Lisa J.

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I might be experiencing my second stall....although not sure. A week ago tomorrow I was 203 and I celebrated by buying a new pair of jeans that cannot possibly be the size they say on the label, (14?!!) but hey, I'll take it. I proudly wore them to a horse function where I saw lots of old friends and felt really good about being this size. All this week I've been fluctuating between 203 and 207 and yes, it's hella frustrating. But I march on, knowing that this, too, shall pass.

It's now 40 days til I depart for Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita. I am hoping to lose 10-20 lbs in that time frame which I believe to be doable, but certainly don't know. Frankly I will be happy enough to go as-is and so that keeps me from becoming too frustrated and all that goes along with that.

It amazes me to see all the people posting on here that keep doing their old routine and then wonder why they aren't losing weight or god forbid, have gained some back. It just goes to show how much our heads still rule our bodies. I feel so blessed to not be pressured into thinking I need a certain food or must have a cookie or whatever. Three girls in my office eat together, all the time, all day. One of these gals says she had a RNY but it's hard to believe, with the amount of food she puts away at one sitting. And she scarfs down lots of bad carbs (donuts and breads) and yet she never appears to dump. I know not everyone does, but it's almost as if she's lying about having had it!! I don't care if she did or didn't, it's just amazing to me that she doesn't even try to maintain. She says she's never done any counseling or peer group stuff either. Huh. Oh well, I just know that I'm on an amazing journey that I refuse to let anyone or anything stand in the way of me being thin, healthy and fit.

Once again I am a little afraid to 'own' this number on the scale...not til it sticks around a few days!! I am so close to Onederland it's amazing.

I am wearing a new pair of jeans today that I tried on about about 210ish and they fit but I knew I wouldn't want to sit in them all day at work....but today I am!! No problems either! OMG! I simply cannot believe this. The best GIFT and tool I've ever known or had. I am donating my 18s to a gal in the office and I got gifted with 16s from my neighbor! Can't fit into any of the pants yet but it will come. The shirts are great!

I have 56 more days til I go to LA for my big event and I am SOOOOO looking forward to it. I am hoping to get down to at least 188 before that happens and I think there is plenty of time to do that, if I don't hit another stall.

I lost a wad of hair in the shower yesterday but so be it....it's WORTH IT! It's only hair!!! It will grow back, unlike the fat on this body!!

210#

Still, I am in disbelief. But I know now that weighing the same two days in a row is a certain sign to weight loss achievement --although we know via experience that a plateau can happen at ANY time.

I slipped on a pair of different kind of Wranglers that I bought at Wal Mart about 5-6 years ago--size 18 women's and I got them because they were long enough to ride in and look good, but they were also a little different in that they were made as well but they had no W on the pocket or any adornment at all. They were just good jeans. What was I drinking THAT day that made me think I could EVER fit in them (on my own)? Well well well. What a difference a little surgery makes!! UNREAL. I pulled them on and buttoned and zipped them WITHOUT laying down on the bed--every woman has gone through that before no matter WHAT size they are! LOL. They did create just a bit of muffin top so I opted not to wear them yet. Another 10 lbs should be good. I am just still amazed! Completely and totally. Daily!!!!!

As if I'm doing something soooo wonderful and amazing all by myself!!! Good Lord...it's not me! I am just following the plan. That's all. I could be doing more exercise, easily, but that's about it. I am still supposed to get more protein in than I am doing but that's HARD! I just ate 2 more pieces of cheese today so I think I've had about 30-ish gms now and if it's like last night, I probably won't be getting any 'dinner' in. Not by choice, but by being busy. I do have roast beef so I can get a little something in but it won't be a real dinner by any stretch.

Dad just called and told me he got our Motel 6 reservations for Nov 4th and 5th at Santa Anita--71 days til I get outta here. I hope to be 185 or so before I go--188 will be 18 lbs so I think that's completely doable in 71 days! I just started back on protein shakes in the mornings since it's so much easier and tastes better than cheese first thing in the morning. I think that will help.

Well, I'm just a passenger here on a wild ride to a new life. I am embracing each day with wonder. I am happy to say it's not much of a stretch to follow the diet guidelines. It is a blast to try on new clothes and watch the scale sink lower and lower....

Who could ask for more? Oh, well, there is that issue of plastic surgery.......oh, just that.

I know it sounds so silly, being excited about 2 whole pounds! But one has to realize how many years were NOT conducive to checking out a scale! I cannot WAIT to weigh each and every day at this point in my loss....sometimes night and day weight checks. Which is stupid, because we all know we weigh the least in the AMs on a regular basis. But still, it's amazing to me.

I have on new clothes today, never-before-worn white pants and a turquoise top with white cork wedge sling back sandals....feeling very summery and chic! I will have to get a photo tonight to compare to my pre-surgery photo and see how that looks. I'm not going to be ducking the camera anymore, that's for sure. I will try to be more in front of it instead of always the photographer!

I am pretty broke at the moment having spent $715 on property taxes this month and Steinmart, my newest favorite place to shop, keeps sending me emails with coupons for BIG SAVINGS....like 40% off clearance clothing (that's already 50% or more off) and there are still such awesome buys out there that I find myself justifying MORE!! Awww it's only $20.....awwww it's only $9.....whatever!!!

I am feeling so pumped right now! Not doing very much walking around the neighborhood mostly because it's boring, and still losing weight. There are arguments about the exercising/caloric restriction theory and the bottom line is if you burn more calories than you take in, you will lose weight! Regardless! And I'm doing that obviously. I do have to start toning some areas though. Meant to start yoga this month and haven't done it yet. I found that Target has yoga DVDs so I need to go over there and see what they have. WM just doesn't have anything like that unfortunately. I also have a set of core building exercises to start doing that will tone abs, butt, arms, thighs that I can do at home and ramp up the reps and stuff when I get fit from it. It's just so boring!! I think my favorite exercise EVER was when I walked hots at Santa Anita--because it was a job that I loved doing and I walked so much that it melted the fat off me--and I enjoyed doing it. Dad just doesn't understand how I could possibly consider doing that when we move back to CA--and I keep telling him it's not a career move but it would work in a pinch and it would be fun!!

Anyway I am "rockin this sleeve" like the gals on the OH website say....VERY MUCH and I guess it just continues to amaze me that pretty much no matter what I do right now, weight is going to come flying off me! Gee, darn it.....

Time to get a new avatar up!

I'm amazed my weight loss has stayed continuous this time, for a pretty decent period of time but I'm anticipating that another stall could be on the horizon so I'll take it as it comes! It's all good, right?  Yeah, so as of this morning, 215 and that puts me at 45lbs since the inception and 28 lbs since surgery. Totally amazing.

I donated blood last week and got 2 free passes to the zoo, so I took Kaity along and we got there about 9:30. Good thing, cuz it was pretty damn hot--and still at least 10-12 degrees less than it was a week prior. We lasted til about 12:30 or so and Kaity got sick, puked a little bit (30 seconds after she said she wanted a corn dog) and I suspected it was a little heat exhaustion. I asked what they had at home to drink and she said "soda". That's all! So I'm sure sitting in a cool house with only soda is fine for hydrating...but not so much when it's 90 and you're walking a couple miles. She has virtually no lung capacity anyway so it might have been pretty hard on her. Trouble is, she never complains!  No not until she's got sweat on her forehead and she's looking bewildered and ready to puke, does she say anything. So we got a lemonade and sat in the shade for about a 1/2 an hour and decided to call it a day. I think we might have seen 1/2 of it but not sure til I look at the map. I could definitely have seen the rest! That's good to know I can go longer! But I have been walking for a couple months now, definitely with more speed than Saturday but still, logged a couple miles anyway.

I bought a couple more clearance items, size L in a top (that fit but will be better in about 30lbs more) and 2 pair of pants: a beige capri in a 14 and a chocolate pair of linens that I will crop in XL. It's hard to imagine that a women's 14 is just a tad larger than XL or 1X but knowing that I'll be in them soon really keeps me on track. Nothing like instant gratification, huh? The ability to lose 3-5 lbs a week, almost every week is beyond reality! I also bought a pair of racy sandals in kind of an ivory gold, leather straps, cork wedge heel. Probably a little too tall but my feet won't hurt as bad when I get rid of the rest of this crap. I'll start wearing them around the house to break them in, they are really nicely made with soft leather and soft foot pads of ultrasuede or something similar. Very shapely.  They will certainly go nicely with the lacy embroidered top I got Saturday. Man, I need to stay out of SteinMart!

I made dinner for Mom, Laurie and Kaity Saturday night. I made baked salmon (with orange, lime and lemon juice and  slices and chunks of pineapple with all the other dry spices) wrapped in wax paper because I had run out of tin foil--and stapled the sides shut and baked it for about 20 mins on 350. Served with steamed fresh green beans and wild brown rice. Yummm! I got a bite. They all wolfed theirs down. Left no scraps but the salmon skin!

I am now 94 days away from Santa Anita. Tracking the weight loss during that time too.

I can't believe how wacky this new lifestyle is.....it goes up a couple pounds then down 5! I'm loving that! I about choked when I saw 218 this morning! I wasn't as nibbly this weekend as I had been all week and I was happy with that. I don't want to believe that it's just me being bored--but it probably is--although out of the clear blue sky I started to spot, okay a little more than spotting and this is day 4 so I think some hormones might be in charge of my body right now. I measured my waist this morning and it is 35". I measured everything prior to the surgery and of course cannot find what I wrote it down on--but I do remember it was on a legal pad, yellow paper. So I'm pretty sure I'll find it. I keep seeing these girls that write in saying they were so and so 3 months ago and now fit into a size 12 blah blah blah...so it's very likely that I'll be able to wear those size 12s and 14s by the time the first weekend in November arrives! Woo hoo! At least I'll have 3 or 4 new things to wear. I'm still going to have to get some clearance jeans in about a size 12 or so. I am wearing 16s now...they are tight of course but I can wear them. I simply cannot imagine being back at 188--and it's only 30 lbs from now! I am probably saying this over and over but so be it, I originally set 160 as my goal, and that would be a 100 lb loss. But now that I am losing it I'm thinking 135ish might be more what I really want. But again, I can't make that decision until I get to 160 and see how I feel.

I at least want to be small enough to effectively ride, perhaps pony horses, and who knows, maybe get back to galloping again??? If someone had some nice quiet ones they wanted to take time on, that would be right up my alley! It's probably foolish as hell but hey, might as well consider the possibilities. I just can't wait to get into those Wranglers once again!

Here I come!

Wow. I even had some ice cream over the weekend (but stayed compliant the rest of the time) and my scale read 221.6 today which just about blew my mind! I haven't been this weight since 1989, give or take a year. My lightest weight since 1990 is 188 so that's my next goal. It will be here quicker than I can even think!!!! I have clothes that I'll be seeing if I can get back into (a couple pair of jeans and a couple tops) and see what happens when that weight rolls around again. I am hoping to get down to at least that weight before I leave for Breeder's Cup in November!! I cannot wait to see people that I saw last year, as fast as I've ever been! I'm sure they all looked at me (this is my perception) like "what the hell did she do to herself" (and they had a RIGHT to!) but now, this visit will be completely different. I still cannot believe what the scale said this morning!

And to think a couple weeks ago I couldn't break 228-230--and that was for a good 3 weeks! I think one of the hardest things to believe is that it's coming off regardless if you exercise! I am walking several times a week, only 1.2 miles BUT pretty quickly and it's outside where there is a slight incline involved about 1/2 way. Gets the old heart pumping just right. I am also toning 3x a week or more if I can work it in. It is just so damn gratifying to look at smaller clothes, it's easy to stay on the 'diet' so to speak. I admit to some bored eating over the weekend and that's the first time it's happened in the 8 weeks (almost 9 now) since surgery so I've got to get the sugar free jello ramped up again.

Del Mar starts on Wednesday and I am excited to see racing there. What I wouldn't give to have a day or two down there...aw hell, how about the whole meet? For fun and fantasy I often look at realtor.com to see available villas and homes on the beach for the season....ahhhh, what would it be like to have money? I'll never know. But it's always fun to look.

And so, I keep on my little 'diet' and keep looking forward, and before I know it, it will be Nov 1 and I'll be soon on my way back West to visit and party. A smaller version of the big fat pig that attended last year! Hoooh ahhhhhh.

Wellll I finally got off that 228-230 plateau! Yayyyyy. It finally broke about a week ago and 225 is beginning to be familar.

I was unhappy that I got my first stall after only 6 weeks, and 3 of those were in the stall phase. But finally, I left that number and started losing again, YAYYYYY. I was actually told by the nutrionist at my appt last week to "eat more" which just about cracked me up!! More? I told her that food was basically an afterthought now, and that I did actually work to eat. Nothing sounds good anyway. I don't have a growling stomach. I have become the food police at work though, LOL, and have to ask everybody who comes through the door what they got! I just want to live vicariously through their food choices. Seriously, food craving IS the brain talking, not the stomach hunger. It's absolutely not there. And if I think about how good a piece of pizza would be, I just think about the feeling of needing to vomit because the food wouldn't fit -- and that stops me immediately!

I still have no trouble getting in my fluids--especially this week. It's been over 103 for about 10 days and yesterday was 107. Of course I work, drive and live in A/C but I do go shopping and did some repair work around the (outside) of the house last night, and most nights I do walk. Not too crazy about being sopping wet so I'll wait til it cools down a bit more to resume more normal activities.

I just had my 6-week post-op visit on 7/6/09, and to my surprise, my Dr said I was doing AWESOME, and better than a lot of people at this point! I just knew, cuz it's my luck, that he'd be on my butt about not doing enough and be raggin' on me. NOT SO! I have lost 19lbs since surgery and it feels GREAT and my life couldn't be happier!! I am walking 1-2 miles almost every day and alternating that with toning and stretching. The exercise physiologist said I should consider Yoga, which in all honesty, has recently begun to appeal to me, even before her suggestion. So I'm going to check out a DVD or to and see what happens. I like not having to have a membership somewhere. In fact, as much as I loved going to Tan & Tone for stretching and such, they are raising their rates more than 10% on Aug 1st, so this will be my last month there. Thank God my contract was up last month and I'm just paying a one month fee. They haven't even fixed the locks on the bathroom doors in 2 years, and they're upping the cost??? I don't think so!

So apparently, hopefully, my current "stall" is now on the downside.....and even though I know these to be common throughout the process, I had been hoping I could get rid of about 40lbs before it happened the first time. However, just doing the math, I lost 8% of my body weight in 6 weeks! How could that ever be bad!!!??? I guess you truly have to weigh more to lose more and THAT wasn't an option; or be male ,since they lose so much more so quickly--and that's not an option either! LOL.

I was told by the dietician to 'eat more' which blew me away! Food is an afterthought, I'm simply not hungry. But even few bites of protein (for me, a slice or two of deli meat works wonders) will make my body burn that fat that has to go! I'm not supposed to eat much veggies right now, especially salads, since you can eat more of them than you can protein. So it's a few bites of green beans or red pepper, which I love, and hit the protein hard. Hard as you can when your stomach is 15% the size it used to be! Amazing visualization here.

I'm REALLY enjoying shopping in the "Ladies" apparel rather than the "Fat Ladies' apparel section!! If that isn't a motivator, I don't know what is. I have a couple of 'inspiration' outfits, size 12, that I longingly look at from time to time in my closet. I don't spend a lot of money on them, but they're fashionable and classic so they will still be in style when I am able to wear them. That could be in about 40-50 lbs I think. Amazing. Simply amazing. I am SO ready to get there and more importantly, STAY THERE.

This has almost been too easy--this 'tool' that I've been given! You pay a temporary small price if you "overeat" and if you just plainly eat the wrong foods, you will lose weight anyway, just not very quickly (and probably just shoot yourself in the foot) and therefore, not very satisfactorily. This is really the way that the professionals have been telling us to diet for decades: more proteins and fiber, less sugar and carbs....and your body is then forced to burn the fat you've got stored instead of the carbs you just ate! Simple formula! But now it's just easy to stay on the wagon. And the more your body starts to lose and change, the more inspired you are! Yayyy for me. I'm getting my life back.

I haven't lost a pound in about 10 days and I'm a little po'd right now. Granted, I've NEVER felt any remorse, not for one second, but dang it I thought I'd lose a couple lbs a week or more at this point. I realize everybody goes through this -- and perhaps some go through many -- but I'm disappointed that I haven't done more so far. I am getting in the water, no problem. And I've only experimented with actual food. I still drink a protein shake every day. I think this proves my point of my body just does NOT let one morsel of food go unnoticed and it hangs on to every last calorie it can!!!!! I've always been that way!

I actually did throw up a little the other night when I made mom spaghetti. Boy, do you know it's going to happen too. Just one bite too much and you are completely aware of what happens next. I had a tiny bit of pasta and was really concentrating on the meat sauce but I ate too fast. And there you have it! Won't do that again. I really have to learn to eat slow, take time, but I'm good on the chewing part. Whew.

I'm very anxious to get to 222 which is really only 4-6 lbs away, but to see how I feel and look then. My next goal is 188, which was my thinnest in the last 20 years. See if those Wranglers fit....today I'm wearing a brand new (from clearance last year) pair of sage green capris and this will be the last day I can wear them as well! Laurie's getting some good stuff.

Yesterday I really craved a green salad so I got a chicken breast salad from Subway at work. The sweet onion dressing is awesome. I still have more than 1/2 of it today. I'm also craving a Gala apple. Will get a couple of those so I can cut it up and see how that likes me. Protein first.

And the transformation continues.