mngreeneyes

What an inspirational story! Thank you for sharing. pam

Congrats! So excited for you! Keep us posted on how you are doing. pam

Good luck on your appeal. I hope it all works out. pam

Congrats! Its a wonderful feeling, huh? Keep going! pam

I also have an office job. I took two weeks off to recuperate. My surgery was a week before Thanksgiving so I had a few free days in there. I had a pretty easy recovery overall, no complications or anything like that. For about my first week back, I would hit a wall in the afternoon. The first day it was noon. it got later throughout the week. When I hit the wall, I went home so I knew I was still safe to drive. I would take a nap and be ready for the next day. Tiredness really was my biggest factor through most of my recovery. Just take it easy and don't push too hard and as you hear frequently on here, make sure you are getting your Protein and Water and you should be good. pam

There are always things we can do with makeup etc to bring out our best features and hide/minimize the ones we don't like, but unless we can actually see ourselves as we truly are, all the makeup and spanx in the world won't help. I was never told that I had a pretty face either, but I was told I had a great smile and amazing eyes. So those are the things I try to bring out, but I am also a pretty low maintenance person so I don't care enough to spend hours on hair and makeup. I go for simple. I am appreciating the comments I've been getting lately about how great I look and I can see my progress, especially as I get into smaller and smaller clothes. But pretty has never been my goal. Would I love someone to see me as beautiful? Yes, but that, for me, is the cherry on top of getting healthy. I am afraid if your only goal from surgery is pretty or healthy, you may never find that. Its too subjective and our brains will fight that and continue to find fault. My suggestion is to find something tangible to be your goal. i.e. train and run/walk a 5k, 10k, marathon, or triathlon; train for and hike a mountain or trail that you've always dreamed of; train for and go on a bike/walk vacation; train for and take a running cruise; etc. Pick something you've seen others do and thought looked fun but out of your reach because of your size and work towards that goal. You will learn so much about yourself along the way. Pretty is fleeting no matter your size or age, but an accomplishment you never thought possible can't be taken away. The memories are yours forever. And along the way, you might find that people see your confidence and enthusiasm as the beautiful you were looking for. pam

Congrats!! Way to keep on keeping on in spite of you injury. That's the sign of being committed. I am running my first 5k on April 9th. I have walked several, but this one will be the final workout of my C25K plan! I am thinking I should be able to run at least 80% of that distance. I am really slow so 30 minutes of running isn't going to quite get me to the finish line. Congrats again and keep it up! Pam

HOpe you are feeling better soon. I'm sure you'll be back on your feet in no time! pam

You are such an inspiration! Thank you for being you and sharing you with all of us. Congrats on your losses and gains. pam

Congratulations!

WOW! Thank you for the inspiration. I am to the point where my weight loss is slowing down and its scaring me. I am just about 4 months post op and you have given me ideas on what I need to do to kick it back up again! Thanks, pam

Sorry to hear you have an ulcer. Glad to hear you are feeling better and the bleeding is controlled. Hopefully now you can get on the healing track and into your new life. HUGS pam

@Christinamo7 I am curious too for myself. I also am not leaving anything to chance. I have people helping me prep already eventhough I haven't sent in my resume yet. I have a friend lined up to coach me on interviewing. Another who is helping with my resume and cover letter. I feel like I am actually taking charge of my life. I've been pretty passive and nonchalant. That's done now. Good luck on your job search. Let me know if I can help in any way! I am pretty good at helping people with their resumes. Just not as good at my own. pam

So excited! I am wearing size 18 pants! NOT even 18W pants, just plain old 18s! Except that I have always been top heavy and generally one size bigger on top, my next shopping trip will be to the MISSES section, instead of plus! I have to say that regular size clothes fit my shape so much better. I have fairly skinny muscular legs and plus size pants tended to give me to much space in the butt and thighs. The jeans I am wearing today fit, excpet they are too long and I am walking on the hems. There was a time in my life when I thought I had average length legs. I was very wrong! I keep walking on my hems! pam

@@gowalking and @@Inner Surfer Girl I have nothing against being an admin. I've been doing it off and on for about 12 years. I was a teacher in my previous life and when I left teaching, I was in a bad place emotionally so I took what I could get and I knew I could be good at. While I was being an admin at a different university than where I work now, I earned my masters degree. I still don't feel like I am really doing anything with it. Unfortunately, now that I've been an admin, its hard to get out of being and admin, especially within the University. The job I am applying for includes a very tailored training program on how to do face to face fundraising, which is the part I am unsure of right now. I have an informational meeting with the HR recruiter on Monday, and I have a long weekend to prep for the meeting and rework my resume to be more fundraising centric. Thanks for the encouragement. I plan to own this. I am so ready! pam

Great Job! Remarkable progress! Keep it up! pam

Congrats! I am about 20 lbs from onederland. I suppose I should start thinking about my "prize". One thing that became apparent this morning is that by the time I hit onederland I am going to need to buy some new jeans. I just got into my smallest "skinny" jeans - size 18 -- no W!!! These jeans have to be about 10 years old and from the shape they are in, I didn't wear them very long. I am taking a load of clothing to the consignment store this weekend so I may have to check out the smaller size jean selection - IN THE MISSES SECTION!!! By the time I reach onederland I may need to get 14s. You know, I've been looking at new swimsuits as the one I have is starting to get big. I think that will be my celebration. I will have to pay retail for a suit since that's not something I want to wear used. Kind of like underwear! Besides, I am training for a triathlon so that suit is kind of necessary. They frown on nekkid at the rec center! Congrats again. Can't wait to hear what you what you choose! pam

HUGS! It will get better. Exercise is a great help to depression. I also know that it can be one of the hardest things to do when depressed, but it will help and all those crazy endorphins are lots of fun once they get flowing. I am single, never married, but I know well the challenges of depression. Keep your head up and keep moving forward. pam

Way to go! I am about 20 lbs. behind you, but its within sight! Keep up the good work! pam

Great article. Got me thinking of my job search as possibly a place I need to look more closely at the questions at the end. I am an admin asst with a masters degree. It is a job that requires a high school diploma. I work in a fundraising department and have more education in fundraising than many of the fundraisers I support. My masters degree is in Nonprofit Management. This job, however mundane, is safe. I don't have to challenge myself much to be "amazing" at it. I think I have found a job that will move me into a more logical, given my education, career path, but I am terrified that I will fail or hate it. Good thing I am going to my therapist this afternoon! Got new things to talk about! pam

What a powerful article! I distinctly remember the day I KNEW I was fat. I was six and the pediatrician put me on a VERY strict diet because I weighed 60 pounds. Over the course of the next month I lost 1/3 of my body weight. The irony is, I don't remember being thinner. I don't even think I have any photos that I could say were from that time. I have a photo from when I was about 14 and weighed about 125. I was actually pretty thin, but I had curves at 14 so I knew I was fat. Now I look at that photo and think about how great I look in it and wish I could be that size again. I think this was about the time I developed my self-deprecating sense of humor as armor against the pull up bar and other parts of the Presidential Fitness Test. I have been dieting for 38 of my 44 years. I never developed anorexia or bulimia, but I have long suspected I had some type of disordered eating because of the age I started dieting and the crap it all did to my self image. HUGS to all who have bad memories of those PE classes. pam

WOW! Great job!

I did the Polar Dash on January 1, 2016. April 9th, 2016 Goldy's Run 5K University of Minnesota June 4, 2016 Lola's Half Marathon 5k Waconia, MN August 6, 2016 Minnesota Half Marathon 5k St. Paul, MN August 14, 2016 YWCA Women's Triathlon - Super Sprint Lake Nokomis, Minneapolis, MN September 10th, 2016 Mill City Suds Run 5k Minneapolis, MN September 25, 2016 Women Run the Cities 5k Minnehaha Park, Minneapolis, MN December 10, 2016 (my 45th birthday!) Reindeer Run 5k Lake Calhoun, Minneapolis, MN I'm sure I will pick up one or two more along the way. My running partner and I run for the shirts and the bling so we'll see what catches our eyes! pam

A week or so ago, a coworker who hadn't been around much lately stopped in to say hi. He all of a sudden blurted out, "you've lost weight!" I laughed and he said "I shouldn't have said that. Sorry". I told him about the surgery and we had a long chat. He was the first person who I know had no idea about surgery who has commented. I had lost 55 lbs at that point. Now I am at 63 pounds and when I saw a bunch of family and friends this weekend who knew about surgery and I hadn't seen since before surgery, they couldn't stop commenting on how great I look now. My sis-in-law has been taking photos of my journey for me and we did our 3.5 month photo on Saturday. I look off my tshirt and had a black tank top underneath and she just gasped! I didn't get to see the photo but I assume its obvious. pam

There are a bunch of free training plans at http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/%C2'> I am doing a mini or super sprint length. Yours sounds like a sprint length tri. I already found a sprint length tri for next summer (2017) that I want to train for! Good luck and keep me posted on how it is going. My sis-in-law is thinking about doing the tri this summer with me, but she is really scared of the swimming too. Her son is a swimmer and he says he will train her. He's 9! pam