbs)                    43.1 KG (95 lbs)

Before my surgery, I was so discouraged as I looked for exercise clothes to wear. There was nothing comfortable I could find in the stores. As i started losing weight, I was excited to find really nice exercise clothes online. I was also happy that I had gone from a 6X to a 4X (shirt) and 3X (pants).

A few days ago my personal trainor told me I had to get new exercise clothes as the ones I have are getting too baggy.... but baggy is good... right? She told me I had to do it now and there was no excuse for waiting. Well, I told her it would take a few weeks as I would have to order something online since I was sure I would not be able to find anything around.

To my surprise, that day, after my session I just popped my head in to Footlocker. They had a few cute t-shirts that caught my eye and I just figured I would have a look to see how much further I had to go before I could squeeze into them.

I was shocked.... I found that they fit... XXL.... holy crap!!!!!  How did that happen????

I was so proud of myself. Wore my t-shirt proudly when i went to exercise yesterday..... BUT.... I was not expecting what my trainor had to tell me. She looked at me and asked why I got such a big shirt???  HUH?????  what did she mean??? I was wearing an XXL as opposed to 4X. It was not big at all... at least not to me.... but noooooooo.... she told me it was too big and she expected me to buy a smaller one!!!!! Then when I went home, I was told the same by my family???? 

I still can't believe I was able to buy something in a regular store. Of course I went for the biggest size there. Never would I have even imagined to get the XL.....

Did I mention... I LOVE MY DS!!!!!!

When I started my journey I was SUPER obese with a BMI of 54...... I remember happy I was when it went down below 50 making me EXTREMELY Obese..... well now... I am on a high as I am just OBESE with a BMI of 39.9

WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO... I am beginning to believe I can actually do this!!!

I love my DS!!!!!

Last evening.... out of nowhere..... I had the most amazing wow moment as I did not recognize myself when I looked in the mirror 

I could not pull myself away for at least 5 minutes as I suddenly realized I no longer had my triple chin and chubby cheeks. I always used to joke about my little eyes who would disappear the minute I smiled but not anymore.. I can smile now and my eyes stay open... woohoooo!!!

And who knew I had a neck????? I sure as heck didn't but I have one now...lol.. go figure!!!!

To top it off my youngest son put the cherry on top of the cake as when he hugged me he was so proud to say he could hug me tightly and both of his hands were touching each other. He was happy to tell me he could hug me tighter and that one day he will be able to lift me...lol

I love my DS!!!! 

Oh yeah.... I forgot to mention another biggy...... I am only now about 8 cm bigger in my waist size than my hubby.... this for me was just unbelievable!!!!.... I have lost over 30 cm in waist size in a little over 3 months....

Did I say how much I love my DS!!!!

Sometimes I look back at all I have faced in the last 3 months and I wonder how I survived. Not only did I have to go through the abduction of my youngest son once... but twice as he was kidnapped yet again by his father just 2 weeks after I managed to get him back....and through it all.... had my DS and trying to cope and adjust to this new life changing procedure I had.

I don't comment very much on the forums but I am here every day reading and learning. Words cannot express the gratitude I have for my OH family.

I am happy to say that at my 3 month post-op date I lost a total of 75 lbs.... 21 of those were pre-op.. so 54 since surgery. I love looking at the ticker on my profile as I now have less weight to lose than I already lost.  I am also so excited to see that my weight now is closer to the 200's than the 300's... yipppppppppeeeeee!!!!

Although taking my vits was quite a struggled in the beginning, I am on the ball now. I will be having my labs done next week.

Wishing you all the best.

Lynn

For those of you who did not know, my son was abducted by his father on May 29th. It has been a devastating 74 days without him and I was truly feeling at my lowest point in my life. I was even about to cancel my surgery as I could not handle any more on my plate.

Alhamdolellah (All thanks be to God) last night my son was returned to me. Words cannot express how I feel. I went from tears of desperation to tears of happiness.

I am sure the saga with my ex-husband is not over.... but... I will take this victory for the moment.

Many thanks to all of you who kept me in your prayers. I could not have survived these past few months with your prayers and support.

Love and Blessings to all
Lynn

I remarried about 1.5 years ago and for the first time in my life I have seen myself react very bizarrely when faced with conflict. Having been divorced more than once before and being a single mother of 4 boys, I always thought I did pretty well handling hardship and stress. God knows that dealing with my 2^nd husband would have driven anybody to the end of their sanity but somehow I managed it.

So whenever we had conflict and my new husband would throw in my face that he had no idea how I survived my past I would get very angry.

What???? Did I not survive horrendous marriages to people who make the devil look good? Did I not survive in a culture that is not my own, away from my family?  How in the heck can he question me? I was really offended.

Then… suddenly it hit me… as I sit here post-op and still facing the daily anxiety of wondering when I will see my youngest son again (he was abducted by his father on May 29^th)…. Well…. The way I dealt with my problems in the past was with food. Food was my comfort. Food was my best friend. Food was my salvation when everything else was failing.

When I got the band 3 years ago, I stopped turning to food to ease the stress in my life which is about the time I met my current husband. This explains why he would always question how I was able to deal with conflict in the past. It didn’t hit me until recently when I was looking at old pics. I was at my heaviest I ever weighed near the end of my 2^nd marriage and that marriage was about to emotionally and physically kill me.

One of my defense mechanisms was to joke about how I did not get fat by being happy. Reality of it is that it was not a joke at all.

The hardest thing for me since my surgery… not being able to run to food to fill in the void that is caused by missing my youngest son.  All of a sudden I suddenly realized my current husband is correct in telling me I no longer know how to deal with problems. I have lost my best friend. I have lost my coping mechanism. Food can no longer give me comfort and… that scares me… because…..hmmmmm…. well because I don’t know how to cope otherwise. Funny thing is lately I have been thinking of vodka. What makes it so funny is that I never drank in my life. Good thing I am living in a country where I cannot easily get my hands on the darn stuff..lol

My name is Lynn and I am a food addict.

There are days when I hate my DS because I can't run to food to help me cope... but at the same time, I love my DS because I am unable to run to food to cope. I love my DS for helping me see what I was doing to myself and help me in recovering and getting healthy.

 

When I met my surgeon back in March we had discussed a few options one of which was the DS. At the time, since I had to have my lapband removed, Dr. Gagner did not confirm 100% that he could give me the DS during the first surgery as it would take a 2nd procedure sometime down the road. With this said, I prepared myself to only be sleeved..... After my surgery, I did ask a few times in the hospital what procedure he had performed, only to be told by a few nurses and the dietician that I was only sleeved.. I completely forgot to ask the doctors during thwir rounds because I had no reason not to believe the nurses.

Surprise surprise..... I knew somehow that I was not just sleeved when the funky gas and BM's started.... funky may not be the correct word... more like DEADLY!!!! As I had researched all the procedures before my surgery, I knew this was more a sign of a DS than a sleeve. I asked a fellow doctor to check out my file in the hospital and.... yes.... as I suspected I did not only receive the sleeve but the DS as well.

Although I was prepared to just be sleeved, I am relieved that I will not have to undergo another procedure for the DS in the future.

The sun is shining... the birds are churping..... the house is still quiet as it is still only 6:42 am in Qatar.....and.... I am doing the HAPPY DANCE

I cannot remember exactly when was the last time I did not weigh in the 300's. It has to be at least 12 years, probably more...but today.... today... today.... June 17, 2011... a day I will never take for granted.... 299.8

Originally my surgery was scheduled for tomorrow and one of my goals was to weight under 300 for my surgery date. Unfortunately my surgery will not be until July so to reach this goal now.... without doing the 2 week pre-op diet is a moral boost to my self-confidence.  YIPPPPPPPPPPEEEEE!!!

To increase my excitement I have also reached another mildstone.... with my BMI now at 49.9 I went down from the SUPER Obese category to now being Extremely Obese... Hey... I know it's not a big jump.... but I will take it

Life the passed few weeks has been extremely emotional and stressful. In the past I would have reverted to food for comfort so I guess all my current achievements are due to the fact that I am actually changing. I am proud of myself for remaining focused and not falling back into my old ways of dealing with pain.

 

I was majorly disappointed when I learned that my surgery was cancelled for June 18th because my surgeon was away for the month. I was about to lose it if another person told me that maybe this was a "blessing in disguise". Well... to make a long story short it is a blessing as I doubt that my current emotional state could handle any kind of surgery right now.

I am begging you all for your prayers as I wait for my youngest son to be returned to me. My ex-husband took him out of school 11 days ago and I have not seen him since. Although the police and court system are doing all they can, my ex-husband is not giving up and will do all he can to hurt me to the max... which he has succeeded.

Last year when I miscarried and held my unborn baby in my hands, I thought I could never feel any worst.... well..I was wrong because I am at my lowest that I have ever been.

I am fighting the urge to fall back into my old habits of eating for comfort but it is not an easy task. I have managed to hire a personal trainer to work out all my frustrations but even then it is not enough.

I am scared and I do not know how much more I can take. I am in a country with no family and, although my friends and colleagues have been supportive, I just .....ahhhhhhhh..... I can't verbalize what i truly wish for right now.

Thank you for letting me just spill it all out.... from what I have learned from this site is that you are all a great source of comfort and encouragement.