NewBeginningsForMe2012

I thought I should write a new blog since I just had my 1 year sleeve anniversary on November 6, 2013. While I was out walking our dogs today on my 4 mile walk I was reflecting back on how my life was a year and a half ago as compared to now. Wow, has it ever changed for the good! A year ago on this day I was just getting out of the Hospital after spending 4 days in there after my sleeve surgery. I had a pretty rough time with nausea after the first day. I was so sick that I just wanted to leave my body to get away from how terrible I felt! I remember thinking, "What did you do to yourself Kathy"? Luckily after I got home each day I felt better and better. A year and a half ago I couldn't walk down to the corner and back and I would be out of breath, tired, and hurting. That was before my surgery, and before I had lost the 42 pounds on the 6 month pre-surgery diet. I couldn't ride a regular bike, so I rode an adult trike, and only for short distances. I mostly sat in my recliner, felt depressed, and didn't like going anywhere! I didn't like going to any parties, family get togethers, weddings, or anything where I felt people were going to judge me! I didn't feel good in anything I wore, and was so self conscience. I look back at how I use to be, and I don't recognize that person anymore! I was only existing, and not living! Not anymore! Now I'm living, and loving it! I walk our dogs a little over 4 miles several times a week and can do it in 1 hour and 7 minutes. I feel great when I get back, not tired, or out of breath, but feel like a million bucks. I have a regular cruiser 5 speed bike I ride now when my husband and I go for our bike rides. Our bike rides are now between 10-23 miles long, and take 1-2 hours. It's one of our favorite things to do together now. I use to wear a size 26/28W, and a 3XXX tops, and hated going clothes shopping. Now I love going clothes shopping because I can wear a 14 regular womens. I can grab any size 14 off the rack, and try it on, and it FITS! I only wear a M/L tops now too. I buy jeans instead of sweats, and actually like dressing up to go out. I'm hoping to get in to a size 12 when I reach my goal weight of 156 pounds. I'm about 16-18 pounds from my goal weight depending on the day. I was even a guest speaker at my sleeve surgeon's bariatric seminar this past week. I got up in front of over 100 people, and told my story about my weight loss journey. I was so nervous, but I'm glad I did it, because it felt GREAT! I'm even going for a job interview this coming Tuesday for a custodial job for this huge company. I haven't worked outside my home in like 17 years! I wasn't ready to have a job before, but now I'm going to give it a try! I think it will do me good to get back out there in the work world, and I'll feel a sense of accomplishment, and more self worth! I'm 56 years young, and am actually LIVING again!

​Why is it that as humans we never seem to be satisfied, or we're always so hard on ourselves? I'm 10 months out from my sleeve, and down 110 pounds from my highest weight 16 months ago. For the past couple of months I have been losing, and regaining the same few pounds! I go between 172 & 175 pounds, and can't seen to drop below the 172 pounds! I'm only 16 pounds from my goal weight that the doctor gave me, and it seems as though I'll never get there! I'm obsessed with the numbers on that darn scale! Lord help me, I get on it everyday, and hold my breath, and hope it will finally drop below the 172 pounds! When I see it hasn't changed, I get very upset with myself, and always feel disappointed with myself. Why don't I remember WHERE I came from, and give myself a "pat on the back" for how FAR I have come? 110 pounds is nothing to sneeze at! Why as humans do we never feel satisfied with our accomplishments, why don't we think of all the positive changes in our life, and "beat ourselves up" over where we THINK we should be? Like the fact that I can now ride my bike over 20 miles in about 2 hours, and used to get winded just riding down to the corner! Like I can walk our dogs 4-5 miles in a little over an hour, and still feel great afterwards, and before I got tired and winded just walking down to the corner! I used to take blood pressure meds 2X's a day, depression meds, acid reflux meds, cranberry pills for frequent urinary tract infections, and my kidney function wasn't good. Now I don't take any of those meds, and all my levels are great! I use to wear a size 26W, and it was getting tight, and now I wear a regular size women's 14. So why am I so hard on myself, and dwell on the weight I still want to lose, and not on how great I have done so far? I'm going to a wedding this Saturday, and I got a pretty plum colored evening gown, size 14 to wear to it. It looks so pretty on me, and I actually feel GOOD in it, and am looking forward to going! I use to DREAD going to any social, or family function, because I was so self conscience about my size! I never thought I looked GOOD in anything I wore, and always felt so fat and unattractive. I guess I'm blogging this for 2 reasons, one I hadn't blogged in a few months, so thought it was time, and two, so I can read what I'm writing and remind myself just how far I have come! Attached is a picture of me in my new dress I'm going to wear to the wedding this Saturday. I put it on and had my hubby take a picture of me in it so I could share it with you.

Thank you everyone. Your comments are appreciated more than you know! God bless you all.

Hey, we wear the same size! LOL I use to wear a size 26W, and can now wear a 12/14 depending on the clothes. Doesn't it feel fantastic? My goal is size 12 comfortably. Congrats, and you'll get to your goal! You go girl!

Well, it's been awhile since I blogged, so I Thought I should do another blog on how it's been going for me now 7 months post sleeve. I can't believe that it's been 14 months since I started my weight loss journey, and 7 months since I was sleeved! I'm down 109 pounds now, and only have 26 pounds to my goal weight. I feel 20 years younger, and the best that I have felt in many, many years! I'm off all my prescription medications other than my hormone pills. I use to take (2) different blood pressure pills 2X'S a day, Prozac for depression/anxiety, Prilosec for acid reflux, and I had high, BAD cholesterol, and LOW good kind of cholesterol. I also had bad knees, and back pain all the time! I would get tired and out of breath just doing simple little household chores. I had turned into a "hermit", and never wanted to go anywhere, or do anything in public where I would be judged for my weight. I have come such a long way, and it hasn't been an easy journey, but SO WORTH IT! I'm no longer a "hermit", and actually enjoy going out in public and doing things. I now exercise several times a week by either walking our dogs for almost 4 miles, or riding bikes with my husband at least 5 miles. I actually ENJOY doing this, and look forward to it! My times doing both things have greatly improved the longer I have been doing them. It use to take me 1 hour and 40 minutes to walk the 4 miles with our dogs, and now I can do it in a little less than an HOUR! The bike ride use to take me 50 minutes, and now I can do it in 32 minutes. I use to be dead TIRED after coming back from my walks, or our bike rides, and collapse in my chair when I got back. Now when I get back I still feel great, and not all out of breath, or dead tired, but feel so good, and accomplished! I use to wear a size 26 W, and now I'm wearing a 12/14 regular womens depending on the clothes. I haven't been this weight, or size in clothes since the 1980's! It seems so strange to say I weigh 100 and something, and not start with 200 and something! I was close to 300 pounds (285 pounds) when I started this, and I know I would have been OVER 300 pounds by now if I hadn't made the choice to get sleeved last November 2012! It's not the "easy way out" like some people think! It's taken a lot of hard work, and determination to get to where I am today. The sleeve is only a "tool", but an awesome tool! You still have to eat healthier, and get off your butt, and DO SOMETHING! I'm 55 almost 56 years old, and I feel like I'm in my 30's again! I'm even thinking about entering a 5K walk/run coming up in our neighborhood later this month. If you would have told me I would be thinking about doing something like that a year and a half ago, I would have said, "You're nuts"! LOL I feel so much better about myself, everyone tells me that I look so much happier, and younger. Getting sleeved is one of the best things I have ever done, and I have no regrets!

I know just what you mean! I'm going through the same thing. When I sit in my chair in my minds eye I'm still 285 pounds! When I look in the mirror I see a smaller, thinner me, but it still freaks me out to see the new me! I was at least a size 24 W for the passed 25 years, and was up to a 26/28 when I started to lose weight this passed April. I have lost 96 pounds so far counting the 50 pounds I lost the 6 months before my sleeve, and the 46 pounds I have lost in the 4 months since my sleeve. I'm only 6 pounds from my next goal of reaching 100 pounds off. Everyday I still think, when will the weight stop coming off? When will I start to gain again like I did after all the many times I lost in the passed?

Gina, don't worry it WILL get better! I'm 55 and had my sleeve on Nov 6, 2012, and am 3 months out now. I had a rough time in the beginning too. I had two hernias fixed at the same time, and I have Celiac, so can't eat any gluten. I thought in the first few weeks, did I make a mistake, because I felt like crap! All I can tell you is hang in there it will get a little better each day! I have lost a total of 89 pounds now counting my 6 month before diet I lost 50 pounds, and counting 39 pounds post sleeve! I can't wait until this summer to be able to do so many more things than I use to do! Keep on, keeping on!

Feeling pretty good about myself today, and very chipper! It's my 3 month anniversary since being sleeved. Our 35 year old son was over this passed weekend, and says, "Gee mom, every time I see you there is less of you to see"! Then he'll do the voice from the Wizard Of OZ The Wicked Witch of the West, and say, "I'm melting, I'm melting, what a world, what a world"! LOL He just stares at me some times and say's "Man, mom, I can't believe how different you look"! He tells me I'm getting so skinny, and look so good! I wish I could see what he see's when I look in the mirror. I think because I was so big for so long, that I still have an image in my head of the BIG ME! I was a size 26 W, and weighted 285 pounds at my biggest. I have not weighted what I weight now since the early 1990's! I made it to ONEderland this passed weekend, and weighted 197 pounds, and wear a size 16. I started this weight loss journey last April with the 6 month pre diet, and then sleeved on November 6, 2012. It seems so strange to me to get out some of my clothes from last summer, and put them on, and they are HUGE on me! LOL I still have about 50 pounds to lose yet, but think I'll be there in the next 5 months at the rate I'm losing. I just got Zumba 2 for our Wii this passed weekend, and started doing that today. What a work out! It was a 20 minute work out for my first work out, and HOLY COW, it IS a great work out for sure! I would highly suggest you trying it. It was fun, but made me sweat, raised my heart rate pretty good, and works your whole body. I think it will help me tone up all my flabby areas. The inches are falling off too! I just have to work on my SELF IMAGE! I want to see what others see when they look at me, the new thinner me. I'm so glad I got sleeved, and this journey was not an easy road! I can't wait until this summer to wear shorts, and even a bathing suit for the first time in many,many years! The best part though will be, being able to keep up with our grand kids, and having fun doing things with them this summer that I couldn't do before! My next goal is to reach 100 pounds off, and I'm only 12 pounds away from that! I'll blog again when I get there! Happy losing everyone. ♥

http://www.drbriangluck.com

I can suggest Dr. Brain Gluck in Muskegon, MI. He accepts insurance, and does other payment options as well. He did mine in Nov 2012, and he's an excellent doctor, very caring! This is his web site http://www.drbriangluck.com/Home.aspx Check it out! He's awesome! Good luck.

What size did you start out? Wow! Size 4 that's fantastic! Good for you. Bet it feels great Huh?

I had the best time at the Christmas party that I have had in over 25 years! I was so nervous about going, and was worried that I wouldn't look good enough, or that no one could tell I lost 75 pounds! It was just in my own head, because I got so MANY compliments about my weight loss, and my new outfit that I couldn't keep tract! LOL Some people even told me several times during the evening just how great I looked, and how they know that I worked so hard to get to where I am now! Guess what fellow sleever's? All those people even knew I was sleeved, because I have been talking about it on my Facebook page! Not a one said that I took the "easy way" out either! I felt like a princess last night, and got allot of my self confidence back that I haven't had in YEARS! I had taken my new digital camera, and took many pictures at the party, and they even asked to use my camera to take a group photo of all the employee's at the party! Normally I would have just sat at our table and just wished it would get over, so we could leave! Not last night, my hubby and I were some of the last ones to leave, and I walked around with him, and mingled! My hubby and I even danced a slow dance to the song "Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton! It was so romantic! I'm only 6 weeks out Tuesday, but it has already made such a difference in my life! I can't wait until I reach my goal, then I'll feel even better about myself, and be even thinner! The only thing I could eat at the dinner was some chicken, and drink water, but I didn't even care! No one said anything to me about it, and I was full and satisfied. I didn't feel deprived, or sorry for myself because I couldn't eat what everyone else ate and drank. Especially after all those nice comments I got all night! Then to top it all off, I weighted this morning and I was down another POUND to make it 76 pounds! 48 of those are before surgery, but the other 28 are after sleeve! I just had to share with all of you. I'm so excited right now.