wow - it has been a long time....

.... since my last post. i guess that is because everything is going to well on my weight loss maintenance. for the last 5-6 months i have been slowing trying to eat different things and so far so good. i have put back on around 6 pounds but that doesn't freak me out. i was pretty boney before ~ but unfortunately every pound seems to go right to my hips and thighs.

i am still 100% happy about having weight loss surgery.

mark it down!!! september 16th GOALLLLLL!!! yup on september 16th i reached 149 pounds, actually getting 1 pound below goal for a total loss of 176 pounds. needless to say i am totally thrilled. that was 3 weeks ago and i basically haven't changed how i am eating. i have had a little more fruit ~ enjoying grapes now that strawberries are out of season. i have also been eating more peanuts and almonds.

PRAISE GOD for this awesome blessing!!

has it really been 16 months???

wow ~ i absolutely cannot believe how blessed i am! it is impossible to adequately express how thankful i am that i had this surgery.

16 months ago i would have spent my sunday afternoon doing absolutely nothing constructive. probably would have been laying around, napping, watching tv.... NOT today! after church we stopped by the grocery store and then after a light lunch i painted in the kitchen area for around 3 hours. then immediately cleaned up completely~ vaccuumed, washed the back door window, straightened up the house. then fixed dinner and right after dinner was on the treadmill for 1.5 miles.

i feel SO good! as far as my weight loss, i honestly think i have lost all my body will let me lose. since last month i lost 2 pounds but haven't lost anything for 3 weeks and in fact my weight has fluctuated back and forth with those 2 pounds. i am basically eating the same as i did while i was working hard on losing weight, with just adding more fruit and vegetables ~ no plans at all to start adding anything else ~ i am very mentally satisfied with how i am eating right now.

so my total weight loss is 173 pounds! PRAISE GOD!

15 months ago today!!!

i can't believe how quickly the time has flown and how quickly the pounds have melted away ~ praise God! as of today i have lost 171 pounds! (7 pounds lost since last month) i absolutely cannot believe it. i have pretty much reached my goal ~ it was my desire to lose 175 pounds but i know that i have probably 5-10 pounds of excess skin that will only go away with plastic surgery ~ and at this point i don't see this happening because of the cost. i do not have any physical problems as a result of the excess skin, it would all be for cosmetic reasons.

i don't know that i will lose more weight because i don't want to look too gaunt and at this point i am pretty boney. and i feel very good about my appearance. i am so thrilled to know that i am at the weight i was when terry and i got married.

i don't have any plans at all to change my way of eating ~ this summer i have thoroughly enjoyed eating lots of berries. there is constantly a large bowl of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries with splenda on them in the refrigerator that we polish off almost every day! and i am eating more vegetables but still NO bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, sweets etc... unnecessary unhealthy carbs. don't need them - don't want them! those things pave the path back to obesity!

14 months ago (yesterday)

what an amazing 14 months this has been ~ and i continue to be blessed! i know that i have said this a LOT over the last 14 months but i am so blessed to have had weight loss surgery. i feel that way with all my heart. the last month i have branched out a tiny bit and had more fruit - specifically strawberries and blackberries! YUM and twice we went out to a restaurant where they have peanuts in the shell and i've enjoyed eating peanuts IN A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT! i am fully aware of the fact that snack foods are a slippery slope and i don't want to ever start eating them at home or somewhere where i will be tempted to keep munching.

what i would LOVE to do is have a tummy tuck, get the excess skin removed from my upper arms and it would be a dream to have the excess skin removed from my inner thighs and get rid of around 10 pounds of excess skin ~ but that is very expensive and i doubt will ever happen. i lost 7 pounds this month for a total of 164 pounds lost to date WHOO HOOO!!! i am wearing size 10's and feeling extremely good and healthy. would love to take off an additional 11 pounds, although i am pretty happy with where i am right now.

13 months (a few days late)

it was my plan to post on the 6th of each month - this has just been a busy month. from may 6th to june 6th i lost 6 1/2 pounds. the weight loss has certainly slowed down, but i expected that to happen the closer that i get to goal. i am also re-thinking what my goal should be.

many people who have had weight loss surgery will follow-up with plastic surgery in one form or another to remove excess skin. i didn't realize just how much that excess skin could possibly weigh and from information i have gathered, depending on how much weight you lose, this can add up to 10-15 pounds. and can also account for 1 to 2 dress sizes. so, now all i need is around $30,000 for a complete body lift - hahaha!

weight loss up to june 6th ( 13 months) is 157 pounds - WOW!

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY!!!

wow, has it really been a year ago that i had my gastric by-pass surgery??? the time has flown by SOoooo fast.  and i am very happy to say that the pounds have fallen away Sooooo fast too!  as of today i have lost 150 and 1/2 pounds - every little bit counts :D

i honestly can't think of any profound statement or anything ~ the most important thing i would like to say is that if you are reading this blog and contemplating having weight loss surgery - i say GO FOR IT!  it's the best thing (next to receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour) that i could have done for myself.  getting off the weight helps me to be a better wife, mother...everything!  i am SO blessed!

142 pounds in 11 months!

i am thrilled, happy, healthier but most of all blessed! blessed in so many ways, but since this blog is about my weight loss surgery - the blessing i am referring to here is that God allowed me to have this surgery.  the last 4 weeks have been great - our family went to dallas texas for a weekend and wow ~ to fly on a plane and not feel like you are hanging over on both sides of your seat and to have around an extra 12 inches on the seatbelt - and to have energy to spare, and to sit in a seat at a sports game and fit!!!  and to go shopping for ME at regular clothing stores like banana republic and j.crew and find clothing that fits!!  to put on a swimming suit and get in the hot tub in the hotel rather than sitting on the side watching others!!!  i give God all the thanks and all the glory!

10 months!! - happy dance!

ten wonderful months ago i had weight loss surgery and my weight loss to date is 132 pounds!  WHOO HOOO.  i praise God that i am where i am today.  it has been fun getting new clothes (so thankful for winter clearance sales) and being pleased with how i look.  i don't mean that in an egotistical way, but there's a lot to say for a positive self image.  i feel so much better and am able to out-last my 20 yr old daughter when it comes to "shopping till you drop"!  

9 months ago today ~ weight loss surgery

and what an awesome journey it has been!  i thank God - probably every day - that i had this procedure done.  not one regret whatsoever.  what is really fun now is that i have lost enough where it is fun to go shopping for clothes and the weight loss is very noticeable.  last month i was hoping to lose 125 by today - and i fell short by one pound =  124 pounds lost to date!  not complaining at all though, very happy.

has it really been 8 months???

i honestly cannot believe that it has been 8 months since my weight loss surgery. the time has really flown by! i am very pleased to say that i have now lost 113 pounds!!! i give God all the thanks and glory for my success. the holidays were very easy ~ didn't have any desire at all to cheat. last week i started doing a pilates routine in the morning. oh my oh my ~ at the end of that first day i was feeling muscles that i completely forgot were even there. OUCH! they suggest that you do the workout at least 3 times a week. i waited a few days before my second workout because my abdominal muscles were really sore. worked out yesterday and this morning for around a half hour each. i was going to join Curves - and i still might - but i know me and the more convenient it is to work out the more i will be inclined to stick with it. in addition to doing pilates i am back on the treadmill every evening after dinner. i am trying to pump up my exercise because i want to lose 12 pounds before february 6th! my goal is to have lost 125 pounds by then. (actually my goal is to lose it by feb 4th, my birthday!)

7 months today

wow how the time has gone by - 7 months ago today i had surgery and as of today i have lost 103 pounds!!!  i am so blessed and thankful that God allowed me to have weight loss surgery.  i have decided to post once a month on my surgery anniversary - there really isn't very much going on, just continuing to do the same eating and exercise.  i still haven't started doing a lot of exercise, just the treadmill. hopefully after the first of the year i will take the time to join 

Curves.  i am still fully satisfied with the foods that i am eating - it is a great feeling to know that i am eating so healthy.  over thanksgiving i wasn't tempted to eat anything  that i shouldn't.  i made a pumpkin custard pie and my brother in law made an awesome berry pie = both of these were made with splenda and were sugar free.  

wow - 6 months!!!!

yep.... 6 months ago today was my weight loss surgery and what a blessing!!!  i am so thankful to God for allowing me to have this procedure and as of today i have lost 92 pounds.  WOW!  i feel great physically and mentally.  over the weekend my daughter was in town from college and we hit the mall ~  walked for hours ~ and wasn't at all struggling.  went up the stairs rather than taking the little escalators with no problem.  we are already planning our shopping strategy for black friday (day after thanksgiving)  hahaha!  

5 months ago today ...

.... was my weight loss surgery 

as of today - lost 81 pounds

about september

today is the last day of september and this is the first month where i have experienced stalls in my weight loss.  i don't want to state that i am in a pattern of slower weight loss already because i am just now in my 5th month.  i have been able to count on losing at least 10 pounds each month so far and in september i lost 8 pounds.  i REALLY was hoping to count on a monthly loss of 10-12 pounds for the first full year after surgery.  enough complaining - my weight loss to date is 79 pounds!

feeling great!

i have no idea if anyone reads my blog - but if there IS anyone reading who is contemplating weight loss surgery i say GO FOR IT!!! i am so glad that i did this!  this coming wednesday, sept 22nd will have marked 5 months that i have been losing weight (began 2 weeks pre-op liquid diet) and i have lost 76.5 pounds!  WOW!  it's probably a year before i am at goal, but already i feel so much better.  

been a good week

this has been a good week - lost 5 pounds.  i haven't done anything different it just seems that there are weeks where the scale doesn't move, while my body is adjusting to everything and then the weight falls off.  looks like i am averaging around 12-14 pounds per month now. was at alex's first soccer practice this week and saw mom's who i haven't seen since before surgery and one mom said "have you lost a LOT of weight?"  and i told them about my surgery. so this is the first time that i ran into someone i knew who i haven't seen since surgery -  it has been 18 1/2 weeks and 70 pounds gone!

4 months ago today ....

.... i started on my weight loss with the 2 weeks pre-surgery liquid diet.  since that date i have lost 65 pounds ... yeaaa me!

loving each day

i am so blessed that God led me into having weight loss surgery.  every day has been great!  i am thoroughly enjoying the new foods that i am eating - finding new recipes through beforeandafterhelp.com and also trying different foods at restaurants.  last night we had olive garden and i got the parmesan crusted tilapia with squash and it is awesome.  i have no idea what the nutritional count is for a full serving, but since i only eat less than half (NO pasta) i know that it is within what i should be having.  and it is absolutely delicious!

weight loss to date 64 pounds!