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I recently celebrated the 1 yr anniversary of my RNY (12/30/2008). Life is very different for me now. I still love to cook and entertain but food is less important to me in general. I have lost a total of 87 lbs and 6+ dress sizes and have been holding steady right through the Holidays. i set a goal to maintain my wieght from Thanksgiving through New Years and I am proud to say I accomplished that goal.  Right now this is the "off season" for me and my job. My activity levels are far lower than I woudl like them to be, but I really do need this time of year to rest myself and prepare for the grueling golf season that is just around the corner. So my weight loss has slowed, but I have added a weekly Zumba dance class to my relatively inactive off season life. We are burning 500 calroies in this class each week and I am in the process of trying to take a 2nd class of similar activity each week. It has been so cold outside and I have used that as a excuse not to walk. Bad Dona! I promised myself to change that since the weather seems to be warming up again. I have 12 lbs left to lose to reach the goal set at surgery. I am beginning to see a body image change and that truly does feel good. When I awaken each morning I tell myself today will be a nutritionally sound day and I will be good to myself today and do some form of exercise. Yesterday I went out and hit golf balls for about 90-minutes. Today I will take a 3-mile walk and maybe spend some time shuffling around the mall for a few hours.

All in all this has been such a great journey for me. I was just talking with my husband the other day when he mentioned he was so glad I was reconnecting with old friends I had not seen in years. I told him that for the first time in a very long time I felt good about seeing old friends again. That I did not feel like a fat girl who they would all be disappointed in, but a solidly built athlete who looks and feels worhty of their friendship again.

So, yes life sure can change in just one year. Mine did and when I go on Obesityhelp,.com I read about others who have experienced the same impact on their lives. This was a blessing for me and my medical team, my family and my friends have been the support system that makes it all work. I truly believe I have overcome obesity and that my life is back on track.

I have recently celebrated my 10 month anniversary of my WLS. It seems like a lifetime ago. My world is so changed and my appreciation for each day has grown in leaps and bounds. I have lost 87 lbs thus far and have 12 lbs left to achieve my goal set at surgery. I am down from a size 22W to a 10 Petite. Intellectually I get it all, but emotionally I am still a little stunned and blocked about this whole process. My choices are better now, my portions are smaller and my body is enjoying its new found size. My knees are not nearly as painful and my energy and stamina are very high. i still have bouts of the "blues," but I always have especially this time of year.  I know I am smaller, although I do not quite see the impact everyone else sees.

I have been stuck at this size/weight for some time now and I suspect it is a result of more carbs and less activity. My body does seem to be reshaping itself which is really interesting to me. My golf season is slowing down and I have just returned to the pool for aquatics classes and am planning on taking Zumba classes shortly, but my current activity level is not as high as it should be. My hunger has not returned but my appetite is healthy. I don't crave or constantly think about the next meal, but I am more aware of it than I wish i were. Breakfasts are the best meal of the day for me now & I never ate breakfast before. Lunch is the toughest meal of the day for me as I am usually out and find myself having to make choices from a limited selction of options. Dinnertime has become a fun time for us as we now try to eat something different every night if possible. Someone told me that variety is good for the weight loss process ,so I am trying to incorporate as much variety in my daily menu as possible. Some nights a grilled cheese sandwich is exactly what my pouch is wanting and dinner  becomes soup and sanwich night for us.

Eating out gets easier as time goes on. I can now eat grilled or broiled fish where I could not in the beginning. I was a ribeye steak girl prior to surgery and now I have little to no interest in steaks in general. I will opt for a crab cake or a piece of fish before even considering a steak.

As the Holidays approach, I do find myself concerned about weight gain and temporary insanity. My friends and family are all on alert to talk with me should they see me re-establishing bad habits. I am cooking Thanksgiving dinner for a very small crowd this year and have chosen wonderful recipes that I am both excited about and comfortable serving. I am not a huge fan of the turkey part of Thanksgiving, but this year I will without argument start my meal with a few ounces of turkey and then have a spoonful of everything else. I have set a goal is to get 2-4 lbs off before Thanksgiving and sustain it as best i can throughout the Holiday season. 

So I mentioned I was wearing a size 10 petite. This is still hard for me to wrap my arms around. I have given all of my pre-surgery clothes away. Every single item with the exception of one outfit I wore a week or two prior to my surgery. I have kept that to put on again on my 1 year anniversary. My gift to me so to speak.  I have those flabbly upper arms and some belly blobs and of course there is the butt and leg skin. My girlfriend Pam calls it "old lady butt." I will probably have the arms fixed next spring as I am outside in short sleeves and my flapping arms are distracting to my students when I teach. I think I will do my best to tighten the belly, butt & legs and see where that takes me.

Folks ask me all the time if it was worth it. I can say without hesitation this was an amazing opportunity for me to have the chance to live a full and rewarding life and I would do it again in a heartbeat. There have been so few setbacks and so few curve balls, that I can honetly say it has been easier to live the past 10 months than the previous 20 years! I do hope I stay on track and continue to enjoy the support of my family and friends, without whom I would not be where I am right now. This has been a total team effort and I am truly grateful to everyone who loves me.

Happy Thanksgiving to all....................................Dona

I am officially convinced that this RNY Weight Loss process is the miracle of miracles. It is amazing how wonderful I feel most of the time and how proud I am of my accomplishment to date. Don't get me wrong, I still have plenty of work left to do, but I am so much nearer to the finish line than I ever expected to be. I have lost 80 lbs from my high weight and I am down from a size 22W to a 10 petite! Yes, a 10Petite! I still struggle when I shop for something because I automatically pick up the loose fitting, larger sizes. I still panic each time I pull on a pair of slacks. I look at them and think to myself, "how in the world am I going to fit all of me into so small a garment?" But I do everytime.

Shopping is still weird for me. No longer shopping in the "larger women's department" has me a bit confused to say the least. Before I knew I was a 1x, 2x or 22W, now I could be a small, medium or 10 or 12. Smaller clothing has different shapes and therefore requires trying thing son. I used to go in and pick stuff off the rack and go home knowing it would fit pretty well. Now I never know until I put it on andlook in the mirror whic in and of itself is an experience.  A couple of weeks ago I needed a dress for a special wedding. I headed to Nordstroms, where previously I could not purchase clothing, and the sales girl was so helpful. We found the perfect designer dress in a size 12. It was a  Flapper dress. It fit like a glove and it made me look shapely. Imagine that, I was shapely! So this was a good buying experience for sure. I look forward to future shopping dates where I can wear clothes from normal size racks and not have to look for  big loose fitting clothes.

My weight loss has slowed down considerably, but now my body seems to be reshaping itself. I have noticed that where there used to be a lump or fat roll now there is a hip bone and a rib cage!  I can wear low rise jeans and not have a muffin top! Low rise jeans were NEVER an option before. I needed those slacks to go up as high as they could so I would be held in place for the most part. I am now able to wear a shoe with a heel and have little to no knee pain. Before I could wear them but I was hurting within 30-minutes. This has been so freeing and I am so inspired right now as a result.

Without the love and support of my amazing husband, Neal or my unconditional friends I would not have been able to embark on this journey never mind have the success I have had thus far. Thankyou to everyone. I am forever in your debt.

I have been hovering around 179 lbs now since May 1st. I have gone up 2 lbs and back down but do not seem to be able to cross over the line. I am pretty sure this is a plateau of some kind that will pass. I am keeping up with my protein and my water, so all I can do is wait, right?

Well the waiting is the hard part for sure. Each time I hop onto the scale, which is every 2-3 days, and it does not go below that 179 I find myself questioning my every move or lack there of. Did I do this, should I have done that, I wonder if, How about that and so on. It is quite the emotional roller coaster for sure.

My husband tells me it is all OK and I am doing fine, but like so many I have goals and aspirations regarding my weight loss and stalls and plateaus get in the way of achieving  them. This is my 2nd relatively long stall. The 1st was at 200 lbs. Just could not get below that big 200 for almost 10 days. Once I did, I never looked back and I know the same thing will happen with this 179 pound stall.

I have walked and walked where I would have usually chosen alternative ways of getting from one point to another. I have not been to the pool in over a week, but this time of year life tends to get in the way of that a little bit. I am headed back tomorrow morning. I am on that lesson tee standing, walking, swinging and have been trying to get out to play once a week as well.

I know intellectually that this is just a little bump along the weight loss road. Emotionally I am not quite as level headed. I am far less secure in my emotional self than I am in my physical and intellectual self.

Next story will be all about how I marched past 179 lbs and am free of that weight forever! Thanks for listening. It really helps me to write. It helps to keep me grounded.
Dona

I have lost 50.5 lbs and I have 43.5 lbs to reach my pre-surgery chosen weight goal. For the first time in my life I have less to lose than I have already lost! That means the finish line is much closer than it has ever been and I think I can see a glimpse of light coming from the end of my weight loss tunnel. I plan to keep my eyes focused on that light and stay the course for as long as it takes no matter what obstacles get tossed in my path.

Of course my body will decide how much I will ultimately lose, but I feel pretty good about the goal weight I originally chose.

I have had a bunch of clothes tailored. The tailor lady told me it was the last time anything could be taken in. She said I was very close to having only 1 pocket in the back on my slacks & shorts. Now that is funny. So once these get saggy, I will begin the quest for some new clothes that will take me to the next stage of this amazing journey.

Dr Friedman (psychologist) tells me that my personal body image will be the last thing to change. Thus far intellectually I fully understand that I have lost 50+ lbs and my clothes tell my I am a smaller human being. The mirror, however, has not yet expressed this to me. I am not sure if I saw myself as smaller to begin with, or if I am holding onto the original big girl" image I have burned into my brain. Either way, I am excited to see when and how that personal body image changes.

The ride has been a fun one thus far with few hiccups, but I recognize the magnitude of what I have chosen to do here. I am being held accountable for my actions by good friends and family. I am making wise food choices rather than choosing recklessly. I probably do not drink as much water as I should, but as the weather gets warmer and I am outside all day that will most certainly change.

Until next time..............................Dona

Yesterday was my 14 week anniversary to my WLS. I have lost 45.5 lbs thus far and I am down 3+ sizes. My pouch, Vickie, is beginning to enjoy food more these days and although i still do not feel hunger or eating urges, I do enjoy the flavors of foods like never before. My pallet is so much more sensitive to seasonings and earthy flavors. I am amazed sometimes when I taste something how much information I seem to gather with each bite.

So the weight is coming off steadily and my body seems to be adjusting accordingly. I am even getting better at establishing a serving size that is going to satisfy me without having 2/3 left on the plate when I am finished.

My golf game is a mess!! My body has changed in its width and so my arms no longer hang where they used. As a result, my swing has changed as well. Adapting to this new swing motion is a challenge in and of itself but one I am happy to take on. I figure that by the time I get it all figured out, I will have to start over again. From my perspective although this is a royal pain in the "you know where", it is far better than the alternative would have been.

I am losing approximately 1/2 lb every other day and at this rate I will be slim by summer. My body image has not changed much yet. i still see the Dona I always saw in the mirror. not sure if that person was bigger than my vision of her before surgery or if she is smaller than the person i see now, but I know the body image will change in time and I am in no rush. Gonna let things take their natural path.

Yesterday I ventured deep into my closet looking for something that would fit me. 41 lbs down and it is fair to say my clothes don't cling to my body anymore. Well, over in the jeans department there was a pair of jeans that had not been even picked up in 8+ years. Should I try them on? Do I dare? They are a Petite size 16 for goodness sakes!. What do I have to lose? Might even get lucky and they'll fit! So I took a deep breath & pulled them up only to fid that they do fit! Yes, size 16 Petite jeans on my body and they zipped right up like they were made for me! I wore them out with friends like a badge, but only my husband & I knew the secret success I was enjoying.

On Tuesday I went to Duke for my 3 month follow-up and I have lost 39% of my excess body weight in 11 weeks. I am feeling great, I have more energy, I sleep better, I have a more positive outlook on my future and success is within my grasp for the first time is more years than I can recall.

The secret is mindful eating and plannng ahead whenever possible. I take my vitamins on a schedule and I do my part to eat 5+ times per day: Always protein first! I am also going to the pool for an Aqautics Class multiple times per week. Love my time in the pool and I feel great afterwards. Even my knees feel good after an hour in the pool.

It is time to get dressed and ready for my day. Hmmm, which pair of lose fitting slacks will I wear today? Maybe it is time to consider a visit to the Goodwill Store! What fun this is gonna be moving forward.

I just celebrated my 10-week anniversary yesterday. I have lost 38 lbs thus far and feel good about my progress and my life overall.  My pouch, Vickie, is still a lilttle fussy at times. There are foods she will just not tolerate! It is becoming clear to me that smells are also a part of the process of determining what will be consumed and what will be denied. I do not yet know what smells work and what do not work, but I find out quickly when the food is presented. I have struggled trying to eat fish & seafood. Thus far this has not been going well for me. I did successfully eat crabcakes that were 98% crab last night and what a triumph that was!

I have added protein bullets to my daily regimen, especially if Vickie turns away a meal. The protein bullets give me the ability to get that protein in at the same time as the water so it is a win-win for me! My food consumption is still about 2-3 ounces per sitting and this servinig size is beginning to look pretty normal to me now. My husband has even begun to learn more about portion size and eats less overall although he is one of the fortunate who can eat anything and any time of day and stay slim.

So all in all, things are going well. My body is shrinking and I am a lucky person in that when I gained weight I gained it everywhere and that is exactly how I am losing it. My shape is very similiar, I am just a smaller version of that shape for the most part.

Until next time.................Dona

I am now 6 weeks post surgery and for the most part things have gone well. My new pouch, Victoria, is quite expressive and makes it very clear when she is displeased with a food choice or how I prepare or consume any specific food. Still loves soft and creamy. I am ready for more solid foods, but Victoria is steadfast on the loose foods. She likes Chili which is a treat. Hates chicken, ground beef other than in chiliand pork. She has also not a big fan of fish and I have eaten tuna beyond the point of it being appetizing any longer.

I have lost 27 lbs so I am pleased with my progress. I have begun to take Aquatics classes a few times per week and that  seems to be working out just super. I have returned to the golf course and I am teaching and playing a little. Not pushing things by any means, but re-entering my world is essential this time of year.

It is my intention to stay the course and keep introducing foods to Victoria even if she sends them right back out. If I do not test the waters, I will never know if the tide has settled.

After all, it has only been 6 weeks!

I have gotten to the 4 week mark post surgery and I feel great! I am learning so much about my new pouch. I have named her Victoria and together we will have a victory over this battle with obesity! Vicky is very communicative about what she likes and dislikes and how she intends to be treated. This is a good thing for me and keeps me in line for sure. Thus far creamy soft foods are a favorite and we add some crunch with bibb lettuce or a whole grain chip that we treat as a cracker now and again. Most foods have been acceptable as long as I eat them slowly and take small bites. I have lost 21 lbs as of Jan. 27th. I am trying not to become scale bound and weigh too often. Thus Sunday we will take the 1st monthly measurements and photos. That ought to be interesting! I have joined the Duke Center for Living and will begin aquatics classes Feb 10th. I am traveling until then. Until next time......................