Sonia65

I will be attending the Minnesota State Fair tomorrow. It is one of the largest fairs in the country, and it is something I have done every year since I was in high school. Lots of temptations, if you want something deep fried on a stick, the MN State Fair is your place! I love it, not just for the food, but for all the many things there are to see and do. And you do A LOT of walking! This year will be a challenge. My weight is currently at its lowest point, 124.2. This year I am going to enjoy a bit of my favorites, but I am going to be sharing with my family, so I will get a taste, but hopefully it will be manageable. Tuesday I will be back on plan. Last year I simply could not have ANYTHING. That was almost easier. But life is meant to be lived and figuring out how to eat at these types of events is part of my life. I will let you know how it goes!
Carol

I had my surgery July 2, 2013. I'm down 167 lbs. Pretty good considering most of the past year was spent sitting on my arse due to reconstructive foot surgery. ????

I DID IT!!! I finally broke though to the 120s! So excited this morning to see 129.6! I want to maintain between 128 - 132. I feel like I am there!
At six months old I was pulled off formula and put on skim milk due to excessive weight gain. I do not remember a day in my life when I was not trying to lose weight or thinking about how out of control my weight was. I have to say that NOT wanting to lose more weight is really a foreign and kind of scary feeling! I guess it's going to take time to get used to it!
Carol

Today is my surgeversary!! I can't believe how far I have come in a year. Literally what a difference a year makes. I have lost 182 lbs from the start of my journey, I feel amazing, I have met the love of my life and we are moving in together and hopefully a proposal soon to follow! Life is really great right now and I NEVER want to go back to where I was. Thank you to all of you for your words of encouragement, advice, and support; it means the world to me! I'm so proud of all of us!!

Well today is my surgerversary! Can't believe how far I've come in a year! Secretary at school decided I needed a new ID
I see the doctor next week for my 1 year check up

When I gain a couple of pounds, I reduce my calorie goal by 100-200 calories for a day or two and my weight comes right back down. I've done it many times. But failing to log your food in MFP every day dramatically reduces the value of the log. For example, one of the advantages of a food log is that it makes you accountable to the most important person in the equation - you. Log the good days and not the bad (or vice versa) and you're only getting half of the story. Odds are good that your weight is responding to the half that you aren't logging.
Logging also gives you confidence that you are managing your weight as opposed to your weight managing you. Nothing builds confidence like making a calorie adjustment and then seeing the results on the scale. When you do that three or four times and you see the results every time, your confidence soars. You know you are in control and that is a great feeling. It also works the other way. If your weight drops below the number you have established as your minimum (I have a five pound "window"), you simply increase your calorie goal 100-200 calories for a day or two and you'll see your weight come back up.
One of the strongest features of MFP is the ability to customize almost every aspect of your weight management. For example, you are struggling with sugar. Go to the MFP website and login (you cannot do most customized values from the phone app), go to My Home > Goals > Change Goals and then choose the Custom option.
My daily sugar goal was set (by MFP) to 60g. A few days ago I decided that was too high so I changed it to 40g (20g would be even better but "baby steps" are usually a wiser way to go). Just knowing I made that change increased my awareness. In the last few days I have consciously chosen to pass on relatively high sugar temptations that I was pretty sure would have resulted in my exceeding my goal. So far I have not exceeded my new 40g goal. Perhaps a small victory. But in my mind an important one. And one that has been relatively painless. MFP increases your awareness which in turn encourages you to make better choices.
I believe that it's crucially important to treat not only your calorie goal, but all goals in MFP as "averages". Using my new sugar goal as an example, I want to "average" 40g a day. That doesn't mean that I can realistically expect to never exceed that goal. Special occasions are part of life and often involve food relatively high in sugar. So when (not if) I have a day where I exceed my sugar goal, I simply make a mental note to reduce my goal for the next couple of days and I'm right back on track with my average. As long as you log everything you eat, every day, your weekly summary of all of your nutrition information is a tap away. Divide any given number by seven and you have your average.
Next to the surgery itself, food logs are the single most powerful tool that you can have in your arsenal. Commit to MFP for 90 days, get to know it, experiment with different values for calories and nutrients, and it will teach you the numbers that work best for you and your lifestyle. You'll see the results where it matters the most - on the scale!

I think my husband is mourning the loss more than I lol.
Never thought I would wear a padded push up. But a girls got to do what a girls got to do..

Hi All - quick update - I picked up my number & tshirt for my first 5K. I'll be walking it as I simply hate running & have no desire to do that. The kicker about it is that my co-worker who was handing out the shirts just looked at me and said why did you order a large--you're gonna be swimming in it! He said he thinks he had an extra small I could swap mine out for. Why did I order a large? Think I still can't beleive what size I am. When I ordered it I remember thinking bigger is better than too small - but I need to get over that mentality. Just had a moment & thought I'd share

Ladies & Gentlemen ...... A short note on this milestone day.....I'm now down 200 lbs. I should get to goal weight by August or September if I stay on this course. Yea me!!!
I know we can all get to where we need to be. I'm so proud of all of you. I can honestly say that this group is a big part of the reason I am able to reach this milestone weight loss number. My sincere thanks for all of your support.
Well so much for keeping this short :-)
RJ

[ATTACH]43241[/ATTACH]
Hi all,
My hubby just made a before and now picture for me and I thought I would try to share it with you. I have never tried to add photos before so I hope it works.

[ATTACH]43241[/ATTACH]
Hi all,
My hubby just made a before and now picture for me and I thought I would try to share it with you. I have never tried to add photos before so I hope it works.

[ATTACH]43241[/ATTACH]
Hi all,
My hubby just made a before and now picture for me and I thought I would try to share it with you. I have never tried to add photos before so I hope it works.

[ATTACH]43241[/ATTACH]
Hi all,
My hubby just made a before and now picture for me and I thought I would try to share it with you. I have never tried to add photos before so I hope it works.

[ATTACH]43241[/ATTACH]
Hi all,
My hubby just made a before and now picture for me and I thought I would try to share it with you. I have never tried to add photos before so I hope it works.

Good Morning Junies!
Well, I have reached my pre-surgery weight goal! When I began this journey my goal was to reach 150 pounds. My surgeon said that he thought I would 'bottom out' at about 180. This week I have hit 150! I have been increasing my activity and exercise so I have decided to keep going. I am only 5'2", so at 150 by BMI is still in the 'overweight' category. I am going to see if I can get to 130, which will put me at a normal BMI. If I make it, it will also mean that I will have lost 200 pounds.
Here's to new goals!
Carol

Hey junies! I have been MIA for a while, just living life. A lot of great things are happening in my life and I had to share the most recent success with you all because I know you will understand my joy.
Today I FINALLY reached onederland!! The last pound took forever! I still have about 25lbs to lose, but this is a big milestone in sure you all can relate to!
I hope everyone is doing great!!
HW 370 SW 330 CW 199

My first apt.was Nov.2012 and my surgery was July 2013. I also did not think that was too bad. It gave me lots of time to plan and get info. It is a life changing decision.
Having said that I will add that for me it was the best thing I could have done and I wish I had done it years ago. .
My program is run out of Toronto Western and my surgery was at Toronto Eastern.
I am almost at goal having gone from a high weight of 293 to a current weight of 171.
Good luck on your journey's.

It really is!! We went to Wisconsin Dell's. Spent two days at a Water park in a swimsuit. Looked around and realized that only was I not the fattest one in the park, even with my saggy skin, I looked better that quite a few there. And it was WONDERFUL to actually participate and not just watch from the sidelines.
Enjoy the spa! You deserve it!!

Having a blast in the spa! It's great not to feel self conscious.

As they say..... When a door closes, a window opens.
And now we can FIT through that window!

I believe the bottom line comes down to a basic question.
What are you willing to do to meet your weight loss goals?
Let me tell a little side story when I first got sober. I had abused alcohol for years using it as a crutch to avoid feelings and emotions I just as soon not have or just tried to displace them. When I had my "A-ha" moment, when I realized I could no longer go on like this, I sought help. When I came out of the hospital, I returned to my life as "normal", getting support through groups, but at the same time, trying to hang out with my "friends". They wanted to go to the bars and shoot pool, play darts and do all the things we did. I would go and drink soda, but they were very threatened by my sobriety. The bartender of our oft visited place pulled me aside and told me that other people at the bar, not just my friends, were very uncomfortable with my presence there. He said I was like a mirror to them revealing their own issues with alcoholism. Every time I walked in, I showed them their faults. Like your friends, mine tried to buy me drinks and shots. That way, I would once again be "just like them".
Someone in my support circle told me it was time to leave that life behind. If I continued, there would be no way I could stay sober. It was merely a matter of time before I returned to abusing alcohol as I once did. So, I had to look deep inside myself. Which was more important? My friends or my sobriety? As you may have guessed, it was my sobriety. I let my friends know this and told them I would love to do other things with them which did not include alcohol. Hiking ... seeing a movie ... whatever. I never received a call from any of them. That was the price I had to pay, but it was so worth it. I discovered they were not truly friends if they could not support me in this decision. That was 14 years ago and I haven't heard from any of them since.
So ... how does this relate? Re-read this and substitute "food" in there wherever you see alcohol (and related thoughts. Alcohol=food, bars=restaurant, sobriety=WLS). I don't think there really is much difference. If I have people in my life who would rather sabotage than support, I would really need to weigh the value of their presence in my life. It doesn't matter if it is food, alcohol ...

I have thought a LOT about this. I actually haven't had any friends who have sabotaged me, but I have had friend issues. One friend has become very distant from me. The weird part? He had the surgery on 12/17! I thought for sure we would be closer than ever, that both of us having the surgery would just further bound our friendship. Instead he has virtually ignored me. It has hurt me deeply and I have all sorts of negative reasons floating around in my head. But at the end of the day I suppose it is because he is on his journey and I am on mine. I also have a coworker that I got into a fight with. This person is the type of coworker that everyone hates to have. She is nosey, opinionated, a liar, and just generally not nice to be around. But over the years those of us who have to deal with her daily have tolerated her behavior for the most part, just grew thick shells. ( because upper management obviously will not do anything about her and we have to work with her) Anyway, one day a month ago I had all I could take of her. It was a particularly bad day for me (just wasn't feeling well) and I snapped. I told her off in no uncertain words. I regret I did it at work, because it was unprofessional. But I don't regret doing it. This incident made me think about how many times people who have lost weight "change". The former friends of people who have lost weight say "so and so changed". They say our attitudes change. I think it is true. I think when you are obese you tend to go out of your way to please people. We have put up with far more BS than we should. I think it is because it is how we perceive our role in friendships and relationships. There is already a strong sense of "we aren't worthy" dealing with the obesity and it transfers over to other areas of our lives. We accept less than perfect friendships because they are better than no friendships. And many put up with bad personal relationships because it beats being alone. But then that all starts to change when we decide to do something for ourselves. By having WLS we are looking out for #1 first and foremost. It is our health, our bodies, our lives. We start to shift in our perception of life as we lose weight. Suddenly what we accepted before becomes less tolerable. It is NOT ok to be the "fat friend" because we aren't anymore. People who treat us badly are no longer acceptable because we don't accept treating ourselves badly anymore. It does change us, more than just physically. So when pondering the loss of a friend after WLS just remember it is because YOU are becoming the better person. YOU are worth better!!!!

yeah I can't say that I'm a fan of winter.... snow should be allowed from the end of november till the middle of february... then it's bring on the sunshine/rain and flowers!
I signed up for my second 5k, doing the color run in Rochester at the end of May... took a lot of guts but I ordered a medium tshirt... I just got my Autism Awareness tshirt and ordered a large and I'm really hoping it shrinks! it's too big! so totally strange! Last year's shirt was a 3X

I may be the only one but I like the message. Some of the comments may have been a little "off" but I did think they were genuine. As someone that is 190 lbs and just started running, I find that runners are a very supportive community - they love it when another person tries their sport. Most people are so complimentary of my progress, not judgemental. I'm the only one that seems to be judging me...

Hello my Friends;
I guess I feel like babbling after a good church service yesterday . I have not hit my goal yet and 19 lbs is within reach but still so far away. So when I hit my goal ..now what??.. Is this race over? Do I say ok, its pizza time. Where is my prize? ... For me this journey will never end. My prize is that Im C-pap free; I take way less meds and my mirror loves me and so does cameras , The best thing now is that I can buy clothes off the rack. Thats my prize. Along with warm smiles. I will always battle mind hunger on eating the right things, so just remember when you hit your goal; your journey begins. May you gain love and the only thing you lose in life are pounds ..lets keep our life long journey together with these post. You give me strength knowing that Im not the only one. ...peace