mrsto

You look SO happy......Wonderful!!

You look SO happy......Wonderful!!

You look SO happy......Wonderful!!

Thank you for posting this. SO timely! I was hanging on every word, and in those moments of reading it, said to myself......just let go; put the glass down.
I need to read this every day, until it becomes a new habit. Stress is killing me, and I know it. And a good portion of it is just my mind obsessing about things out of my control, and a lot of the things you mention....the "why did I, why didn't I, why can't I"......ALL of it. This post from you today was perfect :-)

Thank you for posting this. SO timely! I was hanging on every word, and in those moments of reading it, said to myself......just let go; put the glass down.
I need to read this every day, until it becomes a new habit. Stress is killing me, and I know it. And a good portion of it is just my mind obsessing about things out of my control, and a lot of the things you mention....the "why did I, why didn't I, why can't I"......ALL of it. This post from you today was perfect :-)

Here's to courageous women standing up for themselves and LIVING. Best wishes to you -- choose yourself first!

Congratulations-twice. Marriage and banding. Great way to restart your life.

Debbie:
I'm so proud of you! No one knows what we endure in an abusive marriage. After 12 years of marriage, I too left my abusive husband and I know exactly what you mean when we say FREEDOM! Freedom to breathe, freedom to make your our choices, freedom to love yourself ( and that took a lot of time for me to do!) You hang in there, life has just begun for you!
I remarried 3 months ago to the most wonderful man that God could have ever paired me with and I am happier than I have ever been in my entire life. I was just banded 2 1/2 weeks ago and this man is 100% supportive of this and I can wait to live a healthier life. I truly feel like I have just started living for the first time in my life!

You sound like the real deal, and from my experience you are an endangered species. Hold your head up, and continue to be true!

Sorry to hear about your friend's fire. As for your co-workers, they are co-workers, not friends. People are with their co-workers more than anyone else in their life yet they don't understand the bonding sometimes. Very sad for them.
Meanwhile, raising money for the fire victim was great and must have made you feel wonderful. NSV!

Wow, you look great! Thanks for putting the 50 pounds into perspective. I'm close to that number, and sometimes I have to remind myself just how much weight that really is. Congrats!!!

Jim, you've done a phenomenal job! I agree with Sojourner; try & set a more realistic goal, and take some of the pressure off.
It's true that exercise needs to become part of our daily routine. Easier said than done, I know! If it weren't for my dog giving me "the face" every morning, I'd probably plop down at my desk, and not surface for hours. I used to take her to the park; play catch, then sit my butt down on a bench while she plays. Now, I take her out for a good 40-45 minute walk through the hills about 4-5 times a week, which has made a huge difference in my progress. I know I "should" (hate that word) do more, but for now, this seems to be "enough".
You're doing great, Jim.... Keep it realistic, and try not to get down on yourself for not living up to your own expectations. As my father always says, just do the best you can :-)

Jim, you've done a phenomenal job! I agree with Sojourner; try & set a more realistic goal, and take some of the pressure off.
It's true that exercise needs to become part of our daily routine. Easier said than done, I know! If it weren't for my dog giving me "the face" every morning, I'd probably plop down at my desk, and not surface for hours. I used to take her to the park; play catch, then sit my butt down on a bench while she plays. Now, I take her out for a good 40-45 minute walk through the hills about 4-5 times a week, which has made a huge difference in my progress. I know I "should" (hate that word) do more, but for now, this seems to be "enough".
You're doing great, Jim.... Keep it realistic, and try not to get down on yourself for not living up to your own expectations. As my father always says, just do the best you can :-)

Hi Sojourner,
Thank you for giving me another perspective. Perhaps you're right and I am just putting too much pressure on myself. Really it is not so much the 10 hours a week I am looking for but rather some consistency. Seeking out that consistency I guess I am just adding more pressure. As for the walks I do enjoy them however not on the level of perhaps other activities. I thought maybe if I looked at it as something that has to be done daily such as a shower, work, cooking dinner then perhaps it would actually get done.
When it's all said and done I just have to do it and I have to make the time to do it.

Awesome progress Jim!
I enjoyed reading your blog, and I agree, as far as our mobility goes, we should never take anything for granted. Going for a brisk walk is something I enjoyed for years, and after my car accident, the road back made me realize that it is often the simple things which mean the most.
One thought which struck me as I was reading was perhaps starting out with a more reasonable exercise goal could help. I am determined to get in 5-6 hours of cardio per week. That's just about the max of what my joints can manage. I'm retired now, but if I were still working, 10 hours of cardio would be impossible for me.
If you adjusted your goal, you might not admonish yourself if you did not reach your weekly goal. That mindset is so important to keep us focused and motivated to continue with meeting our exercise goal.
Also, reassigning exercise to a habit instead of a task does take away some of the interpretation that exercise is just another form of work. Looking forward to exercise because it helps you achieve your weight loss goals is a healthier approach IMO.
Keep up your great progress!

I love talking with Jim!! He is super. Welcome to the club.

Hahaha I wondered if you were her husband!! I didn't say anything out of respect for both of your privacy, but as I read her story I was going in the back of my mind "hmmm, I bet this is Jim's wife!"
@Kelli, we're thrilled to have you with us!

In case no one has figured it out...I am the husband LOL. I am happy Kelli has finally joined up on the site and she can hear things first hand from a woman's perspective/experiences. :-)

Our stories are very similar!
Like you, I have been "the fat girl" my entire life. I can remember being as young as 5th grade and obsessed with how huge my thighs were. I remember being teased for being big all through junior high. I remember going shopping with my girlfriends in high school and being so ashamed because I couldn't wear anything at the "normal sized" shops they went to.
I did date as a teen but my self esteem was always awful. When I hit college, like you I decided to own being a fat girl. I had more self confidence and I decided I didn't give a rip if someone did like me for me- fat and all.
...but then I had my first child at 21 years old...and got bigger and bigger. Over the years I ballooned up to over 400 pounds. Any self esteem I ever had was long gone and my health was seriously tanking fast.
My best advice is to let go of that "fat girl" mentality. Too often we wear it like a suit of armor not a badge of courage. We're teased and tormented so severely we try to muster up all this false bravado to shield ourselves from being hurt yet again. It is simply wonderful you're doing this for your health- but you have to be ok with the fact there's nothing wrong with doing this to look good, too. You're not letting society or anyone else "win" by getting the Lap Band and losing weight. YOU are winning for taking control of your health so you can live a long, happy, healthy life with your husband.
Best wishes to you

WOW, A-mazing transformation! You look positively fantastic!!
Lying, really? Why on earth would someone lie about that?? Geez.....

I am familiar with PCOS. It is true that there are more challenges with weight loss, but not for all women. It's also true that women, band or no band, are able to lose weight with diet and lifestyle change, WITH PCOS. I'm not trying to minimize how difficult it is for YOU. But it can be very easy to fall into old behaviors, while totally blaming it on a health issue.
Your original post said that you were hungry all the time, and finding food on every corner. I believe that some of the posters were responding to that. PCOS doesn't force anyone to make poor food choices. Even pregnant women choose yogurt over a Big Mac & fries. Again, I'm not saying that's what YOU were eating at every food venue on every corner. But you were eating enough to gain a substantial amount of weight, which typically equates to too much food, and poor choices.
If a good portion of your issues are in fact PCOS, then maybe posting in an online PCOS forum is a better option.

Amen!!! Thanks for posting this.

Kime - being able to maintain the same weight for a period of time, is success as well! Seems with this affliction, we're either going up or down. Staying the same for more than a week, hasn't really been in our repertoire. Finding comfort while coasting on calm waters, is (what I believe) the long term key to success. You are doing GREAT!!

Hi Donna, I'm 64 and I'm going to get banded Aug 26 and I do wish I would have did this at least 5 yrs. ago but better late than never