amylynns

Cool picture!! Good for you!!! I haven't tried running yet....I've tried in the past, and I think my body just wasn't made for running, LOL. But then again, I didn't try at this size either. I just stopped in a store to order my Mom flowers and the lady in there says, " My goodnesss, You're just a faint memory of your old self, You'd better be careful, you'll blow away! Haha!!

So week 1 of college is done! I absolutely LOVE it!! I'm so excited! I just wish I didn't have to work full time, so I could go to school full time and be done sooner!!! I just want to get out there and be working in the field NOW! LOL.... I FINALLY started an actual workout class. My step daughter talked Brett and I into going with her. Holy crap! I may have lost 97 pounds, but I am SO unbelievably out of shape!! Wowzers!! I've been using the handicap rails in any public bathroom I can to help me sit down and get up, my legs are SO sore, LOL! But I need to get in shape and build some strength and muscles, so it'll all be good! I lost a few more pound in the last week or so. So my original goal was 160. Websites out there show more like 117-140. So I chose my next goal to be 150.... I'm at 152 this week. Yeah!! Hope you're all doing well! I'm loving all the pictures you're sharing!!!

@PinkPolkadot619--- Thanks!! We had these darn cupcakes left over for about 5 days.....I did end up taking a bite of one. Honestly, one bite was enough. I DO NOT want to be sick, I HATE that feeling of being nauseous, so it stops me from eating junk a lot!

@LisaCO---My gosh girl!! You don't even resemble your before picture!! You look 20 years younger too! Great job!! I'm so excited for us all!!!

Bought these for the office today. I will not be eating any!

Thank you, thank you!! Did a little shopping today, my step daughter (to be), Brett and I are going to be starting a new workout class, so I needed some new workout clothes. When I pulled it off the shelf I was thinking it looked too small. My 9yr old says "it looks too big Mom." Well, it fit just right! Here's a pic... Shoot, looks like they might show up sideways.... Guess they aren't sideways, LoL!

Hey fellow warriors! I haven't been on here in a while, but have read everyone's posts. Luna, hope your brother gets some help and not feel so lost. So guess what I've decided to do? Go to college! I never went after high school. I got married at 19 and started working right away, then had babies and well, here we are! I've wanted to be a nurse FOREVER, but low self esteem and fear (and a mean ex-husband) always held me back. I have a super supportive fiancé now and my self esteem is at a high, So I start the 24th and I'm scared to death! I'm just starting with a couple classes, and it's going to take me forever because I still have to work full time too. My 18yr old son will be going to the same school, so I have strict rules to not acknowledge that I know him, LOL! Still doing well with eating and exercise. We've been doing a lot of bike riding, loving it! I think of you all often!!! We're getting ready to head out for our 2 15yr olds' birthday lunch, so I'd better go get ready!

I do the same thing!! If I get "whatever chore I don't want to do"....then I can have my snack, LOL! :-) We're both special that way, heheee!

I bet getting your period had something to do with it! I don't get near the scale during that time! Messes with my head too much! You DO NOT look like you did before surgery! I know how our minds can play games with us though! That's great you were able to chat with the nutritionist. Maybe she'll see something that you're not realizing is effecting things. Don't get discouraged! You're doing GREAT!!! And you look amazing!!!

Here's a link to it, hopefully it works.... http://www.bariatriceating.com/2015/07/26/the-truth-about-bariatric-surgery/?utm_source=Bariatric+Eating+Newsletters&utm_campaign=2005bac849-MON_truth_about_BE_surgery_7_277_22_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_da1df32cd0-2005bac849-15374445&mc_cid=2005bac849&mc_eid=762af687dc

Well, crap!! Are you near your period? Have you eaten some high sodium food recently? Could it be the wine in the evenings I wonder? Wine is pretty high in sugar, right? Maybe your body is holding onto that at night? Like holding onto the sugar calories. Try not having any at night for a week and see if you see your weight drop. So frustrating!! I got an email with a really good article yesterday, just a good reminder for us all when we might be slipping up a bit. I'll see if I can find it, might be some suggestions on there that will help? Hang in there Luna!!

@Luna222---Oh goodness, I can't imagine having a fireball shot! I attempted eating a fireball jawbreaker once and it burned my belly bad! I'm guessing your pouch didn't like that very well!

I lost 2 more pounds finally. I'd been the same since we got back from Hawaii, which was June 9th! We bought ourselves 2 bikes and have been riding, LOVE LOVE LOVE it!! Easy on my joints and great exercise!! We ended up buying the kids all new bikes too! So we've been going out on some family rides too. We don't get as much exercise when everyone goes though.....too many of us riding through residential areas just doesn't work. Haha. We don't have any good bike trails near us. We're planning on getting a bike rack so we can at least take a few of us at a time to some trails. I suppose I'd better get some work done....dreary, rainy morning. Not feeling like working!

Funny!!! I've tried a few drinks here and there also. I cannot do the "sweet" drinks anymore! Whew! And yes, I got crazy drunk very quick, but it also didn't last long for me. My metabolism is so fast, it just went right through me, LOL! Last weekend we took our 21yr old daughters and their guys out for dinner and drinks. Had a blast! The one guy had a chocolate stout beer. I tried a little and was delicious!! I always have liked beer, just not the cheap stuff, LOL. I like the local made stuff, or imported "fancy" beers. I drank the WHOLE big glass of this beer and didn't get nauseous at all! I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing, LOL!! My surgeon says no alcohol, like EVER....but I figure maybe once a month I can indulge in a little bit!

Can't remember if I've told you all my new favorite Breakfast. I was getting really tired of eggs, although they keep me nice and full all morning. So I'm switching it up to this: I bought frozen blueberries and frozen sliced strawberries. I put about 3/4 of a cup of them in a bowl in the frig at night. Then in the morning add about 1/2-3/4 cup of plain ( I know, nasty by itself) greek yogurt. I got the Chobani (?) Only 6g of sugar, no fat, (that's for a full serving, which I don't have, so less than 6g of sugar) I'm never ready to eat right away, so I bring this bowl of half frozen fruit & yogurt to work. Then about 8:15-8:30 the fruit has de-frosted and it leaves a super yummy syrup in the yogurt. Stir it up well and you have naturally flavored greek yogurt! Then for a little crunch, I sprinkle on about 2TBS of dry steel cut oats! More protein! It is SO yummy!!! I can usually eat about 1/2-3/4 of it, so the rest I save for a little snack later on in the day if I need one.

I bought my swim top from fig leaves and it fits perfectly! Bra sized swim! I am hh and have a hard time finding things too. Best of luck! The size 12 fit perfect! I LOVE it!! Holds "the girls" up great!! The bottom has a tummy control thing too, so holds in my shaky belly really well! :-)

@Beni-- The time of "the poof" was a great time though! I love the 80's and 90's!! Oh, I hear you on the boob pain! I never expected this I guess! I still have a lot of breast tissue...it's just deflated! LOL! I went from about a 40/42 DDD to a 32/34 DDD. Can't believe I'm still a DDD, but there's so much tissue I have to tuck in! Brett just told me the other night my shoulder area is skin & bones. We were just laying in bed and he was rubbing my shoulder/arm and said, "Babe, do me a favor? Start lifting the arm weights we have here. I'm concerned how your bones just stick out." Sweetheart....worried, but I'm like, "Yes! I have bones! Not fat!" But I do agree and know I need to build up some muscle. I don't want to look the other extreme, anorexic. (although I surely don't think I'm at that point!) I love that you embarrassed your boys! Haha!! I agree, we could have had such a blast if we were this fit when they were younger. At least my Hannah is getting to enjoy my fit self!

@leag78---I feel your frustration. I also do get tired of Water. I put fresh lemon in mine everyday, but I still get tired of that. I have to stay away from artificial sweetners as much as possible, so crystal light products are out. I drink ice tea on occasion, that helps. My surgeon says no caffeine though, so I have to watch that. I wasn't sure why the no caffeine rule. I asked at my last appointment and they said too much can lead to dehydration. I had an issue with this just a few days before my last appointment. I had been drinking diet Snapple and regular ice tea a lot for about a week. I started noticing my urine (sorry, TMI) was smelling really strong and I had an aching in my kidney area. After telling my Dr. about this, and ruling out a UTI, he said it was because of the over use of caffeine. It had started causing dehydration and starting effecting my kidney. So I increased water ALOT and that quickly took care of things. I also miss carbonation. I had checked out those ICE drinks too and had to quickly say no! But I had taken just a sip of my son's soda one day and I was instantly in pain. (my pouch area actually had a burning sensation) NOT worth the carbonation! It is all a life changing process, so we just have to take each day as it comes and learn from each other as much as we can. Sometimes, even though we know the right answer, it's good to hear validation from others!

Ooops! I see I never answered this post! Wedding dresses....I have NO clue!! I see dresses I like, but I just don't have a clue what my new body will look good in! We went dress shopping with my step daughter (to be..) and I LOVED the ones she was picking! But I can't do the same thing!! They were to me, what I'd call, classic? I'll try and find a picture of something I'm drawn to. Lace is what I'm liking, which is totally different than when I got married the 1st time, way back in 1992! LOL! I wanted the big ball type gown then. But I want something more sleek, simpler this time. Especially since it's my 2nd marriage I guess. This is very close to the one my step daughter is getting: http://www.allurebridals.com/products/9220 I don't think I could do something quite that fitted....I don't know. But I love the lace and the open back. I had a moment of panic the other day. We picked a wedding date of May 20th, 2017. ( I know...a long way away, but I love the month of May, not too hot/cold) and we can't do 2016 because my step daughter is getting married June 2016 and we don't want to have ours before hers. SO anyway....I was thinking 2017 is so far away---"What if I'm fat again by then!" Ugh....had to talk through that with my therapist yesterday! I'm going to sabotage myself if I think like that! I've proven to myself already that I CAN do this, as long as I DO what I'm supposed to do!! I need to replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts! So I decided I'm going to start saving $$ and if all goes well, I will treat myself to a breast lift BEFORE my wedding!! So a good goal to keep in mind!!

@Beni--That is awesome Beni!!! I feel the same way--cannot believe I've lost this weight! I also can't believe it's been almost 9 months!!?? Really?? Seems like just a couple months ago we were all going in for surgery!!! I am still at 158/159. I haven't really lost since we got home from Hawaii. Not sure why--although I've still had a lot of exhaustion, so I haven't worked out like I need to. I am just whipped by 8PM. I've gone to the pool a few evenings with my 9yr old. But I don't really swim, just hang out with her in the Water, LOL. My boys (15 and 18) were surprisingly upset when I was taking her to the pool! They both said, "Wow...you never went with us to the pool, Mom." I had to explain to them that when they were that age, I was very obese, and I wasn't comfortable going to the pool. I apologized for not being able to do the things with them I SO wanted to do! Makes me so sad what I missed out with them... We went to Wisconsin Dells last week for 4 days with ALL 7 kids. Whew! It was a bit stressful with all the kids, LOL, but we had a blast. I felt totally comfortable walking around in my swimsuit. We played ALOT of volleyball at the resort we stayed at. (It was on the "quiet" side of the lake at the Dells, SO nice!) It was so nice not wanting to sit out while the family did fun things. We rented a pontoon and pulled a tube behind it. I wasn't going to do it because Brett's main goal was to get whoever was on it, OFF of it! But the kids talked me into it---it was fun, but I didn't last nearly as long as the kids did on it! I have ZERO arm strength! Couldn't hold onto the handles long at all. @joankrie--I've never heard of that diet? Are you getting plenty of Protein? I know I get really "shakey" if I don't. That's odd, I've never heard of that happening with someone who's had the surgery. Did your surgeon say what causes this? What kind of surgery would you be having if they had to? @Shadow427---Whoohoo!!! Great job!!!

Have a great Holiday weekend! Pretty excited about a 3 day weekend!!

That is awesome!! Good for you! It will be an on going learning process figuring out what foods B-) you'll tolerate. I'm still learning! Yes, you will live and feel amazing!!! I went and bought new pants again tonight. Down another size. Could have bought the next size smaller even, but they were a bit more snug than I was comfortable in. So much fun buying clothes now! So even though the scale hasn't been moving I'm still shrinking so I'll take that!

@Brian88ss--Doing well here! I haven't lost any weight since we got back from Hawaii on June 9th though. Kind of bummed, but then again---I hit "my goal" of 160.( actually back and forth between 158/159 now) So I'm alright being at this weight, but would like to lose 5-10 more as a nice cushion, LOL. I haven't been working out as much as I'd like to lately. It's just been a super busy time for us and I need to remember to make ME TIME a priority! How are you doing with your recovery??? Hopefully everything is going well!!

Wow, what a lazy weekend we had! I'm pretty much ticked at myself for being as lazy as I was!! We didn't even get a walk in!? WTH? Oh--I guess Saturday we went wedding dress shopping with Brett's daughter. (Her wedding in June 2016) So that was fun!! She didn't say yes to a dress yet, but she's getting closer!! I was keeping my eye open for dresses that I like for me too.. We actually like some of the same styles, but then again--I have NO clue what will look good on this new body of mine!!? Guess I'll just have to end up trying some on at some point to see what looks good. I have been oddly exhausted since we got home from Hawaii. Not really sure why??? It's been 3 weeks (seems longer than that) and I feel like I could sleep all day if I had the chance! I've been very careful about getting my Protein and Vitamins in. Haven't been journaling 100%, but I eat a lot of the same meals, and I know how much protein is in them. I'm going to be extra good about journaling this week and see if I'm missing something. I also haven't lost ONE pound since being home. I've been stuck right at 158/159. I feel like it's a bit of a mind thing!? Like 160 was my goal in my head, and now my body doesn't want to go lower! I also wondered if my Vit D. level could be low? I got SO Much natural Vit D in Hawaii and I haven't really been out enjoying the sun much since we've been home. I still take my Vit D pills, but maybe my body is just going through withdrawl of the natural stuff. I had tanned before we went to Hawaii (just twice a week for about 3 weeks--I KNOW, tanning beds are SO BAD) just to get a base tan so I didn't fry in Hawaii. I was thinking maybe I should try going once a week to see if that would even help? I have a friend who's Dr. recommended a tanning bed for Vit D therapy? I had never heard of that!? Anyway---I'm all by my lonesome this morning at work. Brett woke up at 3AM with horrible stomach and body aches. I was sweating and he was FREEZING! He wasn't hot with a fever, his body was COLD!? So weird! He snuggled up next to me, which felt good to be since I was hot. He told me this morning that he had extreme pain from his breast line all the way down his legs for about 2 hours. No clue what that would be?? He's staying home today. I suppose I should get some work done.....

@dc0520--Way to go on your 5K! You look great!!!! @smiley922---Look at you! Hot Mama!!! @Beni--Fries have done it for me too. I always pick 3-4 of the crispiest I can find, which helps, but best for me to just skip them. For sleep help--I always recommend Melatonin. All natural. I get it at Wal-mart. I get the cherry or strawberry flavor, 5mg. They just dissolve in your mouth. I've taken them for years, after being on Ambien CR for 2 years and hating the morning grogginess from it. I had a therapist recommend the melatonin. I take the 2, get in bed, read for about 20 minutes and I'm out. My biggest problem was falling asleep and staying asleep once I finally did fall asleep, LOL! This stuff works like a champ!! Once in a while I'll wake up during the night and need to read for 5 or 10 minutes. But that's if I have some major stuff on my brain. And NO grogginess in the morning. I've even taken another one at 2 or 3:00 in the morning and still had no problems in the morning.