Mattymatt

What the literal F...torrential rain storms, hail and now tropical sun and humidity in the same day... welcome to summer in Upstate NY

Milestone date for me on this journey. I now weigh the same as the day i got out of boot camp in 1984 and is the least i have ever weighed as an adult.

WOOT!!  First day back in the gym since injury and it felt great and despite my fears the arm feels good and i am very happy right now

So how's everyone doing? Hope all is well. It's good to be finally back to work. Once I became healthy enough to go back to work, it was a bit challenging to find a job that wouldn't require me being away from home for a week or two at a time. I landed something temporary moving cars between Carmax dealerships. It keeps me so busy that I sometimes forget to eat because I am not hungry. Now that I am not quite so bored, I don't reach mindlessly for food to fill up time. LOL! Hoping to maybe get 7 pounds more off by August 4th for my brother's wedding. Matty has his eye on a bride's maid .... LOL! At least the scale is starting to move again. I think if I lose another 7 pounds, my size 48 loose fit jeans won't even stay up with a cinched belt anymore.

So how's everyone doing? Hope all is well. It's good to be finally back to work. Once I became healthy enough to go back to work, it was a bit challenging to find a job that wouldn't require me being away from home for a week or two at a time. I landed something temporary moving cars between Carmax dealerships. It keeps me so busy that I sometimes forget to eat because I am not hungry. Now that I am not quite so bored, I don't reach mindlessly for food to fill up time. LOL! Hoping to maybe get 7 pounds more off by August 4th for my brother's wedding. Matty has his eye on a bride's maid .... LOL! At least the scale is starting to move again. I think if I lose another 7 pounds, my size 48 loose fit jeans won't even stay up with a cinched belt anymore.

Went to pizza buffet today, I didn't worry too much about temptation as they are notorious known not to have the pizza ready (11-2) my lunch is 11-12. Well wouldn't you know today the pizza was ready, 15 hot steaming pizza tenderly sliced, ready for consumption. I got my salad, ate that first. I ended up getting two pieces, although I did walk through and smell them. Ate one, took the toppings off the second one.

##Temptatiaonsdontgoaway

Uh oh! Something happened to Matty this week. I was in a local Wawa (think east coast convenience store) and a gorgeous girl ran smack into me while I was grabbing a grape Propel - just couldn't deal with anymore water today. She was texting and walking ... okay, yeah, this missed me as Gen X'er. Well she looked up at me and flashed me one helluva smile. I was feeling pretty good that day so it was time to bring out some game, "So you know I can't let a gorgeous girl who crashes into me go without getting her phone number." LOL! She turned beet red, asked for my phone and sent herself a text message from mine. She said, "Because you men never call ..." I don't know quite what I was thinking but figured it would be one heck of a ride. What is it with me and short girls? I seem to attract them and I don't honestly care about height. She's all of 5'4". I knew she was young but it didn't occur to me how young. What did I just get myself into?

I told myself no dating until the scale reads 190 but this new me is feeling sexually driven like I have never been before. Well, she's right I wasn't really planning on calling her so she called me. So I told her my age (41) and was shocked to hear that she generally goes for men older than 35. We must've talked on the phone close to 3 hours. You're going to think I am lying when I tell you she's a 3rd year med student and is interested in training to be a bariatric surgeon. The stars might've just aligned but I want to go slow and told her that I had weight loss surgery. She's totally my type - the professional, highly educated, and ambitious woman. That's what frightens me, because in the past, this has lead to unhealthy relationships. Well, I've got a date lined up for Saturday and I just want to have some fun. I needed money in order to make this happen so I sold a bunch of old computer equipment and managed to raise some capital for this adventure. I know I won't be drinking alcohol but that's okay.

Uh oh! Something happened to Matty this week. I was in a local Wawa (think east coast convenience store) and a gorgeous girl ran smack into me while I was grabbing a grape Propel - just couldn't deal with anymore water today. She was texting and walking ... okay, yeah, this missed me as Gen X'er. Well she looked up at me and flashed me one helluva smile. I was feeling pretty good that day so it was time to bring out some game, "So you know I can't let a gorgeous girl who crashes into me go without getting her phone number." LOL! She turned beet red, asked for my phone and sent herself a text message from mine. She said, "Because you men never call ..." I don't know quite what I was thinking but figured it would be one heck of a ride. What is it with me and short girls? I seem to attract them and I don't honestly care about height. She's all of 5'4". I knew she was young but it didn't occur to me how young. What did I just get myself into?

I told myself no dating until the scale reads 190 but this new me is feeling sexually driven like I have never been before. Well, she's right I wasn't really planning on calling her so she called me. So I told her my age (41) and was shocked to hear that she generally goes for men older than 35. We must've talked on the phone close to 3 hours. You're going to think I am lying when I tell you she's a 3rd year med student and is interested in training to be a bariatric surgeon. The stars might've just aligned but I want to go slow and told her that I had weight loss surgery. She's totally my type - the professional, highly educated, and ambitious woman. That's what frightens me, because in the past, this has lead to unhealthy relationships. Well, I've got a date lined up for Saturday and I just want to have some fun. I needed money in order to make this happen so I sold a bunch of old computer equipment and managed to raise some capital for this adventure. I know I won't be drinking alcohol but that's okay.

Finally made it below 350 pounds and am exactly 80 pounds down from my highest weight!

Surgery tomorrow!  I'm feeling pretty good!

As of this morning, officially down 75 pounds from my highest weight!

So today i weighed in at 188, the same as the day i entered boot camp in 1984.

Guess that leaves my next goal to be getting to the same 170 i weighed when i left boot camp.

That truly was the best shape i have ever been in.  Funny but even then my bmi would have been listed as overweight.

I have always carried the bulk of my weight around the middle.  55" around the waist was the largest  i ever measured and that was 1 month post op before i could bring myself to look at the number.  Today that is 40" 

I am truly saddened when i see the posts of people struggling  so much post op with pain or illness because i so want everyone to have the same amazing experience i have enjoyed.

We all experience this journey differently and i truly hope you all reach a goal that brings you a level of comfort and happiness that you deserve.

Thank you @Frustr8, @Creekimp13, and @FluffyChix for all the concern and well-wishes. Here is the update. I have a stomach ulcer infected with H. Pylori. This isn't good news because it needs to get treated with a pretty serious course of antibiotics. The upshot is we know what's going on. The downside is that I am looking at 6-8 weeks of antibiotics to fight this little b*stard off. I will also need another endoscopy in a month to make certain that the course of antibiotics is working. H. Pylori is a nasty little phucker ... it has been known to cause stomach cancer according to the Mayo Clinic. It's going to take a bazooka to kill me though. LOL!

My tailbone is not happy with my weight loss. I have to reposition SO OFTEN at my work desk because it starts hurting if I sit one way for too long. This has never been a problem for me before!

Saddness .... some labs came back and my A1C is 6.4%. I was hoping that it would be in the normal range. Well, we'll see what it is like in 3 more months. The nurse practitioner at the hospital said that it is good progress. However, if in 3 months it does not get into a normal range, I'll need to go back on an oral medicine. When it rains it poors. At least, I finally got some sleep and I feel like getting up and walking around again. Anyone that thinks surgery is the easy way out is just plain ignorant. Le sigh!

10 weeks out from surgery, and I just ate popcorn (Smartfood white cheddar, 3/4 cup) for the first time since surgery. It was SO GOOD; now I just have to see if it sits well. So far, so good.

Have been gradually working on trying new things; so far, nothing has given me even semi-major issues, but taco seasoning still doesn't sit well in my stomach.

Happy Friday!!!

I can fit into size 16 now! I was a size 20 when I started.

I am starting to really like physical activity! Just did a 30 minute hi-intensity cycle ride at LA Fitness. Yeah it was tough but it sure feels great afterwards. I feel like a completely new and different person; like the depression is starting to lift and I feel a renewed sense of motivation. I actually feel like getting my performance bicycle out of mothballs. I haven't ridden it in 5 years and right now I am so glad I did not get rid of it. I am going to get it over to the bike shop, tune it up, and get ready to ride. There is an event on August 25th, almost exactly 5 years to the day that I rode my first ever century ride, 100 miles. I marked it on my calendar and the training begins now! I need something to keep me on the straight and narrow, something to focus on. Even if I am the last rider at the finish line, I will be a winner.

So, getting finances in order, I managed to sell my 2016 Toyota Avalon. It was a beautiful car, of which surprisingly, I’m doing fine without and I actually don’t miss it; and also of which resulted in having a one-vehicle household, which resulted in me HAVING to walk 2.2 miles everyday 5x a week to get my daughter to school. I’m actually quite glad, I’m feeling better/stronger again, and I dropped almost $20,000 of debt. WIN-WIN! 

My jeans were literally starting to fall off me, so I caved today and bought a pair of 26/28s to hold me over until capri weather hits, hopefully in the next few weeks.

The important part, though, is that I bought them at WALMART! I haven't been able to buy pants there in YEARS because they didn't go to my size. Unfortunately, I still had to pay $17 (so much better than the $60ish at Catherine's though), because the 26s that were on clearance for $9 were still too small to be comfortable. SOON, though!

PSA:  Don't try to eat flank steak at Week #5, no matter how thinly it is sliced, how small the pieces are, or how much you chew them.  Just don't do it.

PSA:  Don't try to eat flank steak at Week #5, no matter how thinly it is sliced, how small the pieces are, or how much you chew them.  Just don't do it.

PSA:  Don't try to eat flank steak at Week #5, no matter how thinly it is sliced, how small the pieces are, or how much you chew them.  Just don't do it.