Jen M.

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I say this over and over... if I had to do it all over again... I TOTALLY WOULD!  I went to San Diego this past weekend.  Airplane seats were NOT an issue.  I was able to tighten the seat belt and NOT need the extender!  Half of my friends barely recognized me and kept telling me how great I looked!  I still feel large and not in charge... however, I like what I see most days!  Being able to buy 2 (because they were on sale) x-large shirts at old navy for $13.99 versus $30+ for one shirt at LB or Torrid!  I'm just still not used to trying clothes on and needing a size smaller.  Wearing 14/16's in pants feels so much better than wearing 24/26's!  Feel like I get noticed by people in a positive way versus some of the looks I got before.  Not that they mattered but they hurt none the less.  Now, we are waiting to hear when my husband's date will be!  It'll be nice to shrink together.  He has more medical indications than I did.  I was borderline everything.  He has the high blood pressure, diabetes, lymphedema, sleep apnea, etc etc...   He gets looks like I used to.  He is bigger than I was.. but the looks he gets sometimes makes me hurt more for him than the looks did at me.  He's always been a big guy.  When we moved from San Diego he was pushing the 600's... but he's lost a lot in the past three years... He's in the mid 400's and he's an active guy.  So this will really help him.  Look what it did for me and my self esteem.  I am going to love seeing him be the guy he dreams of being... and now it's only a matter of time!  Life just keeps getting better and better! 

It's been 6 months today since I had surgery!  It's been amazing how time flies by and things change!  I'm down 82 pounds, workout 4+ days a week for about 30 minutes to an hour each session.  I have better endurance than I have in the past few years!  Wearing 18's which I haven't been able to wear since 2004/2005!  It feels great!  I finally can see a jaw line and collar bones.  I can feel my ribs and hip bones but I unfortunately sit on my tail bone and that's pretty painful!  I have hit a stall though.  I've been at 231.9 for the past almost three weeks and I just want to get to that 229.9 and I'd be happy.  I know at 6 months is usually when people hit the stall wall but I'm not loving it!  As soon as I started seriously working out, weight loss came to a skreetching hault.  I change my workouts up but I am working mostly on the treadmill to build myself up for the March of Dimes walk which is anywhere from a mile to 5 miles.  I want to jog it at a comfortable pace and see how far I can go.  I have been pushing my power walks to 3 miles on the treadmills in 55 minutes, sometimes I try and jog a bit to get a farther distance!  I know I could possibly e building muscle but I'd happily do it better if I could just break through and lose 2 more pounds... but who am I kidding!  If I lose those two, why not another 16 so I can hit my 100lbs!  I have 24 days until my San Diego vacation for one of my friends' wedding and I want to look fantastic!  But I am starting to work out a little harder to build a better sweat to tone the parts that I'm self concious about but when I think about the scale and how I know it won't move, I tend to take out my frustration on the treadmill!  If it isn't he treadmill in the gym at work, it's the treadmill and kettle ball at home... I do see small differences in my clothing and can see my clothes fitting better in certain areas even though I'm not seeing any movement on the scale but I want to see some numbers change... I guess I'll have to let this stall pass but I would love to see the numbers move some.  Although, I wouldn't take back the surgery!  I don't regret it at all and love the 82 pounds I have already lost!

I am so in love with this new life!  Being down 72.2 pounds since November ... so like almost 4 months... feels great!  I started off squeezing into 24's if the buttons didn't pop off because I refused to go up into a size 26!  But that was when I was 314 pounds... now that I'm 241.8, I'm rocking a size 18/20 depending on the pants and between a 1X/2X in tops versus the dreaded 4X!  My boobs may have gone down a whole cup size and they weren't that big to begin with, but I'm am ok with that!    I want to aim to lose another 41.9 pounds before May 1st... since that is the day I get on the plane to see my friends in California that I haven't seen in almost 3 years!  I'll be 199.9 and over 100 pounds less than the last time they have seen me!  AND!  The last time I was on a plane, I had my son sit next to me with the arm rest up so I didn't get too squished and I needed the extender just for the length of the buckle.  It was humiliating!  But something I once dreaded is something I'm looking forward to... and now, a co-worker and I have set weight loss goals for the next two monthsso we can stay honest and on track!  It feels great to have support all the way around!

So... I'm completely happy with how the progress is going.  I want to lose it faster but considering I was 314 to start, 307 on November 1st and 290 on November 7th (day of surgery)... I'm pretty happy that I'm 259.7 and it's only January 6th!  I have lost over 50 pounds, dropped two pant sizes and can finally see a little difference but everyone else can see it better than I can, which is awesome!  At the rate I'm going per my little weight loss tracker app, I'll be around 200 by the end of April/early May which would be completely awesome as I'm going back to San Diego, California for my friends wedding and I'd love to look great since I haven't seen anyone since I moved to Houston, Texas in August of 2011 and I was heavy then.  I'd love to stun everyone!  I would love for them all to expect to see the same 'ol plump Jen walk in but instead see this amazing figure that I'm working so hard to achieve!  We went to Monster Jam on Saturday and the seats were no longer an issue.  I HAD ROOM... I was so excited but my butt is boney now, luckily club level seats at reliant are padded so I was a little bit more comfortable.  And with my husband being on weight watchers (his 6 month weight management) and losing 5 lbs last week, he was not struggling to in te seat fit like he used to either... it was nice just feeling normal and not being embarrassed or not moving to like go to the bathroom fearing someone would see the struggle of getting out of the seat for fear I'd be stuck or get hung up on the arms of the seat due to my wide hips.  I was able to go and buy a new pair of work pants this weekend too!  Considering I was wearing 24's at the beginning and squeezing into the 22's...neither fit anymore!  They were huge!  I have 2 pairs of 22's that I can still work with because they're high waisted and adjustable... but that's it... it felt so good to buy a pair of 20's and not have to try them on to see if the might HOPEFULLY fit!  They still had some room to spare after I put them on!  I felt fabulous!  Even more so that I know where I started and where I am!  My cousin has been losing weight on her own and is working herself into the 24's and 22's, so being able to pass my clothes along to someone who'll use them, makes it even better!  I'm just in absolute awe of what excitement I have now with my how things are turning out and I need to tell my surgeon because he gave me my life back!  My 10 year old loves that I am more active and he time we spend on the weekends walking the dog at the park.  I just feel like I was given a second chance at life, and I'm ready to live it!

So, I finally hit 269.8!  Totally happy to be in the 60's and down a pant size!  My shirts are fitting so much better.  I don't see the loss as the people around me do... except in the chest.  But that can be fixed down the road.  My husband is completely happy to see how much more pride I take in myself and I didn't realize it until he said something.  It feels absolutely amazing!  He's working towards getting on board to start his journey and I'm looking forward to being by his side like he has been by mine!  For only being 5 weeks out, it feels good to have lost a total of 20.2lbs since surgery and 44.2 since I started my journey!  I have my few friends, outside of you amazing OH website friends, that have been on their journey's and have been a great help as well... LOVE LIFE!!!

I broke the STALL!  It may only be 3 pounds... but 3 pounds is 3 pounds!  And breaking out of the 80's and into the 70's was a great feeling!  I know I still have a long journey ahead of me, as this is only the beginning... but seeing the looks I get from those around me that are noticing the little difference that I have already made feels great and encourages me to keep going!  And thee best part is, even with the holidays coming up, I don't feel like I'm missing out because I broke most of my food relationships and substituted those habits with healthier ones... I still have days that I give myself the 'what did you do?' question, but then I look at where I would be and how I'd feel... I've been there and wasn't happy.  I'm ready to move on from there and continue on with this happy life... Life is too short to feel depressed and have so much self hatred... on to better times!

I had surgery on November 7th.  I was very surprised on the day of surgery to see I had lost 17 pounds before surgery.  My first week home, when I was barely moving, I lost 9 pounds... and it stopped.  The doctor said it was normal and between week 3 and 4 it should start moving again.  I sure hope so!  It's discouraging.  I know it's normal but I just wanted it to steadily shed off!  I've started paying more attention to my diet and trying to get more fluids in... I get plenty in but more won't hurt right??  I stay away from sugary drinks and surprisingly I no longer like the Diet Coke I couldn't go a day without in my life prior to surgery... I'm really hoping my body chemistry is just adjusting and this extra weight will start to come off!  So... I'll cross my finger and become super hopeful!